4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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282 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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291 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
292 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
295 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
296 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
297 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
298 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
299 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
300 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
301 License'' in the Emacs manual.
303 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
304 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
305 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
307 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
308 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
309 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
310 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
318 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
320 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
321 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
323 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
324 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
325 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
326 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
327 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
328 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
329 License'' in the Emacs manual.
331 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
332 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
333 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
335 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
336 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
337 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
338 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
344 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
346 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
349 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
350 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
351 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
353 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
354 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
355 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
356 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
357 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
358 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
359 License'' in the Emacs manual.
361 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
362 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
363 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
365 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
366 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
367 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
368 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
377 @top The gnus Newsreader
381 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
382 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
383 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
386 T-gnus provides @sc{mime} features based on @sc{semi} API. So T-gnus
387 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
388 other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
389 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
390 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
391 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
393 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
404 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
405 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
407 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
408 being accused of plagiarism:
410 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
411 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
412 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
413 can even read news with it!
415 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
416 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
417 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
418 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
419 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
425 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
426 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
427 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
428 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
429 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
430 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
431 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
432 * Various:: General purpose settings.
433 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
434 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
435 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
436 * Key Index:: Key Index.
439 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
443 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
444 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
445 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
446 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
447 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
448 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
449 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
450 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
451 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
452 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
453 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
457 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
458 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
459 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
463 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
464 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
465 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
466 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
467 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
468 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
469 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
470 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
471 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
472 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
473 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
474 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
475 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
476 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
477 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
478 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
479 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
483 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
484 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
485 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
489 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
490 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
491 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
492 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
493 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
497 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
498 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
499 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
500 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
501 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
505 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
506 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
507 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
508 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
509 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
510 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
511 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
512 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
513 * Threading:: How threads are made.
514 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
515 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
516 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
517 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
518 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
519 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
520 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
521 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
522 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
523 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
524 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
525 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
526 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
527 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
528 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
529 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
530 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
531 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
532 or reselecting the current group.
533 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
534 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
535 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
536 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
538 Summary Buffer Format
540 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
541 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
542 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
543 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
547 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
548 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
550 Reply, Followup and Post
552 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
553 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
554 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
555 * Canceling and Superseding::
559 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
560 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
561 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
563 * Generic Marking Commands::
564 * Setting Process Marks::
568 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
569 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
570 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
574 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
575 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
577 Customizing Threading
579 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
580 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
581 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
582 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
586 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
587 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
588 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
589 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
590 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
591 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
595 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
596 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
597 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
601 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
602 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
603 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
604 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
605 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
606 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
607 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
608 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
609 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
610 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
612 Alternative Approaches
614 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
615 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
617 Various Summary Stuff
619 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
620 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
621 * Summary Generation Commands::
622 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
626 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
627 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
628 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
629 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
630 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
634 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
635 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
636 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
637 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
638 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
639 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
640 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
641 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
645 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
646 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
647 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
648 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
649 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
650 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
651 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
652 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
656 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
657 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
658 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
659 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
660 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
661 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
662 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
666 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
667 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
671 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
672 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
673 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
677 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
678 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
679 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
680 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
681 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
682 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
683 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
684 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
685 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
686 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
687 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
688 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
689 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
693 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
694 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
695 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
697 Choosing a Mail Back End
699 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
700 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
701 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
702 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
703 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
704 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
709 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
710 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
711 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
712 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
713 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
714 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
718 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
719 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
720 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
721 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
722 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
726 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
727 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
728 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
729 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
730 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
734 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
738 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
739 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
740 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
744 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
745 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
749 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
750 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
751 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
752 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
753 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
754 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
755 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
756 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
757 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
758 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
759 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
763 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
764 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
765 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
769 * Group Agent Commands::
770 * Summary Agent Commands::
771 * Server Agent Commands::
775 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
776 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
777 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
778 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
779 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
780 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
781 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
782 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
783 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
784 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
785 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
786 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
787 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
788 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
789 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
790 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
791 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
795 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
796 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
797 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
798 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
802 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
803 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
804 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
808 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
809 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
810 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
811 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
812 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
813 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
814 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
815 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
816 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
817 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
818 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
819 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
820 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
821 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
822 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
823 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
824 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
825 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
826 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
830 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
831 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
832 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
833 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
834 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
835 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
836 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
837 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
841 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
842 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
843 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
844 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
845 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
849 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
850 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
851 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
852 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
853 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
857 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
858 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
859 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
863 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
864 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
865 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
866 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
867 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
868 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
869 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
870 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
871 * Frequently Asked Questions::
875 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
876 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
877 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
878 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
879 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
880 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
881 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
882 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
883 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
887 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
888 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
889 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
890 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
891 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
895 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
896 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
897 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
898 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
902 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
903 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
904 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
905 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
906 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
907 * Group Info:: The group info format.
908 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
909 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
910 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
914 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
915 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
916 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
917 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
918 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
919 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
923 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
924 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
928 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
929 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
935 @chapter Starting gnus
940 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
941 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
944 @findex gnus-other-frame
945 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
946 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
947 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
949 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
950 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
951 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
953 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
954 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
957 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
958 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
959 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
960 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
961 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
962 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
963 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
964 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
965 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
966 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
967 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
971 @node Finding the News
972 @section Finding the News
975 @vindex gnus-select-method
977 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
978 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
979 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
980 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
983 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
984 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
987 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
990 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
993 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
996 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
997 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
998 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1000 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1002 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1003 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1004 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1005 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1006 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1007 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1009 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1010 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1011 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1012 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1014 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1015 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1016 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1017 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1018 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1019 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1020 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1021 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1022 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1025 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1027 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1028 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1029 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1030 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1031 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1032 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1034 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1036 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1037 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1038 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1039 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1040 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1041 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1044 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1045 you would typically set this variable to
1048 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1052 @node The First Time
1053 @section The First Time
1054 @cindex first time usage
1056 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1057 be subscribed by default.
1059 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1060 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1061 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1062 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1065 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1066 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1067 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1069 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1070 help you with most common problems.
1072 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1073 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1077 @node The Server is Down
1078 @section The Server is Down
1079 @cindex server errors
1081 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1082 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1083 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1085 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1086 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1087 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1088 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1089 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1090 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1091 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1093 @findex gnus-no-server
1094 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1096 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1097 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1098 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1099 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1100 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1101 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1102 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1106 @section Slave Gnusae
1109 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1110 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1111 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1112 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1114 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1115 @code{.newsrc} file.
1117 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1118 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1119 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1120 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1121 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1122 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1123 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1125 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1126 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1127 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1128 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1129 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1130 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1131 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1132 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1134 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1135 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1137 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1138 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1139 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1140 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1141 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1143 @node Fetching a Group
1144 @section Fetching a Group
1145 @cindex fetching a group
1147 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1148 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1149 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1150 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1151 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1152 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1158 @cindex subscription
1160 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1161 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1162 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1163 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1164 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1165 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1166 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1167 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1168 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1171 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1172 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1173 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1177 @node Checking New Groups
1178 @subsection Checking New Groups
1180 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1181 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1182 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1183 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1184 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1185 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1186 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1187 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1188 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1189 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1191 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1192 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1193 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1194 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1195 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1196 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1197 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1198 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1199 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1200 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1201 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1203 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1204 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1205 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1206 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1207 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1208 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1211 @node Subscription Methods
1212 @subsection Subscription Methods
1214 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1215 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1216 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1218 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1219 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1221 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1225 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1226 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1227 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1228 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1229 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1231 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1232 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1233 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1234 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1236 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1237 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1238 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1240 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1241 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1242 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1243 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1244 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1245 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1246 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1247 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1248 up. Or something like that.
1250 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1251 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1252 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1253 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1254 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1256 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1257 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1258 Kill all new groups.
1260 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1261 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1262 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1263 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1264 topic parameter that looks like
1270 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1273 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1278 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1279 A closely related variable is
1280 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1281 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1282 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1283 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1286 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1287 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1288 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1289 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1292 @node Filtering New Groups
1293 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1295 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1296 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1297 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1300 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1303 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1304 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1305 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1306 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1307 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1308 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1309 subscribing these groups.
1310 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1311 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1313 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1314 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1315 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1316 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1317 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1318 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1319 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1320 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1322 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1323 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1324 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1325 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1326 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1327 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1328 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1329 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1330 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1331 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1334 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1335 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1338 @node Changing Servers
1339 @section Changing Servers
1340 @cindex changing servers
1342 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1343 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1344 very flaky and you want to use another.
1346 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1347 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1351 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1352 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1353 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1354 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1357 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1358 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1359 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1360 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1362 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1363 @findex gnus-change-server
1364 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1365 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1366 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1367 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1368 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1370 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1371 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1372 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1373 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1374 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1376 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1377 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1378 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1379 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1380 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1381 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1383 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1384 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1385 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1386 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1388 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1389 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1390 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1391 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1392 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1393 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1394 cache for all groups).
1398 @section Startup Files
1399 @cindex startup files
1404 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1405 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1407 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1408 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1409 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1410 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1411 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1412 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1413 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1415 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1416 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1417 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1418 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1419 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1420 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1422 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1423 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1424 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1425 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1426 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1427 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1428 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1429 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1430 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1431 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1433 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1434 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1435 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1436 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1437 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1438 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1439 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1440 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1441 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1442 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1443 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1444 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1446 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1447 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1448 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1449 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1451 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1452 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1453 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1454 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1455 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1456 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1457 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1458 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1459 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1460 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1463 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1464 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1466 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1467 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1470 @vindex gnus-init-file
1471 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1472 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1473 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1474 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1475 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1476 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1477 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1478 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1479 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1485 @cindex dribble file
1488 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1489 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1490 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1491 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1492 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1495 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1496 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1499 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1500 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1501 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1503 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1504 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1505 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1506 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1507 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1508 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1510 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1511 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1512 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1515 @node The Active File
1516 @section The Active File
1518 @cindex ignored groups
1520 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1521 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1522 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1524 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1525 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1526 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1527 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1528 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1529 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1530 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1533 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1534 @c if you set it to anything else.
1536 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1538 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1539 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1540 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1542 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1543 you actually subscribe to.
1545 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1546 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1547 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1548 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1550 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1551 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1552 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1553 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1554 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1555 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1557 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1558 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1559 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1562 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1563 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1564 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1565 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1566 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1567 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1569 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1570 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1572 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1573 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1575 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1576 secondary select methods.
1579 @node Startup Variables
1580 @section Startup Variables
1584 @item gnus-load-hook
1585 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1586 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1587 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1588 times you start gnus.
1590 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1591 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1592 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1594 @item gnus-startup-hook
1595 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1596 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1598 @item gnus-started-hook
1599 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1600 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1603 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1604 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1605 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1606 generating the group buffer.
1608 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1609 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1610 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1611 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1612 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1613 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1614 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1615 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1617 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1618 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1619 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1620 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1621 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1622 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1624 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1625 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1626 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1628 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1629 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1630 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1632 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1633 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1634 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1635 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1641 @chapter Group Buffer
1642 @cindex group buffer
1644 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1646 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1647 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1648 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1649 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1650 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1651 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1652 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1653 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1654 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1655 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1656 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1657 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1658 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1659 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1660 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1661 @c human rights at 9...
1664 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1665 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1666 long as gnus is active.
1670 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1671 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1672 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1673 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1674 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1675 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1676 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1677 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1683 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1684 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1685 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1686 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1687 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1688 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1689 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1690 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1691 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1692 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1693 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1694 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1695 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1696 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1697 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1698 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1699 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1703 @node Group Buffer Format
1704 @section Group Buffer Format
1707 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1708 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1709 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1713 @node Group Line Specification
1714 @subsection Group Line Specification
1715 @cindex group buffer format
1717 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1718 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1720 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1723 25: news.announce.newusers
1724 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1729 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1730 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1731 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1732 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1734 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1735 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1736 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1737 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1738 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1739 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1741 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1743 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1744 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1745 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1746 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1747 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1749 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1750 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1751 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1753 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1758 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1761 Whether the group is subscribed.
1764 Level of subscribedness.
1767 Number of unread articles.
1770 Number of dormant articles.
1773 Number of ticked articles.
1776 Number of read articles.
1779 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1780 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1782 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1783 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1784 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1785 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1786 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1787 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1788 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1789 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1792 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1795 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1804 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1805 comment element in the group parameters.
1808 Newsgroup description.
1811 @samp{m} if moderated.
1814 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1823 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1827 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1830 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1831 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1832 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1833 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1834 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1837 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1839 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1843 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1846 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1850 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1851 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1852 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1853 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1854 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1855 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1860 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1861 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1862 group, or a bogus native group.
1865 @node Group Modeline Specification
1866 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1867 @cindex group modeline
1869 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1870 The mode line can be changed by setting
1871 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1872 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1876 The native news server.
1878 The native select method.
1882 @node Group Highlighting
1883 @subsection Group Highlighting
1884 @cindex highlighting
1885 @cindex group highlighting
1887 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1888 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1889 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1890 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1891 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1893 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1897 (cond (window-system
1898 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1899 (defface my-group-face-1
1900 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1901 (defface my-group-face-2
1902 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1903 (defface my-group-face-3
1904 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1905 (defface my-group-face-4
1906 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1907 (defface my-group-face-5
1908 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1910 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1911 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1912 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1913 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1914 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1915 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1918 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1920 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1927 The number of unread articles in the group.
1931 Whether the group is a mail group.
1933 The level of the group.
1935 The score of the group.
1937 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1939 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1940 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1942 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1943 topic being inserted.
1946 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1947 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1948 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1950 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1951 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1952 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1953 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1954 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1957 @node Group Maneuvering
1958 @section Group Maneuvering
1959 @cindex group movement
1961 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1962 expected, hopefully.
1968 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1969 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1970 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1976 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1977 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1978 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1982 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1983 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1987 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1988 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1992 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1993 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1994 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1998 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1999 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2000 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2003 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2009 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2010 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2011 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2016 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2017 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2018 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2022 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2023 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2024 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2027 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2028 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2029 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2030 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2034 @node Selecting a Group
2035 @section Selecting a Group
2036 @cindex group selection
2041 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2042 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2043 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2044 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2045 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2046 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2047 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2048 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2049 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2050 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2052 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2053 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2054 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2056 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2057 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2062 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2063 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2064 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2065 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2066 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2070 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2071 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2072 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2073 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2074 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2075 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2076 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2077 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2078 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2079 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2082 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2083 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2084 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2085 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2086 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2089 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2090 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2091 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2092 doing any processing of its contents
2093 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2094 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2095 manner will have no permanent effects.
2099 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2100 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2101 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2102 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2103 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2104 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2105 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2106 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2109 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2110 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2111 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2112 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2113 Which article this is is controlled by the
2114 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2120 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2123 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2126 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2128 @item unseen-or-unread
2129 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2130 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2134 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2138 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2139 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2141 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2142 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2143 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2144 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2148 @node Subscription Commands
2149 @section Subscription Commands
2150 @cindex subscription
2158 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2159 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2160 Toggle subscription to the current group
2161 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2167 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2168 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2169 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2170 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2176 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2177 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2178 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2184 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2185 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2188 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2189 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2190 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2191 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2192 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2198 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2199 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2203 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2204 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2207 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2208 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2209 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2210 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2211 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2212 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2213 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2214 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2215 @file{.newsrc} file.
2219 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2229 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2230 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2231 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2232 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2233 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2234 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2239 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2240 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2241 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2245 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2246 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2247 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2249 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2250 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2251 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2252 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2253 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2254 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2261 @section Group Levels
2265 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2266 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2267 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2268 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2269 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2271 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2277 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2278 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2279 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2280 prompted for a level.
2283 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2284 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2285 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2286 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2287 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2288 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2289 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2290 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2291 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2292 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2293 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2294 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2295 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2296 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2297 reasons of efficiency.
2299 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2300 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2302 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2303 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2304 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2305 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2306 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2307 groups are hidden, in a way.
2309 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2310 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2311 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2312 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2313 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2314 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2316 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2317 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2318 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2319 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2320 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2321 list of killed groups.)
2323 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2324 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2325 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2327 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2328 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2329 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2330 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2331 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2332 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2333 relevant valid ranges.
2335 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2336 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2337 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2338 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2339 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2340 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2343 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2344 one with the best level.
2346 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2347 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2348 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2351 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2352 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2353 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2354 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2357 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2358 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2359 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2360 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2362 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2363 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2364 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2365 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2366 to 5. The default is 6.
2370 @section Group Score
2375 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2376 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2377 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2380 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2381 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2382 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2383 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2384 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2385 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2386 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2387 least significant part.))
2389 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2390 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2391 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2392 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2393 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2394 action after each summary exit, you can add
2395 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2396 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2397 slow things down somewhat.
2400 @node Marking Groups
2401 @section Marking Groups
2402 @cindex marking groups
2404 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2405 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2406 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2407 bidding on those groups.
2409 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2410 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2411 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2419 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2420 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2426 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2427 Remove the mark from the current group
2428 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2432 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2433 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2437 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2438 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2442 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2443 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2447 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2448 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2449 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2452 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2454 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2455 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2456 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2457 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2458 the command to be executed.
2461 @node Foreign Groups
2462 @section Foreign Groups
2463 @cindex foreign groups
2465 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2466 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2467 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2468 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2475 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2476 @cindex making groups
2477 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2478 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2479 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2483 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2484 @cindex renaming groups
2485 Rename the current group to something else
2486 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2487 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2493 @findex gnus-group-customize
2494 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2498 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2499 @cindex renaming groups
2500 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2501 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2505 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2506 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2507 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2511 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2512 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2513 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2517 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2519 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2520 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2525 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2526 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2530 @cindex (ding) archive
2531 @cindex archive group
2532 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2533 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2534 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2535 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2536 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2537 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2538 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2542 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2544 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2545 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2546 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2547 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2551 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2553 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2554 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2555 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2559 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2560 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2562 Make a group based on some file or other
2563 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2564 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2565 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2566 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2567 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2568 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2569 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2570 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2571 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2575 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2576 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2577 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2578 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2582 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2586 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2587 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2588 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2589 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2590 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2591 @xref{Web Searches}.
2593 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2594 to a particular group by using a match string like
2595 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2598 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2599 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2600 This function will delete the current group
2601 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2602 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2603 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2604 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2605 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2609 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2610 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2611 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2615 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2616 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2617 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2620 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2623 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2624 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2625 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2626 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2627 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2628 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2632 @node Group Parameters
2633 @section Group Parameters
2634 @cindex group parameters
2636 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2637 Here's an example group parameter list:
2640 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2644 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2645 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2646 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2647 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2649 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2650 is an alist of regexps and values.
2652 The following group parameters can be used:
2657 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2660 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2663 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2664 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2665 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2666 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2667 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2669 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2670 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2671 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2672 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2673 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2674 list address instead.
2676 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2680 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2683 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2686 It is totally ignored
2687 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2688 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2690 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2691 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2692 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2693 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2694 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2696 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2697 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2698 sending the message.
2700 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2701 @cindex Mail List Groups
2702 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2703 entering summary buffer.
2705 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2710 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2711 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2712 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2713 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2714 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2715 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2717 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2718 directly uses this group parameter.
2722 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2723 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2724 of whether it has any unread articles.
2726 @item broken-reply-to
2727 @cindex broken-reply-to
2728 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2729 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2730 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2731 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2732 broken behavior. So there!
2736 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2737 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2741 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2742 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2743 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2748 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2749 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2750 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2751 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2752 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2753 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2754 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2755 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2756 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept artciles.
2760 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2761 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2762 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2764 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2767 @cindex total-expire
2768 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2769 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2770 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2771 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2774 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2778 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2779 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2780 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2781 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2782 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2783 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2784 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2787 @cindex score file group parameter
2788 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2789 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2790 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2793 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2794 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2795 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2796 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2799 @cindex admin-address
2800 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2801 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2802 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2803 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2807 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2808 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2812 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2815 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2816 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2819 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2823 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2825 Here are some examples:
2829 Display only unread articles.
2832 Display everything except expirable articles.
2834 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2835 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2839 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2840 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2841 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2842 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2843 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2847 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2848 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2849 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2853 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2854 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2855 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2859 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2860 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2861 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2863 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2865 @item ignored-charsets
2866 @cindex ignored-charset
2867 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2868 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2869 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2871 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2874 @cindex posting-style
2875 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2876 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2877 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2878 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2879 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2881 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2882 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2883 like this in the group parameters:
2888 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2893 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2894 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2898 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2899 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2900 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2901 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2902 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2906 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2907 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2908 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2909 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2911 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2912 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2913 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2914 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2917 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2918 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2922 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2925 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2926 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2927 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2928 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2929 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2930 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2931 @code{eval}ed there.
2933 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2934 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2935 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2936 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2937 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2938 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2939 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2940 parameters for the group.
2943 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2944 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2945 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2946 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2947 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2951 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2952 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2953 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2954 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2955 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2957 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2958 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2962 (setq gnus-parameters
2964 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2965 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2966 (gnus-summary-line-format
2967 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2971 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2975 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2979 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2982 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2983 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2986 @node Listing Groups
2987 @section Listing Groups
2988 @cindex group listing
2990 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2998 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2999 List all groups that have unread articles
3000 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3001 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3002 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
3003 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3010 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3011 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3012 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3013 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3014 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3015 unsubscribed groups).
3019 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3020 List all unread groups on a specific level
3021 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3022 with no unread articles.
3026 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3027 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3028 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3029 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3034 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3035 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3039 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3040 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3041 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3045 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3046 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3050 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3051 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3052 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3053 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3054 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3055 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3056 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3057 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3061 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3062 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3063 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3067 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3068 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3069 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3073 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3074 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3078 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3079 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3083 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3084 List groups limited within the current selection
3085 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3089 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3090 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3094 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3095 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3099 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3100 @cindex visible group parameter
3101 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3102 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3103 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3104 get the same effect.
3106 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3107 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3108 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3109 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3110 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3113 @node Sorting Groups
3114 @section Sorting Groups
3115 @cindex sorting groups
3117 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3118 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3119 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3120 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3121 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3122 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3127 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3128 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3129 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3131 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3132 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3133 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3135 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3136 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3137 Sort by group level.
3139 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3140 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3141 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3143 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3144 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3145 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3146 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3148 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3149 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3150 Sort by number of unread articles.
3152 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3153 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3154 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3156 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3157 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3158 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3163 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3164 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3168 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3169 some sorting criteria:
3173 @kindex G S a (Group)
3174 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3175 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3176 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3179 @kindex G S u (Group)
3180 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3181 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3182 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3185 @kindex G S l (Group)
3186 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3187 Sort the group buffer by group level
3188 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3191 @kindex G S v (Group)
3192 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3193 Sort the group buffer by group score
3194 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3197 @kindex G S r (Group)
3198 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3199 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3200 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3203 @kindex G S m (Group)
3204 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3205 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3206 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3210 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3211 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3213 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3214 commands will sort in reverse order.
3216 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3220 @kindex G P a (Group)
3221 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3222 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3223 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3226 @kindex G P u (Group)
3227 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3228 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3229 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3232 @kindex G P l (Group)
3233 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3234 Sort the groups by group level
3235 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3238 @kindex G P v (Group)
3239 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3240 Sort the groups by group score
3241 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3244 @kindex G P r (Group)
3245 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3246 Sort the groups by group rank
3247 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3250 @kindex G P m (Group)
3251 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3252 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3253 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3256 @kindex G P s (Group)
3257 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3258 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3262 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3266 @node Group Maintenance
3267 @section Group Maintenance
3268 @cindex bogus groups
3273 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3274 Find bogus groups and delete them
3275 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3279 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3280 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3281 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3282 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3283 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3287 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3288 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3289 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3290 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3291 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3292 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3295 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3296 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3297 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3298 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3303 @node Browse Foreign Server
3304 @section Browse Foreign Server
3305 @cindex foreign servers
3306 @cindex browsing servers
3311 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3312 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3313 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3314 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3317 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3318 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3319 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3320 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3322 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3327 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3328 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3332 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3333 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3336 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3337 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3338 Enter the current group and display the first article
3339 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3342 @kindex RET (Browse)
3343 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3344 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3348 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3349 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3350 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3356 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3357 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3361 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3362 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3366 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3367 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3368 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3373 @section Exiting gnus
3374 @cindex exiting gnus
3376 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3381 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3382 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3383 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3384 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3388 @findex gnus-group-exit
3389 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3390 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3394 @findex gnus-group-quit
3395 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3396 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3399 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3400 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3401 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3402 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3403 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3408 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3409 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3410 trying to customize meta-variables.
3415 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3416 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3417 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3423 @section Group Topics
3426 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3427 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3428 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3429 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3430 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3431 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3435 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3436 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3447 2: alt.religion.emacs
3450 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3452 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3453 13: comp.sources.unix
3456 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3458 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3459 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3460 is a toggling command.)
3462 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3463 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3464 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3465 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3468 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3469 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3470 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3473 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3477 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3478 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3479 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3480 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3481 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3485 @node Topic Commands
3486 @subsection Topic Commands
3487 @cindex topic commands
3489 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3490 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3491 definitions slightly.
3493 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3494 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3495 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3496 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3497 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3498 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3500 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3507 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3508 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3509 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3513 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3515 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3516 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3517 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3518 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3521 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3522 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3523 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3524 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3528 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3529 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3530 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3531 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3537 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3538 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3539 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3543 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3544 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3545 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3548 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3549 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3550 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3551 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3552 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3554 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3555 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3559 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3560 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3567 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3569 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3570 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3571 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3572 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3573 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3574 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3578 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3584 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3585 Move the current group to some other topic
3586 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3587 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3591 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3592 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3596 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3597 Copy the current group to some other topic
3598 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3599 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3603 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3604 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3605 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3609 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3610 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3611 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3615 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3616 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3617 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3618 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3619 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3620 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3621 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3624 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3625 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3629 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3630 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3631 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3635 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3636 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3637 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3641 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3642 Toggle hiding empty topics
3643 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3647 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3648 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3649 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3652 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3653 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3654 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3655 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3658 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3659 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3660 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3661 expiry process (if any)
3662 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3666 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3667 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3670 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3671 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3672 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3676 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3677 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3678 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3681 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3682 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3683 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3686 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3687 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3688 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3692 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3693 @cindex group parameters
3694 @cindex topic parameters
3696 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3697 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3702 @node Topic Variables
3703 @subsection Topic Variables
3704 @cindex topic variables
3706 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3707 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3709 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3710 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3711 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3724 Number of groups in the topic.
3726 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3728 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3731 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3732 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3733 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3736 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3737 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3739 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3740 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3741 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3745 @subsection Topic Sorting
3746 @cindex topic sorting
3748 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3754 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3755 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3756 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3757 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3760 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3761 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3762 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3763 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3766 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3767 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3768 Sort the current topic by group level
3769 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3772 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3773 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3774 Sort the current topic by group score
3775 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3778 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3779 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3780 Sort the current topic by group rank
3781 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3784 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3785 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3786 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3787 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3790 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3791 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3792 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3793 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3797 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3798 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3799 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3800 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3804 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3805 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3809 @node Topic Topology
3810 @subsection Topic Topology
3811 @cindex topic topology
3814 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3820 2: alt.religion.emacs
3823 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3825 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3826 13: comp.sources.unix
3829 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3830 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3831 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3836 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3837 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3841 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3842 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3843 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3844 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3845 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3846 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3848 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3849 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3850 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3853 @node Topic Parameters
3854 @subsection Topic Parameters
3855 @cindex topic parameters
3857 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3858 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3859 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3861 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3866 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3867 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3868 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3871 @item subscribe-level
3872 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3873 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3874 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3878 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3879 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3880 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3881 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3887 2: alt.religion.emacs
3891 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3893 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3894 13: comp.sources.unix
3898 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3899 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3900 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3901 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3902 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3903 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3905 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3906 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3907 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3908 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3909 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3911 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3912 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3913 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3914 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3915 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3916 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3917 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3918 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3921 @node Misc Group Stuff
3922 @section Misc Group Stuff
3925 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3926 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3927 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3928 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3929 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3936 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3937 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3938 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3942 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3943 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3944 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3945 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3946 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3947 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3948 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3952 @findex gnus-group-mail
3953 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3954 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3955 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3956 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3960 @findex gnus-group-news
3961 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3962 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3963 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3965 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3966 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3967 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3968 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3969 for this to work though.
3973 Variables for the group buffer:
3977 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3978 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3979 is called after the group buffer has been
3982 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3983 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3984 is called after the group buffer is
3985 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3988 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3989 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3990 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3991 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3993 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3994 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3995 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3996 whether they are empty or not.
3998 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3999 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4000 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4001 non-ASCII group names.
4005 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4006 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4009 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4010 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4011 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4012 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4013 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4014 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
4018 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4019 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4024 @node Scanning New Messages
4025 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4026 @cindex new messages
4027 @cindex scanning new news
4033 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4034 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4035 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4036 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4037 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4038 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4043 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4044 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4045 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4046 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4047 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4048 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4049 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4051 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4052 @cindex activating groups
4054 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4055 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4060 @findex gnus-group-restart
4061 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4062 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4063 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4067 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4068 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4070 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4071 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4075 @node Group Information
4076 @subsection Group Information
4077 @cindex group information
4078 @cindex information on groups
4085 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4086 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4089 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4090 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4091 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4092 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4093 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4094 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4095 for fetching the file.
4097 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4098 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4102 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4103 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4105 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4106 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4109 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4110 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4111 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4115 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4116 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4117 @cindex control message
4118 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4119 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4120 group if given a prefix argument.
4122 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-nil, Gnus
4123 will open the control messages in a browser using @code{browse-url}.
4124 Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp} and displayed in an
4127 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4128 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4129 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4133 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4135 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4136 @cindex describing groups
4137 @cindex group description
4138 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4139 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4140 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4144 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4145 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4146 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4153 @findex gnus-version
4154 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4158 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4159 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4162 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4165 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4166 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4170 @node Group Timestamp
4171 @subsection Group Timestamp
4173 @cindex group timestamps
4175 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4176 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4177 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4180 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4183 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4185 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4186 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4189 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4190 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4193 This will result in lines looking like:
4196 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4197 0: custom 19961002T012713
4200 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4201 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4205 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4206 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4209 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4210 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4214 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4215 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4216 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4217 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4219 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4225 @subsection File Commands
4226 @cindex file commands
4232 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4233 @vindex gnus-init-file
4234 @cindex reading init file
4235 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4236 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4240 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4241 @cindex saving .newsrc
4242 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4243 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4244 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4247 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4248 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4249 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4254 @node Sieve Commands
4255 @subsection Sieve Commands
4256 @cindex group sieve commands
4258 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4259 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4260 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4261 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4262 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4264 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4265 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4266 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4267 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4268 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4269 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4270 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4271 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4272 regenerate the Sieve script.
4274 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4275 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4276 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4277 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4278 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4279 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4280 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4281 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4282 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4283 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4286 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4287 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4292 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4298 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4299 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4300 @cindex generating sieve script
4301 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4302 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4306 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4307 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4308 @cindex updating sieve script
4309 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4310 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4311 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4316 @node Summary Buffer
4317 @chapter Summary Buffer
4318 @cindex summary buffer
4320 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4321 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4323 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4324 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4326 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4329 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4330 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4331 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4332 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4333 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4334 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4335 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4336 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4337 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4338 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4339 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4340 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4341 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4342 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4343 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4344 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4345 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4346 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4347 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4348 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4349 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4350 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4351 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4352 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4353 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4354 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4355 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4356 or reselecting the current group.
4357 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4358 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4359 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4360 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4364 @node Summary Buffer Format
4365 @section Summary Buffer Format
4366 @cindex summary buffer format
4370 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4371 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4372 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4378 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4379 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4380 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4381 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4384 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4385 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4386 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4387 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4388 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4389 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4390 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4391 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4392 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4393 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4394 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4395 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4396 other function instead:
4399 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4400 'mail-extract-address-components)
4403 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4404 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4405 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4406 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4409 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4410 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4412 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4413 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4414 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4415 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4416 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4418 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4419 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4420 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4421 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4422 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4423 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4425 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4427 The following format specification characters and extended format
4428 specification(s) are understood:
4434 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4435 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4437 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4438 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4439 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4441 Full @code{From} header.
4443 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4445 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4448 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4449 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4450 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4451 may be more thorough.
4453 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4456 Number of lines in the article.
4458 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4459 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4461 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4462 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4464 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4466 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4469 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4470 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4472 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4473 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4475 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4476 for adopted articles.
4478 One space for each thread level.
4480 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4482 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4485 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4486 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4487 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4490 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4492 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4493 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4494 default level. If the difference between
4495 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4496 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4504 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4506 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4512 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4513 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4515 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4516 article has any children.
4522 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4523 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4525 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4526 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4527 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4528 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4529 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4530 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4533 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4534 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4535 There can only be one such area.
4537 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4538 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4539 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4540 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4541 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4542 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4544 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4545 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4547 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4550 @node To From Newsgroups
4551 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4555 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4556 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4557 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4558 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4559 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4563 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4564 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4565 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4569 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4570 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4573 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4574 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4577 @findex gnus-extra-header
4578 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4579 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4580 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4583 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4587 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4588 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4589 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4590 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4591 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4592 headers are used instead.
4596 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4597 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4598 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4599 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4600 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4601 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4603 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4604 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4605 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4606 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4608 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4612 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4614 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4615 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4616 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4617 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4621 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4624 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4625 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4628 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4629 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4630 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4636 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4637 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4640 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4641 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4643 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4644 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4645 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4646 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4648 Here are the elements you can play with:
4654 Unprefixed group name.
4656 Current article number.
4658 Current article score.
4662 Number of unread articles in this group.
4664 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4667 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4668 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4669 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4670 and no unselected ones.
4672 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4673 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4675 Subject of the current article.
4677 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4679 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4681 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4683 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4685 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4687 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4691 @node Summary Highlighting
4692 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4696 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4697 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4698 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4699 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4700 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4702 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4703 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4704 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4705 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4707 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4708 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4709 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4710 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4712 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4713 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4714 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4715 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4716 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4717 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4720 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4721 ((> score default) . bold))
4723 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4724 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4728 @node Summary Maneuvering
4729 @section Summary Maneuvering
4730 @cindex summary movement
4732 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4733 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4735 None of these commands select articles.
4740 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4741 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4742 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4743 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4744 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4748 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4749 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4750 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4751 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4752 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4755 @kindex G g (Summary)
4756 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4757 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4758 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4761 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4762 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4763 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4764 to the group buffer.
4766 Variables related to summary movement:
4770 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4771 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4772 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4773 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4774 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4775 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4776 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4777 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4778 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4779 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4780 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4781 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4782 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4783 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4785 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4786 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4787 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4788 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4789 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4790 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4791 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4793 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4795 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4796 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4797 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4798 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4799 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4801 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4802 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4803 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4804 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4805 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4806 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4807 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4808 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4811 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4812 the given number of lines from the top.
4817 @node Choosing Articles
4818 @section Choosing Articles
4819 @cindex selecting articles
4822 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4823 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4827 @node Choosing Commands
4828 @subsection Choosing Commands
4830 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4831 and they all select and display an article.
4833 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4834 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4838 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4839 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4840 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4841 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4846 @kindex G n (Summary)
4847 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4848 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4849 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4854 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4855 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4856 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4861 @kindex G N (Summary)
4862 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4863 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4868 @kindex G P (Summary)
4869 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4870 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4873 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4874 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4875 Go to the next article with the same subject
4876 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4879 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4880 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4881 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4882 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4886 @kindex G f (Summary)
4888 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4889 Go to the first unread article
4890 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4894 @kindex G b (Summary)
4896 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4897 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4898 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4899 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4904 @kindex G l (Summary)
4905 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4906 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4909 @kindex G o (Summary)
4910 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4912 @cindex article history
4913 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4914 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4915 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4916 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4917 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4918 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4923 @kindex G j (Summary)
4924 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4925 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4926 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4931 @node Choosing Variables
4932 @subsection Choosing Variables
4934 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4937 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4938 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4939 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4940 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4941 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4942 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4944 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4945 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4946 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4947 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4949 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4950 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4951 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4952 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4953 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4954 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4955 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4956 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4957 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4958 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4959 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4960 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4961 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4962 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4967 @node Paging the Article
4968 @section Scrolling the Article
4969 @cindex article scrolling
4974 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4975 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4976 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4977 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4978 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4981 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4982 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4983 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4986 @kindex RET (Summary)
4987 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4988 Scroll the current article one line forward
4989 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4992 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4993 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4994 Scroll the current article one line backward
4995 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4999 @kindex A g (Summary)
5001 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5002 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5003 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5004 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5005 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5006 the way it came from the server.
5008 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5009 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5010 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5013 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5018 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5023 @kindex A < (Summary)
5024 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5025 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5026 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5031 @kindex A > (Summary)
5032 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5033 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5037 @kindex A s (Summary)
5039 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5040 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5041 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5045 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5046 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5051 @node Reply Followup and Post
5052 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5055 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5056 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5057 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5058 * Canceling and Superseding::
5062 @node Summary Mail Commands
5063 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5065 @cindex composing mail
5067 Commands for composing a mail message:
5073 @kindex S r (Summary)
5075 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5076 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5077 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5078 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5079 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5084 @kindex S R (Summary)
5085 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5086 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5087 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5088 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5089 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5092 @kindex S w (Summary)
5093 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5094 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5095 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5096 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5097 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5100 @kindex S W (Summary)
5101 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5102 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5103 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5104 the process/prefix convention.
5107 @kindex S v (Summary)
5108 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5109 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5110 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5111 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5112 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5113 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5116 @kindex S V (Summary)
5117 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5118 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5119 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5120 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5123 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5124 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5125 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5126 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5129 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5130 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5131 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5132 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5133 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5137 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5138 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5139 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5140 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5141 Forward the current article to some other person
5142 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5143 headers of the forwarded article.
5148 @kindex S m (Summary)
5149 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5150 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5151 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5152 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5153 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5158 @kindex S i (Summary)
5159 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5160 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5161 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5162 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5164 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5165 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5166 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5167 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5168 for this to work though.
5171 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5172 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5173 @cindex bouncing mail
5174 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5175 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5176 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5177 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5178 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5179 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5180 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5181 very well fail, though.
5184 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5185 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5186 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5187 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5188 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5189 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5190 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5191 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5192 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5193 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5195 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5196 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5197 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5198 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5199 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5201 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5202 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5205 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5206 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5207 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5208 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5209 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5212 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5213 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5214 @cindex crossposting
5215 @cindex excessive crossposting
5216 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5217 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5219 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5220 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5221 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5222 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5223 command understands the process/prefix convention
5224 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5228 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5229 Manual}, for more information.
5232 @node Summary Post Commands
5233 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5235 @cindex composing news
5237 Commands for posting a news article:
5243 @kindex S p (Summary)
5244 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5245 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5246 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5247 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5248 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5253 @kindex S f (Summary)
5254 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5255 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5256 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5260 @kindex S F (Summary)
5262 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5263 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5264 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5265 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5266 process/prefix convention.
5269 @kindex S n (Summary)
5270 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5271 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5272 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5275 @kindex S N (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5277 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5278 message through mail and include the original message
5279 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5280 the process/prefix convention.
5283 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5284 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5285 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5286 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5287 headers of the forwarded article.
5290 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5291 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5293 @cindex making digests
5294 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5295 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5296 process/prefix convention.
5299 @kindex S u (Summary)
5300 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5301 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5302 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5303 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5306 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5307 Manual}, for more information.
5310 @node Summary Message Commands
5311 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5315 @kindex S y (Summary)
5316 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5317 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5318 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5319 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5320 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5325 @node Canceling and Superseding
5326 @subsection Canceling Articles
5327 @cindex canceling articles
5328 @cindex superseding articles
5330 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5331 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5333 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5335 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5337 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5338 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5339 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5340 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5341 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5342 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5344 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5345 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5348 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5349 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5350 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5352 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5353 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5354 your original article.
5356 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5358 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5359 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5360 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5363 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5364 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5365 have posted almost the same article twice.
5367 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5368 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5369 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5370 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5371 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5372 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5373 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5374 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5375 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5376 canceled/superseded.
5378 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5380 @node Delayed Articles
5381 @section Delayed Articles
5382 @cindex delayed sending
5383 @cindex send delayed
5385 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5386 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5387 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5388 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5391 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5394 @findex gnus-delay-article
5395 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5396 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5397 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5398 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5402 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5403 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5404 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5405 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5408 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5409 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5410 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5413 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5414 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5415 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5416 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5417 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5418 that means a time tomorrow.
5421 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5422 couple of variables:
5425 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5426 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5427 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5428 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5430 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5431 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5432 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5433 formats described above.
5435 @item gnus-delay-group
5436 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5437 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5438 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5439 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5441 @item gnus-delay-header
5442 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5443 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5444 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5445 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5448 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5449 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5450 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5451 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5452 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5454 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5455 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5456 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5457 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5458 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5459 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5462 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5463 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5465 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5466 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5467 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-nil,
5468 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5469 argument is ignored.
5471 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5472 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5473 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5477 @node Marking Articles
5478 @section Marking Articles
5479 @cindex article marking
5480 @cindex article ticking
5483 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5485 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5486 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5487 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5489 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5492 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5493 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5494 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5498 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5502 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5503 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5504 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5508 @node Unread Articles
5509 @subsection Unread Articles
5511 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5516 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5517 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5519 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5520 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5521 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5522 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5523 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5524 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5525 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5528 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5529 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5531 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5532 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5533 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5534 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5538 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5539 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5541 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5546 @subsection Read Articles
5547 @cindex expirable mark
5549 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5554 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5555 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5556 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5559 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5560 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5563 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5564 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5565 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5568 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5569 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5572 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5573 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5576 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5577 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5580 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5581 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5584 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5585 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5588 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5589 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5592 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5593 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5597 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5598 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5599 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5603 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5604 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5606 One more special mark, though:
5610 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5611 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5613 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5614 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5615 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5616 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5622 @subsection Other Marks
5623 @cindex process mark
5626 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5632 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5633 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5634 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5635 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5636 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5639 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5640 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5641 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5642 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5645 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5646 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5647 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5650 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5651 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5652 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5655 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5656 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5657 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5658 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5661 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5662 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5663 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5664 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5665 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5666 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5669 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5670 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5671 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5672 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5675 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5676 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might not
5677 have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you are
5678 offline (unplugged). These articles get the @samp{@@} mark in the
5679 first column. (The variable @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls
5680 which character to use.)
5683 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5684 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5685 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5686 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5687 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5688 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5692 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5693 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5694 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5695 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5696 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5699 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5700 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5701 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5702 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5703 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5704 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5708 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5709 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5710 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5712 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5713 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5714 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5718 @subsection Setting Marks
5719 @cindex setting marks
5721 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5726 @kindex M c (Summary)
5727 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5728 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5729 @cindex mark as unread
5730 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5731 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5737 @kindex M t (Summary)
5738 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5739 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5740 @xref{Article Caching}.
5745 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5746 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5747 Mark the current article as dormant
5748 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5752 @kindex M d (Summary)
5754 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5755 Mark the current article as read
5756 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5760 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5761 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5762 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5767 @kindex M k (Summary)
5768 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5769 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5770 and then select the next unread article
5771 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5775 @kindex M K (Summary)
5776 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5777 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5778 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5779 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5782 @kindex M C (Summary)
5783 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5784 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5785 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5788 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5789 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5790 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5791 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5794 @kindex M H (Summary)
5795 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5796 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5797 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5800 @kindex M h (Summary)
5801 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5802 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5803 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5806 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5807 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5808 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5809 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5812 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5813 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5814 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5815 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5819 @kindex M e (Summary)
5821 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5822 Mark the current article as expirable
5823 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5826 @kindex M b (Summary)
5827 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5828 Set a bookmark in the current article
5829 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5832 @kindex M B (Summary)
5833 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5834 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5835 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5838 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5839 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5840 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5841 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5844 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5845 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5846 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5847 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5850 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5851 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5852 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5853 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5854 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5857 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5858 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5859 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5860 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5861 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5862 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5863 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5864 The default is @code{t}.
5867 @node Generic Marking Commands
5868 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5870 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5871 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5872 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5873 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5874 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5877 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5878 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5881 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5882 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5883 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5884 to list in this manual.
5886 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5887 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5888 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5889 article, you could say something like:
5892 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5893 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5894 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5900 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5901 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5905 @node Setting Process Marks
5906 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5907 @cindex setting process marks
5914 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5915 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5916 Mark the current article with the process mark
5917 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5918 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5922 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5923 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5924 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5925 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5928 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5929 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5930 Remove the process mark from all articles
5931 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5934 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5935 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5936 Invert the list of process marked articles
5937 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5940 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5941 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5942 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5943 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5946 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5947 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5948 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5949 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5952 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5953 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5954 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5958 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5959 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5962 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5963 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5964 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5965 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5968 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5969 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5970 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5971 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5974 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5975 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5976 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5977 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5980 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5981 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5982 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5985 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5986 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5987 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5988 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5991 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5992 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5993 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5996 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5997 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5998 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5999 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6002 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6003 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6004 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6005 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6008 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6009 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6010 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6011 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6014 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6015 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6016 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6017 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6021 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6022 set process marks based on article body contents.
6029 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6030 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6031 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6034 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6035 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6036 additional articles.
6042 @kindex / / (Summary)
6043 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6044 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6045 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6049 @kindex / a (Summary)
6050 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6051 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6052 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6056 @kindex / x (Summary)
6057 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6058 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6059 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6060 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6065 @kindex / u (Summary)
6067 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6068 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6069 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6070 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6071 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6074 @kindex / m (Summary)
6075 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6076 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6077 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6080 @kindex / t (Summary)
6081 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6082 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6083 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6084 articles younger than that number of days.
6087 @kindex / n (Summary)
6088 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6089 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6090 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6091 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6094 @kindex / w (Summary)
6095 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6096 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6097 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6101 @kindex / . (Summary)
6102 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6103 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6104 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6107 @kindex / v (Summary)
6108 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6109 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6110 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6113 @kindex / p (Summary)
6114 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6115 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6116 group parameter predicate
6117 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6118 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6122 @kindex M S (Summary)
6123 @kindex / E (Summary)
6124 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6125 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6126 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6129 @kindex / D (Summary)
6130 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6131 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6132 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6135 @kindex / * (Summary)
6136 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6137 Include all cached articles in the limit
6138 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6141 @kindex / d (Summary)
6142 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6143 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6144 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6147 @kindex / M (Summary)
6148 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6149 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6152 @kindex / T (Summary)
6153 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6154 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6157 @kindex / c (Summary)
6158 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6159 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6160 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6163 @kindex / C (Summary)
6164 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6165 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6166 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6167 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6170 @kindex / N (Summary)
6171 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6172 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6173 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6176 @kindex / o (Summary)
6177 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6178 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6179 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6187 @cindex article threading
6189 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6190 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6191 hierarchical fashion.
6193 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6194 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6195 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6196 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6197 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6198 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6199 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6201 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6205 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6208 A tree-like article structure.
6211 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6214 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6215 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6216 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6217 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6218 called loose threads.
6220 @item thread gathering
6221 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6223 @item sparse threads
6224 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6225 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6231 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6232 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6236 @node Customizing Threading
6237 @subsection Customizing Threading
6238 @cindex customizing threading
6241 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6242 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6243 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6244 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6249 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6252 @cindex loose threads
6255 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6256 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6257 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6258 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6259 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6260 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6262 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6263 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6264 There are four possible values:
6268 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6269 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6270 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6271 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6272 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6277 @cindex adopting articles
6282 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6283 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6284 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6285 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6288 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6289 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6290 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6291 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6292 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6293 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6294 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6297 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6298 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6299 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6303 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6304 display them after one another.
6307 Don't gather loose threads.
6310 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6311 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6312 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6313 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6314 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6315 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6316 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6317 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6318 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6319 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6320 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6322 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6323 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6324 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6327 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6328 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6329 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6330 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6331 simplification is used.
6333 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6334 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6335 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6336 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6338 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6340 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6346 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6347 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6348 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6349 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6354 (mapconcat 'identity
6355 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6357 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6360 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6363 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6364 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6365 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6366 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6367 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6368 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6370 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6373 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6374 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6375 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6377 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6378 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6381 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6382 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6383 Remove excessive whitespace.
6385 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6386 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6387 Remove all whitespace.
6390 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6393 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6394 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6395 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6396 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6397 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6398 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6399 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6400 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6402 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6403 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6404 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6405 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6406 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6407 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6408 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6409 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6410 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6414 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6415 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6416 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6417 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6419 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6420 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6421 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6424 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6428 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6429 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6435 @node Filling In Threads
6436 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6439 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6440 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6441 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6442 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6443 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6444 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6445 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6446 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6447 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6448 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6449 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6450 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6453 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6454 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6455 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6457 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6458 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6459 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6460 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6461 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6462 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6463 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6464 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6465 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6466 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6467 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6468 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6469 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6470 @code{nil} by default.
6472 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6473 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6474 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6475 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6476 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6477 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6478 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6480 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6481 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6482 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6487 @node More Threading
6488 @subsubsection More Threading
6491 @item gnus-show-threads
6492 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6493 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6494 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6495 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6496 slower and more awkward.
6498 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6499 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6500 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6503 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6504 Avaliable predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6505 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6510 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6511 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6512 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6515 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6516 unread, but you get my drift.)
6519 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6520 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6521 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6522 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6523 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6524 threads are expunged.
6526 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6527 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6528 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6531 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6532 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6533 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6534 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6535 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6536 result in a new thread.
6538 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6539 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6540 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6543 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6544 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6545 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6546 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6547 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6548 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6549 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6550 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6551 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6552 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6553 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6558 @node Low-Level Threading
6559 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6563 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6564 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6565 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6566 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6567 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6568 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6570 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6571 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6572 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6573 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6574 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6575 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6576 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6577 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6578 meaningful. Here's one example:
6581 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6583 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6584 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6586 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6588 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6595 @node Thread Commands
6596 @subsection Thread Commands
6597 @cindex thread commands
6603 @kindex T k (Summary)
6604 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6605 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6606 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6607 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6608 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6613 @kindex T l (Summary)
6614 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6615 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6616 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6617 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6620 @kindex T i (Summary)
6621 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6622 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6623 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6626 @kindex T # (Summary)
6627 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6628 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6629 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6632 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6633 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6634 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6635 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6638 @kindex T T (Summary)
6639 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6640 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6643 @kindex T s (Summary)
6644 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6645 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6646 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6649 @kindex T h (Summary)
6650 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6651 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6654 @kindex T S (Summary)
6655 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6656 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6659 @kindex T H (Summary)
6660 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6661 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6664 @kindex T t (Summary)
6665 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6666 Re-thread the current article's thread
6667 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6668 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6671 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6672 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6673 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6674 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6678 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6679 understand the numeric prefix.
6684 @kindex T n (Summary)
6686 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6688 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6689 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6690 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6693 @kindex T p (Summary)
6695 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6697 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6698 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6699 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6702 @kindex T d (Summary)
6703 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6704 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6707 @kindex T u (Summary)
6708 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6709 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6712 @kindex T o (Summary)
6713 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6714 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6717 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6718 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6719 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6720 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6721 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6722 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6723 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6724 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6725 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6726 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6727 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6728 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6732 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6733 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6735 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6736 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6737 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6738 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6739 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6740 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6741 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6742 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6743 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6744 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6745 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6746 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6747 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6749 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6750 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6751 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6752 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6753 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6754 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6755 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6756 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6758 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6759 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6760 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6762 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6763 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6764 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6765 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6766 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6767 ascending article order.
6769 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6770 by number, you could do something like:
6773 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6774 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6775 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6776 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6779 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6780 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6781 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6782 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6783 which the articles arrived.
6785 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6789 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6791 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6792 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6795 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6796 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6797 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6798 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6801 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6802 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6803 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6804 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6805 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6806 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6807 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6808 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6809 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6810 variable. It is very similar to the
6811 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6812 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6813 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6814 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6815 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6816 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6817 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6819 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6823 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6824 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6825 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6830 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6831 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6832 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6833 @cindex article pre-fetch
6836 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6837 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6838 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6839 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6840 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6842 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6843 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6845 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6846 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6847 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6848 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6849 connection is blocked.
6851 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6852 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6853 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6854 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6856 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6857 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6858 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6859 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6862 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6865 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6866 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6867 happen automatically.
6869 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6870 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6871 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6872 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6873 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6874 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6875 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6877 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6878 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6879 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6880 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6881 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6882 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6883 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6884 data structure as the only parameter.
6886 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6889 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6890 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6891 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6892 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6895 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6898 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6899 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
6900 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6902 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6903 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6904 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6905 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6909 Remove articles when they are read.
6912 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6915 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6917 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6918 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6919 @c from the next group.
6922 @node Article Caching
6923 @section Article Caching
6924 @cindex article caching
6927 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6928 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6929 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6930 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6931 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6933 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6935 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6936 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6937 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6938 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6939 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6940 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6941 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6942 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6944 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6945 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6946 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6947 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6948 as dormant, and don't worry.
6950 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6952 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6953 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6954 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6955 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6956 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6957 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6958 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6959 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6960 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6961 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6963 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6964 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6965 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6966 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6967 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6968 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6969 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6970 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6971 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6972 not then be downloaded by this command.
6974 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6975 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6976 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6977 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6978 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6979 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6981 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6982 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6983 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6984 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6985 variables, the group is not cached.
6987 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6988 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6989 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6990 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6991 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6992 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
6993 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6994 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6995 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6998 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
6999 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7000 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7001 where, isn't that cool?
7003 @node Persistent Articles
7004 @section Persistent Articles
7005 @cindex persistent articles
7007 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7008 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7009 useful in my opinion.
7011 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7012 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7013 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7014 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7015 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7016 the expiry going on at the news server.
7018 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7019 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7020 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7026 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7027 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7030 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7031 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7032 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7033 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7037 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7039 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7040 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7041 interested in persistent articles:
7044 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7048 @node Article Backlog
7049 @section Article Backlog
7051 @cindex article backlog
7053 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7054 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7055 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7056 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7057 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7058 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7059 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7060 increase memory usage some.
7062 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7063 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7064 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7065 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7066 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7067 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7068 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7070 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7073 @node Saving Articles
7074 @section Saving Articles
7075 @cindex saving articles
7077 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7078 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7079 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7080 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7081 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7083 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7084 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7085 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7087 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7088 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7089 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7091 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7092 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7093 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7094 deleted before saving.
7100 @kindex O o (Summary)
7102 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7103 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7104 Save the current article using the default article saver
7105 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7108 @kindex O m (Summary)
7109 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7110 Save the current article in mail format
7111 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7114 @kindex O r (Summary)
7115 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7116 Save the current article in rmail format
7117 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7120 @kindex O f (Summary)
7121 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7122 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7123 Save the current article in plain file format
7124 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7127 @kindex O F (Summary)
7128 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7129 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7130 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7133 @kindex O b (Summary)
7134 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7135 Save the current article body in plain file format
7136 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7139 @kindex O h (Summary)
7140 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7141 Save the current article in mh folder format
7142 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7145 @kindex O v (Summary)
7146 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7147 Save the current article in a VM folder
7148 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7152 @kindex O p (Summary)
7154 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7155 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7156 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7159 @kindex O P (Summary)
7160 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7161 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7162 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7163 external program Muttprint (see
7164 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7165 options to use is controlled by the variable
7166 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7170 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7171 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7172 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7173 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7174 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7175 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7176 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7177 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7178 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7179 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7180 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7181 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7185 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7186 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7187 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7188 functions below, or you can create your own.
7192 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7193 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7194 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7195 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7196 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7197 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7198 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7200 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7201 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7202 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7203 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7204 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7205 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7207 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7208 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7209 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7210 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7211 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7212 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7213 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7215 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7216 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7217 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7218 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7219 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7220 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7222 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7223 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7224 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7225 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7226 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7228 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7229 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7230 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7231 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7232 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7235 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7236 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7237 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7238 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7239 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7241 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7242 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7243 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7244 reader to use this setting.
7247 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7248 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7249 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7250 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7253 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7254 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7255 available functions that generate names:
7259 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7260 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7261 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7263 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7264 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7265 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7267 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7268 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7269 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7271 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7272 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7273 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7275 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7276 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7277 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7280 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7281 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7282 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7283 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7284 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7288 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7289 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7290 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7291 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7294 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7295 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7296 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7297 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7298 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7299 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7300 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7301 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7302 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7304 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7305 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7306 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7307 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7309 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7310 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7311 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7314 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7315 lots of mail groups called things like
7316 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7317 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7318 following will do just that:
7321 (defun my-save-name (group)
7322 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7323 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7325 (setq gnus-split-methods
7326 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7331 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7332 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7333 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7334 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7335 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7336 all the files in the top level directory
7337 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7338 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7339 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7340 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7342 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7343 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7344 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7345 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7346 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7349 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7353 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7354 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7355 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7358 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7359 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7360 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7361 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7364 @node Decoding Articles
7365 @section Decoding Articles
7366 @cindex decoding articles
7368 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7369 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7372 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7373 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7374 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7375 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7376 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7377 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7381 @cindex article series
7382 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7383 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7384 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7385 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7386 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7388 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7389 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7390 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7392 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7393 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7394 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7396 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7397 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7398 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7401 @node Uuencoded Articles
7402 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7404 @cindex uuencoded articles
7409 @kindex X u (Summary)
7410 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7411 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7412 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7415 @kindex X U (Summary)
7416 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7417 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7418 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7421 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7422 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7423 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7426 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7427 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7428 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7429 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7433 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7434 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7435 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7436 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7437 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7439 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7440 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7441 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7442 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7445 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7446 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7447 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7448 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7449 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7450 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7454 @node Shell Archives
7455 @subsection Shell Archives
7457 @cindex shell archives
7458 @cindex shared articles
7460 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7461 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7462 some commands to deal with these:
7467 @kindex X s (Summary)
7468 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7469 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7472 @kindex X S (Summary)
7473 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7474 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7477 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7478 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7479 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7482 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7483 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7484 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7485 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7489 @node PostScript Files
7490 @subsection PostScript Files
7496 @kindex X p (Summary)
7497 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7498 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7501 @kindex X P (Summary)
7502 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7503 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7504 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7507 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7508 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7509 View the current PostScript series
7510 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7513 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7514 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7515 View and save the current PostScript series
7516 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7521 @subsection Other Files
7525 @kindex X o (Summary)
7526 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7527 Save the current series
7528 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7531 @kindex X b (Summary)
7532 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7533 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7534 doesn't really work yet.
7538 @node Decoding Variables
7539 @subsection Decoding Variables
7541 Adjective, not verb.
7544 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7545 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7546 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7550 @node Rule Variables
7551 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7552 @cindex rule variables
7554 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7555 variables are of the form
7558 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7565 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7566 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7568 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7569 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7572 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7573 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7576 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7577 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7578 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7579 user and default view rules.
7581 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7582 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7583 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7588 @node Other Decode Variables
7589 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7592 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7594 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7595 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7596 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7597 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7598 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7602 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7603 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7606 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7607 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7608 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7611 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7612 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7613 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7614 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7615 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7618 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7619 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7620 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7622 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7623 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7624 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7625 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7626 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7629 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7630 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7631 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7633 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7634 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7635 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7636 looking for files to display.
7638 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7639 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7640 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7643 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7644 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7645 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7648 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7649 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7650 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7653 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7654 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7655 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7658 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7659 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7660 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7661 decoded articles as unread.
7663 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7664 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7665 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7666 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7668 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7669 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7670 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7672 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7673 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7675 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7676 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7677 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7678 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7680 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7681 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7682 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7683 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7684 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7685 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7686 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7687 simply dropped them.
7692 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7693 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7697 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7698 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7699 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7700 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7701 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7702 for you when you post the article.
7704 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7705 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7706 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7707 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7709 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7710 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7711 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7712 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7713 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7714 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7715 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7717 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7718 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7719 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7720 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7721 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7722 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7723 Default is @code{t}.
7729 @subsection Viewing Files
7730 @cindex viewing files
7731 @cindex pseudo-articles
7733 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7734 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7735 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7736 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7737 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7738 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7739 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7741 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7742 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7743 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7744 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7746 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7747 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7748 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7750 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7751 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7752 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7753 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7754 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7756 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7757 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7758 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7759 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7760 a list of parameters to that command.
7762 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7763 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7764 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7766 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7767 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7768 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7771 @node Article Treatment
7772 @section Article Treatment
7774 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7775 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7776 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7777 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7778 these articles easier.
7781 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7782 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7783 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7784 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7785 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7786 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7787 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7788 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7789 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7790 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7794 @node Article Highlighting
7795 @subsection Article Highlighting
7796 @cindex highlighting
7798 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7799 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7804 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7805 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7806 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7807 Do much highlighting of the current article
7808 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7809 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7812 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7813 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7814 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7815 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7816 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7817 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7818 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7819 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7820 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7821 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7822 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7823 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7826 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7827 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7828 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7830 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7833 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7835 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7836 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7837 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7839 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7840 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7841 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7843 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7844 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7845 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7846 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7847 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7848 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7850 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7851 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7852 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7854 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7855 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7856 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7858 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7859 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7860 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7861 that it's a citation.
7863 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7864 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7865 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7867 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7868 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7869 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7871 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7872 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7873 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7874 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7880 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7881 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7882 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7883 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7884 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7885 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7886 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7887 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7892 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7895 @node Article Fontisizing
7896 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7898 @cindex article emphasis
7900 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7901 @kindex W e (Summary)
7902 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7903 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7904 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7905 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7907 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7908 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7909 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7910 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7911 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7912 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7913 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7914 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7918 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7919 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7920 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7929 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7930 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7931 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7932 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7933 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7934 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7935 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7936 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7937 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7938 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7939 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7940 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7941 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7943 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7944 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7945 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7949 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7952 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7954 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7955 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7956 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7957 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7959 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7962 @node Article Hiding
7963 @subsection Article Hiding
7964 @cindex article hiding
7966 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7967 too much cruft in most articles.
7972 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7973 @findex gnus-article-hide
7974 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7975 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7976 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7979 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7980 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7981 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7985 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7986 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7987 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7988 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7991 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7992 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7993 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7997 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7998 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7999 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8000 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8001 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8002 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8003 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8004 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8008 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8009 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8010 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8011 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8016 @kindex W W p (Summary)
8017 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
8018 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8019 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
8020 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
8021 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
8022 articles that have signatures in them do:
8024 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8026 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8028 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8029 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8031 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8034 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8039 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8040 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8041 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8042 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8045 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8046 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8047 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8048 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8051 @cindex stripping advertisements
8052 @cindex advertisements
8053 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8054 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8055 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8056 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8057 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8058 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8059 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8060 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8061 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8062 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8065 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8066 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8067 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8071 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8072 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8073 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8074 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8075 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8076 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8077 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8078 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8079 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8080 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8081 following element to remove them:
8084 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8090 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8091 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8092 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8093 customizing the hiding:
8097 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8098 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8099 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8100 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8101 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8102 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8103 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8108 Starting point of the hidden text.
8110 Ending point of the hidden text.
8112 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8114 Number of lines of hidden text.
8117 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8118 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8119 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8120 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8121 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8126 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8127 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8129 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8130 following two variables:
8133 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8134 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8135 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8136 50), hide the cited text.
8138 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8139 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8140 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8145 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8146 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8147 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8148 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8149 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8150 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8154 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8155 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8156 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8158 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8159 citation customization.
8161 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8165 @node Article Washing
8166 @subsection Article Washing
8168 @cindex article washing
8170 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8171 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8173 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8174 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8177 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8178 articles by default.
8183 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8184 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8188 @kindex W l (Summary)
8189 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8190 Remove page breaks from the current article
8191 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8195 @kindex W r (Summary)
8196 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8197 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8198 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8199 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8200 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8201 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8203 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8204 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8205 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8206 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8209 @kindex W m (Summary)
8210 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8211 @c @icon{gnus-summary-morse-message}
8212 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8216 @kindex W t (Summary)
8218 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8219 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8220 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8223 @kindex W v (Summary)
8224 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8225 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8226 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8229 @kindex W m (Summary)
8230 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8231 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
8232 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8235 @kindex W o (Summary)
8236 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8237 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8240 @kindex W d (Summary)
8241 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8242 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8244 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8246 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8247 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8248 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8249 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8252 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8253 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8254 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8255 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8258 @kindex W k (Summary)
8259 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8260 @cindex Outlook Express
8261 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles and redisplay
8262 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8265 @kindex W w (Summary)
8266 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8267 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8269 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8273 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8274 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8275 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8278 @kindex W C (Summary)
8279 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8280 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8281 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8284 @kindex W c (Summary)
8285 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8286 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8287 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8288 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8289 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8292 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8293 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8294 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8295 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8296 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8297 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8298 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8300 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8303 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8304 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8305 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8306 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8307 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8310 @kindex W u (Summary)
8311 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8312 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8313 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8314 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8315 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8318 @kindex W h (Summary)
8319 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8320 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8321 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8322 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8324 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8326 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8327 The default is to use the function specified by
8328 @code{mm-inline-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Customization, , , emacs-mime})
8329 to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8330 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8338 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8342 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8345 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8348 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8353 @kindex W b (Summary)
8354 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8355 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8356 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8359 @kindex W B (Summary)
8360 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8361 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8362 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8365 @kindex W p (Summary)
8366 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8367 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8368 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8369 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8370 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8371 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8372 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8375 @kindex W s (Summary)
8376 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8377 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8378 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8381 @kindex W a (Summary)
8382 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8383 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8384 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8387 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8388 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8389 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8390 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8393 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8394 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8395 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8396 lines with a single empty line.
8397 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8400 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8401 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8402 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8403 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8406 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8407 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8408 Do all the three commands above
8409 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8412 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8413 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8414 Remove all blank lines
8415 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8418 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8419 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8420 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8421 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8424 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8425 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8426 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8427 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8431 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8434 @node Article Header
8435 @subsection Article Header
8437 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8442 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8443 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8444 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8447 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8448 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8449 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8450 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8453 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8454 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8455 Fold all the message headers
8456 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8460 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8461 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8462 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8467 @node Article Buttons
8468 @subsection Article Buttons
8471 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8472 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8473 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8474 button on these references.
8476 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8477 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8478 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8479 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8480 one that handles article heads:
8484 @item gnus-button-alist
8485 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8486 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8489 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8495 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8496 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8497 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a variable containing a
8498 regexp, useful variables to use include @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8501 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8502 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8503 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8506 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8507 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8508 avoid false matches.
8511 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8514 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8515 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8519 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8522 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8525 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8526 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8527 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8528 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8529 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8532 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8535 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8537 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8538 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8539 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8540 default values of the variables above.
8542 @item gnus-article-button-face
8543 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8544 Face used on buttons.
8546 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8547 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8548 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8552 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8556 @subsection Article Date
8558 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8559 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8560 when the article was sent.
8565 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8566 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8567 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8568 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8571 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8572 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8574 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8575 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8578 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8579 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8580 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8583 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8584 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8585 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8586 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8589 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8590 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8591 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8592 @findex format-time-string
8593 Display the date using a user-defined format
8594 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8595 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8596 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8597 for a list of possible format specs.
8600 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8601 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8602 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8603 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8604 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8605 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8608 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8611 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8612 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8615 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8616 into wonderful absurdities.
8618 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8621 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8624 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8625 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8629 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8630 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8631 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8632 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8633 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8634 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8635 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8639 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8640 preferred format automatically.
8643 @node Article Display
8644 @subsection Article Display
8649 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8650 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8652 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8653 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8655 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8656 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8658 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8659 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8661 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8666 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8667 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8668 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8669 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8672 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8673 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8674 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8677 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8678 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8679 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8682 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8683 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8684 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8685 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8688 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8689 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8690 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8691 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8694 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8695 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8696 Remove all images from the article buffer
8697 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8703 @node Article Signature
8704 @subsection Article Signature
8706 @cindex article signature
8708 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8709 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8710 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8711 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8712 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8713 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8714 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8715 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8716 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8719 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8720 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8721 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8722 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8723 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8724 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8725 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8726 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8729 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8732 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8733 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8734 signature when displaying articles.
8738 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8741 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8744 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8745 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8747 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8748 in question is not a signature.
8751 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8752 listed above. Here's an example:
8755 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8756 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8759 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8760 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8761 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8762 signature after all.
8765 @node Article Miscellania
8766 @subsection Article Miscellania
8770 @kindex A t (Summary)
8771 @findex gnus-article-babel
8772 Translate the article from one language to another
8773 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8779 @section MIME Commands
8780 @cindex MIME decoding
8782 @cindex viewing attachments
8784 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8785 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8791 @kindex K v (Summary)
8792 View the @sc{mime} part.
8795 @kindex K o (Summary)
8796 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8799 @kindex K c (Summary)
8800 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8803 @kindex K e (Summary)
8804 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8807 @kindex K i (Summary)
8808 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8811 @kindex K | (Summary)
8812 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8815 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8820 @kindex K b (Summary)
8821 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8822 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8826 @kindex K m (Summary)
8827 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8828 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8829 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8830 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8831 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8834 @kindex X m (Summary)
8835 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8836 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8837 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8838 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8841 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8842 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8843 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8844 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8847 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8848 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8849 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8850 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8853 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8854 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8855 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8856 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8858 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8859 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8860 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8861 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8862 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8863 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8866 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8867 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8868 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8869 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8876 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8877 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8878 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8879 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8882 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8885 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8889 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8890 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8891 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8892 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8893 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8894 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8897 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8898 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8899 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8900 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8901 displayed. This variable overrides
8902 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8904 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8905 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8906 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8908 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8909 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8910 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8911 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8912 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8913 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8914 save all jpegs into some directory).
8916 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8919 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8920 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8922 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8923 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8924 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8925 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8926 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8929 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8930 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8931 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8933 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8934 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8935 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8936 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8938 Ready-made functions include@*
8939 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8940 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8941 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8942 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8943 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8944 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8945 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8946 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8947 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8948 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8949 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8950 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8952 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8953 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8955 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8956 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8957 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8960 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8961 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8962 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8963 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8967 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8976 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8977 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8978 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8979 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8980 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8981 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8982 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8984 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8985 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8986 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8987 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8989 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8990 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8991 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8992 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8993 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8994 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8995 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8996 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8998 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8999 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9000 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9001 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9002 quoted-printable header encoding.
9004 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9005 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9006 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9010 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9013 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9014 means encode all charsets),
9016 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9017 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9018 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9025 @cindex coding system aliases
9026 @cindex preferred charset
9028 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9030 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9031 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9034 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9035 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9038 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9039 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9041 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9044 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9047 This will almost do the right thing.
9049 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9053 (codepage-setup 1251)
9054 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9058 @node Article Commands
9059 @section Article Commands
9066 @kindex A P (Summary)
9067 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9068 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9069 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9070 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9071 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9072 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9077 @node Summary Sorting
9078 @section Summary Sorting
9079 @cindex summary sorting
9081 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9082 can't really see why you'd want that.
9087 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9088 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9089 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9092 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9093 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9094 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9097 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9098 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9099 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9102 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9103 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9104 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9107 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9108 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9109 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9112 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9113 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9114 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9117 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9118 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9119 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9122 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9123 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9124 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9127 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9128 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9129 Sort using the default sorting method
9130 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9133 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9134 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9135 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9136 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9137 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9141 @node Finding the Parent
9142 @section Finding the Parent
9143 @cindex parent articles
9144 @cindex referring articles
9149 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9150 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9151 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9152 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9153 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9154 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9155 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9156 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9157 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9159 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9160 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9161 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9162 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9163 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9167 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9168 @kindex A R (Summary)
9169 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9170 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9173 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9174 @kindex A T (Summary)
9175 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9176 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9177 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9178 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9179 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9180 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9181 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9183 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9184 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9185 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9186 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9187 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9188 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9191 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9192 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9194 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9195 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9196 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9197 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9198 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9199 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9200 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9203 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9204 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9205 by giving this command a prefix.
9207 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9208 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9209 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9210 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9211 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9212 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9215 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9216 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9217 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9220 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9221 then ask Google if that fails:
9224 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9226 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type google))))
9229 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9230 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9231 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9232 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9233 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9234 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9235 support this at all.
9238 @node Alternative Approaches
9239 @section Alternative Approaches
9241 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9242 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9245 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9246 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9251 @subsection Pick and Read
9252 @cindex pick and read
9254 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9255 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9256 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9257 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9259 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9260 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9261 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9262 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9263 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9264 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9266 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9271 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9272 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9273 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9274 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9275 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9276 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9277 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9278 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9281 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9282 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9283 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9284 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9288 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9289 Unpick the thread or article
9290 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9291 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9292 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9293 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9294 the thread or article at that line.
9298 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9299 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9300 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9301 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9302 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9303 will still be visible when you are reading.
9307 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9308 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9309 which is mapped to the same function
9310 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9312 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9315 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9318 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9319 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9321 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9322 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9323 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9325 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9326 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9327 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9328 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9329 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9330 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9331 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9335 @subsection Binary Groups
9336 @cindex binary groups
9338 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9339 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9340 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9341 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9342 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9343 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9344 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9347 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9348 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9349 command, when you have turned on this mode
9350 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9352 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9353 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9357 @section Tree Display
9360 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9361 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9362 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9363 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9366 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9369 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9370 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9371 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9373 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9374 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9375 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9376 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9377 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9379 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9380 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9381 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9382 default is @code{modeline}.
9384 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9385 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9386 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9387 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9388 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9389 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9390 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9396 The name of the poster.
9398 The @code{From} header.
9400 The number of the article.
9402 The opening bracket.
9404 The closing bracket.
9409 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9411 Variables related to the display are:
9414 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9415 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9416 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9417 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9418 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9419 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9421 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9422 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9423 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9424 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9428 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9429 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9430 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9431 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9432 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9433 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9434 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9435 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9436 other windows displayed next to it.
9438 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9442 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9443 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9446 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9447 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9448 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9449 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9450 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9451 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9452 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9456 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9459 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9469 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9473 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9474 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9476 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9478 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9483 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9484 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9485 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9488 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9489 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9490 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9491 (gnus-add-configuration
9495 (summary 0.75 point)
9500 @xref{Window Layout}.
9503 @node Mail Group Commands
9504 @section Mail Group Commands
9505 @cindex mail group commands
9507 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9508 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9510 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9511 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9516 @kindex B e (Summary)
9517 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9518 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9519 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9520 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9521 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9524 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9525 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9526 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9527 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9528 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9529 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9532 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9533 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9534 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9535 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9536 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9537 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9540 @kindex B m (Summary)
9542 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9543 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9544 Move the article from one mail group to another
9545 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9546 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9549 @kindex B c (Summary)
9551 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9552 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9553 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9554 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9555 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9558 @kindex B B (Summary)
9559 @cindex crosspost mail
9560 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9561 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9562 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9563 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9564 be properly updated.
9567 @kindex B i (Summary)
9568 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9569 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9570 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9571 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9574 @kindex B I (Summary)
9575 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9576 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9577 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9578 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9581 @kindex B r (Summary)
9582 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9583 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9584 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9585 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9586 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9587 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9588 (which is the default).
9592 @kindex B w (Summary)
9594 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9595 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9596 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9597 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9598 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9599 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9600 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9603 @kindex B q (Summary)
9604 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9605 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9606 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9607 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9610 @kindex B t (Summary)
9611 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9612 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9613 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9616 @kindex B p (Summary)
9617 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9618 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9619 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9620 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9621 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9622 article from your news server (or rather, from
9623 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9624 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9625 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9626 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9627 just not have arrived yet.
9630 @kindex K E (Summary)
9631 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9632 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9633 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9634 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9635 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9639 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9640 @cindex moving articles
9641 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
9642 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9643 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9644 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9645 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9646 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9647 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9650 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9651 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9652 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9653 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9657 @node Various Summary Stuff
9658 @section Various Summary Stuff
9661 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9662 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9663 * Summary Generation Commands::
9664 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9668 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9669 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9670 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9672 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9673 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9674 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9675 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9676 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9677 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9680 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9681 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9682 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9683 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9684 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9686 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9687 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9688 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9691 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9692 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9693 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9694 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9695 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9696 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9697 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
9698 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9699 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9700 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9702 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9703 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9704 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9705 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9706 list of articles to be selected.
9708 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9709 the list in one particular group:
9712 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9713 (if (string= group "some.group")
9714 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9718 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9719 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9720 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9721 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9722 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9723 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9724 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9725 buffers. For example:
9728 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9729 '(message-use-followup-to
9730 (gnus-visible-headers .
9731 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9737 @node Summary Group Information
9738 @subsection Summary Group Information
9743 @kindex H f (Summary)
9744 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9745 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9746 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9747 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9748 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9749 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9750 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9751 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9752 be used for fetching the file.
9755 @kindex H d (Summary)
9756 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9757 Give a brief description of the current group
9758 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9759 rereading the description from the server.
9762 @kindex H h (Summary)
9763 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9764 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9765 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9768 @kindex H i (Summary)
9769 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9770 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9774 @node Searching for Articles
9775 @subsection Searching for Articles
9780 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9781 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9782 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9783 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9786 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9787 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9788 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9789 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9793 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9794 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9795 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9796 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9797 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9798 search backward instead.
9800 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9801 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9804 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9805 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9806 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9807 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9810 @node Summary Generation Commands
9811 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9816 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9817 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9818 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9821 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9822 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9823 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9824 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9829 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9830 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9836 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9837 @kindex A D (Summary)
9838 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9839 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9840 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9841 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9842 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9843 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9844 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9845 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9849 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9850 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9851 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9852 several documents into one biiig group
9853 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9854 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9855 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9856 command understands the process/prefix convention
9857 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9860 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9861 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9862 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9863 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9864 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9865 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9869 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9870 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9871 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9874 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9875 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9876 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9877 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9880 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9881 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9882 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9883 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9888 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9889 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9890 @cindex summary exit
9891 @cindex exiting groups
9893 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9894 group and return you to the group buffer.
9900 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9902 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9903 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9904 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9905 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9906 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9907 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9908 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9909 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9910 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9911 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9912 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9916 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9918 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9919 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9920 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9924 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9926 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9927 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9928 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9929 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9932 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9933 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9934 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9935 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9938 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9939 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9940 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9941 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9944 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9945 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9946 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9947 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9948 all articles, both read and unread.
9952 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9953 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9954 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9955 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9956 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9957 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9958 articles, both read and unread.
9961 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9962 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9963 Exit the group and go to the next group
9964 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9967 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9968 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9969 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9970 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9973 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9974 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9975 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9976 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9977 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9978 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9981 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9982 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9983 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9984 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9986 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9987 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9988 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9989 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9990 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9991 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9992 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9993 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9994 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9995 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9996 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9997 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9999 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10001 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10002 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10003 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10004 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10005 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10006 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10007 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10008 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10009 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10012 @node Crosspost Handling
10013 @section Crosspost Handling
10017 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10018 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10019 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10020 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10021 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10022 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10025 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10026 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10027 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10028 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10029 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10031 @cindex cross-posting
10034 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10035 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10036 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10037 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10038 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10039 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10040 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10041 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10042 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10043 the cross reference mechanism.
10045 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10046 @cindex overview.fmt
10047 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10048 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10049 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10050 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10051 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10052 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10055 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10056 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10057 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10062 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10065 @node Duplicate Suppression
10066 @section Duplicate Suppression
10068 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10069 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10070 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10071 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10076 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10077 is evil and not very common.
10080 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10081 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10084 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10085 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10088 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10091 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10092 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10094 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10095 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10096 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10097 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10098 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10099 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10100 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10103 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10104 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10105 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10106 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10107 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10108 saw the article in.
10111 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10112 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10113 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10115 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10116 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10117 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10118 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10119 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10120 session are suppressed.
10122 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10123 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10124 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10125 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10127 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10128 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10129 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10130 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10133 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10134 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10135 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10136 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10137 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10138 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10139 to you to figure out, I think.
10144 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10145 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10146 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10150 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10151 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10154 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10155 or newer is recommended.
10159 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10160 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10163 @item mm-verify-option
10164 @vindex mm-verify-option
10165 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10166 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10167 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10169 @item mm-decrypt-option
10170 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10171 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10172 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10173 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10178 @section Mailing List
10180 @kindex A M (summary)
10181 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10182 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10183 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10184 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10185 summary buffer, or say:
10188 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10191 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10196 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10197 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10198 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10201 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10202 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10203 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10206 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10207 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10208 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10212 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10213 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10214 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10217 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10218 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10219 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10222 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10223 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10224 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10228 @node Article Buffer
10229 @chapter Article Buffer
10230 @cindex article buffer
10232 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10233 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10234 tell gnus otherwise.
10237 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10238 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10239 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10240 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10241 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10245 @node Hiding Headers
10246 @section Hiding Headers
10247 @cindex hiding headers
10248 @cindex deleting headers
10250 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10251 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10253 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10254 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10255 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10256 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10257 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10258 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10259 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10260 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10261 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10263 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10267 @item gnus-visible-headers
10268 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10269 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10270 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10271 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10273 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10274 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10277 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10280 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10283 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10284 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10285 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10286 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10287 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10288 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10290 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10291 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10294 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10297 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10300 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10301 variable will have no effect.
10305 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10306 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10307 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10308 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10309 the headers are to be displayed.
10311 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10312 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10315 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10318 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10319 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10321 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10322 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10323 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10324 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10325 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10326 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10327 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10330 These conditions are:
10333 Remove all empty headers.
10335 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10336 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10338 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10339 @code{From} header.
10341 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10344 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10345 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10347 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10350 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10352 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10355 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10358 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10359 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10362 This is also the default value for this variable.
10366 @section Using MIME
10369 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10370 while people stand around yawning.
10372 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10373 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10375 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10376 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10377 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10379 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10380 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10381 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10382 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
10383 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10384 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10385 calls the @sc{semi} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
10386 information on @sc{semi} MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is
10387 not existed yet, sorry).
10389 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10390 @sc{mime} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set, then
10391 you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10392 These can't be avoided.
10394 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10395 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10396 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10397 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
10398 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
10399 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
10400 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
10401 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
10402 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
10405 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10407 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10408 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10409 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10410 buffer when there are nobody else.
10412 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10415 @node Customizing Articles
10416 @section Customizing Articles
10417 @cindex article customization
10419 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10420 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10421 called automatically when you select the articles.
10423 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10424 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10425 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10426 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10428 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10429 for sensible values.
10433 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10436 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10439 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10442 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10445 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10449 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10450 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10451 regexps in the list.
10454 A list where the first element is not a string:
10456 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10457 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10458 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10462 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10466 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10471 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10472 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10473 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10474 considered to contain just a single part.
10476 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10477 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10478 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10479 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10480 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10481 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10482 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10484 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10485 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10486 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10487 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10490 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10491 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10493 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10495 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10496 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10497 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10498 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10499 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10500 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10501 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10502 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10503 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10504 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10505 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
10507 @xref{Article Washing}.
10509 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10510 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10511 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10512 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10513 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10514 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10515 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10517 @xref{Article Date}.
10519 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10520 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10521 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10525 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10527 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10529 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10530 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10531 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10535 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10539 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10540 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10541 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10542 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10543 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10544 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10545 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10546 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10548 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10550 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10551 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10552 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10554 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10556 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10557 @item gnus-treat-translate
10558 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10560 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10561 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10562 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10563 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10565 @xref{Article Header}.
10570 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10571 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10572 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10573 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10574 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10578 @node Article Keymap
10579 @section Article Keymap
10581 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10582 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10583 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10584 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10587 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10592 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10593 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10594 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10597 @kindex DEL (Article)
10598 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10599 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10602 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10603 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10604 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10605 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10606 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10609 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10610 @findex gnus-article-mail
10611 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10612 given a prefix, include the mail.
10615 @kindex s (Article)
10616 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10617 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10618 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10621 @kindex ? (Article)
10622 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10623 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10624 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10627 @kindex TAB (Article)
10628 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10629 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10630 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10633 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10634 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10635 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10638 @kindex R (Article)
10639 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10640 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10641 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10642 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10646 @kindex F (Article)
10647 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10648 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10649 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10650 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10658 @section Misc Article
10662 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10663 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10664 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10665 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10668 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10669 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10671 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10672 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10674 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10675 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10676 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10677 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10678 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10679 the contents of the article buffer.
10681 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10682 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10683 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10685 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10686 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10687 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10688 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10690 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10691 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10692 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10693 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10694 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10700 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10701 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10702 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10707 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10710 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10713 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10714 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10715 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10718 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10721 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10724 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10729 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10733 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10735 @item gnus-break-pages
10736 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10737 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10738 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10739 paging will not be done.
10741 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10742 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10743 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10748 @node Composing Messages
10749 @chapter Composing Messages
10750 @cindex composing messages
10753 @cindex sending mail
10758 @cindex using s/mime
10759 @cindex using smime
10761 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10762 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10763 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10764 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10765 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10766 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10769 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10770 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10771 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10772 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10773 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10774 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10775 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10776 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10779 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10780 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10786 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10789 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10790 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10791 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10792 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10794 @item gnus-add-to-list
10795 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10796 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10797 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10799 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10800 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10801 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus requests confirmation when replying to news.
10802 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10803 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10808 @node Posting Server
10809 @section Posting Server
10811 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10812 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10814 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10816 It can be quite complicated.
10818 @vindex gnus-post-method
10819 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10820 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10821 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10822 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10823 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10824 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10825 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10826 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10827 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10830 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10833 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10834 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10835 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10836 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10838 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10839 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10841 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10842 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10845 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10846 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10848 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
10849 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
10850 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
10851 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
10852 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
10853 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
10854 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
10855 package correctly. An example:
10858 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
10859 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
10862 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
10863 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
10864 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
10866 Other possible choises for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
10867 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
10868 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
10870 @node Mail and Post
10871 @section Mail and Post
10873 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10877 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10878 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10879 @cindex mailing lists
10881 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10882 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10883 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10884 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10885 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10886 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10887 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10888 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10889 still a pain, though.
10893 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10894 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10895 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10898 @findex ispell-message
10900 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10903 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10904 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10907 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10911 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10912 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10914 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10917 Modify to suit your needs.
10920 @node Archived Messages
10921 @section Archived Messages
10922 @cindex archived messages
10923 @cindex sent messages
10925 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10926 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10927 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10928 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10931 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
10932 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
10935 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10936 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
10937 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10940 (nnfolder "archive"
10941 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10942 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10943 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10944 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10947 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10948 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10949 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10950 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10953 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10954 '(nnfolder "archive"
10955 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10956 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10957 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10960 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10962 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10963 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10964 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10966 This variable can be used to do the following:
10971 Messages will be saved in that group.
10973 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10974 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10975 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10976 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10977 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10978 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10979 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10980 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10984 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10986 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10987 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10990 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10995 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10997 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11000 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11002 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11005 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11007 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11008 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11009 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11010 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11013 More complex stuff:
11015 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11016 '((if (message-news-p)
11021 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11022 messages in one file per month:
11025 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11026 '((if (message-news-p)
11028 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11031 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11032 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11034 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11035 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11036 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11037 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11038 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11039 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11040 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11041 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11042 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11043 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11045 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11046 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11047 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11048 this will disable archiving.
11051 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11052 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11053 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11054 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11055 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11058 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11059 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11060 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11063 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11064 but the latter is the preferred method.
11066 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11067 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11068 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11070 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11071 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11072 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11073 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11074 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11075 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11076 changed in the future.
11081 @node Posting Styles
11082 @section Posting Styles
11083 @cindex posting styles
11086 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11088 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11089 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11090 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11093 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11094 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11095 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11096 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11097 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11102 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11103 (organization "What me?"))
11105 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11106 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11107 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11110 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11111 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11112 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11113 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11114 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11115 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11116 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11117 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11119 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11120 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11121 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11122 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11123 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. If it's a function symbol, that
11124 function will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol,
11125 then the variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list
11126 will be @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil}
11127 value, then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
11129 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11130 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11131 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11132 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11133 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11134 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11135 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11136 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11137 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11138 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11141 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11142 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11143 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11144 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11145 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11146 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11147 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11148 references chars lines xref extra.
11150 @vindex message-reply-headers
11152 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11153 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11154 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11156 @findex message-mail-p
11157 @findex message-news-p
11159 So here's a new example:
11162 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11164 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11166 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11167 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11169 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11170 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11171 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11172 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11173 (signature my-news-signature))
11174 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11175 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11176 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11177 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11178 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11179 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11180 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11181 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11182 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11183 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11185 (From (save-excursion
11186 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11187 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11189 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11192 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11193 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11194 if you fill many roles.
11196 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11197 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11198 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11199 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11200 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11201 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11202 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11203 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11208 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11210 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11212 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11213 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11216 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11219 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11220 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11227 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11228 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11229 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11230 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11231 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11233 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11234 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11235 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11236 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11237 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11241 @vindex nndraft-directory
11242 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11243 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11244 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11245 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11246 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11247 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11249 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11250 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11253 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11254 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11255 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11256 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11257 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11258 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11259 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11260 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11261 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11262 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11263 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11264 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11265 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11266 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11268 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11269 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11270 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11272 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11273 @kindex D e (Draft)
11274 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11275 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11276 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11278 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11281 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11282 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11283 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11284 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11285 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11286 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11287 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11290 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11291 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11292 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11295 @node Rejected Articles
11296 @section Rejected Articles
11297 @cindex rejected articles
11299 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11300 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11301 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11302 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11304 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11305 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11306 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11307 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11308 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11310 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11311 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11312 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11314 @node Signing and encrypting
11315 @section Signing and encrypting
11317 @cindex using s/mime
11318 @cindex using smime
11320 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11321 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11322 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11323 (@pxref{Security}).
11325 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11326 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11327 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11329 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11330 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11331 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11332 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11333 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11334 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11335 automatically encrypted messages.
11337 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11338 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11339 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11344 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11345 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11347 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11350 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11351 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11353 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11356 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11357 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11359 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11362 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11363 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11365 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11368 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11369 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11371 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11374 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11375 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11377 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11380 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11381 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11382 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11386 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11388 @node Select Methods
11389 @chapter Select Methods
11390 @cindex foreign groups
11391 @cindex select methods
11393 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11394 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11395 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11396 personal mail group.
11398 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11399 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11400 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11401 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11402 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11403 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11405 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11406 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11408 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11411 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11412 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11413 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11414 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11415 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11417 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11420 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11421 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11422 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11423 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11424 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11425 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11426 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11427 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11431 @node Server Buffer
11432 @section Server Buffer
11434 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11435 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11436 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11437 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11438 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11439 back end represents a virtual server.
11441 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11442 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11443 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11444 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11446 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11447 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11448 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11449 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11450 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11451 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11452 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11454 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11455 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11458 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11459 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11460 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11461 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11462 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11463 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11464 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11467 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11468 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11471 @node Server Buffer Format
11472 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11473 @cindex server buffer format
11475 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11476 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11477 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11478 variable, with some simple extensions:
11483 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11486 The name of this server.
11489 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11492 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11495 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11496 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11497 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11498 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11508 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11511 @node Server Commands
11512 @subsection Server Commands
11513 @cindex server commands
11519 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11520 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11524 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11525 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11528 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11529 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11530 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11534 @findex gnus-server-exit
11535 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11539 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11540 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11544 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11545 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11549 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11550 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11554 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11555 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11559 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11560 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11561 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11566 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11567 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11568 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11569 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11574 @node Example Methods
11575 @subsection Example Methods
11577 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11580 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11583 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11589 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11590 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11593 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11594 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11596 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11597 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11601 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11604 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11605 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11607 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11608 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11609 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11613 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11616 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11619 Here's the method for a public spool:
11623 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11624 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11630 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11631 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11632 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11633 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11634 should probably look something like this:
11638 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11639 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11640 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11641 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11644 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11645 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11646 configuration to the example above:
11649 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11652 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11654 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11655 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11656 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11660 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11661 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11662 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11663 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11666 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11667 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11668 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11669 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11672 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11673 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11675 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11676 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11678 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11679 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11680 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11682 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11684 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11685 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11686 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11687 will contain the following:
11697 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11698 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11699 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11702 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11703 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11704 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11707 @node Server Variables
11708 @subsection Server Variables
11710 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11711 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11712 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11713 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11714 won't change the "derived" variables.
11716 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11717 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11718 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11719 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11720 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11721 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11722 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11723 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11724 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11728 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11729 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11730 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11734 @node Servers and Methods
11735 @subsection Servers and Methods
11737 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11738 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11739 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11740 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11744 @node Unavailable Servers
11745 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11747 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11748 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11749 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11750 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11751 actually the case or not.
11753 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11754 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11755 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11756 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11757 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11758 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11759 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11760 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11762 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11763 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11765 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11766 with the following commands:
11772 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11773 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11774 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11778 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11779 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11780 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11784 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11785 Mark the current server as unreachable
11786 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11789 @kindex M-o (Server)
11790 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11791 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11792 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11795 @kindex M-c (Server)
11796 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11797 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11798 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11802 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11803 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11804 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11808 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11809 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11815 @section Getting News
11816 @cindex reading news
11817 @cindex news back ends
11819 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11820 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11821 or it can read from a local spool.
11824 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11825 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11833 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11834 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11835 server as the, uhm, address.
11837 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11838 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11839 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11840 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11842 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11843 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11844 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11846 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11851 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11852 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11853 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11855 @cindex authentification
11856 @cindex nntp authentification
11857 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11858 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11859 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11860 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11861 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11862 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11863 present in this hook.
11865 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11866 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11867 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11868 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11869 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11870 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11871 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11872 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11873 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11874 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11875 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11876 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11880 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11883 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11885 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11886 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11887 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11888 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11889 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11890 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11891 @samp{force} is explained below.
11895 Here's an example file:
11898 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11899 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11902 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11903 have to be first, for instance.
11905 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11906 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11907 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11908 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11909 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11910 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11911 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11913 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11914 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11920 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11921 previously mentioned.
11923 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11925 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11926 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11927 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11928 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11929 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11932 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11933 '(("innd" (ding))))
11936 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11938 The default value is
11941 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11942 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11943 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11946 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11947 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11949 @item nntp-maximum-request
11950 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11951 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11952 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11953 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11954 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11955 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11956 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11958 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11959 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11960 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11961 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11962 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11963 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11964 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11965 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11966 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11967 no timeouts are done.
11969 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11970 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11971 @c @cindex PPP connections
11972 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11973 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11974 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11975 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11976 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11977 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11978 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11979 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11980 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11981 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11983 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11984 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11985 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11986 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11987 @c described above.
11989 @item nntp-server-hook
11990 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11991 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11994 @item nntp-buggy-select
11995 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11996 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11998 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11999 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12000 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12001 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12004 @item nntp-xover-commands
12005 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12008 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12009 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12013 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12014 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12015 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12016 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12017 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12018 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12019 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12020 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12021 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12022 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12023 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12025 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12026 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12027 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12029 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12030 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12031 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12032 server closes connection.
12034 @item nntp-record-commands
12035 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12036 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12037 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12038 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12039 that doesn't seem to work.
12041 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12042 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12043 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12044 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12045 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12046 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12047 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12048 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12050 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12051 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12052 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12053 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12054 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12055 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12056 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12059 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12062 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12063 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12065 @item nntp-list-options
12066 @vindex nntp-list-options
12067 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12068 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12069 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12070 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12071 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12075 (setq gnus-select-method
12076 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12077 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12080 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12081 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12082 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12083 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12084 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12085 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12086 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12089 (setq gnus-select-method
12090 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12091 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12094 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12095 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12096 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12097 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12098 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12099 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12100 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12103 (setq gnus-select-method
12104 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12105 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12110 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12111 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12112 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12116 @node Direct Functions
12117 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12118 @cindex direct connection functions
12120 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12121 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12122 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12123 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12126 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12127 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12128 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12131 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12132 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12133 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12134 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12135 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12136 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12137 define a server as follows:
12140 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12142 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12143 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12145 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12146 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12147 (nntp-port-number 563)
12148 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12151 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12152 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12153 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12154 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12155 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12156 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12157 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12158 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12162 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12163 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12164 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12167 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12168 session, which is not a good idea.
12172 @node Indirect Functions
12173 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12174 @cindex indirect connection functions
12176 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12177 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12178 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12179 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12180 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12181 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12184 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12185 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12186 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12187 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12188 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12190 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12193 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12194 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12195 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12196 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12198 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12199 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12200 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12201 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12202 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12203 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12204 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12205 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12208 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12209 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12210 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12211 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12213 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12216 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12217 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12218 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12221 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12222 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12223 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12224 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12226 @item nntp-via-user-password
12227 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12228 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12230 @item nntp-via-envuser
12231 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12232 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12233 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12234 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12236 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12237 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12238 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12239 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12246 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12251 @item nntp-via-user-name
12252 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12253 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12255 @item nntp-via-address
12256 @vindex nntp-via-address
12257 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12262 @node Common Variables
12263 @subsubsection Common Variables
12265 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12266 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12271 @item nntp-pre-command
12272 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12273 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12274 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12275 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12276 wrapper for instance.
12279 @vindex nntp-address
12280 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12282 @item nntp-port-number
12283 @vindex nntp-port-number
12284 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12285 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12286 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12287 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12289 @item nntp-end-of-line
12290 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12291 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12292 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12293 using a non native connection function.
12295 @item nntp-telnet-command
12296 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12297 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12298 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12299 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12301 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12302 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12303 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12310 @subsection News Spool
12314 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12315 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12316 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12319 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12320 anything else) as the address.
12322 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12323 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12324 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12325 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12329 @item nnspool-inews-program
12330 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12331 Program used to post an article.
12333 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12334 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12335 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12337 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12338 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12339 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12340 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12342 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12343 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12344 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12345 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12347 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12348 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12349 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12351 @item nnspool-active-file
12352 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12353 The path to the active file.
12355 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12356 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12357 The path to the group descriptions file.
12359 @item nnspool-history-file
12360 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12361 The path to the news history file.
12363 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12364 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12365 The path to the active date file.
12367 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12368 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12369 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12372 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12373 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12375 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12376 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12377 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12383 @section Getting Mail
12384 @cindex reading mail
12387 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12391 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12392 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12393 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12394 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12395 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12396 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12397 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12398 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12399 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12400 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12401 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12402 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12403 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12407 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12408 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12410 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12411 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12412 of a culture shock.
12414 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12415 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12417 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12418 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12419 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12420 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12422 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12424 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12425 deleted? How awful!
12427 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12428 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12429 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12430 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12433 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12434 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12435 they want to treat a message.
12437 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12438 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12439 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12440 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12441 archived somewhere else.
12443 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12444 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12445 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12446 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12447 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12449 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12450 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12451 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12453 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12454 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12457 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12458 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12459 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12460 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12461 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12463 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12464 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12465 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12466 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12467 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12468 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12472 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12473 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12475 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12476 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12477 and things will happen automatically.
12479 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12480 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12483 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12486 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12487 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12488 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12489 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12490 like any other group.
12492 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12495 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12496 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12497 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12501 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12502 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12503 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12506 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12507 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12508 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12511 @node Splitting Mail
12512 @subsection Splitting Mail
12513 @cindex splitting mail
12514 @cindex mail splitting
12516 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12517 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12518 to be split into groups.
12521 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12522 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12523 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12524 ("mail.other" "")))
12527 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12528 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12529 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12530 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12531 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12532 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12533 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12536 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12539 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12540 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12541 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12542 mail belongs in that group.
12544 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12545 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12546 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12547 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12548 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12549 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12551 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12552 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12553 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12554 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12555 thinks should carry this mail message.
12557 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12558 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12559 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12560 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12562 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12563 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12564 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12565 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12566 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12568 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12571 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12572 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12573 links. If that's the case for you, set
12574 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12575 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12577 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12578 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12579 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12580 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12581 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12582 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12585 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12586 Header lines longer than the value of
12587 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12590 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12591 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12592 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12593 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12594 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12595 can be turned off completely by binding
12596 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12597 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12599 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12600 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12601 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12602 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12603 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12604 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12605 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12608 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12609 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12610 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12611 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12612 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12613 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12614 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12615 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12616 month's rent money.
12620 @subsection Mail Sources
12622 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12623 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12627 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12628 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12629 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12633 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12634 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12636 @cindex mail server
12639 @cindex mail source
12641 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12642 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12647 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12650 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12651 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12652 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12655 The following mail source types are available:
12659 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12665 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12666 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12667 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12670 An example file mail source:
12673 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12676 Or using the default path:
12682 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12683 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12684 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12687 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12691 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12694 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12698 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12701 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12703 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12706 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12710 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12711 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12712 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12713 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12714 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12715 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12716 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12717 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12718 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12719 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12721 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12722 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12723 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12724 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12730 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12734 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12738 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12739 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12740 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12741 predicate are considered.
12745 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12749 An example directory mail source:
12752 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12757 Get mail from a POP server.
12763 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12764 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12767 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12768 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12769 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12770 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12771 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12774 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12778 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12782 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12783 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12786 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12789 The valid format specifier characters are:
12793 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12794 included in this string.
12797 The name of the server.
12800 The port number of the server.
12803 The user name to use.
12806 The password to use.
12809 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12810 corresponding keywords.
12813 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12814 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12817 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12818 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12821 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12822 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12825 @item :authentication
12826 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12827 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12831 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
12832 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
12833 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
12834 programs and libraries:
12838 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
12839 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
12840 library @samp{ssl.el}.
12842 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
12843 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
12848 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
12849 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
12853 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12854 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12856 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12857 default user name, and default fetcher:
12863 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12866 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12867 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12870 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12873 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12877 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12878 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12879 contains exactly one mail.
12885 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12886 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12889 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12890 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12892 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12893 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12894 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12897 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12898 from locking problems).
12902 Two example maildir mail sources:
12905 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12906 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12910 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12915 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12916 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12917 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12918 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12921 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12922 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12928 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12929 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12932 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12933 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12936 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12940 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12944 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12945 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12946 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12947 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12949 @item :authentication
12950 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12951 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12952 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12953 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12956 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12957 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12958 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12964 The valid format specifier characters are:
12968 The name of the server.
12971 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12974 The port number of the server.
12977 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12978 corresponding keywords.
12981 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12982 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12985 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12986 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12987 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12988 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
12989 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12990 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
12993 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12994 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12995 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12996 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
12999 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13000 after finishing the fetch.
13004 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13007 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13009 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13013 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13014 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13015 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13017 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13018 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13020 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13026 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13027 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13030 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13034 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13038 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13039 folder after finishing the fetch.
13043 An example webmail source:
13046 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13048 :password "secret")
13053 @item Common Keywords
13054 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13060 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13061 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13065 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13070 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13071 useful when you use local mail and news.
13076 @subsubsection Function Interface
13078 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13079 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13080 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13081 consider the following mail-source setting:
13084 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13085 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13088 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13089 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13090 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13091 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13092 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13094 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13097 @node Mail Source Customization
13098 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13100 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13101 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13105 @item mail-source-crash-box
13106 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13107 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13108 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13110 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13111 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13112 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13114 @item mail-source-directory
13115 @vindex mail-source-directory
13116 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13117 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13118 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13121 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13122 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13123 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13124 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13125 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13126 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13128 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13129 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13130 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13132 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13133 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13134 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13135 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13140 @node Fetching Mail
13141 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13143 @vindex mail-sources
13144 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13145 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13146 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13147 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13149 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13150 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13153 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13154 mail server, you'd say something like:
13159 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13160 :password "secret")))
13163 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13167 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13168 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13171 :password "secret")))
13175 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13176 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13177 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13178 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13179 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13180 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13184 @node Mail Back End Variables
13185 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13187 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13191 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13192 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13193 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13194 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13196 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13197 @item nnmail-split-hook
13198 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13199 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13200 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13201 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13202 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13203 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13204 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13205 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13206 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13209 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13210 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13211 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13212 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13213 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13214 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13215 starting to handle the new mail) and
13216 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13217 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13218 default file modes the new mail files get:
13221 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13222 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13224 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13225 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13228 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13229 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13230 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13231 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13232 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13233 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13234 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13236 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13237 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13238 @findex delete-file
13239 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13241 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13242 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13243 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13244 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13245 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13247 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13248 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13249 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13250 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13251 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13253 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13254 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13255 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13260 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13261 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13262 @cindex mail splitting
13263 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13265 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13266 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13267 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13268 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13269 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13270 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13272 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13275 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13276 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13277 ;; from real errors.
13278 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13280 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13281 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13282 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13283 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13284 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13285 ;; Other mailing lists...
13286 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13287 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13288 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13289 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13290 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13291 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13292 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13293 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13295 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13296 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13300 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13301 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13302 the five possible split syntaxes:
13307 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13308 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13312 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13313 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13314 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13315 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13316 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13317 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13318 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13319 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13322 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13323 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13324 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13325 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13328 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13329 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13332 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13333 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13336 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13337 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13338 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13339 function should return a @var{split}.
13342 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13343 body of the messages:
13346 (defun split-on-body ()
13348 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13349 (goto-char (point-min))
13350 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13354 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13355 when the @code{:} function is run.
13358 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13359 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13360 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13364 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13368 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13369 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13370 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13371 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13372 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13374 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13375 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13376 are expanded as specified by the variable
13377 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13378 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13381 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13382 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13383 when all this splitting is performed.
13385 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13386 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13387 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13390 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13393 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13394 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13396 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13397 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13398 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13399 groupings 1 through 9.
13401 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13402 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13403 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13404 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13405 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13406 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13407 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13408 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13409 it once per thread.
13411 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13412 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13413 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13416 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13417 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13419 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13420 ;; other splits go here
13424 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13425 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13426 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13427 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13428 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13429 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13430 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13431 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13432 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13433 unless the group name matches the regexp
13434 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13435 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13436 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13437 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13438 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13439 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13440 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13441 messages goes into the new group.
13443 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13444 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13445 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13446 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13447 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13451 @node Group Mail Splitting
13452 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13453 @cindex mail splitting
13454 @cindex group mail splitting
13456 @findex gnus-group-split
13457 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13458 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13459 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13460 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13461 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13462 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13463 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13464 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13466 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13467 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13468 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13469 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13471 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13472 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13473 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13474 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13475 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13476 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13477 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13479 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13480 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13481 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13482 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13483 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13484 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13485 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13487 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13488 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13489 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13490 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13491 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13492 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13493 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13494 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13495 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13496 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13497 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13498 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13499 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13501 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13506 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13507 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13509 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13510 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13511 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13512 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13514 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13517 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13518 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13519 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13522 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13523 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13524 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13528 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13529 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13530 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13534 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13537 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13538 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13539 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13540 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13541 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13542 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13543 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13544 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13545 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13547 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13548 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13549 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13550 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13551 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13552 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13553 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13554 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13555 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13557 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13558 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13559 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13560 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13561 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13562 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13565 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13568 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13569 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13570 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13571 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13572 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13575 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13576 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13577 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13578 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13580 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13581 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13582 @cindex incorporating old mail
13583 @cindex import old mail
13585 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13586 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13587 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13590 Doing so can be quite easy.
13592 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13593 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13594 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13595 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13596 your @code{nnml} groups.
13602 Go to the group buffer.
13605 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13606 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13609 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13612 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13613 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13616 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13617 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13620 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13621 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13622 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13623 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13624 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13626 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13627 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13628 using the new mail back end.
13631 @node Expiring Mail
13632 @subsection Expiring Mail
13633 @cindex article expiry
13635 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13636 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13637 different approach to mail reading.
13639 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13640 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13641 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13642 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13643 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13644 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13647 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13648 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
13649 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
13650 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13651 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13652 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13653 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13654 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13655 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13657 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
13658 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
13659 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
13660 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
13661 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
13662 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
13663 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
13666 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
13667 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
13668 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
13669 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
13670 into its own group.)
13672 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
13673 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
13674 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
13675 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
13676 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
13677 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
13678 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
13679 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
13682 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13683 Groups that match the regular expression
13684 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
13685 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
13686 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
13688 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13689 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13690 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13691 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13694 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13696 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13697 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13698 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13701 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13702 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13703 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13704 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13705 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13707 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13708 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13711 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13712 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13715 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13716 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13718 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13719 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13720 don't really mix very well.
13722 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13723 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13724 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13725 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13728 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13729 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13730 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13731 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13734 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13736 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13738 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13740 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13742 ((string= group "important")
13748 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13749 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13751 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13752 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13753 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13756 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13757 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13759 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13760 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13761 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13762 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13763 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13764 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13765 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13766 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13767 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13768 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13769 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13770 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13771 name or @code{delete}.
13773 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13775 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13778 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13779 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13780 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13781 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13782 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13785 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13786 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13787 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13788 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13789 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13792 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13793 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13794 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13795 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13796 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13797 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13799 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13800 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13801 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13802 easier for procmail users.
13804 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13805 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13806 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13807 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13808 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13809 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13810 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13811 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13812 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13813 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13814 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13815 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13816 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13819 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13821 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13822 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13823 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13824 auto-expire turned on.
13828 @subsection Washing Mail
13829 @cindex mail washing
13830 @cindex list server brain damage
13831 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13833 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13834 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13835 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13836 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13837 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13838 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13840 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13841 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13842 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13845 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13846 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13847 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13848 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13851 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13852 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13853 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13854 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13855 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13858 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13859 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13860 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13861 Emacs running on MS machines.
13865 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13866 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13867 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13868 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13871 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13872 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13873 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13874 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13876 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
13877 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
13878 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
13879 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
13880 into a feature by documenting it.)
13882 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13883 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13884 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13885 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13886 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13887 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13888 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13891 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13892 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13895 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13896 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13899 This can also be done non-destructively with
13900 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13902 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13903 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13904 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13906 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13907 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13909 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13910 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13911 @code{References} headers.
13915 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13916 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13917 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13921 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13922 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13923 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13930 @subsection Duplicates
13932 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13933 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13934 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13935 @cindex duplicate mails
13936 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13937 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13938 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13939 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13940 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13941 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13942 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13943 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13944 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13945 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13946 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13947 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13948 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13950 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13951 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13952 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13953 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13955 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13958 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13959 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13963 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13964 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13965 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13966 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13967 (any mail "mail.misc")
13974 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13975 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13980 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13981 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13982 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13983 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13984 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13987 @node Not Reading Mail
13988 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13990 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13991 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13992 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13994 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13995 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13996 mail, which should help.
13998 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13999 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14000 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14001 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14002 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14003 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14004 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14005 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14006 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14007 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14008 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14010 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14011 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14015 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14016 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14018 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14019 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14020 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14022 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14023 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14024 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14025 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
14026 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
14027 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
14028 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
14031 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14032 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14033 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14034 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14035 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14036 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14040 @node Unix Mail Box
14041 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14043 @cindex unix mail box
14045 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14046 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14047 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14048 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14049 which group it belongs in.
14051 Virtual server settings:
14054 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14055 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14056 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14059 @item nnmbox-active-file
14060 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14061 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14062 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14064 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14065 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14066 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14067 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14072 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14076 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14077 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14078 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14079 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14080 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14082 Virtual server settings:
14085 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14086 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14087 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14089 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14090 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14091 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14092 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14094 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14095 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14096 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14102 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14104 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14106 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14107 format. It should be used with some caution.
14109 @vindex nnml-directory
14110 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14111 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14112 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14113 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14115 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14118 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14119 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14120 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14121 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14122 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14123 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14124 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14125 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14127 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14128 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14129 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14130 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14132 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14134 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14135 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14136 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14137 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14138 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14139 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14140 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14141 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14144 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14145 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14146 them next time it starts.
14148 Virtual server settings:
14151 @item nnml-directory
14152 @vindex nnml-directory
14153 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14154 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14157 @item nnml-active-file
14158 @vindex nnml-active-file
14159 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14160 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14162 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14163 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14164 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14165 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14167 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14168 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14169 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14172 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14173 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14174 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14175 default is @code{nil}.
14177 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14178 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14179 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14181 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14182 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14183 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14185 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14186 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14187 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14188 default is @code{nil}.
14190 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14191 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14192 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14194 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14195 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14196 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14201 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14202 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14203 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14204 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14205 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14206 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14207 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14212 @subsubsection MH Spool
14214 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14216 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14217 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14218 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14219 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14221 Virtual server settings:
14224 @item nnmh-directory
14225 @vindex nnmh-directory
14226 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14227 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14230 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14231 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14232 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14236 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14237 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14238 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14239 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14240 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14241 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14242 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14247 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14249 @cindex mbox folders
14250 @cindex mail folders
14252 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14253 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14254 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14257 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14259 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14260 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14261 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14262 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14263 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14264 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14265 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14266 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14267 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14268 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14270 Virtual server settings:
14273 @item nnfolder-directory
14274 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14275 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14276 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14279 @item nnfolder-active-file
14280 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14281 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14283 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14284 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14285 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14286 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14288 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14289 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14290 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14293 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14294 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14295 @cindex backup files
14296 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14297 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14298 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14299 your @file{.emacs} file:
14302 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14303 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14305 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14308 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14309 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14310 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14311 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14312 extract some information from it before removing it.
14314 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14315 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14316 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14317 default is @code{nil}.
14319 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14320 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14321 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14323 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14324 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14325 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14326 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14328 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14329 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14330 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14331 default is @code{nil}.
14333 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14334 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14335 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14337 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14338 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14339 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14340 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14345 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14346 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14347 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14348 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14349 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14350 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14353 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14354 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14356 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14357 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14358 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14359 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14360 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14362 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14363 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14364 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14365 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14366 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14367 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14368 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14369 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14372 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14373 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14374 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14375 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14380 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14381 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14382 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14383 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14384 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14385 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14386 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14387 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14388 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14389 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14390 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14391 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14392 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14397 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14398 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14399 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14400 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14401 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14402 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14403 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14404 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14405 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14406 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14407 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14408 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14409 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14410 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14412 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14413 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14418 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14419 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14420 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14421 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14422 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14423 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14424 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14425 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14426 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14427 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14428 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14429 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14430 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14431 provided by the active file and overviews.
14433 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14434 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
14435 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14436 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14437 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14440 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14441 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14446 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14447 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14448 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14449 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14450 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14451 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14452 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14456 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14457 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14458 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14459 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14460 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14461 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14462 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14463 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14464 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14466 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14467 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14468 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14469 friendly mail back end all over.
14473 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14474 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14475 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14476 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14477 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14478 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14479 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14480 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14483 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14484 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14485 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14486 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14487 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14488 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14489 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14490 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14491 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14492 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14493 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14495 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14496 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14497 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14498 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14499 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14500 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14501 This will probably be changed in the future.
14503 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14504 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14505 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14506 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14507 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14510 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14511 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14513 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14514 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14515 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14516 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14517 parameter to somthing small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14518 would) to make it use less memory.
14520 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14521 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14522 depending in part on your filesystem.
14524 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14525 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14530 @node Browsing the Web
14531 @section Browsing the Web
14533 @cindex browsing the web
14537 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14538 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14539 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14540 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14541 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14542 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14543 even know what a news group is.
14545 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14546 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14547 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14548 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14549 you mad in the end.
14551 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14554 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14555 interfaces to these sources.
14559 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14560 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14561 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14562 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14563 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14564 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14567 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14569 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14570 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14571 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14572 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14573 though, you should be ok.
14575 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14576 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14577 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14578 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14579 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14581 @node Archiving Mail
14582 @subsection Archiving Mail
14583 @cindex archiving mail
14584 @cindex backup of mail
14586 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14587 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14588 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14589 marks is fairly simple.
14591 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14592 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14595 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14596 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14597 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14598 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14599 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14600 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14601 might interfer with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14602 before you restore the data.
14604 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14605 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14606 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14607 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14608 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14609 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14610 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14611 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14612 is unnecessary in that case.
14615 @subsection Web Searches
14620 @cindex Usenet searches
14621 @cindex searching the Usenet
14623 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14624 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14625 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14626 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14627 searches without having to use a browser.
14629 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14630 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14631 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14632 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14633 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14635 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14636 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14637 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14638 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14639 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14640 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14641 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14642 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14643 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14644 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14647 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14648 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14649 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14650 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14651 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14652 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14654 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14655 to use @code{nnweb}.
14657 Virtual server variables:
14662 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14663 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14664 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14667 @vindex nnweb-search
14668 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14670 @item nnweb-max-hits
14671 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14672 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14675 @item nnweb-type-definition
14676 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14677 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14678 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14683 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14687 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14690 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14693 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14697 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14704 @subsection Slashdot
14708 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14709 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14710 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14712 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14713 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14716 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14717 '((nnslashdot "")))
14720 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14721 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14722 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14723 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14724 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14727 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14728 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14730 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14731 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14732 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14733 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14734 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14735 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14738 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14741 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14742 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14743 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14744 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14745 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14746 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14747 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14749 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14750 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14751 The login name to use when posting.
14753 @item nnslashdot-password
14754 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14755 The password to use when posting.
14757 @item nnslashdot-directory
14758 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14759 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14760 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14762 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14763 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14764 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14765 news articles and comments. The default is
14766 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14768 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14769 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14770 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14772 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14774 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14775 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14776 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14778 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14780 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14781 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14782 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14784 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14785 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14786 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14787 updated. The default is 0.
14794 @subsection Ultimate
14796 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14798 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14799 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14800 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14801 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14803 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14804 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14805 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14806 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14807 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14808 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14809 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14811 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14814 @item nnultimate-directory
14815 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14816 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14817 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14822 @subsection Web Archive
14824 @cindex Web Archive
14826 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14827 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14828 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14829 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14832 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14833 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14834 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14835 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14836 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14837 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14838 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14840 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14843 @item nnwarchive-directory
14844 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14845 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14846 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14848 @item nnwarchive-login
14849 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14850 The account name on the web server.
14852 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14853 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14854 The password for your account on the web server.
14862 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14863 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14864 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14867 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14868 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14871 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14874 @item nnrss-directory
14875 @vindex nnrss-directory
14876 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14877 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14881 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14882 the summary buffer.
14885 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14886 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14888 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14890 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14891 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14894 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14897 (require 'browse-url)
14899 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14901 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14904 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14905 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14908 (browse-url (cdr url))
14909 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
14910 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14912 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14913 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14914 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14915 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14918 @node Customizing w3
14919 @subsection Customizing w3
14925 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14926 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14927 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14929 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14930 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14931 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14934 (eval-after-load "w3"
14936 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14937 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14938 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14939 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14941 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14944 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14945 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14954 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14955 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14956 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14957 specify the network address of the server.
14959 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14960 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14961 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14962 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
14963 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
14965 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
14966 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
14967 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
14968 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
14970 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14971 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
14972 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14973 usage explained in this section.
14975 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14976 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
14977 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
14980 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14981 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14982 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14984 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14985 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14986 ; a UW server running on localhost
14988 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14989 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14990 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14991 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14992 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14993 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14994 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14995 (nnimap-stream network))
14996 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14998 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14999 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15000 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15003 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15008 @item nnimap-address
15009 @vindex nnimap-address
15011 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15012 server name if not specified.
15014 @item nnimap-server-port
15015 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15016 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
15018 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15021 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15022 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15025 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15026 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15027 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15028 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15029 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15030 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15031 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15033 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15034 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15035 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15038 Example server specification:
15041 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15042 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15043 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15046 @item nnimap-stream
15047 @vindex nnimap-stream
15048 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15049 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15050 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15051 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15053 Example server specification:
15056 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15057 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15060 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15064 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15065 @samp{imtest} program.
15067 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15069 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15070 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15073 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15074 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15075 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15077 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15079 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15082 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15083 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15084 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15085 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15086 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15087 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15088 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15089 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15090 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15093 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15094 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15095 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15096 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
15097 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15098 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15099 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15100 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15101 distribution, for instance).
15103 @vindex imap-shell-program
15104 @vindex imap-shell-host
15105 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15106 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15108 @item nnimap-authenticator
15109 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15111 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15112 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15114 Example server specification:
15117 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15118 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15121 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15125 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15126 external program @code{imtest}.
15128 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15131 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15132 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15134 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15136 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15138 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
15141 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15143 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15144 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15145 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15146 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15147 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15148 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15151 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15152 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15153 running in circles yet?
15155 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15156 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15159 The possible options are:
15164 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15167 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15168 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15169 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15170 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15172 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15177 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15178 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15180 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15181 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15182 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15183 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15184 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15187 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15188 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15191 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15192 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15193 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15194 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15197 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15198 as ticked for other users.
15200 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15202 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15204 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15205 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15206 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15207 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15209 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15210 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15211 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15212 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15214 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15215 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15217 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15218 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15219 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15225 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15226 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15227 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15228 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15229 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15234 @node Splitting in IMAP
15235 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15236 @cindex splitting imap mail
15238 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15239 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15240 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15241 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15242 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15246 Here are the variables of interest:
15250 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15251 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15253 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15255 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15256 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15258 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15260 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15261 @cindex splitting, inbox
15263 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15265 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15266 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15270 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15271 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15274 No nnmail equivalent.
15276 @item nnimap-split-rule
15277 @cindex Splitting, rules
15278 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15280 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15283 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15284 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15285 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15286 Neither did I, we need examples.
15289 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15291 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15292 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15293 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15296 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15297 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15298 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15300 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15301 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15305 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15308 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15309 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15311 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15312 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15313 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15314 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15316 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15317 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15318 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15319 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15320 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15321 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15323 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15324 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15325 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15327 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15328 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15329 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15331 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15333 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15334 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15335 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15338 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15339 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15340 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15341 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15342 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15343 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15346 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15347 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15348 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15349 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15350 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15351 group/function elements.
15353 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15355 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15357 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15359 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15360 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15362 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15363 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15364 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15367 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15368 @cindex splitting, fancy
15369 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15370 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15372 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15373 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15374 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15376 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15377 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15378 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15379 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15384 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15385 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15388 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15392 @node Expiring in IMAP
15393 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
15394 @cindex expiring imap mail
15396 Even though @sc{nnimap} is not a proper @sc{nnmail} derived backend,
15397 it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15398 Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do not clone
15399 the @sc{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating @var{nnimap-expiry-wait})
15400 but reuse the @sc{nnmail} variables. What follows below are the
15401 variables used by the @sc{nnimap} expiry process.
15403 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
15404 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
15405 @sc{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
15406 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
15407 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
15408 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
15409 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
15410 messages. Most do, fortunately.
15414 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
15415 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15417 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
15418 number, the symbol @var{immediate} or @var{never}.
15420 @item nnmail-expiry-target
15422 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
15423 @sc{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
15424 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
15425 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
15429 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15430 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15431 @cindex editing imap acls
15432 @cindex Access Control Lists
15433 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15435 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15437 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15438 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15439 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15442 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15443 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15444 editing window with detailed instructions.
15446 Some possible uses:
15450 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15451 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15452 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15454 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15455 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15456 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15460 @node Expunging mailboxes
15461 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15465 @cindex Manual expunging
15467 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15469 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15470 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15471 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15473 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15476 @node A note on namespaces
15477 @subsection A note on namespaces
15478 @cindex IMAP namespace
15481 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15482 following text in the RFC:
15485 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15487 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15488 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15489 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15490 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15492 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15493 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15494 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15495 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15496 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15497 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15500 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15501 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15502 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15504 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15505 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15506 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15507 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15508 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15509 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15510 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15511 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15513 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15514 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15515 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15517 @node Other Sources
15518 @section Other Sources
15520 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15521 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15525 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15526 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15527 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15528 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15529 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15533 @node Directory Groups
15534 @subsection Directory Groups
15536 @cindex directory groups
15538 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15539 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15542 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15543 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15544 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15545 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15547 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15548 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15549 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15550 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15551 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15553 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15555 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15556 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15557 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15558 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15561 @node Anything Groups
15562 @subsection Anything Groups
15565 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15566 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15567 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15570 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15571 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15572 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15573 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15574 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15575 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15576 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15577 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15578 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15579 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15582 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15583 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15584 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15585 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15587 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15588 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15589 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15590 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15592 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15593 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15594 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15595 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15596 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15597 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15598 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15599 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15604 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15605 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15606 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15607 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15609 @item nneething-exclude-files
15610 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15611 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15612 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15614 @item nneething-include-files
15615 @vindex nneething-include-files
15616 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15617 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15619 @item nneething-map-file
15620 @vindex nneething-map-file
15621 Name of the map files.
15625 @node Document Groups
15626 @subsection Document Groups
15628 @cindex documentation group
15631 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15632 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15639 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15644 The standard Unix mbox file.
15646 @cindex MMDF mail box
15648 The MMDF mail box format.
15651 Several news articles appended into a file.
15654 @cindex rnews batch files
15655 The rnews batch transport format.
15656 @cindex forwarded messages
15659 Forwarded articles.
15662 Netscape mail boxes.
15665 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15667 @item standard-digest
15668 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15671 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15673 @item lanl-gov-announce
15674 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15676 @item rfc822-forward
15677 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15680 The Outlook mail box.
15683 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15686 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15689 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15692 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15698 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15701 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15707 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15708 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15709 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15712 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15713 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15714 group. And that's it.
15716 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15717 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15718 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15719 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15720 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15721 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15722 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15723 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15724 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15725 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15727 Virtual server variables:
15730 @item nndoc-article-type
15731 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15732 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15733 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15734 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15735 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15736 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15738 @item nndoc-post-type
15739 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15740 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15741 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15746 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15750 @node Document Server Internals
15751 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15753 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15754 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15755 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15756 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15758 First, here's an example document type definition:
15762 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15763 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15766 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15767 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15768 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15769 types can be defined with very few settings:
15772 @item first-article
15773 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15774 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15777 @item article-begin
15778 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15779 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15781 @item head-begin-function
15782 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15785 @item nndoc-head-begin
15786 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15789 @item nndoc-head-end
15790 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15791 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15793 @item body-begin-function
15794 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15798 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15801 @item body-end-function
15802 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15806 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15809 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15810 regexp will be totally ignored.
15814 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15815 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15816 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15817 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15818 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15821 @item prepare-body-function
15822 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15823 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15824 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15826 @item article-transform-function
15827 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15828 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15829 body of the article.
15831 @item generate-head-function
15832 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15833 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15834 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15835 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15839 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15844 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15845 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15846 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15847 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15848 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15849 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15850 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15851 (subtype digest guess))
15854 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15855 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15856 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15857 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15858 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15860 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15861 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15862 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15863 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15864 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
15865 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15866 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15867 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15868 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15869 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15877 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15878 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15879 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15881 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15882 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15883 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15886 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15887 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15888 that interested in doing things properly.
15890 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15891 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15894 First some terminology:
15899 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15900 get news and/or mail from.
15903 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15904 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15907 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15911 @item message packets
15912 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15913 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15914 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15916 @item response packets
15917 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15918 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15919 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15929 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15930 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15931 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15932 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15935 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15938 You put the packet in your home directory.
15941 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15942 the native or secondary server.
15945 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15946 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15949 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15953 You transfer this packet to the server.
15956 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15959 You then repeat until you die.
15963 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15964 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15967 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15968 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15969 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15973 @node SOUP Commands
15974 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15976 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15980 @kindex G s b (Group)
15981 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15982 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15983 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15984 process/prefix convention.
15987 @kindex G s w (Group)
15988 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15989 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15992 @kindex G s s (Group)
15993 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15994 Send all replies from the replies packet
15995 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15998 @kindex G s p (Group)
15999 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16000 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16003 @kindex G s r (Group)
16004 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16005 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16008 @kindex O s (Summary)
16009 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16010 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16011 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16012 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16017 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16022 @item gnus-soup-directory
16023 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16024 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16025 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16027 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16028 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16029 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16030 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16032 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16033 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16034 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16035 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16037 @item gnus-soup-packer
16038 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16039 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16040 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16042 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16043 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16044 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16045 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16047 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16048 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16049 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16051 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16052 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16053 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16054 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16060 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16063 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16064 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16065 you can read them at leisure.
16067 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16071 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16072 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16073 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16074 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16076 @item nnsoup-directory
16077 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16078 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16079 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16081 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16082 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16083 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16084 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
16086 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16087 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16088 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16089 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16090 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16092 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16093 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16094 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16095 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16097 @item nnsoup-active-file
16098 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16099 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16100 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16101 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16102 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16104 @item nnsoup-packer
16105 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16106 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16107 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16109 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16110 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16111 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16112 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16114 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16115 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16116 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16119 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16120 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16121 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16124 @item nnsoup-always-save
16125 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16126 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16132 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16134 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16135 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16136 more for that to happen.
16138 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16139 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16140 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16143 In specific, this is what it does:
16146 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16147 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16150 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16151 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16152 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16155 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16156 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16157 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16160 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16161 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16162 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16164 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16170 @item nngateway-address
16171 @vindex nngateway-address
16172 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16174 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16175 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16176 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16177 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16178 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16179 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16180 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16183 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16184 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16185 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16188 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16191 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16194 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16197 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16199 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16202 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16203 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16204 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16206 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16208 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16209 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16210 @code{nngateway-address}.
16215 (setq gnus-post-method
16217 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16218 (nngateway-header-transformation
16219 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16227 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16230 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16235 @node Combined Groups
16236 @section Combined Groups
16238 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16242 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16243 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16247 @node Virtual Groups
16248 @subsection Virtual Groups
16250 @cindex virtual groups
16251 @cindex merging groups
16253 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16256 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16257 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16258 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16260 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16261 regexp to match component groups.
16263 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16264 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16265 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16266 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16267 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16268 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16269 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16270 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16272 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16273 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16276 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16279 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16280 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16282 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16283 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16284 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16285 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16288 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16291 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16292 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16293 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16295 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16296 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16297 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16298 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16299 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16301 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16302 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16303 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16305 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16306 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16307 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16308 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16309 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16310 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16311 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16312 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16313 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16314 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16315 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16317 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16318 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16319 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16320 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16321 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16322 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16323 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16325 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16326 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16328 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16329 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16333 @node Kibozed Groups
16334 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16338 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16339 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16340 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16341 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16343 @kindex G k (Group)
16344 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16347 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16348 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16349 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16350 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16352 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16353 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16354 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16356 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16357 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16358 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16359 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16360 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16361 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16362 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16363 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16365 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16366 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16367 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16368 Stranger things have happened.
16370 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16371 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16373 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16374 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16375 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16376 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16377 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16378 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16380 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16381 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16384 @node Gnus Unplugged
16385 @section Gnus Unplugged
16390 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16392 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16393 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16394 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16395 read news. Believe it or not.
16397 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16398 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16399 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16400 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16401 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16403 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16404 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16405 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16406 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16407 reading news on a machine.
16409 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16410 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16412 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16415 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16416 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16417 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16418 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16419 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16420 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16421 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16422 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16423 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16424 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16425 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16430 @subsection Agent Basics
16432 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16434 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16435 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16436 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16437 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16439 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16440 connected to the net continuously.
16442 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16443 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16445 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16450 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16451 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16452 already fetched while in this mode.
16455 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16456 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16457 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16458 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16459 Source Specifiers}).
16462 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16463 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16464 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16465 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16466 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16469 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16470 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16471 then you read the news offline.
16474 And then you go to step 2.
16477 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16483 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16484 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16485 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16486 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16487 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16488 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16489 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16490 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16493 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16500 @node Agent Categories
16501 @subsection Agent Categories
16503 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16504 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16505 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16506 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16507 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16508 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16509 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16511 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16512 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16513 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16514 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16515 managing categories.
16518 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16519 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16520 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16524 @node Category Syntax
16525 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16527 A category consists of two things.
16531 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16532 are eligible for downloading; and
16535 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16536 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16537 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16540 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16541 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16542 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16543 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16545 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16546 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16547 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16549 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16550 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16551 operators sprinkled in between.
16553 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16555 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16556 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16562 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16563 short (for some value of ``short'').
16565 Here's a more complex predicate:
16574 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16575 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16578 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16579 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16580 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16582 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16583 you want to do, you can write your own.
16587 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16588 lines; default 100.
16591 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16592 lines; default 200.
16595 True iff the article has a download score less than
16596 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16599 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16600 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16603 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16604 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16605 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16614 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16615 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16616 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16619 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16620 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16621 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16622 something along the lines of the following:
16625 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16626 "Say whether an article is old."
16627 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16628 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16631 with the predicate then defined as:
16634 (not my-article-old-p)
16637 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16638 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16642 (require 'gnus-agent)
16643 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16644 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16645 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16648 and simply specify your predicate as:
16654 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16655 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16656 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16657 just don't give a damn.
16659 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16660 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16661 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16662 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16663 parameters like so:
16666 (agent-predicate . short)
16669 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16670 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16671 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16673 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16676 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16679 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16680 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16681 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16684 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16685 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16686 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16687 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16688 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16689 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16691 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16692 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16693 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16694 if it's to be specific to that group.
16696 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16703 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16704 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16710 Category specification
16714 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16720 Group Parameter specification
16723 (agent-score ("from"
16724 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16729 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16735 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16742 Category specification
16745 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16751 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16755 Group Parameter specification
16758 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16761 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16766 Use @code{normal} score files
16768 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16769 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16770 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16771 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16773 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16774 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16775 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16776 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16780 Category Specification
16787 Group Parameter specification
16790 (agent-score . file)
16795 @node Category Buffer
16796 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16798 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16799 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16800 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16802 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16806 @kindex q (Category)
16807 @findex gnus-category-exit
16808 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16811 @kindex k (Category)
16812 @findex gnus-category-kill
16813 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16816 @kindex c (Category)
16817 @findex gnus-category-copy
16818 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16821 @kindex a (Category)
16822 @findex gnus-category-add
16823 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16826 @kindex p (Category)
16827 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16828 Edit the predicate of the current category
16829 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16832 @kindex g (Category)
16833 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16834 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16835 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16838 @kindex s (Category)
16839 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16840 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16841 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16844 @kindex l (Category)
16845 @findex gnus-category-list
16846 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16850 @node Category Variables
16851 @subsubsection Category Variables
16854 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16855 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16856 Hook run in category buffers.
16858 @item gnus-category-line-format
16859 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16860 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16861 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16865 The name of the category.
16868 The number of groups in the category.
16871 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16872 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16873 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16875 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16876 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16877 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16879 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16880 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16881 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16883 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16884 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16885 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16888 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16889 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16890 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16896 @node Agent Commands
16897 @subsection Agent Commands
16899 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16900 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16901 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16905 * Group Agent Commands::
16906 * Summary Agent Commands::
16907 * Server Agent Commands::
16910 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
16911 following incantation:
16913 @cindex gnus-agent-batch
16915 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch
16920 @node Group Agent Commands
16921 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16925 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16926 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16927 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16928 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16931 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16932 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16933 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16936 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16937 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16938 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16939 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16942 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16943 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
16944 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
16945 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
16948 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16949 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16950 Add the current group to an Agent category
16951 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16952 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16955 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16956 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16957 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16958 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16959 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16962 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16963 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16964 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16970 @node Summary Agent Commands
16971 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16975 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16976 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16977 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16980 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16981 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16982 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16983 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16986 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16987 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16988 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16991 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16992 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16993 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16996 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16997 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16998 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16999 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17004 @node Server Agent Commands
17005 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17009 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17010 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17011 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17012 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17015 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17016 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17017 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17018 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17023 @node Agent as Cache
17024 @subsection Agent as Cache
17026 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17027 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17028 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17029 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17030 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17031 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17032 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17033 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17034 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17036 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17037 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
17040 @subsection Agent Expiry
17042 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17043 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17044 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17045 @cindex Agent expiry
17046 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17049 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
17050 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
17051 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
17052 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
17053 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
17054 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
17056 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
17057 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
17058 expiry in different groups.
17061 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
17067 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
17068 method---it must always match all groups.
17070 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17071 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
17072 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
17073 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
17074 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
17076 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17077 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17078 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
17079 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
17081 @node Agent and IMAP
17082 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17084 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17085 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17086 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17087 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17089 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17090 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
17091 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17092 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17094 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17095 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17096 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17097 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17099 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17100 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17101 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17102 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17103 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17104 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17106 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17107 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17108 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17109 in the group buffer.
17111 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17112 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17117 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17120 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17124 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17125 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17126 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17127 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17128 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17129 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17130 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17131 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17134 @node Outgoing Messages
17135 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17137 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17138 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17139 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17141 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17142 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17143 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17144 messages in the draft group.
17148 @node Agent Variables
17149 @subsection Agent Variables
17152 @item gnus-agent-directory
17153 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17154 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17155 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17157 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17158 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17159 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17160 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17161 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17164 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17165 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17166 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17168 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17169 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17170 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17172 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17173 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17174 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17176 @item gnus-agent-cache
17177 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17178 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17179 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17180 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17182 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17183 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17184 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17185 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17186 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17187 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17188 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17191 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17192 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17193 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17194 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17195 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17196 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17197 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17198 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17199 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17204 @node Example Setup
17205 @subsection Example Setup
17207 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17208 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17209 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17212 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17213 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17214 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17216 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17217 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17218 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17220 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17221 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17223 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17224 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17225 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17228 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17229 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17232 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17233 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17234 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17235 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17236 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17239 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17240 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17241 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17242 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17243 back all the killed groups.)
17245 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17246 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17247 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17250 @node Batching Agents
17251 @subsection Batching Agents
17253 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17254 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17255 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17259 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
17263 @node Agent Caveats
17264 @subsection Agent Caveats
17266 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17267 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17271 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17275 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17277 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17281 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17282 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17283 locally stored articles.
17290 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17291 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17292 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17295 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17296 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17297 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17298 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17299 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17301 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17302 before generating the summary buffer.
17304 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17305 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17306 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17308 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17309 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17310 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17311 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17314 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17315 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17316 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17317 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17318 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17319 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17320 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17321 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17322 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17323 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17324 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17325 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17326 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17327 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17328 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17329 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17330 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17334 @node Summary Score Commands
17335 @section Summary Score Commands
17336 @cindex score commands
17338 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17339 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17340 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17341 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17342 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17344 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17345 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17346 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17347 score file the current one.
17349 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17354 @kindex V s (Summary)
17355 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17356 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17359 @kindex V S (Summary)
17360 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17361 Display the score of the current article
17362 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17365 @kindex V t (Summary)
17366 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17367 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17368 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17371 @kindex V w (Summary)
17372 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17373 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17376 @kindex V R (Summary)
17377 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17378 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17379 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17380 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17381 effect you're having.
17384 @kindex V c (Summary)
17385 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17386 Make a different score file the current
17387 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17390 @kindex V e (Summary)
17391 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17392 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17393 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17397 @kindex V f (Summary)
17398 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17399 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17400 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17403 @kindex V F (Summary)
17404 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17405 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17406 after editing score files.
17409 @kindex V C (Summary)
17410 @findex gnus-score-customize
17411 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17412 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17416 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17421 @kindex V m (Summary)
17422 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17423 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17424 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17427 @kindex V x (Summary)
17428 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17429 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17430 expunge all articles below this score
17431 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17434 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17435 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17438 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17439 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17443 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17444 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17446 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17447 keys are available:
17451 Score on the author name.
17454 Score on the subject line.
17457 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17460 Score on the @code{References} line.
17466 Score on the number of lines.
17469 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17472 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17473 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17476 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17477 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17478 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17487 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17493 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17494 what headers you are scoring on.
17506 Substring matching.
17509 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17538 Greater than number.
17543 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17544 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17545 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17550 Temporary score entry.
17553 Permanent score entry.
17556 Immediately scoring.
17560 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17561 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17562 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17566 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17567 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17568 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17569 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17571 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17572 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17573 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17574 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17575 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17577 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17578 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17579 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17580 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17581 current score file.
17583 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17584 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17585 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17588 @node Group Score Commands
17589 @section Group Score Commands
17590 @cindex group score commands
17592 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17597 @kindex W f (Group)
17598 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17599 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17600 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17601 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17605 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17607 @findex gnus-batch-score
17608 @cindex batch scoring
17610 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17614 @node Score Variables
17615 @section Score Variables
17616 @cindex score variables
17620 @item gnus-use-scoring
17621 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17622 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17623 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17625 @item gnus-kill-killed
17626 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17627 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17628 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17629 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17630 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17631 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17632 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17634 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17635 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17636 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17637 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17638 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17640 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17641 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17642 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17643 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17645 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17646 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17647 @cindex score cache
17648 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17649 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17650 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
17651 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17652 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17653 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17656 @item gnus-save-score
17657 @vindex gnus-save-score
17658 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17659 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17660 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17662 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17663 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17664 across group visits.
17666 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17667 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17668 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17669 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17670 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17671 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17672 manually entered data.
17674 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17675 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17676 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17678 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17679 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17680 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17681 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17682 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17683 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17685 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17686 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17687 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17688 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17690 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17691 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17692 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17693 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17695 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17696 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17697 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17698 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17700 Predefined functions available are:
17703 @item gnus-score-find-single
17704 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17705 Only apply the group's own score file.
17707 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17708 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17709 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17710 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17711 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17712 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17713 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17714 then a regexp match is done.
17716 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17717 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17719 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17720 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17721 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17722 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17724 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17725 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17726 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17727 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17728 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17732 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17733 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17734 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17735 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17736 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17737 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17738 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17741 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17742 overall score file, you could use the value
17744 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17745 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17748 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17749 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17750 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17751 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17752 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17754 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17755 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17756 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17757 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17758 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17759 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17760 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17761 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17763 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17764 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17765 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17767 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17768 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17769 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17770 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17771 threading---according to the current value of
17772 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17773 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17774 simplified in this manner.
17779 @node Score File Format
17780 @section Score File Format
17781 @cindex score file format
17783 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17784 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17785 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17787 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17791 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17793 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17795 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17797 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17802 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17806 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17807 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17808 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17809 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17813 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17814 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17816 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17817 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17818 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17820 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17825 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17826 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17827 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17828 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17829 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17830 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17831 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17832 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17833 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17834 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17835 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17836 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17837 to articles that matches these score entries.
17839 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17840 score entry has one to four elements.
17844 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17845 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17849 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17850 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17851 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17852 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17853 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17854 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17857 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17858 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17859 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17860 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17861 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17864 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17865 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17866 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17867 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17870 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17871 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17872 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17873 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17874 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17875 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17876 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17877 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17878 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17879 instead, if you feel like.
17882 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
17883 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
17884 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
17885 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
17886 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
17887 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
17890 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
17894 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17895 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17897 These predicates are true if
17900 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17903 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17904 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17911 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17912 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17913 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17914 it's not. I think.)
17916 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17917 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17918 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17919 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17922 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17923 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17924 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17925 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17926 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17927 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17928 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17932 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17933 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17934 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17935 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17936 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17937 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17938 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17939 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17942 @item Head, Body, All
17943 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17947 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17948 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17949 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17950 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17951 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17952 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17953 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17957 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17958 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17959 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17960 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17961 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17962 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17963 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17964 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17965 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17966 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17967 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17971 @cindex Score File Atoms
17973 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17974 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17977 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17978 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17980 @item mark-and-expunge
17981 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17982 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
17985 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
17986 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
17987 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
17988 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
17989 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
17992 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
17993 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
17996 @item exclude-files
17997 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
17998 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18002 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18003 ignored when handling global score files.
18006 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18007 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18008 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18009 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18012 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18013 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18014 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18015 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18017 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18021 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18024 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18025 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18026 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18027 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18028 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18030 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18031 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18032 scoring rules exist.
18035 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18036 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18037 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18038 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18039 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18040 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18041 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18042 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18043 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18044 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18045 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18049 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18050 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18051 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18052 file for a number of groups.
18055 @cindex local variables
18056 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
18057 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
18058 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
18059 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
18060 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
18064 @node Score File Editing
18065 @section Score File Editing
18067 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18068 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18069 with a mode for that.
18071 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18072 additional commands:
18077 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18078 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18079 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18080 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18083 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18084 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18085 Insert the current date in numerical format
18086 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18087 you were wondering.
18090 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18091 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18092 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18093 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18094 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18099 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18101 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18102 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18104 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18105 e} to begin editing score files.
18108 @node Adaptive Scoring
18109 @section Adaptive Scoring
18110 @cindex adaptive scoring
18112 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18113 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18114 stupidity, to be precise.
18116 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18117 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18118 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18119 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18120 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18121 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18122 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18123 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18124 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18126 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18127 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18128 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18129 might look something like this:
18132 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18133 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18134 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18135 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18136 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18137 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18138 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18139 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18140 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18141 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18142 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18143 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18146 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18147 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18148 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18149 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18150 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18151 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18154 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18155 will be applied to each article.
18157 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18158 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18159 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18160 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18162 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18163 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18164 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18165 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18167 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18168 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18169 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18170 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18172 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18173 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18174 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18175 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18176 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18177 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18179 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
18180 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
18181 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
18182 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
18183 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
18184 aspirins afterwards.)
18186 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18187 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18188 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18190 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18191 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18192 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18194 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18195 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18196 let you use different rules in different groups.
18198 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18199 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18200 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18203 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18204 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18205 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18206 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18207 the length of the match is less than
18208 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18209 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18212 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18213 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18214 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18215 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18216 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18219 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18220 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18221 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18222 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18223 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18226 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18227 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18228 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18229 score with 30 points.
18231 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18232 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18233 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18234 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18235 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18237 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18238 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18239 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18240 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18241 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
18243 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18244 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18245 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18246 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18248 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18249 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18250 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18251 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18253 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18254 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18255 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18256 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18257 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18259 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18260 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18261 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18263 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18264 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18265 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18266 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18269 @node Home Score File
18270 @section Home Score File
18272 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18273 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18274 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18275 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18277 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18278 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18279 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18281 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18282 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18287 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18291 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18292 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18296 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18300 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18301 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18304 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18305 the home score file.
18308 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18311 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18316 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18319 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18320 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18323 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18324 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18326 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18328 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18329 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18332 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18333 Other functions include
18336 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18337 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18338 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18339 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18343 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18344 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18345 their own home score files:
18348 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18349 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18350 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18351 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18352 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18355 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18356 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18357 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18358 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18359 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18361 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18362 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18363 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18364 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18365 precedence over this variable.
18368 @node Followups To Yourself
18369 @section Followups To Yourself
18371 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18372 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18373 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18374 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18375 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18376 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18380 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18381 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18382 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18385 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18386 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18387 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18391 @vindex message-sent-hook
18392 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18393 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18395 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18399 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18400 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18404 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18405 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18408 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18409 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18414 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18418 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18419 is system-dependent.
18422 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18423 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18424 @cindex scoring on other headers
18426 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18427 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18428 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18429 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18430 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18432 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18433 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18434 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18435 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18436 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18438 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18441 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18442 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18445 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18446 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18447 time if you have much mail.
18449 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18450 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18456 @section Scoring Tips
18457 @cindex scoring tips
18463 @cindex scoring crossposts
18464 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18465 the @code{Xref} header.
18467 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18470 @item Multiple crossposts
18471 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18472 more than, say, 3 groups:
18475 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18479 @item Matching on the body
18480 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18481 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18482 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18483 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18484 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18485 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18486 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18489 @item Marking as read
18490 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18491 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18492 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18496 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18498 @item Negated character classes
18499 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18500 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18501 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18505 @node Reverse Scoring
18506 @section Reverse Scoring
18507 @cindex reverse scoring
18509 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18510 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18511 like this in your score file:
18515 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18520 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18521 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18524 @node Global Score Files
18525 @section Global Score Files
18526 @cindex global score files
18528 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18529 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18530 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18532 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18533 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18534 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18536 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18537 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18538 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18539 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18540 files are applicable to which group.
18542 To use the score file
18543 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18544 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18548 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18549 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18550 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18553 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18555 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18556 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18557 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18558 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18560 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18561 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18563 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18564 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18565 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18566 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18567 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18568 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18570 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18576 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18578 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18580 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18582 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18583 lowered out of existence.
18585 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18586 articles completely.
18589 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18590 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18591 old articles for a long time.
18594 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18595 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18596 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18597 holding our breath yet?
18601 @section Kill Files
18604 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18605 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18606 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18608 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18609 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18610 files into score files.
18612 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18613 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18614 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18615 that isn't a very good idea.
18617 Normal kill files look like this:
18620 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18621 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18625 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18626 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18628 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18629 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18632 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18637 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18638 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18639 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18642 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18643 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18644 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18647 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18652 @kindex M-k (Group)
18653 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18654 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18657 @kindex M-K (Group)
18658 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18659 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18662 Kill file variables:
18665 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18666 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18667 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18668 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18669 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18670 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18671 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18673 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18674 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18675 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18676 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18679 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18680 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18681 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18682 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18683 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18684 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18685 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18686 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18687 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18689 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18690 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18691 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18696 @node Converting Kill Files
18697 @section Converting Kill Files
18699 @cindex converting kill files
18701 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18702 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18703 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18706 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18707 You can fetch it from
18708 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18710 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18711 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18712 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18720 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18721 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18722 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18723 news articles generated every day.
18725 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18726 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18727 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18728 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18729 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18730 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18731 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18732 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18735 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18736 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18739 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18740 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18741 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18742 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18746 @node Using GroupLens
18747 @subsection Using GroupLens
18749 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18751 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18752 better bit in town at the moment.
18754 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18758 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18759 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18760 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18761 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18763 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18764 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18765 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18766 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18768 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18769 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18770 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18774 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18775 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18776 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18777 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18778 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18779 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18782 @node Rating Articles
18783 @subsection Rating Articles
18785 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18786 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18787 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18788 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18791 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18796 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18797 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18798 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18801 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18802 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18803 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18804 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18805 threads in rec.humor.
18809 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18810 the score of the article you're reading.
18815 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18816 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18817 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18820 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18821 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18822 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18826 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18827 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18830 @node Displaying Predictions
18831 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18833 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18834 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18835 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18836 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18837 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18839 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18840 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18841 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18842 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18843 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18844 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18845 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18846 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18847 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18848 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18849 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18850 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18851 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18853 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18854 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18855 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18856 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18858 The following are valid values for that variable.
18861 @item prediction-spot
18862 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18865 @item confidence-interval
18866 A numeric confidence interval.
18868 @item prediction-bar
18869 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18871 @item confidence-bar
18872 Numerical confidence.
18874 @item confidence-spot
18875 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18877 @item prediction-num
18878 Plain-old numeric value.
18880 @item confidence-plus-minus
18881 Prediction +/- confidence.
18886 @node GroupLens Variables
18887 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18891 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18892 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18893 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18894 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18897 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18898 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18901 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18902 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18904 @item grouplens-score-offset
18905 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18906 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18909 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18910 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18911 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18916 @node Advanced Scoring
18917 @section Advanced Scoring
18919 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18920 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18921 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18922 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18923 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18925 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18929 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18930 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18931 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18935 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18936 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18938 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18939 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18940 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18941 non-@code{nil} value.
18943 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18944 operator, and various match operators.
18951 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18952 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18953 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18958 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18959 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18960 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18965 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18966 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18970 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18971 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18972 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18973 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18974 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18975 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18976 the ancestry you want to go.
18978 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18979 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18980 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18981 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18982 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
18985 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
18986 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
18988 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
18989 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
18992 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
18993 when he's talking about Gnus:
18997 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18998 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19004 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19008 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19015 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19016 really don't want to read what he's written:
19020 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19021 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19025 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19026 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19027 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19034 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19035 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19036 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19037 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19041 The possibilities are endless.
19044 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19045 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19047 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19048 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19049 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19050 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19051 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19052 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19053 @samp{subject}) first.
19055 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19056 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19067 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19068 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19074 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19081 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19082 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19087 @section Score Decays
19088 @cindex score decays
19091 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19092 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19093 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19094 use them in any sensible way.
19096 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19097 @findex gnus-decay-score
19098 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19099 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19100 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19101 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19102 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19103 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19104 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19105 definition of that function:
19108 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19110 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19111 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19114 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19116 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19118 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19121 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19122 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19123 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19124 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19128 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19131 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19134 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19138 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19139 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19140 the new score, which should be an integer.
19142 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19143 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19148 @include message.texi
19149 @chapter Emacs MIME
19150 @include emacs-mime.texi
19152 @include sieve.texi
19154 @c @include pgg.texi
19162 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19163 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19164 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19165 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19166 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19167 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19168 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19169 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19170 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19171 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19172 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19173 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19174 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19175 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19176 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19177 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19178 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19179 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19180 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19184 @node Process/Prefix
19185 @section Process/Prefix
19186 @cindex process/prefix convention
19188 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19189 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19191 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19192 command to be performed on.
19196 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19197 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19198 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19199 with the current one.
19201 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19202 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19203 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19205 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19206 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19209 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19210 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19212 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19215 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19216 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19217 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19218 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19220 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19221 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19222 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19223 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19224 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19225 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19226 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19227 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19229 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19230 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19231 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19232 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19233 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19237 @section Interactive
19238 @cindex interaction
19242 @item gnus-novice-user
19243 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19244 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19245 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19246 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19247 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19250 @item gnus-expert-user
19251 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19252 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19253 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19254 matter how strange.
19256 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19257 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19258 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19259 is @code{t} by default.
19261 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19262 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19263 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19268 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19269 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19270 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19272 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19273 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19274 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19275 rule of 900 to the current article.
19277 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19278 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19279 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19280 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19281 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19282 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19283 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19285 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19286 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19287 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19288 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19289 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19290 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19291 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19292 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19293 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19295 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19296 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19297 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19299 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19303 @node Formatting Variables
19304 @section Formatting Variables
19305 @cindex formatting variables
19307 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19308 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19309 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19310 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19311 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19314 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19315 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19316 lots of percentages everywhere.
19319 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19320 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19321 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19322 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19323 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19324 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19325 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19326 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19329 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19330 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19331 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19332 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19333 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19334 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19335 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19336 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19338 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19339 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19341 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19342 @findex gnus-update-format
19343 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19344 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19345 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19346 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19350 @node Formatting Basics
19351 @subsection Formatting Basics
19353 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19354 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19355 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19357 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19358 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19359 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19360 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19361 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19364 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19365 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19366 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19367 less than 4 characters wide.
19369 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19370 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19373 @node Mode Line Formatting
19374 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19376 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19377 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19378 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19379 with the following two differences:
19384 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19387 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19388 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19389 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19390 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19391 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19392 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19393 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19398 @node Advanced Formatting
19399 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19401 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19402 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19403 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19404 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19406 These are the valid modifiers:
19411 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19415 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19420 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19423 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19428 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19431 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19434 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19437 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19443 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19448 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19449 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19450 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19451 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19452 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19453 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19454 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19456 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19457 last operation, padding.
19459 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
19460 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
19461 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
19462 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
19463 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
19464 the look of your lines.
19465 @xref{Compilation}.
19468 @node User-Defined Specs
19469 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19471 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19472 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19473 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19474 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19475 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19476 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19477 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19478 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19479 should protect against that.
19481 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19482 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19484 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19485 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19486 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19487 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19491 @node Formatting Fonts
19492 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19494 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19495 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19496 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19497 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19500 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19501 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19502 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19503 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19504 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19505 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19507 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19508 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19509 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19510 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19511 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19512 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19513 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19514 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19515 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
19516 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
19518 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19521 ;; Create three face types.
19522 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19523 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19525 ;; We want the article count to be in
19526 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19527 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19528 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19530 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19531 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19533 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19534 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19535 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19538 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19539 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19541 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19542 mode-line variables.
19544 @node Positioning Point
19545 @subsection Positioning Point
19547 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19548 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19549 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19551 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19553 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19554 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19555 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19557 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19558 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
19559 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19564 @subsection Tabulation
19566 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19567 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19568 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19569 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19571 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19572 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19574 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19575 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19576 This is the soft tabulator.
19578 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19579 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19580 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19583 @node Wide Characters
19584 @subsection Wide Characters
19586 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19587 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19588 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19590 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19591 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19592 these coutries, that's not true.
19594 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19595 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19596 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19597 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
19601 @node Window Layout
19602 @section Window Layout
19603 @cindex window layout
19605 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19607 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19608 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19609 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19610 @code{t} by default.
19612 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19613 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19615 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19616 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19617 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19620 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19621 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19622 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19626 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19627 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19628 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19629 possible names is listed below.
19631 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19632 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19635 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19639 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19640 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19641 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19642 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19643 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19644 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19645 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19646 size spec per split.
19648 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19649 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19650 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19651 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19652 present) gets focus.
19654 Here's a more complicated example:
19657 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19658 (summary 0.25 point)
19659 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19663 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19664 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19665 occupy, not a percentage.
19667 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19668 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19669 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19670 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19671 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19674 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19677 (article (horizontal 1.0
19682 (summary 0.25 point)
19687 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19688 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19690 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19691 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19692 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19693 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19694 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19696 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19697 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19698 lines from the splits.
19700 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19704 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19705 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19706 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19707 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19708 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19709 size = number | frame-params
19710 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19713 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19714 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19715 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19716 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19718 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19719 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19720 @cindex window height
19721 @cindex window width
19722 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19723 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19724 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19725 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19726 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19727 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19729 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19730 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19731 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19732 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19734 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19735 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19736 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19737 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19738 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19739 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19740 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19741 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19742 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19743 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19744 configuration list.
19747 (gnus-configure-frame
19751 (article 0.3 point))
19759 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19760 @code{frame} split:
19763 (gnus-configure-frame
19766 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19768 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19769 (user-position . t)
19770 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19775 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19776 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19777 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19778 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19779 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19780 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19781 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19782 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19784 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19785 be found in its default value.
19787 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19788 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19789 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19793 (message (horizontal 1.0
19794 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19796 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19801 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19802 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19803 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19808 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19809 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19810 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19811 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19812 (name . "Message"))
19813 (message 1.0 point))))
19816 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19817 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19818 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19819 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19820 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19823 (gnus-add-configuration
19824 '(article (vertical 1.0
19826 (summary .25 point)
19830 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19831 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19832 Gnus has been loaded.
19834 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19835 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19836 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19837 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19838 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19840 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19841 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19842 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19845 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19849 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19850 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19865 (gnus-add-configuration
19868 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19870 (summary 0.16 point)
19873 (gnus-add-configuration
19876 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19877 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19883 @node Faces and Fonts
19884 @section Faces and Fonts
19889 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19890 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19891 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19896 @section Compilation
19897 @cindex compilation
19898 @cindex byte-compilation
19900 @findex gnus-compile
19902 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19903 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19904 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
19905 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
19906 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
19907 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19908 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19909 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19912 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19913 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19914 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19915 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
19916 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19919 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
19920 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
19921 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
19922 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
19923 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
19928 @section Mode Lines
19931 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19932 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19933 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
19934 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
19935 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
19936 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
19937 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
19940 @cindex display-time
19942 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
19943 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
19944 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
19945 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
19946 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
19947 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
19948 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
19949 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19952 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19954 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19955 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19957 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19958 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19959 (length display-time-string)))))
19962 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19963 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19964 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19965 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19966 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19969 @node Highlighting and Menus
19970 @section Highlighting and Menus
19972 @cindex highlighting
19975 @vindex gnus-visual
19976 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19977 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19978 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19981 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19982 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19985 @item group-highlight
19986 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19987 @item summary-highlight
19988 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19989 @item article-highlight
19990 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19992 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
19994 Create menus in the group buffer.
19996 Create menus in the summary buffers.
19998 Create menus in the article buffer.
20000 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20002 Create menus in the server buffer.
20004 Create menus in the score buffers.
20006 Create menus in all buffers.
20009 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20010 buffers, you could say something like:
20013 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20016 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20019 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20022 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20023 in all Gnus buffers.
20025 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20028 @item gnus-mouse-face
20029 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20030 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20031 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20035 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20039 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20040 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20041 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20043 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20044 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20045 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20047 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20048 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20049 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20051 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20052 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20053 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20055 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20056 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20057 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20059 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20060 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20061 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20072 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20073 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20074 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20075 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20076 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20080 @vindex gnus-carpal
20081 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20082 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20083 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20088 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20089 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20090 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20092 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20093 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20094 Face used on buttons.
20096 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20097 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20098 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20100 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20101 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20102 Buttons in the group buffer.
20104 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20105 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20106 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20108 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20109 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20110 Buttons in the server buffer.
20112 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20113 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20114 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20117 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20118 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20119 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20127 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20128 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20129 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20130 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20131 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20133 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20134 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20135 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20137 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20138 been idle for thirty minutes:
20141 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20144 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20148 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20151 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20152 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20153 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20155 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20156 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20157 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20158 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20160 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20161 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20162 @var{idle} minutes.
20164 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20165 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20168 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20169 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20170 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20172 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20173 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20174 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20175 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20177 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20178 your @file{.gnus} file:
20180 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20182 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20185 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20186 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20187 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20188 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20189 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20190 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20191 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20192 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20193 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20194 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20195 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
20197 @findex gnus-demon-init
20198 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20199 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20200 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20201 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20202 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20204 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20205 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20206 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20215 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20216 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20218 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20219 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20220 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20221 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20224 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20225 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20226 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20227 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20229 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20230 this will make spam disappear.
20232 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20235 @item gnus-use-nocem
20236 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20237 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20240 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20241 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20242 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20243 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20244 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20246 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20247 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20248 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20249 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20250 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20251 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20253 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20254 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20256 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20257 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20258 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20259 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20260 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20261 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20262 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20263 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20264 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20265 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20267 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20268 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20271 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20274 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20275 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20278 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20281 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20284 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20285 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20287 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20288 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20289 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20290 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20292 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20293 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20296 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20298 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20306 This might be dangerous, though.
20308 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20309 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20310 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20311 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20313 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20314 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20315 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20316 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20317 might then see old spam.
20319 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20320 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20321 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20322 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20323 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20326 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20327 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20328 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20329 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20333 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20334 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20335 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20336 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20343 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20344 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20345 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20347 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20348 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20349 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20350 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20351 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20352 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20353 @code{undo} function.
20355 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20356 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20357 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20358 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20359 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20360 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20361 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20362 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20363 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20364 never be totally undoable.
20366 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20367 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20369 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20370 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20371 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20372 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20376 @node Predicate Specifiers
20377 @section Predicate Specifiers
20378 @cindex predicate specifiers
20380 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20381 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20382 to type all that much.
20384 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20389 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20390 gnus-article-unread-p)
20393 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20394 functions all take one parameter.
20396 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20397 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20398 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20399 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20404 @section Moderation
20407 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20408 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20409 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20412 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20416 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20419 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20421 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20426 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20427 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20428 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20431 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20432 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20435 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20436 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20440 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20443 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20444 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20448 @node Image Enhancements
20449 @section Image Enhancements
20451 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20452 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20455 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20456 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20457 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20458 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20459 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20472 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20473 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20474 over your shoulder as you read news.
20477 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20478 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20479 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20480 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20481 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20486 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20488 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20497 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20498 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20499 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20500 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20501 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20502 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20503 @code{GIF} formats.
20506 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20507 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20508 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20509 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20510 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20512 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20513 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20514 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20515 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20516 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20517 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20519 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20520 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20523 @node Picon Requirements
20524 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20526 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20527 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20528 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20529 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20531 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20532 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20533 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20534 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20535 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20536 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20539 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20541 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20542 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20545 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20546 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20549 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20550 containing the Picons databases.
20552 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20555 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20556 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20561 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20569 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20570 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20571 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20572 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20573 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20578 @item gnus-picons-database
20579 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20580 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20581 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20582 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20583 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20584 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20586 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20587 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20588 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20589 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20590 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20591 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20592 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20594 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20595 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20596 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20597 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20598 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20599 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20600 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20601 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20603 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20604 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20605 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20610 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20611 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20613 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20614 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20617 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20619 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20620 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20621 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20622 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20624 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20625 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20626 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20627 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20633 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20634 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20642 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20643 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20644 don't need to worry about.
20648 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20649 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20650 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20651 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20653 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20654 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20655 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20656 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20658 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20659 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20660 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20661 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20662 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20664 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20665 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20666 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20667 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20668 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20669 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20670 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20671 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20673 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20674 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20675 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20676 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20677 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20679 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20680 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20681 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20682 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20683 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20684 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20685 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20687 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20688 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20689 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20690 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20692 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20693 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20694 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20695 Defaults to @code{t}.
20697 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20698 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20699 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20700 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20702 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20703 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20704 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20706 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20707 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20708 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20709 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20711 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20712 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20714 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20715 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20716 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20717 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20718 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20719 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20720 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20721 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20732 @subsection Smileys
20737 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20742 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20743 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20745 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20746 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20749 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20752 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20753 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20754 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20755 text and maps that to file names.
20757 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20758 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20759 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20760 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20761 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20762 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20764 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20765 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20767 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20768 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20769 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20771 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20772 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20776 @item smiley-data-directory
20777 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20778 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20780 @item smiley-flesh-color
20781 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20782 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20784 @item smiley-features-color
20785 @vindex smiley-features-color
20786 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20788 @item smiley-tongue-color
20789 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20790 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20792 @item smiley-circle-color
20793 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20794 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20796 @item smiley-mouse-face
20797 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20798 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20807 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20808 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20809 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20813 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20814 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20815 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20816 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20824 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20825 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20826 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20827 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20829 The variable that controls this is the
20830 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20831 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20832 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20833 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20834 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20836 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20837 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20838 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20839 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20842 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20843 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20844 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20845 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20846 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20847 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20848 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20849 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20851 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20854 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20855 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20857 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20858 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20859 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20860 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20861 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20862 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20864 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20865 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20866 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20868 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20869 like the folllowing in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20872 (setq message-required-news-headers
20873 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20874 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20877 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20880 (setq message-required-news-headers
20881 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20882 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20883 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20884 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20889 @subsection Toolbar
20899 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20900 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20901 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20902 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20903 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20905 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20906 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20907 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20909 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20910 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20911 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20913 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20914 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20915 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20921 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20924 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20925 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20926 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20927 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20928 unusual directory structure.
20930 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20931 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20932 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20933 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20935 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20936 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20937 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20938 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20939 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20940 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20942 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20943 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20944 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20958 @node Fuzzy Matching
20959 @section Fuzzy Matching
20960 @cindex fuzzy matching
20962 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20963 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20965 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
20966 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
20967 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
20969 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
20970 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
20971 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
20972 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
20973 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
20976 @node Thwarting Email Spam
20977 @section Thwarting Email Spam
20981 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20983 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
20984 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
20985 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
20986 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
20987 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
20988 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
20989 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
20990 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
20993 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
20994 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
20995 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
20996 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
20997 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
20998 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21003 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21004 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21005 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21008 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21009 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21013 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21015 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21016 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21018 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21019 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21020 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21021 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21022 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21023 part of the mail address.)
21026 (setq message-default-news-headers
21027 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21030 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21031 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21036 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21037 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21038 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21044 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21045 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21046 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21047 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21049 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21050 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21051 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21052 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21053 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21054 your fancy split rule in this way:
21059 (to "larsi" "misc")
21063 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21064 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21065 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21066 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21067 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21069 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21070 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21071 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21072 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21073 cosmic balance somewhat.
21075 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21076 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21077 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21078 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21083 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21084 @cindex SpamAssassin
21085 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21088 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21089 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21090 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21091 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21092 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21093 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21094 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21096 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21097 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21098 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21099 Specifiers}) follows.
21103 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21106 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21109 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21110 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21111 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21114 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21118 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21121 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21122 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21126 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21127 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21128 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21129 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21132 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21134 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21136 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21137 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21139 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21141 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21142 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21146 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21147 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21148 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21151 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21152 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21154 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21155 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21156 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21160 @subsection Hashcash
21163 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21164 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21165 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21166 since it is not part of the internet standards, but it may be useful
21167 in smaller communities.
21169 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21170 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21171 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21172 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21173 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21174 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21175 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21176 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21177 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21178 one of them separately.
21181 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21182 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21183 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21184 header. For more details, and for the external application
21185 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21186 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21187 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21189 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21193 (require 'hashcash)
21194 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21197 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21198 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21199 development contrib directory.
21201 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21205 @item hashcash-default-payment
21206 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21207 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21208 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21209 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21211 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21212 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21213 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21214 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21215 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21216 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21217 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21218 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21222 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21226 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21227 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21228 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21229 a useful contribution, however.
21231 @node Various Various
21232 @section Various Various
21238 @item gnus-home-directory
21239 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
21240 defaults to @file{~/}.
21242 @item gnus-directory
21243 @vindex gnus-directory
21244 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
21245 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
21246 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
21248 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
21249 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
21250 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
21251 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
21253 @item gnus-default-directory
21254 @vindex gnus-default-directory
21255 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
21256 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
21257 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
21258 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
21259 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
21260 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
21263 @vindex gnus-verbose
21264 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
21265 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
21266 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
21267 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
21268 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
21270 @item gnus-verbose-backends
21271 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
21272 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
21273 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
21275 @item nnheader-max-head-length
21276 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
21277 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
21278 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
21279 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
21280 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
21281 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
21282 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
21283 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
21284 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
21286 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
21287 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
21288 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
21289 read when doing the operation described above.
21291 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21292 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21294 @cindex invalid characters in file names
21295 @cindex characters in file names
21296 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
21297 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
21298 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
21301 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21305 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
21306 Windows (phooey) systems.
21308 @item gnus-hidden-properties
21309 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
21310 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
21311 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
21312 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
21314 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
21315 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
21316 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
21317 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
21318 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
21320 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
21321 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
21322 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
21324 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21325 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21327 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
21328 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
21329 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
21330 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
21333 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
21341 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
21342 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
21344 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
21346 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
21352 Not because of victories @*
21355 but for the common sunshine,@*
21357 the largess of the spring.
21361 but for the day's work done@*
21362 as well as I was able;@*
21363 not for a seat upon the dais@*
21364 but at the common table.@*
21369 @chapter Appendices
21372 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
21373 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
21374 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
21375 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
21376 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
21377 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
21378 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
21379 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
21380 * Frequently Asked Questions::
21387 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
21389 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
21390 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
21391 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
21392 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
21393 @samp{xemacs-base}, and @samp{fsf-compat}. The @samp{misc-games}
21394 package is required for Morse decoding.
21401 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
21402 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
21404 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
21405 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
21406 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
21407 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
21408 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
21410 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
21411 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
21412 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
21413 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
21414 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
21415 appropriate name, don't you think?)
21417 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
21418 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
21419 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
21420 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
21423 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
21424 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
21425 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
21426 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
21427 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
21428 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
21429 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
21430 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
21431 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
21435 @node Gnus Versions
21436 @subsection Gnus Versions
21438 @cindex September Gnus
21440 @cindex Quassia Gnus
21441 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
21445 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
21446 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
21447 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
21449 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
21450 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
21452 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
21453 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
21455 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
21456 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
21458 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
21459 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
21462 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
21464 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
21465 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
21466 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
21467 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
21468 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
21469 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
21472 @node Other Gnus Versions
21473 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
21476 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
21477 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
21478 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
21479 @sc{mime} capabilities.
21481 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
21482 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
21483 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
21484 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
21491 What's the point of Gnus?
21493 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
21494 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
21495 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
21496 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
21497 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
21498 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
21499 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
21500 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
21501 keep track of millions of people who post?
21503 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
21504 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
21505 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
21506 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
21507 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
21508 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
21509 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
21510 every one of you to explore and invent.
21512 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
21513 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
21516 @node Compatibility
21517 @subsection Compatibility
21519 @cindex compatibility
21520 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
21521 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
21522 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
21527 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
21531 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
21534 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
21537 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
21538 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
21539 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
21540 important variables have their values copied into their global
21541 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
21542 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
21544 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
21545 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
21546 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
21547 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
21548 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
21552 @cindex highlighting
21553 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
21554 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
21555 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
21556 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
21557 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
21558 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
21561 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
21562 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
21563 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
21564 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
21566 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
21567 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
21568 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
21569 to stop doing it the old way.
21571 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
21573 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21575 @cindex reporting bugs
21577 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
21578 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
21579 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
21581 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
21582 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
21583 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
21584 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
21589 @subsection Conformity
21591 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
21592 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
21600 There are no known breaches of this standard.
21604 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
21606 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
21607 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
21608 We do have some breaches to this one.
21614 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
21615 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
21616 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
21617 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
21618 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
21623 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
21624 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
21625 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
21626 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
21628 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
21630 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
21632 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
21633 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
21635 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
21638 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
21639 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
21640 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
21641 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
21642 decoding (verification and decryption).
21644 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
21645 RFC 2015 (superceded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
21646 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
21647 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
21649 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
21650 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
21652 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
21653 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
21654 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
21655 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
21656 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
21657 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
21658 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
21662 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
21663 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
21668 @subsection Emacsen
21674 Gnus should work on :
21682 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
21686 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
21687 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
21688 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
21689 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
21690 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
21692 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
21693 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
21694 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
21698 @node Gnus Development
21699 @subsection Gnus Development
21701 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
21702 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
21703 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
21704 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
21705 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
21706 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
21707 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
21708 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
21710 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
21711 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
21712 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
21713 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
21714 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
21717 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
21718 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
21719 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
21720 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
21721 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
21723 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
21724 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
21725 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
21726 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
21727 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
21728 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
21729 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
21730 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
21731 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
21732 can't be assumed to do so.
21737 @subsection Contributors
21738 @cindex contributors
21740 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
21741 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
21742 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
21743 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
21744 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
21745 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
21746 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
21747 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
21748 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
21749 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
21751 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
21757 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
21760 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
21761 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
21762 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
21763 functionality and stuff.
21766 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
21767 well as numerous other things).
21770 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
21773 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
21776 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
21779 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
21782 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
21783 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
21786 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
21789 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
21790 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
21793 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
21796 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
21799 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
21802 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
21805 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
21806 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
21809 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
21812 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
21815 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
21818 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
21822 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
21825 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
21828 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
21831 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
21832 well as autoconf support.
21836 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
21837 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
21839 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
21848 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
21852 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
21862 Alexei V. Barantsev,
21877 Massimo Campostrini,
21882 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
21883 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
21887 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
21890 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
21896 Michael Welsh Duggan,
21901 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
21905 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
21913 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
21915 Michelangelo Grigni,
21919 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
21921 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
21923 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
21930 François Felix Ingrand,
21931 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
21932 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
21934 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
21945 Peter Skov Knudsen,
21946 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
21948 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
21949 Thor Kristoffersen,
21952 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
21970 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
21971 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
21978 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
21983 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
21987 John McClary Prevost,
21993 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
21998 Christian von Roques,
22001 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
22008 Philippe Schnoebelen,
22010 Randal L. Schwartz,
22024 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
22029 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
22045 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
22050 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
22051 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
22052 (550kB and counting).
22054 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
22057 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
22058 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
22062 @subsection New Features
22063 @cindex new features
22066 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
22067 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
22068 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
22069 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
22070 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
22073 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
22074 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
22075 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
22078 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
22080 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
22085 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
22086 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
22089 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
22090 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
22093 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
22096 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
22097 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
22098 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
22101 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
22102 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
22103 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
22104 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22107 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
22108 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22111 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
22112 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
22113 (@pxref{The Active File}).
22116 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
22117 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
22120 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
22121 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
22122 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22125 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
22126 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
22127 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
22130 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
22131 the @file{.emacs} file.
22134 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
22135 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
22138 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
22139 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
22142 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
22143 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22146 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
22147 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
22150 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
22151 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22154 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
22157 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
22158 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
22161 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
22162 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
22165 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
22166 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
22169 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
22172 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
22173 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22176 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
22180 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
22184 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
22185 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
22188 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
22194 @node September Gnus
22195 @subsubsection September Gnus
22199 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
22203 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
22208 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
22209 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
22213 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
22214 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
22218 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
22222 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
22223 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
22226 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
22230 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22233 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
22236 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
22239 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
22243 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
22244 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
22247 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
22251 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
22255 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
22259 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
22263 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
22266 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
22267 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
22270 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
22274 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
22275 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
22278 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
22281 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
22282 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
22283 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22286 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
22290 The Gnus cache is much faster.
22293 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
22297 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
22298 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
22301 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
22302 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
22305 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
22306 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22309 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
22310 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
22311 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
22314 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
22315 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
22318 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
22321 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22324 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
22327 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
22330 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
22331 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
22334 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
22338 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
22341 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
22346 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
22349 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
22353 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22356 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
22360 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
22363 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
22366 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
22367 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22370 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
22371 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
22375 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
22376 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
22379 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
22383 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
22384 buffer to allow easier treatment.
22387 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
22390 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
22394 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
22398 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
22399 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
22402 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
22406 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
22407 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22410 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
22411 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22414 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
22418 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22421 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
22424 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
22430 @subsubsection Red Gnus
22432 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
22436 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
22443 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
22446 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
22447 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22450 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
22451 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
22455 Article washing status can be displayed in the
22456 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
22459 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
22462 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
22463 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
22466 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
22470 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
22471 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
22475 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
22476 Server Internals}).
22479 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
22483 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
22486 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
22487 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
22490 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
22491 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
22492 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
22495 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
22496 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22499 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
22500 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
22503 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
22507 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
22508 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22511 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
22512 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22515 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
22519 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
22522 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
22526 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
22527 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22530 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
22531 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22534 A new command for reading collections of documents
22535 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
22536 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
22539 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
22543 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
22544 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
22547 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
22548 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
22549 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
22552 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
22553 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
22557 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
22561 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
22565 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
22570 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
22574 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
22578 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
22579 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
22582 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
22588 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
22590 New features in Gnus 5.6:
22595 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
22596 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
22597 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
22600 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
22601 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
22602 group, which is created automatically.
22605 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
22609 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
22612 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
22613 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
22616 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
22620 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
22623 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
22624 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
22627 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
22630 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
22631 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
22634 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
22635 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
22638 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
22639 control over simplification.
22642 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
22645 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
22649 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
22652 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
22655 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
22656 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
22657 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
22660 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
22661 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
22664 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
22668 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
22669 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
22672 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
22673 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
22676 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
22680 A history of where mails have been split is available.
22683 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
22686 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
22687 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
22690 A new function for citing in Message has been
22691 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
22694 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
22697 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
22701 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
22702 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
22705 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
22706 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
22709 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
22712 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
22716 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
22717 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
22719 New features in Gnus 5.8:
22724 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
22725 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
22727 If you used procmail like in
22730 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
22731 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
22732 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
22733 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
22736 this now has changed to
22740 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
22744 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
22745 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
22748 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
22749 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
22752 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
22753 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
22756 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
22757 called to position point.
22760 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
22761 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
22764 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
22765 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
22768 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
22769 subtly different manner.
22772 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
22773 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
22774 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
22777 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
22785 @section The Manual
22789 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
22790 either @code{texi2dvi}
22792 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
22793 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
22795 to get what you hold in your hands now.
22797 The following conventions have been used:
22802 This is a @samp{string}
22805 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
22808 This is a @file{file}
22811 This is a @code{symbol}
22815 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
22819 (setq flargnoze "yes")
22822 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
22825 (setq flumphel 'yes)
22828 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
22829 ever get them confused.
22833 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
22834 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
22835 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
22836 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
22837 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
22838 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
22839 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
22845 @node On Writing Manuals
22846 @section On Writing Manuals
22848 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
22849 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
22850 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
22851 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
22852 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
22853 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
22856 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
22857 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
22858 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
22861 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
22862 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
22867 @section Terminology
22869 @cindex terminology
22874 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
22875 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
22876 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
22877 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
22878 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
22882 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
22883 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
22884 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
22885 not posting, and replying is not following up.
22889 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
22893 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
22898 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
22899 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
22900 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
22901 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
22902 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
22903 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
22904 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
22905 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
22906 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
22908 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
22909 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
22910 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
22911 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
22912 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
22915 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
22916 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
22917 access the articles.
22919 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
22920 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
22921 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
22926 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
22927 default, way of getting news.
22931 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
22932 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
22937 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
22938 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
22942 A message that has been posted as news.
22945 @cindex mail message
22946 A message that has been mailed.
22950 A mail message or news article
22954 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
22959 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
22964 A line from the head of an article.
22968 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
22969 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
22973 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
22974 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
22975 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
22976 normal @sc{head} format.
22980 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
22981 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
22982 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
22983 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
22984 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
22985 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
22987 @item killed groups
22988 @cindex killed groups
22989 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
22990 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
22992 @item zombie groups
22993 @cindex zombie groups
22994 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
22997 @cindex active file
22998 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
22999 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
23000 is rather large, as you might surmise.
23003 @cindex bogus groups
23004 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
23005 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
23006 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
23009 @cindex activating groups
23010 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
23011 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
23012 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
23016 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
23018 @item select method
23019 @cindex select method
23020 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
23023 @item virtual server
23024 @cindex virtual server
23025 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
23026 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
23027 whole is a virtual server.
23031 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
23032 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
23035 @item ephemeral groups
23036 @cindex ephemeral groups
23037 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
23038 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
23039 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
23042 @cindex solid groups
23043 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
23044 group buffer are solid groups.
23046 @item sparse articles
23047 @cindex sparse articles
23048 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
23049 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
23053 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
23054 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
23058 @cindex thread root
23059 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
23060 articles in the thread.
23064 An article that has responses.
23068 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
23072 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
23073 specified by RFC 1153.
23079 @node Customization
23080 @section Customization
23081 @cindex general customization
23083 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
23084 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
23085 for some quite common situations.
23088 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
23089 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
23090 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
23091 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
23095 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
23096 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
23098 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
23099 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
23100 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
23104 @item gnus-read-active-file
23105 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
23106 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
23107 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23108 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
23109 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
23111 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
23112 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
23113 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
23114 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
23118 @node Slow Terminal Connection
23119 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
23121 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
23122 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
23123 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
23127 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
23128 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
23129 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
23130 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
23131 horizontal and vertical recentering.
23133 @item gnus-visible-headers
23134 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
23135 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
23136 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
23137 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
23139 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
23141 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
23142 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
23143 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
23146 @item gnus-use-full-window
23147 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
23148 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
23149 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
23150 want to read them anyway.
23152 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
23153 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
23157 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
23158 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
23159 lines, which might save some time.
23163 @node Little Disk Space
23164 @subsection Little Disk Space
23167 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
23168 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
23172 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
23173 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
23174 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23175 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23178 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
23179 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
23180 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23181 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23184 @item gnus-save-killed-list
23185 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
23186 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
23187 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
23188 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
23194 @subsection Slow Machine
23195 @cindex slow machine
23197 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
23198 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
23200 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23201 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
23203 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
23204 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
23205 summary buffer faster.
23209 @node Troubleshooting
23210 @section Troubleshooting
23211 @cindex troubleshooting
23213 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
23221 Make sure your computer is switched on.
23224 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
23225 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
23229 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
23230 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
23231 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
23232 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
23233 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
23236 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
23240 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
23241 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
23242 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
23243 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
23244 something like that.
23247 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
23250 @cindex reporting bugs
23252 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23254 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
23255 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
23256 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
23257 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
23259 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
23260 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
23261 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
23262 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
23265 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
23266 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
23267 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
23268 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
23269 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
23270 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
23272 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
23273 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
23274 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
23278 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
23279 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
23282 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
23283 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
23284 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
23285 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
23286 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
23287 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
23288 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
23289 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
23290 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
23291 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
23292 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
23293 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
23294 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
23295 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
23297 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
23298 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
23300 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
23301 @cindex ding mailing list
23302 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
23303 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
23307 @node Gnus Reference Guide
23308 @section Gnus Reference Guide
23310 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
23311 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
23312 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
23313 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
23316 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
23317 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
23318 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
23319 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
23320 and general methods of operation.
23323 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
23324 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
23325 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
23326 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
23327 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
23328 * Group Info:: The group info format.
23329 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
23330 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
23331 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
23335 @node Gnus Utility Functions
23336 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
23337 @cindex Gnus utility functions
23338 @cindex utility functions
23340 @cindex internal variables
23342 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
23343 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
23344 Below is a list of the most common ones.
23348 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
23349 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
23350 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
23352 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
23353 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
23354 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
23356 @item gnus-group-real-name
23357 @findex gnus-group-real-name
23358 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
23361 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
23362 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
23363 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
23364 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
23366 @item gnus-get-info
23367 @findex gnus-get-info
23368 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
23370 @item gnus-group-unread
23371 @findex gnus-group-unread
23372 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
23376 @findex gnus-active
23377 The active entry for @var{group}.
23379 @item gnus-set-active
23380 @findex gnus-set-active
23381 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
23383 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23384 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23385 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
23388 @item gnus-continuum-version
23389 @findex gnus-continuum-version
23390 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
23391 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
23394 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
23395 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
23396 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
23398 @item gnus-news-group-p
23399 @findex gnus-news-group-p
23400 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
23402 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23403 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23404 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
23406 @item gnus-server-to-method
23407 @findex gnus-server-to-method
23408 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
23410 @item gnus-server-equal
23411 @findex gnus-server-equal
23412 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
23414 @item gnus-group-native-p
23415 @findex gnus-group-native-p
23416 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
23418 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
23419 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
23420 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
23422 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
23423 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
23424 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
23426 @item group-group-find-parameter
23427 @findex group-group-find-parameter
23428 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
23429 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
23431 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
23432 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
23433 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
23435 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
23436 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
23437 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
23439 @item gnus-check-backend-function
23440 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
23441 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
23442 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
23445 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
23449 @item gnus-read-method
23450 @findex gnus-read-method
23451 Prompts the user for a select method.
23456 @node Back End Interface
23457 @subsection Back End Interface
23459 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
23460 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
23461 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
23462 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
23463 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
23464 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
23466 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
23467 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
23468 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
23469 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
23470 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
23471 been opened, the function should fail.
23473 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
23474 name. Take this example:
23478 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
23479 (nntp-port-number 4324))
23482 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
23483 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
23485 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
23486 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
23487 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
23489 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
23490 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
23491 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
23493 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
23494 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
23495 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
23496 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
23497 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
23498 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
23501 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
23502 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
23503 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
23504 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
23507 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
23508 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
23509 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
23510 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
23511 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
23512 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
23513 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
23514 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
23515 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
23516 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
23518 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
23519 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
23520 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
23521 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
23522 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
23523 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
23524 of numbers as long as possible.
23526 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
23529 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
23532 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
23533 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
23534 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
23535 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
23536 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
23537 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
23541 @node Required Back End Functions
23542 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
23546 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
23548 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
23549 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
23550 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
23551 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
23553 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
23554 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
23555 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
23556 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
23558 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
23559 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
23560 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
23561 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
23562 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
23563 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
23564 number, do maximum fetches.
23566 Here's an example HEAD:
23569 221 1056 Article retrieved.
23570 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
23571 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
23572 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
23573 Subject: Re: Something very droll
23574 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
23575 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
23577 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
23578 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
23579 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
23583 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
23584 these in the data buffer.
23586 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
23590 head = error / valid-head
23591 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
23592 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
23593 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
23594 header = <text> eol
23597 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
23598 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
23602 nov-buffer = *nov-line
23603 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
23604 field = <text except TAB>
23607 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
23611 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
23613 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
23614 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
23616 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
23617 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
23618 server. In fact, it should do so.
23620 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
23621 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
23624 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
23626 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
23627 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
23630 There should be no data returned.
23633 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
23635 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
23636 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
23637 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
23638 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
23640 There should be no data returned.
23643 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
23645 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
23646 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
23647 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
23648 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
23650 There should be no data returned.
23653 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
23655 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
23657 There should be no data returned.
23660 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
23662 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
23663 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
23664 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
23665 it would be nice if that were possible.
23667 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
23668 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
23669 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
23670 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
23671 into its article buffer.
23673 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
23674 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
23675 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
23676 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
23677 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
23678 on successful article retrieval.
23681 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
23683 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
23684 making @var{group} the current group.
23686 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
23689 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
23692 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
23695 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
23696 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
23697 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
23698 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
23699 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
23700 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
23701 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
23702 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
23703 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
23707 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
23708 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
23709 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
23713 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23715 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
23716 a no-op on most back ends.
23718 There should be no data returned.
23721 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
23723 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
23726 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
23729 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
23730 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
23733 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
23734 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
23735 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
23736 and the highest as 0.
23739 active-file = *active-line
23740 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
23742 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
23745 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
23746 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
23747 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
23750 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
23752 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
23753 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
23754 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
23755 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
23756 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
23757 clear if the posting could not be completed.
23759 There should be no result data from this function.
23764 @node Optional Back End Functions
23765 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
23769 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
23771 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
23772 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
23773 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
23775 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
23776 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
23777 former is in the same format as the data from
23778 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
23779 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
23782 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
23786 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
23788 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
23789 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
23790 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
23791 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
23792 should return the (altered) group info.
23794 There should be no result data from this function.
23797 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
23799 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
23800 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
23801 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
23802 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
23803 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
23804 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
23805 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
23806 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
23808 There should be no result data from this function.
23811 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
23813 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
23814 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
23815 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
23816 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
23817 propagate the mark information to the server.
23819 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
23822 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
23825 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
23826 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
23827 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
23828 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
23829 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
23830 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
23831 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
23832 possible, not limit itself to these.
23834 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
23835 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
23836 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
23837 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
23839 An example action list:
23842 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
23843 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
23844 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
23847 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
23848 mark on (currently not used for anything).
23850 There should be no result data from this function.
23852 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
23854 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
23855 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
23856 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
23857 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
23858 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
23860 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
23861 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
23862 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
23865 There should be no result data from this function.
23868 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
23870 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
23871 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
23872 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
23873 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
23874 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
23875 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
23876 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
23878 There should be no result data from this function.
23881 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
23883 The result data from this function should be a description of
23887 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
23889 description = <text>
23892 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
23894 The result data from this function should be the description of all
23895 groups available on the server.
23898 description-buffer = *description-line
23902 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
23904 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
23905 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
23906 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
23907 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
23908 in the active buffer format.
23910 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
23911 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
23912 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
23913 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
23914 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
23915 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
23916 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
23919 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23921 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
23923 There should be no return data.
23926 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
23928 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
23929 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
23930 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
23931 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
23932 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
23935 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
23938 There should be no result data returned.
23941 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
23944 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
23945 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
23947 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
23948 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
23949 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
23950 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
23951 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
23952 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
23954 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
23955 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
23958 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23959 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23961 There should be no data returned.
23964 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
23966 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
23967 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
23968 this function in short order.
23970 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23971 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23973 There should be no data returned.
23976 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
23978 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
23979 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
23981 There should be no data returned.
23984 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
23986 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
23987 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
23988 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
23990 There should be no data returned.
23993 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
23995 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
23996 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
23998 There should be no data returned.
24003 @node Error Messaging
24004 @subsubsection Error Messaging
24006 @findex nnheader-report
24007 @findex nnheader-get-report
24008 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
24009 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
24010 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
24011 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
24012 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
24013 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
24016 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
24018 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
24021 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
24022 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
24023 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
24024 takes one argument---the server symbol.
24026 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
24027 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
24028 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
24031 @node Writing New Back Ends
24032 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
24034 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
24035 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
24036 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
24037 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
24038 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
24041 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
24042 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
24043 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
24045 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
24046 package called @code{nnoo}.
24048 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
24049 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
24055 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
24056 parameters. For instance:
24059 (nnoo-declare nndir
24063 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
24064 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
24067 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
24068 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
24069 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
24071 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
24072 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
24073 a function in those back ends.
24076 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
24077 "Where nndir will look for groups."
24078 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
24081 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
24082 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
24083 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
24085 @item nnoo-define-basics
24086 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
24090 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
24094 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
24095 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
24096 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
24098 @item nnoo-map-functions
24099 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
24100 functions from the parent back ends.
24103 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24104 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24105 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
24108 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
24109 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
24110 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
24111 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
24114 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
24115 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
24116 haven't already been defined.
24122 nnmh-request-newgroups)
24126 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
24127 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
24128 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
24133 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
24136 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
24137 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
24141 (require 'nnheader)
24145 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
24147 (nnoo-declare nndir
24150 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
24151 "Where nndir will look for groups."
24152 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
24154 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
24155 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
24158 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
24160 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
24161 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
24162 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
24164 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
24165 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
24167 ;;; Interface functions.
24169 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
24171 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
24172 (setq nndir-directory
24173 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
24175 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
24176 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
24177 (push `(nndir-current-group
24178 ,(file-name-nondirectory
24179 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24181 (push `(nndir-top-directory
24182 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24184 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
24186 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24187 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24188 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24189 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
24190 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
24194 nnmh-status-message
24196 nnmh-request-newgroups))
24202 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24203 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24205 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
24206 @findex gnus-declare-backend
24207 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
24208 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
24209 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
24211 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
24212 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
24217 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
24220 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
24222 The abilities can be:
24226 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
24228 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
24230 This back end supports both mail and news.
24232 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
24235 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
24236 articles and groups.
24238 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
24239 true for almost all back ends.
24240 @item prompt-address
24241 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
24242 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
24243 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
24247 @node Mail-like Back Ends
24248 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
24250 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
24251 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
24252 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
24253 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
24256 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
24257 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
24258 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
24261 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
24262 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
24265 This function takes four parameters.
24269 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
24272 @item exit-function
24273 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
24275 @item temp-directory
24276 Where the temporary files should be stored.
24279 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
24280 performed for one group only.
24283 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
24284 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
24285 find the article number assigned to this article.
24287 The function also uses the following variables:
24288 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
24289 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
24290 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
24291 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
24295 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
24296 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
24300 @node Score File Syntax
24301 @subsection Score File Syntax
24303 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
24304 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
24305 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
24307 Here's a typical score file:
24311 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
24318 BNF definition of a score file:
24321 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
24322 element = rule / atom
24323 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
24324 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
24325 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
24326 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
24328 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
24329 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
24330 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
24331 date-header = "date"
24332 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24333 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24334 score = "nil" / <integer>
24335 date = "nil" / <natural number>
24336 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
24337 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
24338 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
24339 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
24340 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24341 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24342 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
24343 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24344 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
24345 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
24346 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
24347 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
24348 exclude-files / read-only / touched
24349 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
24350 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
24351 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
24352 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
24353 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
24354 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
24355 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
24356 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
24357 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
24358 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
24359 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
24360 eval = "eval" space <form>
24361 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
24364 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
24367 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
24368 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
24369 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
24370 one looong line, then that's ok.
24372 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
24373 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24377 @subsection Headers
24379 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
24380 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
24381 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
24382 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
24384 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
24385 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
24386 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
24387 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
24388 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
24389 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
24390 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
24392 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
24393 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
24394 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
24395 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
24396 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
24398 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
24399 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
24405 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
24406 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
24408 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
24409 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
24410 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
24411 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
24413 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
24417 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
24420 is transformed into
24423 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
24426 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
24427 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
24430 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
24433 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
24434 is slightly tricky:
24437 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
24443 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
24446 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
24452 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
24459 and is equal to the previous range.
24461 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
24462 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
24463 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
24467 range = simple-range / normal-range
24468 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
24469 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
24470 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
24471 number *[ " " contents ]
24474 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
24475 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
24476 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
24477 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
24478 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
24483 @subsection Group Info
24485 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
24486 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
24487 describes the group.
24489 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
24490 second is a more complex one:
24493 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
24495 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
24496 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
24498 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
24501 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
24502 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
24503 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
24504 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
24505 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
24506 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
24507 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
24508 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
24509 this section is about.
24511 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
24512 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
24513 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
24515 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
24518 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
24519 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
24520 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24521 group = quote <string> quote
24522 ralevel = rank / level
24523 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24524 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
24525 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24527 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
24528 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
24529 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
24530 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
24533 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
24534 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
24537 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
24538 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
24541 @item gnus-info-group
24542 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
24543 @findex gnus-info-group
24544 @findex gnus-info-set-group
24545 Get/set the group name.
24547 @item gnus-info-rank
24548 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
24549 @findex gnus-info-rank
24550 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
24551 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
24553 @item gnus-info-level
24554 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
24555 @findex gnus-info-level
24556 @findex gnus-info-set-level
24557 Get/set the group level.
24559 @item gnus-info-score
24560 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
24561 @findex gnus-info-score
24562 @findex gnus-info-set-score
24563 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
24565 @item gnus-info-read
24566 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
24567 @findex gnus-info-read
24568 @findex gnus-info-set-read
24569 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
24571 @item gnus-info-marks
24572 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
24573 @findex gnus-info-marks
24574 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
24575 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
24577 @item gnus-info-method
24578 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
24579 @findex gnus-info-method
24580 @findex gnus-info-set-method
24581 Get/set the group select method.
24583 @item gnus-info-params
24584 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
24585 @findex gnus-info-params
24586 @findex gnus-info-set-params
24587 Get/set the group parameters.
24590 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
24591 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
24593 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
24594 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
24595 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
24596 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
24599 @node Extended Interactive
24600 @subsection Extended Interactive
24601 @cindex interactive
24602 @findex gnus-interactive
24604 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
24605 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
24606 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
24609 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
24610 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
24615 The best thing to do would have been to implement
24616 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
24617 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
24618 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
24619 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
24620 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
24621 @code{interactive}.
24623 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
24628 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
24629 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
24633 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
24634 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
24635 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
24638 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
24642 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
24646 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
24652 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
24653 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
24657 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
24658 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
24659 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
24661 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
24662 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
24663 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
24664 Gnus, that's very useful.
24666 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
24667 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
24668 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
24669 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
24670 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
24671 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
24672 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
24673 following function:
24676 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
24680 (,function ,@@args))
24684 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
24685 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
24686 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
24689 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
24690 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
24691 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
24693 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
24694 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
24695 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
24698 @node Various File Formats
24699 @subsection Various File Formats
24702 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
24703 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
24707 @node Active File Format
24708 @subsubsection Active File Format
24710 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
24711 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
24714 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
24717 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
24718 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
24719 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
24720 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
24721 no.general 1000 900 y
24724 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
24727 active = *group-line
24728 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
24729 group = <non-white-space string>
24731 high-number = <non-negative integer>
24732 low-number = <positive integer>
24733 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
24736 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
24737 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
24740 @node Newsgroups File Format
24741 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
24743 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
24744 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
24745 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
24748 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
24749 Here's the definition:
24753 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
24754 group = <non-white-space string>
24756 description = <string>
24761 @node Emacs for Heathens
24762 @section Emacs for Heathens
24764 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
24765 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
24766 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
24767 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
24768 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
24769 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
24770 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
24774 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
24775 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
24780 @subsection Keystrokes
24784 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
24787 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
24790 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
24791 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
24792 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
24793 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
24794 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
24795 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
24797 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
24798 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
24799 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
24800 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
24801 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
24802 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
24803 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
24805 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
24806 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
24807 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
24808 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
24809 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
24810 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
24811 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
24813 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
24814 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
24815 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
24816 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
24817 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
24823 @subsection Emacs Lisp
24825 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
24826 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
24827 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
24828 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
24830 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
24831 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
24832 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
24833 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
24834 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
24835 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
24836 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
24839 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
24840 write the following:
24843 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
24846 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
24847 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
24848 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
24851 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
24852 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
24853 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
24854 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
24855 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
24857 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
24858 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
24859 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
24863 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
24867 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
24870 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
24871 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
24874 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
24877 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
24878 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
24881 @include gnus-faq.texi
24901 @c Local Variables:
24903 @c coding: iso-8859-1
24905 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
24906 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
24907 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
24908 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
24909 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref