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4 @settitle Semi-gnus 6.10.025 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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264 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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273 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
275 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
276 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
277 are preserved on all copies.
279 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
280 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
281 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
282 permission notice identical to this one.
284 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
285 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
294 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
296 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
303 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
304 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
305 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
306 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
309 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
310 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
311 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
312 permission notice identical to this one.
314 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
315 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
321 @title Semi-gnus 6.10.025 Manual
323 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
326 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
327 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
329 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
330 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
331 are preserved on all copies.
333 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
334 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
335 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
336 permission notice identical to this one.
338 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
339 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
348 @top The gnus Newsreader
352 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
353 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
354 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
357 Semi-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So Semi-gnus
358 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
359 other various kinds of formats. Semi-gnus also supports
360 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
361 API. So Semi-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
362 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
364 This manual corresponds to Semi-gnus 6.10.025.
375 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
376 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
378 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
379 being accused of plagiarism:
381 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
382 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
383 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
384 even read news with it!
386 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
387 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
388 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
389 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
390 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
397 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
398 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
399 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
400 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
401 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
402 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
403 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
404 * Various:: General purpose settings.
405 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
406 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
407 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
408 * Key Index:: Key Index.
412 @chapter Starting gnus
417 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
418 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
421 @findex gnus-other-frame
422 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
423 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
424 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
426 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
427 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
428 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
430 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
431 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
434 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
435 * The First Time:: What does gnus do the first time you start it?
436 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
437 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one gnus active at a time.
438 * Fetching a Group:: Starting gnus just to read a group.
439 * New Groups:: What is gnus supposed to do with new groups?
440 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
441 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
442 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
443 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
444 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
448 @node Finding the News
449 @section Finding the News
452 @vindex gnus-select-method
454 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
455 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
456 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
457 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are foreign
460 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
461 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
464 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
467 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
470 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
473 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
474 certainly be much faster.
476 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
478 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
479 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
480 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
481 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
482 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
483 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an
484 @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
486 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
487 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
488 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
489 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
491 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
492 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
493 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
494 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
495 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
496 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
498 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
500 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
501 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
502 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
503 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
504 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
505 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
507 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
509 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
510 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
511 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
512 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
513 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
514 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
517 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
518 would typically set this variable to
521 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
526 @section The First Time
527 @cindex first time usage
529 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
530 be subscribed by default.
532 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
533 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
534 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
535 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
538 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
539 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
540 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
542 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
543 help you with most common problems.
545 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
546 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
550 @node The Server is Down
551 @section The Server is Down
552 @cindex server errors
554 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
555 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
556 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
558 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
559 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
560 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
561 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
562 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
563 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
564 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
566 @findex gnus-no-server
567 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
569 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
570 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
571 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
572 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
573 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
574 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
579 @section Slave Gnusae
582 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
583 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if
584 you are using the two different gnusae to read from two different
585 servers), that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
587 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
590 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
591 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and @dfn{slaves}.
592 (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have taken out a
593 copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in conjunction
594 with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to me. Usage of
595 the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer Applications})
596 will be much more expensive, of course.)
598 Anyways, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
599 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
600 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
601 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
602 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
603 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
604 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
605 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
607 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
608 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
611 @node Fetching a Group
612 @section Fetching a Group
613 @cindex fetching a group
615 @findex gnus-fetch-group
616 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
617 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
618 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
619 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
620 It takes the group name as a parameter.
628 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
629 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
630 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
631 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
632 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
633 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
634 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
635 @code{always}, then gnus will query the backends for new groups even
636 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
639 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
640 * Subscription Methods:: What gnus should do with new groups.
641 * Filtering New Groups:: Making gnus ignore certain new groups.
645 @node Checking New Groups
646 @subsection Checking New Groups
648 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
649 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
650 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
651 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
652 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
653 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
654 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
655 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
656 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
657 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
659 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
660 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
661 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
662 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
663 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't work.
664 I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server supports
665 @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't. You could
666 @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see whether it lists
667 @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If it does, then it
668 might work. (But there are servers that lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} without
669 supporting the function properly.)
671 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
672 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
673 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
674 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
675 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
676 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
679 @node Subscription Methods
680 @subsection Subscription Methods
682 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
683 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
684 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
686 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
687 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
689 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
693 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
694 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
695 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
696 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
697 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
699 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
700 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
701 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
702 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
704 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
705 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
706 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
708 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
709 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
710 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
711 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
712 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
713 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
714 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
715 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
716 up. Or something like that.
718 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
719 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
720 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask you
721 about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe to
722 will be subscribed hierarchically.
724 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
725 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
730 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
731 A closely related variable is
732 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
733 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
734 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
735 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
738 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
739 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
740 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
741 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
744 @node Filtering New Groups
745 @subsection Filtering New Groups
747 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
748 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
749 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
752 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
755 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
756 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
757 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
758 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
759 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
760 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
761 subscribing these groups.
762 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
763 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
765 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
766 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
767 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
768 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
769 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
770 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
771 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
772 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
774 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
775 Yet another variable that meddles here is
776 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
777 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
778 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
779 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
780 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
781 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
782 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
783 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
785 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
786 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
789 @node Changing Servers
790 @section Changing Servers
791 @cindex changing servers
793 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
794 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
795 very flaky and you want to use another.
797 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
798 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
802 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
803 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
804 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
805 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
808 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
809 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
810 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
811 functions more than absolutely necessary.
813 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
814 @findex gnus-change-server
815 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
816 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
817 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
818 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
819 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
821 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
822 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
823 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
824 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
825 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
827 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
828 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
829 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
830 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
831 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
832 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
834 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
835 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
836 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
840 @section Startup Files
841 @cindex startup files
846 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
847 information is traditionally stored in this file.
849 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{GNUS}. In addition to
850 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
851 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
852 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
853 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{GNUS} would read whichever one of these
854 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
855 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
857 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
858 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
859 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
860 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
861 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
862 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
864 In addition, gnus does not change anything. Hail comrade Lars!
866 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
867 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
868 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
869 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
870 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
871 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
873 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
874 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
875 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
876 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
877 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
878 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
879 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
880 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
881 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
882 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
883 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
884 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
886 @vindex gnus-startup-file
887 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
888 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
889 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
891 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
892 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
893 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
894 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
895 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
896 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
897 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
898 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
899 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
900 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
903 (defun turn-off-backup ()
904 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
906 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
907 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
910 @vindex gnus-init-file
911 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
912 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
913 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
914 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
915 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
916 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
917 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
918 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
919 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
928 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
929 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
930 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
931 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
932 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
935 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
936 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file
939 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
940 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
941 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
943 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
944 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
945 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
946 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
947 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
948 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
950 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
951 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
952 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
955 @node The Active File
956 @section The Active File
958 @cindex ignored groups
960 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
961 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
962 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
964 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
965 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
966 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
967 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
968 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
969 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
970 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
973 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
974 @c if you set it to anything else.
976 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
978 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
979 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
980 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
982 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
983 you actually subscribe to.
985 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
986 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
987 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
988 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
990 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
991 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
992 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
993 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
994 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
995 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
997 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
998 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
999 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1000 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1001 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1002 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1004 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1005 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1007 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1008 secondary select methods.
1011 @node Startup Variables
1012 @section Startup Variables
1016 @item gnus-load-hook
1017 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1018 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1019 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1020 times you start gnus.
1022 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1023 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1024 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1026 @item gnus-startup-hook
1027 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1028 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1030 @item gnus-started-hook
1031 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1032 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1035 @item gnus-started-hook
1036 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1037 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1038 generating the group buffer.
1040 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1041 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1042 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1043 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1044 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1045 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1046 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1047 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1049 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1050 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1051 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1052 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1053 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1054 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1056 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1057 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1058 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1060 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1061 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1062 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1064 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1065 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1066 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1067 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1072 @node The Group Buffer
1073 @chapter The Group Buffer
1074 @cindex group buffer
1076 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1077 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1078 long as gnus is active.
1082 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1083 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1084 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1085 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1086 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1087 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1088 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1089 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1095 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1096 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1097 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1098 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1099 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1100 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1101 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1102 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1103 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1104 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1105 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1106 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1107 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1108 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1109 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1110 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1111 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1115 @node Group Buffer Format
1116 @section Group Buffer Format
1119 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1120 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1121 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1125 @node Group Line Specification
1126 @subsection Group Line Specification
1127 @cindex group buffer format
1129 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1130 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1132 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1135 25: news.announce.newusers
1136 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1141 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1142 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1143 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1144 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1146 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1147 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1148 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1149 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1150 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1151 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1153 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1155 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1156 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1157 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1158 never examined by gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1161 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1162 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1163 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1165 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1170 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1173 Whether the group is subscribed.
1176 Level of subscribedness.
1179 Number of unread articles.
1182 Number of dormant articles.
1185 Number of ticked articles.
1188 Number of read articles.
1191 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1192 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1195 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1198 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1207 Newsgroup description.
1210 @samp{m} if moderated.
1213 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1222 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1226 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1229 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1230 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1231 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1232 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1233 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1236 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1238 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1242 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1246 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1247 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1248 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1249 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1250 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1251 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1256 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1257 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1258 group, or a bogus native group.
1261 @node Group Modeline Specification
1262 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1263 @cindex group modeline
1265 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1266 The mode line can be changed by setting
1267 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1268 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1272 The native news server.
1274 The native select method.
1278 @node Group Highlighting
1279 @subsection Group Highlighting
1280 @cindex highlighting
1281 @cindex group highlighting
1283 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1284 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1285 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1286 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1287 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1289 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1293 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1
1294 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1295 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2
1296 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1297 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3
1298 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1299 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4
1300 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1301 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5
1302 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1304 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1305 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1306 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1307 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1308 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1309 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1312 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1314 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1321 The number of unread articles in the group.
1325 Whether the group is a mail group.
1327 The level of the group.
1329 The score of the group.
1331 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1333 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1334 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1336 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1337 topic being inserted.
1340 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1341 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1342 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1344 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1345 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1346 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1347 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1348 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1351 @node Group Maneuvering
1352 @section Group Maneuvering
1353 @cindex group movement
1355 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1356 expected, hopefully.
1362 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1363 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1364 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1370 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1371 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1372 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1376 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1377 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1381 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1382 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1386 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1387 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1388 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1392 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1393 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1394 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1397 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1403 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1404 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1405 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1410 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1411 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1412 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1416 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1417 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1418 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1421 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1422 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1423 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1424 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1428 @node Selecting a Group
1429 @section Selecting a Group
1430 @cindex group selection
1435 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1436 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1437 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1438 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1439 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1440 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1441 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1442 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1443 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1444 negative, gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1448 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1449 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1450 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1451 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1452 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1456 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1457 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1458 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1459 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1460 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1461 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1462 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1463 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1464 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1465 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1468 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1469 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1470 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1471 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1472 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1475 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1476 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1477 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1478 doing any processing of its contents
1479 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1480 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1481 manner will have no permanent effects.
1485 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1486 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
1487 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1488 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
1489 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1490 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1491 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1492 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1495 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1496 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1497 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1498 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1503 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1504 full summary buffer.
1507 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1510 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1515 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
1516 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
1517 Useful functions include:
1520 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
1521 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
1522 don't select the article.
1524 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
1525 Select the first unread article.
1527 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
1528 Select the highest-scored unread article.
1532 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1533 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1534 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1538 @node Subscription Commands
1539 @section Subscription Commands
1540 @cindex subscription
1548 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1549 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1550 Toggle subscription to the current group
1551 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1557 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1558 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1559 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1560 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1566 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1567 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1568 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1574 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1575 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1578 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1579 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1580 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1581 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1582 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1588 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1589 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1593 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1594 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1597 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1598 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1599 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1600 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1601 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1602 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1603 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1604 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1605 @file{.newsrc} file.
1609 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1619 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1620 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1621 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1622 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1623 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1624 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group
1625 from the group buffer.
1629 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1630 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1631 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1635 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1636 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1637 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1639 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1640 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1641 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1642 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1643 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1644 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1651 @section Group Levels
1655 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1656 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1657 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1658 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1659 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1661 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1667 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1668 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1669 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1670 prompted for a level.
1673 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1674 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1675 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1676 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1677 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1678 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1679 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1680 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1681 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1682 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1683 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1684 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1685 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1686 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1687 reasons of efficiency.
1689 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1690 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1692 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1693 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1694 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1696 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1697 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1698 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1699 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1700 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1701 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1702 relevant valid ranges.
1704 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1705 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1706 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1707 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1708 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1709 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1712 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1713 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1714 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1717 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1718 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1719 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1720 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1723 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1724 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1725 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1726 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1728 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1729 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1730 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1731 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1732 to 5. The default is 6.
1736 @section Group Score
1741 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1742 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1743 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1746 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1747 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1748 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1749 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1750 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1751 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1752 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1754 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1755 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1756 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1757 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1758 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1759 action after each summary exit, you can add
1760 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1761 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1762 slow things down somewhat.
1765 @node Marking Groups
1766 @section Marking Groups
1767 @cindex marking groups
1769 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1770 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1771 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1772 bidding on those groups.
1774 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1775 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1776 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1784 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1785 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1791 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1792 Remove the mark from the current group
1793 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1797 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1798 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1802 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1803 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1807 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1808 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1812 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1813 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1814 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1817 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1819 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1820 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1821 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1822 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1823 the command to be executed.
1826 @node Foreign Groups
1827 @section Foreign Groups
1828 @cindex foreign groups
1830 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1831 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1832 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1833 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1840 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1841 @cindex making groups
1842 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1843 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1844 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1848 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1849 @cindex renaming groups
1850 Rename the current group to something else
1851 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1852 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1858 @findex gnus-group-customize
1859 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1863 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1864 @cindex renaming groups
1865 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1866 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1870 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1871 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1872 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1876 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1877 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1878 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1882 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1884 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1885 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1890 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1891 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1895 @cindex (ding) archive
1896 @cindex archive group
1897 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1898 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1899 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1900 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1901 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1902 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1903 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1907 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1909 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1910 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1911 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1912 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1916 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1918 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1919 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1920 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1924 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1925 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1927 Make a group based on some file or other
1928 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1929 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1930 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1931 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1932 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1933 this command without a prefix, gnus will guess at the file type.
1934 @xref{Document Groups}.
1938 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
1939 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
1940 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
1941 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
1945 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1950 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1951 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1952 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1953 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1954 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1955 @xref{Web Searches}.
1957 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1958 to a particular group by using a match string like
1959 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1962 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1963 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1964 This function will delete the current group
1965 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1966 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1967 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1968 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1969 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1973 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1974 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1975 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1979 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1980 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1981 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1984 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1987 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1988 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1989 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1990 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1991 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
1992 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
1996 @node Group Parameters
1997 @section Group Parameters
1998 @cindex group parameters
2000 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2001 Here's an example group parameter list:
2004 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2008 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing
2009 before the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value.
2010 All the parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs,
2011 which are not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2013 The following group parameters can be used:
2018 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2021 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2024 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2025 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2026 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2027 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2028 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2030 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2031 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2032 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2033 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2034 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2035 list address instead.
2039 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2042 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2045 It is totally ignored
2046 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2047 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2049 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2050 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2051 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2052 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2053 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2055 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2056 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2057 sending the message.
2061 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2062 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2063 of whether it has any unread articles.
2065 @item broken-reply-to
2066 @cindex broken-reply-to
2067 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2068 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2069 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2070 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2071 broken behavior. So there!
2075 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2076 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2080 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2081 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2082 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2087 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2088 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2089 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2090 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2091 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2092 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2093 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2097 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2098 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2099 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2102 @cindex total-expire
2103 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2104 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2105 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2106 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2111 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2112 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2113 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2114 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2115 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2116 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2119 @cindex score file group parameter
2120 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2121 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2122 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2125 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2126 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2127 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2128 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2131 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2132 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2133 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2134 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2137 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2138 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2142 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2145 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2150 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2151 arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by gnus,
2152 but provide a place for you to store information on particular groups.
2155 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2156 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2157 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2159 @item @var{(variable form)}
2160 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2161 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2162 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2163 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2164 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2165 @code{eval}ed there.
2167 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2168 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2169 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2170 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2171 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2175 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2176 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2180 @node Listing Groups
2181 @section Listing Groups
2182 @cindex group listing
2184 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2192 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2193 List all groups that have unread articles
2194 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2195 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2196 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2197 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2204 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2205 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2206 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2207 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2208 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2209 unsubscribed groups).
2213 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2214 List all unread groups on a specific level
2215 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2216 with no unread articles.
2220 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2221 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2222 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2223 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2228 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2229 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2233 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2234 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2235 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2239 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2240 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2244 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2245 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2246 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2247 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2248 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2249 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2250 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2251 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2255 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2256 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2257 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2261 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2262 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2263 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2267 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2268 @cindex visible group parameter
2269 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2270 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2271 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2272 get the same effect.
2274 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2275 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2276 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2277 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2278 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2281 @node Sorting Groups
2282 @section Sorting Groups
2283 @cindex sorting groups
2285 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2286 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2287 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2288 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2289 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2290 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2295 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2296 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2297 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2299 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2300 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2301 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2303 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2304 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2305 Sort by group level.
2307 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2308 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2309 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2311 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2312 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2313 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2314 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2316 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2317 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2318 Sort by number of unread articles.
2320 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2321 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2322 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2327 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2328 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2332 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2333 some sorting criteria:
2337 @kindex G S a (Group)
2338 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2339 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2340 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2343 @kindex G S u (Group)
2344 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2345 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2346 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2349 @kindex G S l (Group)
2350 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2351 Sort the group buffer by group level
2352 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2355 @kindex G S v (Group)
2356 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2357 Sort the group buffer by group score
2358 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2361 @kindex G S r (Group)
2362 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2363 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2364 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2367 @kindex G S m (Group)
2368 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2369 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2370 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2374 All the commands below obeys the process/prefix convention
2375 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2377 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2378 commands will sort in reverse order.
2380 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2384 @kindex G P a (Group)
2385 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2386 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2387 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2390 @kindex G P u (Group)
2391 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2392 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2393 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2396 @kindex G P l (Group)
2397 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2398 Sort the groups by group level
2399 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2402 @kindex G P v (Group)
2403 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2404 Sort the groups by group score
2405 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2408 @kindex G P r (Group)
2409 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2410 Sort the groups by group rank
2411 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2414 @kindex G P m (Group)
2415 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2416 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2417 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2423 @node Group Maintenance
2424 @section Group Maintenance
2425 @cindex bogus groups
2430 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2431 Find bogus groups and delete them
2432 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2436 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2437 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2438 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2439 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2440 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2444 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2445 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2446 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2447 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2450 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2451 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2452 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2453 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2458 @node Browse Foreign Server
2459 @section Browse Foreign Server
2460 @cindex foreign servers
2461 @cindex browsing servers
2466 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2467 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2468 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2469 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2472 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2473 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2474 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2475 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2477 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2482 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2483 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2487 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2488 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2491 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2492 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2493 Enter the current group and display the first article
2494 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2497 @kindex RET (Browse)
2498 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2499 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2503 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2504 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2505 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2511 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2512 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2516 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2517 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2518 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2523 @section Exiting gnus
2524 @cindex exiting gnus
2526 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
2531 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2532 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit
2533 gnus, but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure
2534 why this is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2538 @findex gnus-group-exit
2539 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2540 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2544 @findex gnus-group-quit
2545 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files
2546 (@code{gnus-group-quit}). The dribble file will be saved, though
2547 (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2550 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2551 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2552 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
2553 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
2554 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2559 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2560 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2561 trying to customize meta-variables.
2566 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2567 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2568 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2574 @section Group Topics
2577 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2578 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2579 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2580 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2581 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2582 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2586 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2587 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2598 2: alt.religion.emacs
2601 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2603 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2604 13: comp.sources.unix
2607 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2609 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2610 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2611 is a toggling command.)
2613 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2614 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2615 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2616 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2619 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2620 the hook for the group mode:
2623 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2627 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2628 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2629 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2630 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2631 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2635 @node Topic Variables
2636 @subsection Topic Variables
2637 @cindex topic variables
2639 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2640 really neat, I think.
2642 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2643 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2644 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2657 Number of groups in the topic.
2659 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2661 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2664 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2665 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2666 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2669 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2670 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2672 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2673 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2674 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2677 @node Topic Commands
2678 @subsection Topic Commands
2679 @cindex topic commands
2681 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2682 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2683 definitions slightly.
2689 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2690 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2691 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2695 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2696 Move the current group to some other topic
2697 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2698 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2702 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2703 Copy the current group to some other topic
2704 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2705 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2709 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2710 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2711 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
2712 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
2713 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
2714 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
2715 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
2718 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2719 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2723 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2724 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2725 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2729 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2730 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2731 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2735 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2736 Toggle hiding empty topics
2737 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2741 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2742 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2743 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2746 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2747 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2748 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2749 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2753 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2755 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2756 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2757 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2758 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2759 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2760 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2764 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2766 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2767 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2768 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2769 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2772 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
2773 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
2774 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2775 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
2779 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2780 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2781 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2785 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2786 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2787 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2792 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2793 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2796 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2797 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2798 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2802 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2803 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2804 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2808 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2809 @cindex group parameters
2810 @cindex topic parameters
2812 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2813 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2819 @subsection Topic Sorting
2820 @cindex topic sorting
2822 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2828 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2829 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2830 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2831 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2834 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2835 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2836 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2837 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2840 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2841 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2842 Sort the current topic by group level
2843 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2846 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2847 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2848 Sort the current topic by group score
2849 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2852 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2853 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2854 Sort the current topic by group rank
2855 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2858 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2859 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2860 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2861 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2865 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2868 @node Topic Topology
2869 @subsection Topic Topology
2870 @cindex topic topology
2873 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2879 2: alt.religion.emacs
2882 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2884 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2885 13: comp.sources.unix
2888 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2889 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2890 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2895 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2896 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2900 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2901 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2902 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2903 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2904 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2905 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2907 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2908 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2909 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2912 @node Topic Parameters
2913 @subsection Topic Parameters
2914 @cindex topic parameters
2916 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2917 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2918 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2920 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2921 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2922 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2923 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2929 2: alt.religion.emacs
2933 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2935 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2936 13: comp.sources.unix
2940 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2941 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2942 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2943 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2944 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2945 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2947 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2948 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2949 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2950 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2951 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2953 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2954 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2955 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2956 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2957 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2958 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2959 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2960 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2963 @node Misc Group Stuff
2964 @section Misc Group Stuff
2967 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2968 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and gnus.
2969 * Group Timestamp:: Making gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2970 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the gnus files.
2977 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2978 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2979 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2983 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2984 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2985 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2989 @findex gnus-group-mail
2990 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2994 Variables for the group buffer:
2998 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2999 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3000 is called after the group buffer has been
3003 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3004 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3005 is called after the group buffer is
3006 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3009 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3010 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3011 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3012 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3014 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3015 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3016 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3017 whether they are empty or not.
3022 @node Scanning New Messages
3023 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3024 @cindex new messages
3025 @cindex scanning new news
3031 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3032 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3033 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3034 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3035 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3036 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3041 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3042 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3043 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3044 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3045 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3046 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3047 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3049 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3050 @cindex activating groups
3052 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3053 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3058 @findex gnus-group-restart
3059 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3060 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3061 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
3065 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3066 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3068 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3069 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3073 @node Group Information
3074 @subsection Group Information
3075 @cindex group information
3076 @cindex information on groups
3083 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3084 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3087 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3088 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3089 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3090 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3091 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3092 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3093 for fetching the file.
3095 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
3096 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3100 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3102 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3103 @cindex describing groups
3104 @cindex group description
3105 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3106 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3107 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3111 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3112 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3113 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3120 @findex gnus-version
3121 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3125 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3126 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3129 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3132 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3133 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3137 @node Group Timestamp
3138 @subsection Group Timestamp
3140 @cindex group timestamps
3142 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
3143 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3144 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3147 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3150 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3152 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3153 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3156 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3157 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3160 This will result in lines looking like:
3163 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3164 0: custom 19961002T012713
3167 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3168 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3172 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3173 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3178 @subsection File Commands
3179 @cindex file commands
3185 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3186 @vindex gnus-init-file
3187 @cindex reading init file
3188 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3189 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3193 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3194 @cindex saving .newsrc
3195 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3196 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3197 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3200 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3201 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3202 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3207 @node The Summary Buffer
3208 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3209 @cindex summary buffer
3211 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3212 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3214 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3215 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3217 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3220 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3221 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3222 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3223 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3224 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3225 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3226 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3227 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3228 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3229 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3230 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3231 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3232 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3233 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3234 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3235 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3236 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3237 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3238 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3239 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3240 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3241 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3242 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3243 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3244 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3245 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3246 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3247 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3251 @node Summary Buffer Format
3252 @section Summary Buffer Format
3253 @cindex summary buffer format
3257 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3258 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3259 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3265 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3266 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3267 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3270 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3271 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3272 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3273 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3274 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3275 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
3276 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3277 fast, and too simplistic solution;
3278 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
3279 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
3280 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
3281 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
3282 other function instead:
3285 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3286 'mail-extract-address-components)
3289 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3290 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3291 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3292 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3295 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3296 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3298 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3299 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3300 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3301 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3302 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3304 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3306 The following format specification characters are understood:
3314 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3315 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3316 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3318 Full @code{From} header.
3320 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3322 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3323 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3324 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3325 may be more thorough.
3327 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3330 Number of lines in the article.
3332 Number of characters in the article.
3334 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3336 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3337 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3339 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3340 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3342 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3343 for adopted articles.
3345 One space for each thread level.
3347 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3352 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3353 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3357 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3359 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3360 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3361 default level. If the difference between
3362 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3363 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3371 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3373 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3379 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3380 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3382 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3383 article has any children.
3389 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3390 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3391 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3392 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3393 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3394 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3397 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3398 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
3399 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3400 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3401 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3402 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3404 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3405 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3407 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
3410 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3411 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3413 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3414 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
3415 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
3416 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3418 Here are the elements you can play with:
3424 Unprefixed group name.
3426 Current article number.
3428 Current article score.
3432 Number of unread articles in this group.
3434 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3437 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3438 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3439 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3440 and no unselected ones.
3442 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3443 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3445 Subject of the current article.
3447 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3449 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3451 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3453 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3455 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3457 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3461 @node Summary Highlighting
3462 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3466 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3467 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3468 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3469 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3470 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3472 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3473 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3474 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3475 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3477 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3478 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3479 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3480 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3482 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3483 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3484 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3485 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3486 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3487 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3489 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3490 ((> score default) . bold))
3492 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3493 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3497 @node Summary Maneuvering
3498 @section Summary Maneuvering
3499 @cindex summary movement
3501 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3502 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3504 None of these commands select articles.
3509 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3510 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3511 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3512 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3513 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3517 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3518 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3519 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3520 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3521 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3526 @kindex G j (Summary)
3527 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3528 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3529 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3532 @kindex G g (Summary)
3533 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3534 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3535 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3538 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3539 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3540 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3541 to the group buffer.
3543 Variables related to summary movement:
3547 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3548 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3549 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3550 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
3551 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3552 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3553 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
3554 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3555 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
3556 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3557 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3558 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3559 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3560 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3562 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3563 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3564 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3565 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3566 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3567 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
3568 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
3570 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3572 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3573 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3574 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3575 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3576 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3578 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3579 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3580 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3581 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3582 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3583 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3584 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3585 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3591 @node Choosing Articles
3592 @section Choosing Articles
3593 @cindex selecting articles
3596 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3597 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3601 @node Choosing Commands
3602 @subsection Choosing Commands
3604 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3605 and they all select and display an article.
3609 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3610 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3611 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3612 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3617 @kindex G n (Summary)
3618 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3619 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3620 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3625 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3626 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3627 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3632 @kindex G N (Summary)
3633 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3634 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3639 @kindex G P (Summary)
3640 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3641 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3644 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3645 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3646 Go to the next article with the same subject
3647 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3650 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3651 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3652 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3653 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3657 @kindex G f (Summary)
3659 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3660 Go to the first unread article
3661 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3665 @kindex G b (Summary)
3667 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3668 Go to the article with the highest score
3669 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3674 @kindex G l (Summary)
3675 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3676 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3679 @kindex G o (Summary)
3680 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3682 @cindex article history
3683 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3684 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3685 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3686 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3687 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3688 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3692 @node Choosing Variables
3693 @subsection Choosing Variables
3695 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3698 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3699 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3700 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3701 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3702 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3703 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3705 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3706 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3707 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3708 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3710 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3711 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3712 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3713 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3714 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3715 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3716 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3717 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3718 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3719 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3720 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3721 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3722 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3723 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3728 @node Paging the Article
3729 @section Scrolling the Article
3730 @cindex article scrolling
3735 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3736 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3737 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3738 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3739 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3742 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3743 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3744 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3747 @kindex RET (Summary)
3748 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3749 Scroll the current article one line forward
3750 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3753 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
3754 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
3755 Scroll the current article one line backward
3756 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
3760 @kindex A g (Summary)
3762 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3763 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3764 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3765 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3766 the way it came from the server.
3771 @kindex A < (Summary)
3772 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3773 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3774 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3779 @kindex A > (Summary)
3780 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3781 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3785 @kindex A s (Summary)
3787 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3788 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3789 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3793 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3794 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3799 @node Reply Followup and Post
3800 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3803 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3804 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3808 @node Summary Mail Commands
3809 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3811 @cindex composing mail
3813 Commands for composing a mail message:
3819 @kindex S r (Summary)
3821 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3822 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3823 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3824 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3825 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3830 @kindex S R (Summary)
3831 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3832 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3833 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3834 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3835 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3838 @kindex S w (Summary)
3839 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3840 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3841 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3842 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3843 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3846 @kindex S W (Summary)
3847 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3848 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3849 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3850 the process/prefix convention.
3853 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3854 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3855 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3856 Forward the current article to some other person
3857 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3858 headers of the forwarded article.
3863 @kindex S m (Summary)
3864 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3865 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3866 Send a mail to some other person
3867 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3870 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3871 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3872 @cindex bouncing mail
3873 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3874 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3875 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3876 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3877 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3878 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
3879 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3880 very well fail, though.
3883 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3884 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3885 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3886 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3887 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3888 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3889 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3890 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3891 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3892 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3894 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3895 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3896 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3897 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3898 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung mu
\e,A_
\e(B sein!
3900 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3901 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3904 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3905 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3906 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3907 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3908 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3911 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3912 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3913 @cindex crossposting
3914 @cindex excessive crossposting
3915 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3916 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3918 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3919 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
3920 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3921 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3922 command understands the process/prefix convention
3923 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3927 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3930 @node Summary Post Commands
3931 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3933 @cindex composing news
3935 Commands for posting a news article:
3941 @kindex S p (Summary)
3942 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3943 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3944 Post an article to the current group
3945 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3950 @kindex S f (Summary)
3951 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3952 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3953 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3957 @kindex S F (Summary)
3959 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3960 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3961 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3962 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3963 process/prefix convention.
3966 @kindex S n (Summary)
3967 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3968 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3969 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3972 @kindex S N (Summary)
3973 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
3974 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3975 message through mail and include the original message
3976 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3977 the process/prefix convention.
3980 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3981 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3982 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3983 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3984 headers of the forwarded article.
3987 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3988 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3990 @cindex making digests
3991 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3992 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3993 process/prefix convention.
3996 @kindex S u (Summary)
3997 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3998 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3999 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4000 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4003 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4006 @node Canceling and Superseding
4007 @section Canceling Articles
4008 @cindex canceling articles
4009 @cindex superseding articles
4011 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4012 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4014 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4016 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4018 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4019 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4020 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4021 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4022 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4023 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4025 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4026 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4029 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4030 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4031 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4033 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4034 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4035 your original article.
4037 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4039 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4040 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4041 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4044 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4045 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4046 have posted almost the same article twice.
4048 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4049 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4050 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4051 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4052 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4053 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4054 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4055 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4056 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4057 canceled/superseded.
4059 Just remember, kids: There is no `c' in `supersede'.
4062 @node Marking Articles
4063 @section Marking Articles
4064 @cindex article marking
4065 @cindex article ticking
4068 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4070 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4071 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4072 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4074 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4077 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4078 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4079 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4083 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4087 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4088 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4092 @node Unread Articles
4093 @subsection Unread Articles
4095 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4100 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4101 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4103 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4104 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4105 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4106 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4107 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4111 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4112 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4114 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4115 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4116 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4119 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4120 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4122 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4127 @subsection Read Articles
4128 @cindex expirable mark
4130 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4135 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4136 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4137 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4140 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4141 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4144 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4145 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4146 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4149 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4150 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4153 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4154 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4157 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4158 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4161 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4162 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4165 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4166 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4169 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4170 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4173 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4174 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4178 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4179 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4180 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4184 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4185 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4187 One more special mark, though:
4191 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4192 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4194 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4195 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4196 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4197 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at any time.
4202 @subsection Other Marks
4203 @cindex process mark
4206 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4212 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4213 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4214 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4215 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4216 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4219 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4220 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4221 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4222 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4225 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4226 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4227 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4230 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4231 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4232 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4233 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4236 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4237 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4238 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4239 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4240 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4243 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4244 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4245 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4246 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4247 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4248 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4252 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4253 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4254 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4256 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4257 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4258 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4262 @subsection Setting Marks
4263 @cindex setting marks
4265 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4270 @kindex M c (Summary)
4271 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4272 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4273 @cindex mark as unread
4274 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4275 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4281 @kindex M t (Summary)
4282 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4283 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4284 @xref{Article Caching}.
4289 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4290 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4291 Mark the current article as dormant
4292 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4296 @kindex M d (Summary)
4298 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4299 Mark the current article as read
4300 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4304 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4305 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4306 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4311 @kindex M k (Summary)
4312 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4313 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4314 and then select the next unread article
4315 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4319 @kindex M K (Summary)
4320 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4321 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4322 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4323 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4326 @kindex M C (Summary)
4327 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4328 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4329 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4332 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4333 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4334 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4335 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4338 @kindex M H (Summary)
4339 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4340 Catchup the current group to point
4341 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4344 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4345 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4346 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4347 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4350 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4351 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4352 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4353 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4357 @kindex M e (Summary)
4359 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4360 Mark the current article as expirable
4361 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4364 @kindex M b (Summary)
4365 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4366 Set a bookmark in the current article
4367 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4370 @kindex M B (Summary)
4371 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4372 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4373 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4376 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4377 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4378 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4379 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4382 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4383 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4384 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4385 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4388 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4389 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4390 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4391 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4392 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4395 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4396 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4397 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4398 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4399 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4400 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4401 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4402 The default is @code{t}.
4405 @node Setting Process Marks
4406 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4407 @cindex setting process marks
4414 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4415 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4416 Mark the current article with the process mark
4417 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4418 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4422 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4423 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4424 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4425 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4428 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4429 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4430 Remove the process mark from all articles
4431 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4434 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4435 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4436 Invert the list of process marked articles
4437 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4440 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4441 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4442 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4443 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4446 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4447 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4448 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4451 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4452 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4453 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4454 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4457 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4458 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4459 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4460 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4463 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4464 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4465 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4466 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4469 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4470 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4471 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4474 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4475 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4476 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4477 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4480 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4481 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4482 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4485 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4486 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4487 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4488 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4491 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4492 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4493 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4494 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4497 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4498 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4499 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4500 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4503 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4504 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4505 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4506 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4515 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4516 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4517 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4520 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4521 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4522 additional articles.
4528 @kindex / / (Summary)
4529 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4530 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4531 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4534 @kindex / a (Summary)
4535 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4536 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4537 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4541 @kindex / u (Summary)
4543 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4544 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4545 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4546 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4547 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4550 @kindex / m (Summary)
4551 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4552 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
4553 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4556 @kindex / t (Summary)
4557 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4558 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4559 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4560 articles younger than that number of days.
4563 @kindex / n (Summary)
4564 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4565 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4566 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4567 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4570 @kindex / w (Summary)
4571 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4572 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4573 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4577 @kindex / v (Summary)
4578 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4579 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4580 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4584 @kindex M S (Summary)
4585 @kindex / E (Summary)
4586 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4587 Include all expunged articles in the limit
4588 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4591 @kindex / D (Summary)
4592 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4593 Include all dormant articles in the limit
4594 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4597 @kindex / * (Summary)
4598 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4599 Include all cached articles in the limit
4600 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4603 @kindex / d (Summary)
4604 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4605 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
4606 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4609 @kindex / T (Summary)
4610 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4611 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
4614 @kindex / c (Summary)
4615 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4616 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
4617 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4620 @kindex / C (Summary)
4621 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4622 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4623 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4624 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4632 @cindex article threading
4634 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4635 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4636 hierarchical fashion.
4638 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4639 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4640 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4641 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
4642 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4643 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4644 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4646 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4650 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4653 A tree-like article structure.
4656 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4659 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4660 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4661 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
4662 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4663 called loose threads.
4665 @item thread gathering
4666 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4668 @item sparse threads
4669 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4670 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4676 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4677 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4681 @node Customizing Threading
4682 @subsection Customizing Threading
4683 @cindex customizing threading
4686 * Loose Threads:: How gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4687 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4688 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4689 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4694 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4697 @cindex loose threads
4700 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4701 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4702 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4703 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4704 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4705 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4707 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
4708 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
4709 There are four possible values:
4713 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4714 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4715 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4716 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4717 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4722 @cindex adopting articles
4727 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4728 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4729 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4730 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4733 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4734 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4735 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4736 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4737 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4738 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4739 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4742 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4743 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4744 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4748 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4749 display them after one another.
4752 Don't gather loose threads.
4755 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4756 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4757 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4758 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
4759 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4760 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4761 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4762 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4763 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4764 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
4765 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4767 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4768 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
4769 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4772 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4773 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4774 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4775 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4776 simplification is used.
4778 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4779 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4780 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4781 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4783 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4785 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4791 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4792 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4793 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4794 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4799 (mapconcat 'identity
4800 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4802 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4805 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4808 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4809 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4810 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4811 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4812 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4813 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4815 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4818 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4819 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4820 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4822 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4823 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4826 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4827 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4828 Remove excessive whitespace.
4831 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4834 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4835 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4836 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4837 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4838 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4839 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4840 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4841 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4843 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4844 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4845 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4846 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4847 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4848 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4849 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4850 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4851 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4855 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4856 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4857 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4858 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4860 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4861 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4862 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4865 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4869 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4870 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4876 @node Filling In Threads
4877 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4880 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4881 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4882 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4883 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
4884 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
4885 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
4886 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
4887 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
4888 old headers only works if the backend you are using carries overview
4889 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4890 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4891 expired by the server, there's not much gnus can do about that.
4893 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4894 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4895 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4897 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4898 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4899 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4900 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4901 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4902 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4903 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
4904 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4905 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
4906 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
4907 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4908 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
4909 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4910 @code{nil} by default.
4915 @node More Threading
4916 @subsubsection More Threading
4919 @item gnus-show-threads
4920 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4921 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4922 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4923 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4924 slower and more awkward.
4926 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4927 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4928 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4931 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4932 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4933 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4934 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4935 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4936 threads are expunged.
4938 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4939 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4940 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4943 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4944 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4945 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4946 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4947 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4950 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4951 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4952 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4958 @node Low-Level Threading
4959 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4963 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4964 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4965 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4966 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
4967 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
4968 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
4970 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4971 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4972 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4973 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4974 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4975 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4976 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4977 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4978 meaningful. Here's one example:
4981 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4983 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4984 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4986 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4988 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4995 @node Thread Commands
4996 @subsection Thread Commands
4997 @cindex thread commands
5003 @kindex T k (Summary)
5004 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5005 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5006 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5007 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5008 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5013 @kindex T l (Summary)
5014 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5015 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5016 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5017 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5020 @kindex T i (Summary)
5021 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5022 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5023 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5026 @kindex T # (Summary)
5027 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5028 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5029 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5032 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5033 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5034 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5035 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5038 @kindex T T (Summary)
5039 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5040 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5043 @kindex T s (Summary)
5044 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5045 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5046 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5049 @kindex T h (Summary)
5050 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5051 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5054 @kindex T S (Summary)
5055 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5056 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5059 @kindex T H (Summary)
5060 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5061 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5064 @kindex T t (Summary)
5065 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5066 Re-thread the current article's thread
5067 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5068 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5071 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5072 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5073 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5074 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5078 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5079 understand the numeric prefix.
5084 @kindex T n (Summary)
5085 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5086 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5089 @kindex T p (Summary)
5090 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5091 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5094 @kindex T d (Summary)
5095 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5096 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5099 @kindex T u (Summary)
5100 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5101 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5104 @kindex T o (Summary)
5105 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5106 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5109 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5110 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5111 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5112 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5113 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5114 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5115 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5116 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5117 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5118 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5119 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5120 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5127 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5128 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5129 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5130 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5131 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5132 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5133 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5134 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5135 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
5136 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5137 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5138 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5139 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5140 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5142 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5143 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5144 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
5145 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
5146 in the list. You should probably always include
5147 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5148 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5149 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5150 ascending article order.
5152 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
5153 number, you could do something like:
5156 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5157 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5158 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5159 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
5162 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5163 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5164 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5165 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5166 which the articles arrived.
5168 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5172 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5174 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5175 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5178 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5179 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5180 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5181 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5184 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5185 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5186 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5187 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5188 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5189 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5190 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5191 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5192 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5193 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5194 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5195 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5196 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5198 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5202 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5203 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5204 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5209 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5210 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5211 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5212 @cindex article pre-fetch
5215 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5216 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5217 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5218 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5219 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5221 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5222 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
5224 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5225 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5226 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5227 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5228 connection is blocked.
5230 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5231 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5232 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5233 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
5235 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5236 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5237 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5238 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5241 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5244 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5245 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5246 happen automatically.
5248 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5249 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5250 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5251 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5252 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5253 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5254 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5256 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5257 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5258 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5259 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5260 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5261 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5262 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5263 data structure as the only parameter.
5265 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
5266 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5269 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5270 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5271 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5272 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5275 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5278 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5279 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much. It's
5280 probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5282 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5283 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5284 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5285 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5289 Remove articles when they are read.
5292 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5295 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5297 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5298 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5299 @c from the next group.
5302 @node Article Caching
5303 @section Article Caching
5304 @cindex article caching
5307 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5308 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5309 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5310 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5311 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5313 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5315 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5316 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5317 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5318 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5319 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5320 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5321 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5322 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5324 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5325 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5326 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5327 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5328 as dormant, and don't worry.
5330 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5332 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5333 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5334 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5335 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5336 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5337 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5338 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5339 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5340 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5341 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5343 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5344 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5345 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5346 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5347 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5348 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5349 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5350 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5351 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5352 not then be downloaded by this command.
5354 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5355 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
5356 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
5357 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5358 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5359 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
5361 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
5362 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
5363 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
5364 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
5365 variables, the group is not cached.
5367 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5368 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5369 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5370 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5371 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5372 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
5373 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5374 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5375 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5379 @node Persistent Articles
5380 @section Persistent Articles
5381 @cindex persistent articles
5383 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5384 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5385 useful in my opinion.
5387 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5388 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5389 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5390 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5391 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5392 the expiry going on at the news server.
5394 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5395 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5396 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5402 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5403 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5406 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5407 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5408 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5409 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5413 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5415 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5416 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5417 interested in persistent articles:
5420 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5424 @node Article Backlog
5425 @section Article Backlog
5427 @cindex article backlog
5429 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5430 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5431 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
5432 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5433 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5434 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5435 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
5436 increase memory usage some.
5438 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5439 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
5440 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5441 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
5442 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5443 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5444 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5446 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5449 @node Saving Articles
5450 @section Saving Articles
5451 @cindex saving articles
5453 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5454 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5455 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5456 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5457 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5459 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5460 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
5461 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5463 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5464 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5465 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5466 deleted before saving.
5472 @kindex O o (Summary)
5474 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5475 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5476 Save the current article using the default article saver
5477 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5480 @kindex O m (Summary)
5481 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5482 Save the current article in mail format
5483 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5486 @kindex O r (Summary)
5487 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5488 Save the current article in rmail format
5489 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5492 @kindex O f (Summary)
5493 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5494 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5495 Save the current article in plain file format
5496 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5499 @kindex O F (Summary)
5500 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5501 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5502 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5505 @kindex O b (Summary)
5506 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5507 Save the current article body in plain file format
5508 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5511 @kindex O h (Summary)
5512 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5513 Save the current article in mh folder format
5514 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5517 @kindex O v (Summary)
5518 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5519 Save the current article in a VM folder
5520 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5523 @kindex O p (Summary)
5524 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5525 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5526 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5529 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5530 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5531 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5532 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5533 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5534 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5535 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5536 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5537 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5538 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5539 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5540 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5544 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5545 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5546 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5547 functions below, or you can create your own.
5551 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5552 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5553 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5554 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5555 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5556 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5557 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5559 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5560 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5561 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5562 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5563 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5564 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5566 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5567 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5568 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5569 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5570 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5571 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5572 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5574 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5575 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5576 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5577 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5578 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5580 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5581 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5582 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5583 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5584 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5587 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5588 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5589 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5590 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5591 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5593 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5594 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5595 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5596 reader to use this setting.
5599 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5600 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5601 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5602 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5605 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5606 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5607 available functions that generate names:
5611 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5612 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5613 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5615 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5616 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5617 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5619 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5620 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5621 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5623 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5624 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5625 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5628 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5629 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp
5630 into the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would
5631 like to save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and
5632 articles related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable
5636 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5637 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5638 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5639 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5642 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5643 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5644 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5645 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5646 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5647 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5648 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5649 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5650 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5652 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5653 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5654 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5655 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5657 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5658 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5659 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file name.
5661 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5662 lots of mail groups called things like
5663 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5664 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5665 following will do just that:
5668 (defun my-save-name (group)
5669 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5670 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5672 (setq gnus-split-methods
5673 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5678 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5679 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5680 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5681 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5682 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5683 all the files in the top level directory
5684 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5685 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5686 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5687 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5689 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5690 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5691 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5692 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5693 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5696 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5700 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5701 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5704 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5705 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5706 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5707 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5710 @node Decoding Articles
5711 @section Decoding Articles
5712 @cindex decoding articles
5714 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5715 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5718 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5719 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5720 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5721 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5722 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5723 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5727 @cindex article series
5728 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5729 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5730 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5731 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5732 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5734 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5735 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5736 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5738 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
5739 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5740 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5742 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5743 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5744 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5747 @node Uuencoded Articles
5748 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5750 @cindex uuencoded articles
5755 @kindex X u (Summary)
5756 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5757 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5758 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5761 @kindex X U (Summary)
5762 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5763 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5764 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5767 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5768 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5769 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5772 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5773 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5774 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5775 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5779 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5780 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5781 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5782 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5783 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5785 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5786 @sc{GNUS 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5787 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5788 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5791 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5792 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5793 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5794 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5795 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5796 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5800 @node Shell Archives
5801 @subsection Shell Archives
5803 @cindex shell archives
5804 @cindex shared articles
5806 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5807 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5808 some commands to deal with these:
5813 @kindex X s (Summary)
5814 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5815 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5818 @kindex X S (Summary)
5819 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5820 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5823 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5824 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5825 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5828 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5829 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5830 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5831 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5835 @node PostScript Files
5836 @subsection PostScript Files
5842 @kindex X p (Summary)
5843 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5844 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5847 @kindex X P (Summary)
5848 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5849 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5850 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5853 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5854 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5855 View the current PostScript series
5856 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5859 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5860 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5861 View and save the current PostScript series
5862 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5867 @subsection Other Files
5871 @kindex X o (Summary)
5872 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5873 Save the current series
5874 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5877 @kindex X b (Summary)
5878 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5879 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5880 doesn't really work yet.
5884 @node Decoding Variables
5885 @subsection Decoding Variables
5887 Adjective, not verb.
5890 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5891 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5892 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5896 @node Rule Variables
5897 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5898 @cindex rule variables
5900 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5901 variables are of the form
5904 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5911 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5912 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5914 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5915 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5918 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5919 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5922 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5923 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5924 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5925 user and default view rules.
5927 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5928 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5929 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5934 @node Other Decode Variables
5935 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5938 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5940 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5941 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5942 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5943 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5944 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5948 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5949 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5952 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5953 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5954 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5957 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5958 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5959 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5960 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5961 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5964 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5965 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5966 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5968 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5969 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5970 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5971 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5972 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5975 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5976 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5977 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5979 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5980 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5981 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5982 looking for files to display.
5984 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5985 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5986 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5989 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5990 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5991 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5994 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5995 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5996 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5999 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6000 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6001 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6004 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6005 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6006 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6007 decoded articles as unread.
6009 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6010 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6011 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6012 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6014 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6015 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6016 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6018 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6019 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6021 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6022 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6023 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6024 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6026 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6027 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6028 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6029 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6030 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6031 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
6032 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6033 simply dropped them.
6038 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6039 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6043 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6044 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6045 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6046 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6047 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6048 for you when you post the article.
6050 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6051 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6052 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6053 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6055 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6056 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6057 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6058 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6059 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6060 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6061 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6063 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6064 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6065 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6066 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6067 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6068 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6069 Default is @code{t}.
6075 @subsection Viewing Files
6076 @cindex viewing files
6077 @cindex pseudo-articles
6079 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
6080 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6081 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6082 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
6083 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6084 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6085 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6087 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6088 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6089 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6090 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6092 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6093 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6094 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6096 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6097 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6098 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6099 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6100 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6102 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6103 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6104 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6105 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6106 a list of parameters to that command.
6108 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6109 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6110 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6112 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6113 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6114 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6117 @node Article Treatment
6118 @section Article Treatment
6120 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6121 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6122 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6123 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6124 these articles easier.
6127 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6128 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6129 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6130 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6131 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6132 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6133 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6137 @node Article Highlighting
6138 @subsection Article Highlighting
6139 @cindex highlighting
6141 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6142 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6147 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6148 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6149 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6150 Do much highlighting of the current article
6151 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6152 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6154 Most users would prefer using @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} in
6155 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}) instead.
6156 This is a bit less agressive---it highlights only the headers, the
6157 signature and adds buttons.
6160 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6161 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6162 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6163 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6164 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6165 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6166 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6167 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6168 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6169 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6170 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6173 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6174 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6175 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6177 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6180 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6182 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6183 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6184 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6186 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6187 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6188 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6190 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6191 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6192 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6194 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6195 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6196 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6197 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6198 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6199 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6201 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6202 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6203 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6205 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6206 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6207 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6209 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6210 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6211 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6212 that it's a citation.
6214 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6215 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6216 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6218 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6219 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6220 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6222 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6223 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6224 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6225 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6231 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6232 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6233 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6234 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6235 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6236 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6237 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6238 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6243 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to highlight articles automatically.
6246 @node Article Fontisizing
6247 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6249 @cindex article emphasis
6251 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6252 @kindex W e (Summary)
6253 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6254 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6255 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6256 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6258 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
6259 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6260 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
6261 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6262 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6263 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6264 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6265 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6269 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6270 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6271 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6274 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6275 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6276 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6277 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6278 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6279 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6280 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6281 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6282 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6283 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6284 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6285 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6286 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6288 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6289 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6290 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6294 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6297 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to fontize articles automatically.
6300 @node Article Hiding
6301 @subsection Article Hiding
6302 @cindex article hiding
6304 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6305 too much cruft in most articles.
6310 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6311 @findex gnus-article-hide
6312 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
6313 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
6314 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
6317 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6318 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6319 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6323 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6324 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6325 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6326 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6329 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6330 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6331 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6335 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6336 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6337 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6338 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6339 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6340 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
6341 articles that have signatures in them do:
6343 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
6345 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp)
6347 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
6348 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
6350 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6353 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
6358 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6359 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6360 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6361 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6364 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6365 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6366 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6367 customizing the hiding:
6371 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6372 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6373 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6374 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6375 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6376 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6377 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6382 Starting point of the hidden text.
6384 Ending point of the hidden text.
6386 Number of characters in the hidden region.
6388 Number of lines of hidden text.
6391 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6392 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6393 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6398 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
6399 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
6401 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
6402 following two variables:
6405 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6406 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6407 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6408 50), hide the cited text.
6410 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6411 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6412 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6417 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6418 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6419 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6420 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6421 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6422 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6426 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6427 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6428 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6430 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6431 citation customization.
6433 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to hide article elements
6437 @node Article Washing
6438 @subsection Article Washing
6440 @cindex article washing
6442 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6443 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6445 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6446 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6452 @kindex W l (Summary)
6453 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6454 Remove page breaks from the current article
6455 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article} for page
6459 @kindex W r (Summary)
6460 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6461 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6462 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6463 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6464 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6465 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6467 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6468 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6469 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6470 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6473 @kindex W t (Summary)
6474 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6475 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6476 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6479 @kindex W v (Summary)
6480 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6481 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6482 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6485 @kindex W m (Summary)
6486 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6487 Toggle whether to display the article as @sc{mime} message
6488 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6491 @kindex W o (Summary)
6492 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6493 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6496 @kindex W d (Summary)
6497 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6498 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
6500 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
6502 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
6503 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
6504 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6507 @kindex W w (Summary)
6508 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6509 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6510 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6511 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6513 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6517 @kindex W c (Summary)
6518 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6519 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6520 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6523 @kindex W f (Summary)
6525 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6526 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6527 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6528 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6534 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6535 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6536 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6537 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6538 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6539 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6540 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6541 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6542 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6543 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6544 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6545 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6546 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6547 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6551 @kindex W b (Summary)
6552 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6553 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6554 @xref{Article Buttons}.
6557 @kindex W B (Summary)
6558 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6559 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6560 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6563 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6564 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6565 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6566 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6569 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6570 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6571 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6572 lines with a single empty line.
6573 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6576 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6577 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6578 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6579 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6582 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6583 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6584 Do all the three commands above
6585 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6588 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6589 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6590 Remove all blank lines
6591 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6594 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6595 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6596 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6597 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6601 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to wash articles automatically.
6604 @node Article Buttons
6605 @subsection Article Buttons
6608 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6609 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6610 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6611 button on these references.
6613 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6614 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6615 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6620 @item gnus-button-alist
6621 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6622 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6625 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6631 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6632 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6633 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6636 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6637 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6638 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6641 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6642 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6643 avoid false matches.
6646 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6649 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6650 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6654 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6657 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6660 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6661 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6662 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6663 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6664 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6667 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6670 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6672 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6673 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6674 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6675 default values of the variables above.
6677 @item gnus-article-button-face
6678 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6679 Face used on buttons.
6681 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6682 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6683 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6687 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to buttonize articles automatically.
6691 @subsection Article Date
6693 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6694 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6695 when the article was sent.
6700 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6701 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6702 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6703 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6706 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6707 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6709 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6710 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6713 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6714 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6715 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6718 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6719 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6720 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6721 @findex format-time-string
6722 Display the date using a user-defined format
6723 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6724 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6725 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6726 for a list of possible format specs.
6729 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6730 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6731 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6732 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6733 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6734 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6735 updated continually, you can put
6738 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6741 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6742 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6746 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6747 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6748 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6749 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6750 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6751 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6752 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6756 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to display the date in your
6757 preferred format automatically.
6760 @node Article Signature
6761 @subsection Article Signature
6763 @cindex article signature
6765 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6766 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6767 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6768 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6769 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6770 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6771 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6772 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6773 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6776 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6777 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6778 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6779 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6780 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6781 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6782 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6783 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6786 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6789 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6790 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6795 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6798 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6801 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6802 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6804 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6805 in question is not a signature.
6808 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6809 listed above. Here's an example:
6812 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6813 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6816 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6817 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6818 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6819 signature after all.
6823 @section MIME Commands
6824 @cindex MIME decoding
6828 @kindex W M w (Summary)
6829 Decode RFC2047-encoded words in the article headers
6830 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
6833 @kindex W M c (Summary)
6834 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
6835 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
6837 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
6838 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
6839 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
6840 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
6841 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
6842 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
6845 @kindex W M v (Summary)
6846 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
6847 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
6852 @node Article Commands
6853 @section Article Commands
6860 @kindex A P (Summary)
6861 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6862 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6863 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6864 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6865 run just before printing the buffer.
6870 @node Summary Sorting
6871 @section Summary Sorting
6872 @cindex summary sorting
6874 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6875 can't really see why you'd want that.
6880 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6881 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6882 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6885 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6886 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6887 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6890 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6891 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6892 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6895 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6896 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6897 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6900 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6901 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6902 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6905 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6906 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6907 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6910 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6911 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6912 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6913 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6914 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6918 @node Finding the Parent
6919 @section Finding the Parent
6920 @cindex parent articles
6921 @cindex referring articles
6926 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6927 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6928 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6929 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6930 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6931 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6932 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6933 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6934 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6936 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6937 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6938 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
6939 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6940 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6944 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6945 @kindex A R (Summary)
6946 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
6947 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6950 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
6951 @kindex A T (Summary)
6952 Display the full thread where the current article appears
6953 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
6954 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
6955 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
6956 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
6957 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
6958 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
6960 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
6961 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
6962 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
6963 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
6964 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
6965 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
6968 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6969 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6971 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6972 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6973 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6974 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6975 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6976 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6977 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6980 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6981 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6982 by giving this command a prefix.
6984 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6985 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6986 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6987 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6988 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6989 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6992 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6993 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6994 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6995 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6996 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6997 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
7000 @node Alternative Approaches
7001 @section Alternative Approaches
7003 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
7004 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
7007 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
7008 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
7013 @subsection Pick and Read
7014 @cindex pick and read
7016 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
7017 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
7018 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
7019 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
7021 @findex gnus-pick-mode
7022 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
7023 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
7024 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
7025 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
7026 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
7028 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
7033 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
7034 Pick the article or thread on the current line
7035 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7036 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
7037 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
7038 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
7039 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
7040 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
7043 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
7044 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
7045 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
7046 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
7050 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
7051 Unpick the thread or article
7052 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7053 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
7054 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
7055 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
7056 the thread or article at that line.
7060 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
7061 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
7062 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
7063 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
7064 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
7065 will still be visible when you are reading.
7069 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
7070 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
7071 which is mapped to the same function
7072 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
7074 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
7077 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
7080 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
7081 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
7083 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
7084 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
7085 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
7087 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
7088 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
7089 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
7090 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
7091 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
7092 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
7093 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
7097 @subsection Binary Groups
7098 @cindex binary groups
7100 @findex gnus-binary-mode
7101 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
7102 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
7103 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
7104 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
7105 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
7106 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
7109 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
7110 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
7111 command, when you have turned on this mode
7112 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
7114 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
7115 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
7119 @section Tree Display
7122 @vindex gnus-use-trees
7123 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
7124 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
7125 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
7128 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
7131 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
7132 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
7133 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
7135 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7136 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7137 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
7138 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
7139 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
7141 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7142 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7143 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7144 default is @code{modeline}.
7146 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7147 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7148 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7149 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7150 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7151 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7152 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7158 The name of the poster.
7160 The @code{From} header.
7162 The number of the article.
7164 The opening bracket.
7166 The closing bracket.
7171 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7173 Variables related to the display are:
7176 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7177 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7178 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7179 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7180 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7181 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7183 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7184 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7185 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7186 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7190 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7191 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7192 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
7193 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
7194 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7195 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7196 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7197 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7198 other windows displayed next to it.
7200 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7201 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7202 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7203 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7204 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7205 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7206 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7210 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7213 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7223 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7227 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7228 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7230 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7232 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7237 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7238 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7239 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7242 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7243 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7244 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7245 (gnus-add-configuration
7249 (summary 0.75 point)
7254 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7257 @node Mail Group Commands
7258 @section Mail Group Commands
7259 @cindex mail group commands
7261 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7262 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7264 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7265 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7270 @kindex B e (Summary)
7271 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7272 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7273 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7276 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7277 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7278 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7279 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7280 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7281 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7284 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7285 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7286 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7287 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7288 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7289 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7292 @kindex B m (Summary)
7294 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7295 Move the article from one mail group to another
7296 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7299 @kindex B c (Summary)
7301 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7302 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7303 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7304 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7307 @kindex B B (Summary)
7308 @cindex crosspost mail
7309 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7310 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7311 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7312 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7313 be properly updated.
7316 @kindex B i (Summary)
7317 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7318 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7319 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7320 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7323 @kindex B r (Summary)
7324 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7325 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
7326 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7327 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7328 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7332 @kindex B w (Summary)
7334 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7335 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7336 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7337 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7338 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7339 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7342 @kindex B q (Summary)
7343 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7344 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7345 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7346 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7349 @kindex B t (Summary)
7350 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
7351 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
7352 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
7355 @kindex B p (Summary)
7356 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7357 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7358 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7359 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7360 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7361 article from your news server (or rather, from
7362 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7363 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7364 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7365 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7366 just not have arrived yet.
7370 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7371 @cindex moving articles
7372 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
7373 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7374 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7375 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7376 suggestions you find reasonable.
7379 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7380 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7381 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7382 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7386 @node Various Summary Stuff
7387 @section Various Summary Stuff
7390 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7391 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7392 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7393 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7397 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7398 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7399 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7401 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7402 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7403 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7404 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7405 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7406 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7409 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7410 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7411 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7412 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7413 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7415 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7416 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7417 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
7420 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7421 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7422 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7423 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7424 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7425 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7426 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
7427 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7428 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7429 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7434 @node Summary Group Information
7435 @subsection Summary Group Information
7440 @kindex H f (Summary)
7441 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7442 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7443 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7444 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7445 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7446 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7447 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7448 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7449 be used for fetching the file.
7452 @kindex H d (Summary)
7453 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7454 Give a brief description of the current group
7455 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7456 rereading the description from the server.
7459 @kindex H h (Summary)
7460 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7461 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7462 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7465 @kindex H i (Summary)
7466 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7467 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7471 @node Searching for Articles
7472 @subsection Searching for Articles
7477 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7478 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7479 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7480 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7483 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7484 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7485 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7486 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7490 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7491 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7492 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7493 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7497 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7498 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7499 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7500 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7503 @node Summary Generation Commands
7504 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7509 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7510 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7511 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7514 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7515 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7516 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7517 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7522 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7523 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7528 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7529 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7530 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7531 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7532 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7533 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7534 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7535 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7536 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7540 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7541 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7542 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7543 several documents into one biiig group
7544 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7545 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7546 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7547 command understands the process/prefix convention
7548 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7551 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7552 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7553 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7554 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7555 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7556 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7560 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7561 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7562 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7565 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
7566 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
7567 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7568 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
7573 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7574 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7575 @cindex summary exit
7576 @cindex exiting groups
7578 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7579 group and return you to the group buffer.
7585 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7587 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7588 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7589 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7590 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7591 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7592 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7593 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7594 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7595 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7596 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7597 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7601 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7603 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7604 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7605 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7609 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7611 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7612 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7613 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7614 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7617 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7618 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7619 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7620 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7623 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7624 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7625 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7626 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7629 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7630 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7631 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7632 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7633 all articles, both read and unread.
7637 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7638 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7639 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7640 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7641 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7642 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7643 articles, both read and unread.
7646 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7647 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7648 Exit the group and go to the next group
7649 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7652 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7653 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7654 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7655 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7658 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7659 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7660 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7661 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7662 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7663 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7666 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7667 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7670 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7671 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7672 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7673 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7674 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7675 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7676 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7677 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7678 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7679 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7680 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7681 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7683 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7685 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7686 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7687 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7688 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7689 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7690 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7691 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7692 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7693 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7696 @node Crosspost Handling
7697 @section Crosspost Handling
7701 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7702 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7703 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7704 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7705 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7706 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7709 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7710 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7711 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7712 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7713 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7715 @cindex cross-posting
7718 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7719 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7720 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7721 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7722 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7723 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7724 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7725 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7726 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7727 the cross reference mechanism.
7729 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7730 @cindex overview.fmt
7731 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7732 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7733 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7734 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7735 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7736 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7739 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7740 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7741 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7746 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7749 @node Duplicate Suppression
7750 @section Duplicate Suppression
7752 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7753 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7754 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7755 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various reasons.
7759 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7760 is evil and not very common.
7763 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7764 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7767 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7768 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7771 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7774 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7775 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7777 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7778 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7779 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7780 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7781 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7782 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7783 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7786 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7787 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7788 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7789 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7790 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7794 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7795 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7796 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7798 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7799 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7800 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7801 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7802 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
7803 session are suppressed.
7805 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7806 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7807 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7808 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7810 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7811 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7812 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7813 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7816 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
7817 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7818 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7819 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7820 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
7821 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7822 to you to figure out, I think.
7825 @node The Article Buffer
7826 @chapter The Article Buffer
7827 @cindex article buffer
7829 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7830 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7831 tell gnus otherwise.
7834 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7835 * Using MIME:: Pushing to mime articles as @sc{mime} messages.
7836 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7837 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7838 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7842 @node Hiding Headers
7843 @section Hiding Headers
7844 @cindex hiding headers
7845 @cindex deleting headers
7847 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7848 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7850 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7851 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7852 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7853 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7854 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7855 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7856 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7857 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7858 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7860 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7864 @item gnus-visible-headers
7865 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7866 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7867 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7868 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7870 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7871 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7874 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7877 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7880 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7881 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7882 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7883 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7884 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7885 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7887 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
7888 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
7891 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7894 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7897 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7898 variable will have no effect.
7902 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7903 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7904 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7905 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7906 the headers are to be displayed.
7908 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7909 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7912 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7915 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7916 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed
7919 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7920 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7921 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7922 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7923 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7924 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7925 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7926 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7927 @dfn{boring conditions} that gnus can check and remove from sight.
7929 These conditions are:
7932 Remove all empty headers.
7934 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7935 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7937 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7940 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7943 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7946 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
7948 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
7951 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
7954 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7955 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
7958 This is also the default value for this variable.
7962 @section Using @sc{mime}
7965 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7966 while people stand around yawning.
7968 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7969 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7971 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7972 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7973 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7975 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7976 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
7977 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7978 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
7979 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7980 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
7981 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
7982 calls the SEMI MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
7983 information on SEMI MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is not
7984 existed yet, sorry).
7986 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7987 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7988 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7989 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7990 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7991 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7993 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
7994 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
7995 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
7996 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
7997 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
7998 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
7999 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
8000 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
8001 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
8004 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
8006 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
8007 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
8008 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
8009 buffer when there are nobody else.
8012 @node Customizing Articles
8013 @section Customizing Articles
8014 @cindex article customization
8016 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8017 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
8018 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
8019 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
8021 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8022 @findex gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers
8023 By default this hook just contains
8024 @code{gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers},
8025 @code{gnus-hide-boring-headers}, @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike},
8026 and @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} (and under XEmacs,
8027 @code{gnus-article-display-x-face}), but there are thousands, nay
8028 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
8029 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
8030 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
8031 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
8032 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
8034 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
8035 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
8036 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
8037 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
8038 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
8041 @node Article Keymap
8042 @section Article Keymap
8044 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
8045 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
8046 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
8047 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
8050 A few additional keystrokes are available:
8055 @kindex SPACE (Article)
8056 @findex gnus-article-next-page
8057 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
8060 @kindex DEL (Article)
8061 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
8062 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
8065 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
8066 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
8067 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
8068 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
8069 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
8072 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
8073 @findex gnus-article-mail
8074 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
8075 given a prefix, include the mail.
8079 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
8080 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
8081 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
8085 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
8086 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
8087 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
8090 @kindex TAB (Article)
8091 @findex gnus-article-next-button
8092 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
8093 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
8096 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
8097 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
8098 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
8104 @section Misc Article
8108 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
8109 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
8110 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
8111 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
8114 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
8115 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
8117 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
8118 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
8120 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
8121 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
8122 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
8123 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
8124 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
8125 the contents of the article buffer.
8127 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8128 @item gnus-article-display-hook
8129 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
8130 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
8131 hiding headers, and the like.
8133 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
8134 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
8135 Hook called in article mode buffers.
8137 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8138 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8139 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
8140 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
8142 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
8143 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
8144 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
8145 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
8146 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with one
8151 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
8152 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
8156 @vindex gnus-break-pages
8158 @item gnus-break-pages
8159 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
8160 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
8161 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8162 paging will not be done.
8164 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8165 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8166 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8171 @node Composing Messages
8172 @chapter Composing Messages
8173 @cindex composing messages
8176 @cindex sending mail
8181 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8182 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8183 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
8184 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
8185 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
8186 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
8187 to make gnus try to post using the foreign server.
8190 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8191 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8192 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8193 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8194 * Archived Messages:: Where gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8195 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
8196 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8197 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8200 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8201 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8207 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8210 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8211 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8212 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8213 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8215 @item gnus-add-to-list
8216 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8217 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8218 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8226 Variables for composing news articles:
8229 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8230 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8231 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8232 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8233 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8234 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8235 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8236 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8237 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want gnus to keep a history
8240 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8241 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8242 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8243 file. It is 1000 by default.
8248 @node Posting Server
8249 @section Posting Server
8251 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8252 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8254 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8256 @vindex gnus-post-method
8258 It can be quite complicated. Normally, gnus will use the same native
8259 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8260 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8261 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8262 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8265 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8268 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8269 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8270 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8271 the ``current'' server for posting.
8273 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8274 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8276 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8277 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8280 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8281 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8282 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8287 @section Mail and Post
8289 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8293 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8294 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8295 @cindex mailing lists
8297 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8298 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8299 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8300 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8301 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8302 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8303 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8304 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8305 still a pain, though.
8309 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8310 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8311 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8314 @findex ispell-message
8316 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8320 @node Archived Messages
8321 @section Archived Messages
8322 @cindex archived messages
8323 @cindex sent messages
8325 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8326 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8327 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8328 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8331 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8332 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
8333 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8337 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8338 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8339 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8340 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8343 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8344 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8345 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8346 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8349 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8350 '(nnfolder "archive"
8351 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8352 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8353 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8356 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8358 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8359 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8360 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8362 This variable can be used to do the following:
8366 Messages will be saved in that group.
8367 @item a list of strings
8368 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8369 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8370 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8372 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8377 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8379 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8382 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8384 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8387 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8389 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8390 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8391 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8392 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8397 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8398 '((if (message-news-p)
8403 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8404 messages in one file per month:
8407 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8408 '((if (message-news-p)
8410 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8411 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8414 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8415 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8417 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8418 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8419 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8420 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8421 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8422 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8423 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8424 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8425 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8426 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8428 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8429 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8430 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8431 this will disable archiving.
8434 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8435 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8436 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8437 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8438 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8441 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8442 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8443 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8446 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8447 but the latter is the preferred method.
8451 @node Posting Styles
8452 @section Posting Styles
8453 @cindex posting styles
8456 All them variables, they make my head swim.
8458 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8459 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8460 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8463 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8464 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8465 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8466 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8467 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8472 (signature "Peace and happiness")
8473 (organization "What me?"))
8475 (signature "Death to everybody"))
8476 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8477 (organization "Emacs is it")))
8480 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8481 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8482 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8483 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8484 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8485 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8486 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8487 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8489 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8490 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8491 If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8492 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8493 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8494 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8497 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8498 attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8499 can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
8500 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
8501 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8502 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8505 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8506 return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8507 list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8509 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
8510 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
8511 of the two dynamically bound variables @code{message-this-is-news} and
8512 @code{message-this-is-mail}.
8514 @vindex message-this-is-mail
8515 @vindex message-this-is-news
8517 So here's a new example:
8520 (setq gnus-posting-styles
8522 (signature-file "~/.signature")
8524 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8525 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
8527 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8528 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8529 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
8530 (message-this-is-news
8531 (signature my-news-signature))
8532 (posting-from-work-p
8533 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
8534 (address "user@@bar.foo")
8535 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
8536 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
8538 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
8546 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8547 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8548 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8549 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8550 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8552 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8553 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8554 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8555 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8556 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8560 @vindex nndraft-directory
8561 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8562 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8563 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8564 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8565 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8566 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8568 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8569 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8572 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8573 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8574 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8575 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8576 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8577 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8578 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8579 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8580 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8581 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8582 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8583 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8584 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8585 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8587 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8588 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8589 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8591 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8593 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8594 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8595 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8597 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8600 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8601 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8602 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8603 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8604 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8605 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8606 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8609 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8610 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8611 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8614 @node Rejected Articles
8615 @section Rejected Articles
8616 @cindex rejected articles
8618 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8619 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8620 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8621 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8623 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
8624 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8625 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8626 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
8627 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8629 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8630 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8631 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8634 @node Select Methods
8635 @chapter Select Methods
8636 @cindex foreign groups
8637 @cindex select methods
8639 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8640 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8641 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8642 personal mail group.
8644 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8645 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8646 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8647 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8648 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8649 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8651 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8652 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8654 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8657 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8658 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8659 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8660 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8661 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8663 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8666 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8667 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8668 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8669 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8670 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8671 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8675 @node The Server Buffer
8676 @section The Server Buffer
8678 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8679 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8680 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8681 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8682 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8683 backend represents a virtual server.
8685 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8686 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8687 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8688 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8690 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8691 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8692 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8693 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8694 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8695 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8696 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8698 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8699 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8702 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8703 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8704 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8705 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8706 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8707 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8708 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8711 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8712 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8715 @node Server Buffer Format
8716 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8717 @cindex server buffer format
8719 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8720 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8721 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8722 variable, with some simple extensions:
8727 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8730 The name of this server.
8733 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8736 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8739 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8740 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8741 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
8742 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
8752 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8755 @node Server Commands
8756 @subsection Server Commands
8757 @cindex server commands
8763 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8764 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8768 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8769 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8772 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8773 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8774 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8778 @findex gnus-server-exit
8779 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8783 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8784 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8788 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8789 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8793 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8794 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8798 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8799 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8803 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8804 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8805 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8810 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8811 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8812 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8813 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8818 @node Example Methods
8819 @subsection Example Methods
8821 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8824 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8827 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8833 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8834 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8837 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8838 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8840 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8841 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8845 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8848 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8849 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8851 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8852 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8853 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8857 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8860 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8863 Here's the method for a public spool:
8867 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8868 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8871 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8872 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8873 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8874 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8875 should probably look something like this:
8879 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8880 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8881 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8882 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8883 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8886 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
8887 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
8888 server that would look something like this:
8892 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
8893 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
8894 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8895 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8896 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8897 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
8900 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
8901 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
8902 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
8903 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
8906 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8907 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8909 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8910 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8912 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8913 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8914 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8916 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8918 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8919 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8920 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8921 will contain the following:
8931 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8932 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8933 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8936 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8937 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8938 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8941 @node Server Variables
8942 @subsection Server Variables
8944 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8945 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8946 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8947 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8948 won't change the "derived" variables.
8950 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8951 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8952 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8953 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8954 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8955 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8956 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8957 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8958 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8962 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8963 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8964 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8968 @node Servers and Methods
8969 @subsection Servers and Methods
8971 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8972 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8973 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8974 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8978 @node Unavailable Servers
8979 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8981 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8982 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8983 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8984 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8985 actually the case or not.
8987 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8988 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
8989 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8990 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
8991 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
8992 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
8993 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
8994 it will regard that server as ``down''.
8996 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8997 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8999 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
9000 with the following commands:
9006 @findex gnus-server-open-server
9007 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
9008 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
9012 @findex gnus-server-close-server
9013 Close the connection (if any) to the server
9014 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
9018 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
9019 Mark the current server as unreachable
9020 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
9023 @kindex M-o (Server)
9024 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
9025 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
9026 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
9029 @kindex M-c (Server)
9030 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
9031 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
9032 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
9036 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
9037 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
9038 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
9044 @section Getting News
9045 @cindex reading news
9046 @cindex news backends
9048 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
9049 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
9050 or it can read from a local spool.
9053 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
9054 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
9059 @subsection @sc{nntp}
9062 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
9063 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
9064 server as the, uhm, address.
9066 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
9067 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
9068 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
9069 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9071 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
9072 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
9073 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
9075 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
9080 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
9081 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
9082 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
9084 @cindex authentification
9085 @cindex nntp authentification
9086 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9087 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
9088 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
9089 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
9090 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
9091 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
9092 present in this hook.
9094 @item nntp-authinfo-function
9095 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
9096 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9097 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
9098 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
9099 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
9100 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
9101 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
9102 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
9103 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
9104 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
9105 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
9109 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
9112 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
9113 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
9114 @samp{default} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid
9115 @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is the only way the
9116 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
9121 Here's an example file:
9124 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
9125 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
9128 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
9129 have to be first, for instance.
9131 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
9132 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
9133 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
9134 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
9135 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
9136 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
9137 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
9139 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
9140 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
9146 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
9147 previously mentioned.
9149 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
9151 @item nntp-server-action-alist
9152 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
9153 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
9154 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
9155 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
9158 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
9162 You probably don't want to do that, though.
9164 The default value is
9167 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
9168 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
9171 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
9172 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
9174 @item nntp-maximum-request
9175 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
9176 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
9177 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
9178 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
9179 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
9180 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
9181 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
9183 @item nntp-connection-timeout
9184 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
9185 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
9186 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9187 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9188 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9189 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9190 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9191 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9192 no timeouts are done.
9194 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9195 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9196 @c @cindex PPP connections
9197 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9198 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9199 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9200 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9201 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9202 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9203 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9204 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9205 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9206 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9208 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9209 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9210 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9211 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9214 @item nntp-server-hook
9215 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9216 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9219 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9220 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9221 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9222 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9223 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9224 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
9225 functions are supplied:
9228 @item nntp-open-network-stream
9229 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
9232 @item nntp-open-rlogin
9233 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9234 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9237 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9241 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9242 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9243 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9244 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9246 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9247 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9248 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9250 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9251 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9252 User name on the remote system.
9256 @item nntp-open-telnet
9257 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
9258 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
9260 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9263 @item nntp-telnet-command
9264 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9265 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9267 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9268 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9269 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9271 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9272 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9273 User name for log in on the remote system.
9275 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9276 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9277 Password to use when logging in.
9279 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9280 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9281 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9284 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9285 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9286 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9287 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9289 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9290 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9291 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9292 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9293 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9297 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
9298 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
9299 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
9300 you must have SSLay installed
9301 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
9302 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
9303 define a server as follows:
9306 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
9308 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
9310 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
9311 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
9312 (nntp-port-number "snews")
9313 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
9318 @item nntp-end-of-line
9319 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9320 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9321 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9322 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9324 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9325 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9326 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9330 @vindex nntp-address
9331 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9333 @item nntp-port-number
9334 @vindex nntp-port-number
9335 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9338 @item nntp-buggy-select
9339 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9340 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9342 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9343 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9344 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9345 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9348 @item nntp-xover-commands
9349 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9352 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9353 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9357 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9358 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9359 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9360 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9361 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9362 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9363 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9364 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9365 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9366 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9367 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9369 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9370 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9371 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9373 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9374 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9375 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9376 server closes connection.
9378 @item nntp-record-commands
9379 @vindex nntp-record-commands
9380 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
9381 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
9382 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
9383 that doesn't seem to work.
9389 @subsection News Spool
9393 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9394 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9395 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9398 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9399 anything else) as the address.
9401 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9402 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9403 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9404 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9408 @item nnspool-inews-program
9409 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9410 Program used to post an article.
9412 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9413 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9414 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9416 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9417 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9418 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9419 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9421 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9422 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9423 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9424 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9426 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9427 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9428 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9430 @item nnspool-active-file
9431 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9432 The path to the active file.
9434 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9435 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9436 The path to the group descriptions file.
9438 @item nnspool-history-file
9439 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9440 The path to the news history file.
9442 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9443 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9444 The path to the active date file.
9446 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9447 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9448 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9451 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9452 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9454 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9455 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9456 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9462 @section Getting Mail
9463 @cindex reading mail
9466 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9470 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9471 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9472 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9473 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9474 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9475 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9476 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9477 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9478 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9479 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9480 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9484 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9485 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9487 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9488 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9489 and things will happen automatically.
9491 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9492 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9495 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9496 '((nnml "private")))
9499 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9500 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9501 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9502 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9503 like any other group.
9505 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9508 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9509 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9510 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9514 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9515 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9516 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9519 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9520 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9521 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9524 @node Splitting Mail
9525 @subsection Splitting Mail
9526 @cindex splitting mail
9527 @cindex mail splitting
9529 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9530 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9531 to be split into groups.
9534 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9535 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9536 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9540 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9541 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9542 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9543 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9544 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9545 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9546 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9549 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9552 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9553 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9554 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9555 mail belongs in that group.
9557 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9558 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9559 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9560 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9561 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9562 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9564 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9565 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9566 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9567 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9568 thinks should carry this mail message.
9570 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9571 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9572 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9573 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9575 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9576 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9577 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9578 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9579 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9581 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9584 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9585 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9586 links. If that's the case for you, set
9587 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9588 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9590 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9591 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9592 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9593 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9595 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9596 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9597 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9598 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9599 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9600 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9601 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9602 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9606 @node Mail Backend Variables
9607 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9609 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9613 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9614 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9615 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9616 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9618 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9619 @item nnmail-spool-file
9623 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9624 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9625 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9626 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9627 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9628 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9629 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9630 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9631 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9632 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9633 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9634 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9635 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9636 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9637 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9639 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9641 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9642 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9645 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9646 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9647 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9648 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9649 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9650 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9652 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9653 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9654 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9655 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9656 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9657 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9658 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9661 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9662 @item nnmail-crash-box
9663 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9664 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9665 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9668 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9669 @item nnmail-split-hook
9670 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
9671 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9672 @findex RFC2047 decoding
9673 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9674 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9675 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9676 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9677 in the buffer will show up in any files.
9678 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
9681 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9682 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9683 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9684 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9685 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9686 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9687 starting to handle the new mail) and
9688 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9689 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9690 default file modes the new mail files get:
9693 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9694 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9696 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9697 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9700 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9701 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9702 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9703 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9704 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9705 it will be used instead.
9707 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9708 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9709 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9710 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9712 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9713 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9716 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9717 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9718 @cindex incoming mail files
9719 @cindex deleting incoming files
9720 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9721 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9724 @c This is @code{nil} by
9725 @c default for reasons of security.
9727 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9728 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9729 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9730 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9731 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9734 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9736 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9737 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9738 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9739 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9740 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9741 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9742 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9744 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9745 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9747 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9749 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9750 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9751 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9752 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9753 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9758 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9759 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9760 @cindex mail splitting
9761 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9763 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9764 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9765 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9766 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9767 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9768 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9770 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9773 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9774 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9775 ;; from real errors.
9776 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9778 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9779 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9780 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9781 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9782 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9783 ;; Other mailing lists...
9784 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9785 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9787 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9788 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9792 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9793 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9794 the five possible split syntaxes:
9799 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
9800 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
9804 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9805 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9806 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9809 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9810 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9811 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9812 be stored in one or more groups.
9815 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9816 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9819 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9820 this message. Use with extreme caution.
9823 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9824 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9825 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9829 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
9833 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9834 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9835 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9836 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9837 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9839 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9840 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9841 are expanded as specified by the variable
9842 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9843 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9846 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9847 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9848 when all this splitting is performed.
9850 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9851 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9852 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
9855 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9858 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
9859 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
9860 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
9861 groupings 1 through 9.
9864 @node Mail and Procmail
9865 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9870 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9871 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9872 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9873 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9874 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9876 If you have a combined @code{procmail}/POP/mailbox setup, you can do
9877 something like the following:
9879 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9881 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
9882 (setq nnmail-spool-file
9883 '("/usr/spool/mail/my-name" "po:my-name"))
9886 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9887 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9890 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9891 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9892 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9893 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9894 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9895 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9897 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9900 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9902 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9903 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9905 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9906 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9907 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9908 to include all your mail groups.
9910 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9911 method will be created automatically.
9913 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9914 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9915 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9916 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9917 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9918 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9919 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9920 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9922 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9923 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9924 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9925 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9926 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9928 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9929 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9930 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9931 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9932 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9933 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9935 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9936 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9937 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9938 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9939 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9942 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9943 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9944 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9945 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9946 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9950 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9951 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9953 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9954 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9955 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9958 Doing so can be quite easy.
9960 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9961 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9962 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9963 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9964 your @code{nnml} groups.
9970 Go to the group buffer.
9973 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9974 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9977 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9980 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9981 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9984 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9985 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9988 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9989 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9990 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9991 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9992 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9994 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9995 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9996 using the new mail backend.
10000 @subsection Expiring Mail
10001 @cindex article expiry
10003 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
10004 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
10005 different approach to mail reading.
10007 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
10008 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
10009 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
10010 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
10011 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
10012 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
10015 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
10016 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
10017 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
10018 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
10019 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
10020 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
10021 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
10022 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
10024 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10025 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
10026 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
10027 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
10028 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
10029 column in the summary buffer.
10031 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
10032 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
10033 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
10034 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
10037 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
10039 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
10040 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
10041 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
10044 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
10045 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
10046 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
10047 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
10048 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
10050 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
10051 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
10054 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10055 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
10058 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
10059 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
10061 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
10062 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
10063 don't really mix very well.
10065 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
10066 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
10067 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
10068 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
10071 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
10072 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
10073 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
10074 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
10077 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10079 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10081 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
10083 ((string= group "mail.junk")
10085 ((string= group "important")
10091 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
10092 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
10094 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
10095 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
10096 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
10099 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
10100 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
10102 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
10103 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
10104 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
10105 easier for procmail users.
10107 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
10108 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
10109 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
10110 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
10111 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
10112 caution. Even more dangerous is the
10113 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
10114 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
10115 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
10116 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
10117 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
10118 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
10119 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
10122 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
10126 @subsection Washing Mail
10127 @cindex mail washing
10128 @cindex list server brain damage
10129 @cindex incoming mail treatment
10131 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
10132 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
10133 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
10134 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
10135 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
10136 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
10138 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
10139 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
10140 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
10143 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
10144 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
10145 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
10146 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
10149 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10150 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10151 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
10152 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
10153 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
10156 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10157 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10158 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
10159 Emacs running on MS machines.
10163 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10164 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10165 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
10166 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
10169 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10170 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10171 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
10172 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
10174 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10175 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10176 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
10177 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
10178 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
10179 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
10180 also be a list of regexp.
10182 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
10183 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
10186 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
10187 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
10190 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
10191 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
10192 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
10196 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10197 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10198 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
10202 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
10203 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
10204 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
10211 @subsection Duplicates
10213 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
10214 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
10215 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
10216 @cindex duplicate mails
10217 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
10218 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
10219 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
10220 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
10221 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
10222 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
10223 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
10224 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
10225 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
10226 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
10227 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
10228 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
10229 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
10231 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
10232 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
10233 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
10234 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
10236 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
10239 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
10240 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
10244 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
10245 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
10246 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
10247 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
10248 (any mail "mail.misc")
10255 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10256 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
10261 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
10262 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
10263 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
10264 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
10265 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
10268 @node Not Reading Mail
10269 @subsection Not Reading Mail
10271 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
10272 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
10273 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
10275 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
10276 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
10278 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10279 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10280 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10281 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10282 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10283 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
10284 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
10285 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
10286 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
10287 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
10288 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
10290 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
10291 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
10295 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
10296 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
10298 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
10299 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
10300 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
10303 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
10304 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
10305 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
10306 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
10307 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
10311 @node Unix Mail Box
10312 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
10314 @cindex unix mail box
10316 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10317 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10318 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
10319 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
10320 which group it belongs in.
10322 Virtual server settings:
10325 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
10326 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10327 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
10329 @item nnmbox-active-file
10330 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10331 The name of the active file for the mail box.
10333 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
10334 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10335 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
10341 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
10345 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10346 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10347 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10348 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10349 article to say which group it belongs in.
10351 Virtual server settings:
10354 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10355 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10356 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10358 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10359 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10360 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10362 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10363 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10364 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10369 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10371 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10373 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10374 format. It should be used with some caution.
10376 @vindex nnml-directory
10377 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10378 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10379 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10380 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10382 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10385 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10386 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10387 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10388 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10389 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10390 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10391 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10392 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10394 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10395 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10396 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10397 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10399 Virtual server settings:
10402 @item nnml-directory
10403 @vindex nnml-directory
10404 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10406 @item nnml-active-file
10407 @vindex nnml-active-file
10408 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10410 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10411 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10412 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10415 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10416 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10417 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10419 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10420 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10421 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10423 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10424 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10425 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10427 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10428 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10429 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10433 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10434 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10435 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10436 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10437 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10438 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10439 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10444 @subsubsection MH Spool
10446 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10448 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10449 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10450 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10451 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10453 Virtual server settings:
10456 @item nnmh-directory
10457 @vindex nnmh-directory
10458 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10460 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10461 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10462 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10465 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10466 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10467 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10468 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10469 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10470 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10471 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10476 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10478 @cindex mbox folders
10479 @cindex mail folders
10481 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10482 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10483 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10486 Virtual server settings:
10489 @item nnfolder-directory
10490 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10491 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10493 @item nnfolder-active-file
10494 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10495 The name of the active file.
10497 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10498 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10499 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10501 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10502 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10503 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10505 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
10506 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
10507 @cindex backup files
10508 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
10509 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
10510 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
10511 your @file{.emacs} file:
10514 (defun turn-off-backup ()
10515 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
10517 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
10520 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
10521 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
10522 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
10523 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
10524 extract some information from it before removing it.
10529 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10530 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10531 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10532 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10533 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10534 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10537 @node Other Sources
10538 @section Other Sources
10540 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10541 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10545 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10546 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10547 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10548 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10549 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10550 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10554 @node Directory Groups
10555 @subsection Directory Groups
10557 @cindex directory groups
10559 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10560 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10563 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10564 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10565 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10566 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10568 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10569 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10570 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10571 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10572 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10574 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10576 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10577 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10578 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10579 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10582 @node Anything Groups
10583 @subsection Anything Groups
10586 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10587 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10588 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10591 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10592 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10593 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10594 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10595 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10596 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10597 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10598 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10599 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10600 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10603 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10604 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10605 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10606 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10608 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10609 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10610 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10611 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10613 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10614 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10615 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10616 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10617 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10618 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10619 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10620 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10625 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10626 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10627 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10628 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10630 @item nneething-exclude-files
10631 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10632 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10633 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10635 @item nneething-map-file
10636 @vindex nneething-map-file
10637 Name of the map files.
10641 @node Document Groups
10642 @subsection Document Groups
10644 @cindex documentation group
10647 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10648 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10655 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10660 The standard Unix mbox file.
10662 @cindex MMDF mail box
10664 The MMDF mail box format.
10667 Several news articles appended into a file.
10670 @cindex rnews batch files
10671 The rnews batch transport format.
10672 @cindex forwarded messages
10675 Forwarded articles.
10678 MIME multipart messages, besides digests.
10682 @cindex MIME digest
10683 @cindex 1153 digest
10684 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10685 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10686 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10688 @item standard-digest
10689 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10692 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10695 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10696 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10697 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10700 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10701 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10702 group. And that's it.
10704 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10705 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10706 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10707 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10708 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10709 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10710 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10711 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10712 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10713 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10715 Virtual server variables:
10718 @item nndoc-article-type
10719 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10720 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10721 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10722 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{mime-digest},
10723 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or
10726 @item nndoc-post-type
10727 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10728 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10729 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10734 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10738 @node Document Server Internals
10739 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10741 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10742 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10743 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10744 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10746 First, here's an example document type definition:
10750 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10751 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10754 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10755 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10756 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10757 types can be defined with very few settings:
10760 @item first-article
10761 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10762 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10765 @item article-begin
10766 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10767 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10769 @item head-begin-function
10770 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10773 @item nndoc-head-begin
10774 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10777 @item nndoc-head-end
10778 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10779 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10781 @item body-begin-function
10782 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10786 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10789 @item body-end-function
10790 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10794 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10797 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10798 regexp will be totally ignored.
10802 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10803 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10804 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10805 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10806 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10809 @item prepare-body-function
10810 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10811 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10812 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10814 @item article-transform-function
10815 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10816 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10817 body of the article.
10819 @item generate-head-function
10820 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10821 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10822 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10823 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10827 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10832 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10833 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10834 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10835 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10836 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10837 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10838 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10839 (subtype digest guess))
10842 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10843 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10844 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10845 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10846 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10848 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10849 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10850 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10851 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10852 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
10853 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10854 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10855 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10856 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10857 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10865 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10866 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10867 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10869 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10870 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10871 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10874 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10875 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10876 that interested in doing things properly.
10878 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10879 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10882 First some terminology:
10887 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10888 get news and/or mail from.
10891 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10892 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10895 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10899 @item message packets
10900 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10901 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10902 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10904 @item response packets
10905 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10906 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10907 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10917 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10918 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10919 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10920 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10923 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10926 You put the packet in your home directory.
10929 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10930 the native or secondary server.
10933 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10934 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10937 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10941 You transfer this packet to the server.
10944 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10947 You then repeat until you die.
10951 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10952 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10955 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10956 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10957 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10961 @node SOUP Commands
10962 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10964 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10968 @kindex G s b (Group)
10969 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10970 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10971 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10972 process/prefix convention.
10975 @kindex G s w (Group)
10976 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10977 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10980 @kindex G s s (Group)
10981 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10982 Send all replies from the replies packet
10983 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10986 @kindex G s p (Group)
10987 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10988 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10991 @kindex G s r (Group)
10992 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10993 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10996 @kindex O s (Summary)
10997 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10998 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10999 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
11000 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11005 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
11010 @item gnus-soup-directory
11011 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
11012 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
11013 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
11015 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
11016 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
11017 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
11018 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
11020 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
11021 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
11022 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
11023 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
11025 @item gnus-soup-packer
11026 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
11027 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
11028 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
11030 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
11031 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
11032 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
11033 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
11035 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
11036 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
11037 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
11039 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
11040 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
11041 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
11042 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
11048 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
11051 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
11052 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
11053 you can read them at leisure.
11055 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
11059 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
11060 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
11061 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
11062 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
11064 @item nnsoup-directory
11065 @vindex nnsoup-directory
11066 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
11067 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
11069 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
11070 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
11071 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
11072 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
11074 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
11075 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
11076 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
11077 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
11078 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
11080 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
11081 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
11082 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
11083 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
11085 @item nnsoup-active-file
11086 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
11087 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
11088 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
11089 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
11090 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
11092 @item nnsoup-packer
11093 @vindex nnsoup-packer
11094 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
11095 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
11097 @item nnsoup-unpacker
11098 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
11099 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
11100 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
11102 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
11103 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
11104 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
11107 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
11108 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
11109 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
11112 @item nnsoup-always-save
11113 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
11114 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
11120 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
11122 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
11123 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
11124 more for that to happen.
11126 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
11127 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
11128 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
11131 In specific, this is what it does:
11134 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
11135 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
11138 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
11139 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
11140 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
11144 @subsection Web Searches
11148 @cindex InReference
11149 @cindex Usenet searches
11150 @cindex searching the Usenet
11152 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
11153 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
11154 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
11155 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
11156 searches without having to use a browser.
11158 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
11159 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
11160 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
11161 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
11162 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
11164 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
11165 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
11166 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
11167 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
11168 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
11169 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
11170 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
11171 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
11172 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
11173 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
11176 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
11177 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
11178 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'
\e,Aj
\e(Btre} is to
11179 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
11180 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
11181 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
11183 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
11184 to use @code{nnweb}.
11186 Virtual server variables:
11191 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
11192 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
11196 @vindex nnweb-search
11197 The search string to feed to the search engine.
11199 @item nnweb-max-hits
11200 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
11201 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
11204 @item nnweb-type-definition
11205 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
11206 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
11207 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
11212 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
11216 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
11219 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
11222 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
11226 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
11233 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
11234 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
11235 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
11238 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
11239 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
11240 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
11242 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
11248 @item nngateway-address
11249 @vindex nngateway-address
11250 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
11252 @item nngateway-header-transformation
11253 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
11254 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
11255 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
11256 transformation should be called, and defaults to
11257 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
11258 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
11261 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
11262 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
11263 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
11266 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
11269 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
11272 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
11275 The following pre-defined functions exist:
11277 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11280 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11281 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11282 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
11284 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11286 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11287 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11288 @code{nngateway-address}.
11293 (setq gnus-post-method
11294 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
11295 (nngateway-header-transformation
11296 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
11304 So, to use this, simply say something like:
11307 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
11311 @node Combined Groups
11312 @section Combined Groups
11314 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
11318 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
11319 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
11323 @node Virtual Groups
11324 @subsection Virtual Groups
11326 @cindex virtual groups
11327 @cindex merging groups
11329 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
11332 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
11333 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
11334 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
11336 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
11337 regexp to match component groups.
11339 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
11340 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
11341 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
11342 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
11343 the virtual group.)
11345 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
11346 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
11349 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
11352 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
11353 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
11355 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
11356 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
11357 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
11358 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
11361 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
11364 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
11365 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
11366 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
11368 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
11369 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
11370 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
11371 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
11372 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
11374 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
11375 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
11376 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
11378 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
11379 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
11380 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
11381 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
11382 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
11383 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
11384 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
11385 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
11386 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
11387 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
11388 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
11390 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
11391 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
11392 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
11393 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
11394 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
11395 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
11396 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
11398 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
11399 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
11403 @node Kibozed Groups
11404 @subsection Kibozed Groups
11408 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
11409 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
11410 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
11411 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
11413 @kindex G k (Group)
11414 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
11417 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
11418 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11419 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11420 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11422 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11423 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11424 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11426 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11427 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11428 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11429 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11430 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11431 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11432 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11433 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11435 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11436 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11437 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11438 Stranger things have happened.
11440 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11441 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11443 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11444 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11445 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11446 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11447 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11448 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11450 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11451 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11454 @node Gnus Unplugged
11455 @section Gnus Unplugged
11460 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11462 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11463 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11464 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11465 read news. Believe it or not.
11467 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11468 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11469 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11470 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11471 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11473 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11474 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11475 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11476 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11477 reading news on a machine.
11479 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11483 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11484 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11488 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11489 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11496 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11498 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11501 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11502 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11503 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11504 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
11505 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11506 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11507 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11508 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11509 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
11514 @subsection Agent Basics
11516 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11518 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11519 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11520 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11521 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11523 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11524 connected to the net continuously.
11526 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11527 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11529 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11534 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11535 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11536 already fetched while in this mode.
11539 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11540 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11541 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11544 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11545 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11546 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11547 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11550 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11551 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11552 then you read the news offline.
11555 And then you go to step 2.
11558 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11564 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11565 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11566 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11567 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11568 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11569 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11572 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
11579 @node Agent Categories
11580 @subsection Agent Categories
11582 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11583 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11584 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11585 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11586 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11587 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11588 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11590 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11591 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11592 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11595 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11596 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11597 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11601 @node Category Syntax
11602 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11604 A category consists of two things.
11608 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11609 are eligible for downloading; and
11612 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11613 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11614 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
11617 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
11618 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
11619 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
11620 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
11622 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
11623 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
11624 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
11626 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
11627 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
11628 operators sprinkled in between.
11630 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11632 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11633 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11639 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11640 short (for some value of ``short'').
11642 Here's a more complex predicate:
11651 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11652 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11655 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11656 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11657 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11659 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11660 you want to do, you can write your own.
11664 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11665 lines; default 100.
11668 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11669 lines; default 200.
11672 True iff the article has a download score less than
11673 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11676 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11677 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11680 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11681 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11682 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11691 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11692 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11693 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11696 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
11697 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
11698 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
11699 something along the lines of the following:
11702 (defun my-article-old-p ()
11703 "Say whether an article is old."
11704 (< (time-to-day (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
11705 (- (time-to-day (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
11708 with the predicate then defined as:
11711 (not my-article-old-p)
11714 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
11715 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
11716 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
11717 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
11720 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
11721 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
11722 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
11725 and simply specify your predicate as:
11731 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
11732 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
11733 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
11734 just don't give a damm.
11737 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
11738 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
11739 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
11740 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
11741 parameters like so:
11744 (agent-predicate . short)
11747 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category
11748 default. Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this,
11749 the @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair
11752 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
11755 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
11758 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
11759 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
11760 predicate is assumed to be a list.
11763 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11764 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11765 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11766 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
11767 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
11768 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
11770 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
11771 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
11772 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
11773 if it's to be specific to that group.
11775 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
11782 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
11783 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
11789 Category specification
11793 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
11799 Group Parameter specification
11802 (agent-score ("from"
11803 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
11808 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
11814 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
11821 Category specification
11824 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
11830 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
11834 Group Parameter specification
11837 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
11840 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
11845 Use @code{normal} score files
11847 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
11848 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
11849 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
11850 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
11852 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
11853 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
11854 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
11855 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
11859 Category Specification
11866 Group Parameter specification
11869 (agent-score . file)
11874 @node The Category Buffer
11875 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11877 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11878 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11879 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11881 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11885 @kindex q (Category)
11886 @findex gnus-category-exit
11887 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11890 @kindex k (Category)
11891 @findex gnus-category-kill
11892 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11895 @kindex c (Category)
11896 @findex gnus-category-copy
11897 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11900 @kindex a (Category)
11901 @findex gnus-category-add
11902 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11905 @kindex p (Category)
11906 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11907 Edit the predicate of the current category
11908 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11911 @kindex g (Category)
11912 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11913 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11914 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11917 @kindex s (Category)
11918 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11919 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11920 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11923 @kindex l (Category)
11924 @findex gnus-category-list
11925 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11929 @node Category Variables
11930 @subsubsection Category Variables
11933 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11934 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11935 Hook run in category buffers.
11937 @item gnus-category-line-format
11938 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11939 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11940 Variables}). Valid elements are:
11944 The name of the category.
11947 The number of groups in the category.
11950 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11951 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11952 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
11954 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11955 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11956 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11958 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11959 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11960 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11962 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11963 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11964 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11967 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11968 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11969 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11975 @node Agent Commands
11976 @subsection Agent Commands
11978 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11979 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11980 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11984 * Group Agent Commands::
11985 * Summary Agent Commands::
11986 * Server Agent Commands::
11989 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
11990 following incantation:
11992 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11994 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11999 @node Group Agent Commands
12000 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
12004 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
12005 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
12006 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
12007 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
12010 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
12011 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
12012 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
12015 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
12016 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
12017 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
12018 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
12021 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
12022 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
12023 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
12024 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}.
12027 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
12028 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
12029 Add the current group to an Agent category
12030 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
12035 @node Summary Agent Commands
12036 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
12040 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
12041 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
12042 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
12045 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
12046 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
12047 Remove the downloading mark from the article
12048 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
12051 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
12052 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
12053 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
12056 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
12057 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
12058 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
12063 @node Server Agent Commands
12064 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
12068 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
12069 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
12070 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
12071 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
12074 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
12075 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
12076 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
12077 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
12083 @subsection Agent Expiry
12085 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
12086 @findex gnus-agent-expire
12087 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
12088 @cindex Agent expiry
12089 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
12092 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
12093 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
12094 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
12095 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
12096 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
12097 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
12099 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
12100 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
12101 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
12102 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
12103 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
12106 @node Outgoing Messages
12107 @subsection Outgoing Messages
12109 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
12110 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
12111 after posting, and edit them at will.
12113 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
12114 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
12115 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
12116 messages in the draft group.
12120 @node Agent Variables
12121 @subsection Agent Variables
12124 @item gnus-agent-directory
12125 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
12126 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
12127 @file{~/News/agent/}.
12129 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
12130 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
12131 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
12132 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
12133 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
12136 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
12137 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
12138 Hook run when connecting to the network.
12140 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
12141 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
12142 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
12147 @node Example Setup
12148 @subsection Example Setup
12150 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
12151 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
12152 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
12155 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
12156 ;;; from your ISP's server.
12157 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
12159 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
12160 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
12161 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
12162 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
12164 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
12165 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12167 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
12171 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
12172 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
12175 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
12176 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
12177 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
12178 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
12179 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
12182 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
12183 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
12184 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
12185 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
12186 back all the killed groups.)
12188 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
12189 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
12190 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
12193 @node Batching Agents
12194 @subsection Batching Agents
12196 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
12197 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
12198 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
12202 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
12206 @node Agent Caveats
12207 @subsection Agent Caveats
12209 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
12210 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
12214 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
12219 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
12220 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
12226 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
12227 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
12234 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
12235 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
12236 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
12239 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
12240 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
12241 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
12242 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
12243 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
12245 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
12246 before generating the summary buffer.
12248 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
12249 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
12250 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
12252 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
12253 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
12254 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
12255 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
12258 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
12259 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
12260 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
12261 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
12262 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
12263 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
12264 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
12265 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
12266 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
12267 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
12268 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
12269 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
12270 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
12271 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
12272 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
12273 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
12277 @node Summary Score Commands
12278 @section Summary Score Commands
12279 @cindex score commands
12281 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
12282 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
12283 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
12284 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
12285 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
12287 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
12288 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
12289 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
12290 score file the current one.
12292 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
12297 @kindex V s (Summary)
12298 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
12299 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
12302 @kindex V S (Summary)
12303 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
12304 Display the score of the current article
12305 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
12308 @kindex V t (Summary)
12309 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
12310 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
12311 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
12314 @kindex V R (Summary)
12315 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
12316 Run the current summary through the scoring process
12317 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
12318 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
12319 effect you're having.
12322 @kindex V c (Summary)
12323 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
12324 Make a different score file the current
12325 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
12328 @kindex V e (Summary)
12329 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
12330 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
12331 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
12335 @kindex V f (Summary)
12336 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
12337 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
12338 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
12341 @kindex V F (Summary)
12342 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12343 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
12344 after editing score files.
12347 @kindex V C (Summary)
12348 @findex gnus-score-customize
12349 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
12350 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
12354 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
12359 @kindex V m (Summary)
12360 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
12361 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
12362 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
12365 @kindex V x (Summary)
12366 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
12367 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
12368 expunge all articles below this score
12369 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
12372 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
12373 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
12376 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
12377 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
12381 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
12382 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
12384 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
12385 keys are available:
12389 Score on the author name.
12392 Score on the subject line.
12395 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
12398 Score on the References line.
12404 Score on the number of lines.
12407 Score on the Message-ID.
12410 Score on followups.
12424 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
12425 what headers you are scoring on.
12437 Substring matching.
12440 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
12469 Greater than number.
12474 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
12475 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
12476 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
12480 Temporary score entry.
12483 Permanent score entry.
12486 Immediately scoring.
12491 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
12492 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
12493 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
12494 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
12496 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
12497 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
12498 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
12499 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
12500 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
12502 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
12503 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
12504 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
12505 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
12506 current score file.
12508 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
12509 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
12510 pretend they are keymaps or not.
12513 @node Group Score Commands
12514 @section Group Score Commands
12515 @cindex group score commands
12517 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
12522 @kindex W f (Group)
12523 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12524 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
12525 all the time. This command will flush the cache
12526 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
12530 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
12532 @findex gnus-batch-score
12533 @cindex batch scoring
12535 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
12539 @node Score Variables
12540 @section Score Variables
12541 @cindex score variables
12545 @item gnus-use-scoring
12546 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
12547 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
12548 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
12550 @item gnus-kill-killed
12551 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
12552 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
12553 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
12554 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
12555 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
12556 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
12557 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
12559 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
12560 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
12561 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
12562 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
12563 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
12565 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
12566 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
12567 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
12568 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
12570 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12571 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12572 @cindex score cache
12573 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
12574 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
12575 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
12576 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
12577 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
12578 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
12581 @item gnus-save-score
12582 @vindex gnus-save-score
12583 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
12584 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
12585 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
12587 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12588 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12589 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
12590 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
12591 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
12592 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
12593 manually entered data.
12595 @item gnus-summary-default-score
12596 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
12597 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
12599 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
12600 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
12601 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
12602 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
12603 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
12604 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
12606 @item gnus-score-over-mark
12607 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
12608 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
12609 default. Default is @samp{+}.
12611 @item gnus-score-below-mark
12612 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
12613 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
12614 default. Default is @samp{-}.
12616 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12617 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12618 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
12619 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
12621 Predefined functions available are:
12624 @item gnus-score-find-single
12625 @findex gnus-score-find-single
12626 Only apply the group's own score file.
12628 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
12629 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
12630 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
12631 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
12632 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
12633 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
12634 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
12635 then a regexp match is done.
12637 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
12638 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
12640 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
12641 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
12642 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
12643 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
12645 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12646 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12647 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12648 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12649 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12652 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12653 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12654 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12655 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12656 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12657 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12660 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12661 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12662 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12663 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12664 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12666 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12667 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12668 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12669 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12670 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12671 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12672 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12675 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12676 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12677 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12679 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
12680 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
12681 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
12682 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
12683 threading---according to the current value of
12684 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
12685 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
12686 simplified in this manner.
12691 @node Score File Format
12692 @section Score File Format
12693 @cindex score file format
12695 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12696 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12697 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12699 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12703 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12705 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12707 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12709 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12714 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12718 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12719 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12720 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12721 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12725 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12726 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12728 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12729 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12730 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12732 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12737 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12738 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12739 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12740 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12741 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12742 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12743 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12744 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12745 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12746 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12747 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12748 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12749 to articles that matches these score entries.
12751 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12752 score entry has one to four elements.
12756 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12757 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12761 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12762 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12763 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12764 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12765 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12766 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12769 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12770 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12771 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12772 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12773 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12776 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12777 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12778 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12779 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12782 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12783 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12784 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12785 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12786 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12787 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12788 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12789 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12790 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12791 instead, if you feel like.
12794 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12795 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
12797 These predicates are true if
12800 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
12803 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
12804 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
12811 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
12812 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
12813 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
12814 it's not. I think.)
12816 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
12817 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
12818 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
12819 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
12822 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12823 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12824 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12825 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12826 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12827 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12828 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12832 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12833 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12834 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12835 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12836 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12837 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12838 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12839 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12842 @item Head, Body, All
12843 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12847 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12848 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12849 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12850 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12851 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12852 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12853 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12857 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12858 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
12859 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12860 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12861 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12862 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12863 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12864 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12865 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12866 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12870 @cindex Score File Atoms
12872 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12873 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12876 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12877 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12879 @item mark-and-expunge
12880 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12881 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12884 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12885 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12886 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12887 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12888 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12891 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12892 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12895 @item exclude-files
12896 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12897 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12901 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12902 ignored when handling global score files.
12905 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12906 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
12907 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
12908 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
12911 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12912 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12913 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12914 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12916 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12920 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12923 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12924 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12925 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12926 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12927 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12929 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12930 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12931 ordinary scoring rules.
12934 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12935 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12936 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12937 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12938 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12939 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12940 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12941 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12942 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12943 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12944 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12948 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12949 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12950 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12951 file for a number of groups.
12954 @cindex local variables
12955 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12956 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12957 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12958 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12959 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12963 @node Score File Editing
12964 @section Score File Editing
12966 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12967 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12968 with a mode for that.
12970 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12971 additional commands:
12976 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12977 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12978 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12979 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12982 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12983 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12984 Insert the current date in numerical format
12985 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12986 you were wondering.
12989 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
12990 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
12991 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
12992 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
12993 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
12998 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
13000 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
13001 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
13003 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
13004 e} to begin editing score files.
13007 @node Adaptive Scoring
13008 @section Adaptive Scoring
13009 @cindex adaptive scoring
13011 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
13012 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
13013 stupidity, to be precise.
13015 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
13016 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
13017 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
13018 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
13019 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
13020 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
13021 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
13022 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
13023 variable to @code{(word line)}.
13025 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
13026 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
13027 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
13028 might look something like this:
13031 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
13032 '((gnus-unread-mark)
13033 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
13034 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
13035 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
13036 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
13037 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
13038 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
13039 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
13040 (gnus-ancient-mark)
13041 (gnus-low-score-mark)
13042 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
13045 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
13046 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
13047 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
13048 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
13049 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
13050 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
13053 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
13054 will be applied to each article.
13056 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
13057 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
13058 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
13059 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
13061 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
13062 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
13063 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
13064 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
13066 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
13067 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
13068 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
13069 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
13071 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
13072 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
13073 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
13074 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
13075 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
13076 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
13078 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
13079 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
13080 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
13081 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
13082 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
13083 aspirins afterwards.)
13085 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
13086 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
13087 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
13089 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
13090 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
13091 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
13093 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
13094 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
13095 let you use different rules in different groups.
13097 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
13098 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
13099 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
13102 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
13103 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
13104 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
13105 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
13106 the length of the match is less than
13107 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
13108 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
13111 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
13112 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
13113 headers. If you adapt on words, the
13114 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
13115 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
13118 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
13119 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
13120 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
13121 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
13122 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
13125 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
13126 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
13127 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
13128 score with 30 points.
13130 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
13131 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
13132 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
13133 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
13134 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
13136 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
13137 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
13138 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
13139 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
13141 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
13142 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
13143 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
13144 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
13146 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
13147 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
13148 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
13149 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
13150 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
13152 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
13153 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
13154 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
13156 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
13157 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
13158 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
13159 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
13162 @node Home Score File
13163 @section Home Score File
13165 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
13166 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
13167 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
13168 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
13170 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
13171 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
13172 could perhaps use the same home score file.
13174 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
13175 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
13180 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
13184 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
13185 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
13189 A list. The elements in this list can be:
13193 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
13194 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
13197 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
13198 the home score file.
13201 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
13204 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
13209 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
13212 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13213 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
13216 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
13217 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
13219 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
13221 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13222 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
13225 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
13226 Other functions include
13229 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
13230 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
13231 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
13232 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
13236 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
13237 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
13238 their own home score files:
13241 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13242 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
13243 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
13244 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
13245 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
13248 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
13249 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
13250 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
13251 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
13252 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
13254 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
13255 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
13256 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
13257 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
13258 precedence over this variable.
13261 @node Followups To Yourself
13262 @section Followups To Yourself
13264 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
13265 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
13266 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
13267 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
13268 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
13269 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
13273 @item gnus-score-followup-article
13274 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
13275 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
13278 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
13279 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
13280 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
13284 @vindex message-sent-hook
13285 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
13286 @code{message-sent-hook}.
13288 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
13289 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
13293 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
13294 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
13297 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
13298 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
13303 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
13307 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
13308 is system-dependent.
13312 @section Scoring Tips
13313 @cindex scoring tips
13319 @cindex scoring crossposts
13320 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
13321 the @code{Xref} header.
13323 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
13326 @item Multiple crossposts
13327 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
13328 more than, say, 3 groups:
13330 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
13333 @item Matching on the body
13334 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
13335 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
13336 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
13337 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
13338 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
13339 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
13340 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
13343 @item Marking as read
13344 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
13345 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
13346 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
13350 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
13352 @item Negated character classes
13353 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
13354 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
13355 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
13359 @node Reverse Scoring
13360 @section Reverse Scoring
13361 @cindex reverse scoring
13363 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
13364 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
13365 like this in your score file:
13369 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
13374 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
13375 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
13378 @node Global Score Files
13379 @section Global Score Files
13380 @cindex global score files
13382 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
13383 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
13384 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
13386 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
13387 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
13388 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
13390 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
13391 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
13392 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
13393 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
13394 files are applicable to which group.
13396 Say you want to use the score file
13397 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
13398 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
13401 (setq gnus-global-score-files
13402 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
13403 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
13406 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
13407 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
13408 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
13409 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
13410 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
13412 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
13413 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
13415 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
13416 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
13417 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
13418 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
13419 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
13420 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
13422 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
13428 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
13430 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
13432 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
13434 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
13435 lowered out of existence.
13437 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
13438 articles completely.
13441 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
13442 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
13443 old articles for a long time.
13446 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
13447 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
13448 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
13449 holding our breath yet?
13453 @section Kill Files
13456 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
13457 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
13458 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
13460 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
13461 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
13462 files into score files.
13464 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
13465 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
13466 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
13467 that isn't a very good idea.
13469 Normal kill files look like this:
13472 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13473 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
13477 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
13478 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
13480 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
13481 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
13484 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
13489 @kindex M-k (Summary)
13490 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
13491 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
13494 @kindex M-K (Summary)
13495 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
13496 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
13499 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
13504 @kindex M-k (Group)
13505 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
13506 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
13509 @kindex M-K (Group)
13510 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
13511 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
13514 Kill file variables:
13517 @item gnus-kill-file-name
13518 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
13519 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
13520 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
13521 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
13522 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
13523 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
13525 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13526 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13527 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
13528 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
13531 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
13532 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
13533 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
13534 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
13535 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
13536 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
13537 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
13538 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
13539 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
13541 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13542 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13543 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
13548 @node Converting Kill Files
13549 @section Converting Kill Files
13551 @cindex converting kill files
13553 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
13554 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
13555 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
13558 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
13559 You can fetch it from
13560 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
13562 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
13563 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
13564 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
13572 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
13573 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
13574 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
13576 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
13577 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
13578 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
13579 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
13580 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
13581 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
13582 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
13583 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
13587 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
13588 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
13589 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
13590 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
13594 @node Using GroupLens
13595 @subsection Using GroupLens
13597 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
13599 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
13600 better bit in town at the moment.
13602 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
13606 @item gnus-use-grouplens
13607 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
13608 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
13609 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
13611 @item grouplens-pseudonym
13612 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
13613 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
13614 with the Better Bit Bureau.
13616 @item grouplens-newsgroups
13617 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
13618 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
13622 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
13623 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
13624 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
13625 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
13626 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
13627 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
13630 @node Rating Articles
13631 @subsection Rating Articles
13633 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
13634 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
13635 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
13636 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
13639 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
13644 @kindex r (GroupLens)
13645 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
13646 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
13649 @kindex k (GroupLens)
13650 @findex grouplens-score-thread
13651 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
13652 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
13653 threads in rec.humor.
13657 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
13658 the score of the article you're reading.
13663 @kindex n (GroupLens)
13664 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
13665 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
13668 @kindex , (GroupLens)
13669 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
13670 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
13674 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
13675 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
13678 @node Displaying Predictions
13679 @subsection Displaying Predictions
13681 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
13682 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
13683 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
13684 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
13685 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
13687 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
13688 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
13689 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
13690 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
13691 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
13692 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13693 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13694 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13695 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13696 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13697 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13698 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13699 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13701 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13702 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13703 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13704 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13706 The following are valid values for that variable.
13709 @item prediction-spot
13710 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13713 @item confidence-interval
13714 A numeric confidence interval.
13716 @item prediction-bar
13717 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13719 @item confidence-bar
13720 Numerical confidence.
13722 @item confidence-spot
13723 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13725 @item prediction-num
13726 Plain-old numeric value.
13728 @item confidence-plus-minus
13729 Prediction +/- confidence.
13734 @node GroupLens Variables
13735 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13739 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13740 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13741 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13742 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13745 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13746 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13749 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13750 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13752 @item grouplens-score-offset
13753 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13754 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13757 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13758 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13759 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13764 @node Advanced Scoring
13765 @section Advanced Scoring
13767 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13768 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13769 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13770 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13771 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13773 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13777 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13778 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13779 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13783 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13784 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13786 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13787 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13788 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13789 non-@code{nil} value.
13791 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13792 operator, and various match operators.
13799 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13800 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13801 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13806 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13807 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13808 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13813 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13814 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13818 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13819 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13820 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13821 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13822 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13823 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13824 the ancestry you want to go.
13826 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13827 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13828 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13829 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13830 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13833 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13834 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13836 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13837 when he's talking about Gnus:
13841 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13842 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13848 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13852 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13859 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13860 really don't want to read what he's written:
13864 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13865 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13869 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13870 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13871 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13878 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13879 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13880 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13881 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13885 The possibilities are endless.
13888 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13889 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13891 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13892 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13893 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13894 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13895 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13896 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13897 @samp{subject}) first.
13899 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13900 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
13911 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
13912 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13918 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13925 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13926 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13931 @section Score Decays
13932 @cindex score decays
13935 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13936 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13937 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13938 use them in any sensible way.
13940 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13941 @findex gnus-decay-score
13942 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
13943 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13944 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13945 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13946 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13947 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
13948 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13949 definition of that function:
13952 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13954 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
13955 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13958 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13960 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13962 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13965 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13966 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13967 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13968 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13972 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13975 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13978 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13982 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13983 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13984 the new score, which should be an integer.
13986 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
13987 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
13994 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
13995 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
13996 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
13997 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
13998 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
13999 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
14000 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
14001 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
14002 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
14003 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
14004 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
14005 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
14006 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
14007 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
14008 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
14009 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
14010 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
14011 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
14015 @node Process/Prefix
14016 @section Process/Prefix
14017 @cindex process/prefix convention
14019 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
14020 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
14022 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
14023 command to be performed on.
14027 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
14028 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
14029 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
14030 with the current one.
14032 @vindex transient-mark-mode
14033 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
14034 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
14036 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
14037 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
14040 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
14041 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
14043 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
14046 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
14047 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
14048 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
14049 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14051 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
14052 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
14053 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
14054 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
14055 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
14056 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
14057 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
14058 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
14062 @section Interactive
14063 @cindex interaction
14067 @item gnus-novice-user
14068 @vindex gnus-novice-user
14069 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
14070 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
14071 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
14072 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
14075 @item gnus-expert-user
14076 @vindex gnus-expert-user
14077 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
14078 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
14079 matter how strange.
14081 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
14082 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
14083 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
14084 is @code{t} by default.
14086 @item gnus-interactive-exit
14087 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
14088 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14093 @node Symbolic Prefixes
14094 @section Symbolic Prefixes
14095 @cindex symbolic prefixes
14097 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
14098 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
14099 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
14100 rule of 900 to the current article.
14102 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
14103 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
14104 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
14105 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
14106 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
14107 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
14108 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
14110 @kindex M-i (Summary)
14111 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
14112 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
14113 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
14114 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
14115 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
14116 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
14117 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
14118 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
14120 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
14121 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
14122 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
14124 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
14128 @node Formatting Variables
14129 @section Formatting Variables
14130 @cindex formatting variables
14132 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
14133 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
14134 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
14135 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
14136 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
14139 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
14140 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
14141 lots of percentages everywhere.
14144 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
14145 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
14146 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
14147 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
14148 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
14151 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
14152 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
14153 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
14154 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
14155 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
14156 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
14157 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
14158 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
14160 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
14161 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
14163 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
14164 @findex gnus-update-format
14165 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
14166 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
14167 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
14168 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
14172 @node Formatting Basics
14173 @subsection Formatting Basics
14175 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
14176 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
14177 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
14179 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
14180 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
14181 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
14182 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
14183 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
14186 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
14187 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
14188 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
14189 less than 4 characters wide.
14192 @node Mode Line Formatting
14193 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
14195 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
14196 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
14197 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
14198 with the following two differences:
14203 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
14206 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
14207 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
14208 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
14209 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
14210 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
14211 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
14212 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
14217 @node Advanced Formatting
14218 @subsection Advanced Formatting
14220 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
14221 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
14222 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
14223 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
14225 These are the valid modifiers:
14230 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
14234 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
14239 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
14242 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
14247 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
14250 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
14253 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
14256 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
14260 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
14261 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
14262 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
14263 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
14264 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
14265 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
14266 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
14268 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
14269 last operation, padding.
14271 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
14272 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
14273 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
14274 @xref{Compilation}.
14277 @node User-Defined Specs
14278 @subsection User-Defined Specs
14280 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
14281 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
14282 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
14283 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
14284 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
14285 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
14286 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
14287 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
14288 should protect against that.
14290 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
14291 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
14292 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
14293 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
14297 @node Formatting Fonts
14298 @subsection Formatting Fonts
14300 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
14301 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
14302 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
14303 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
14306 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
14307 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
14308 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
14309 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
14310 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
14311 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
14313 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
14316 ;; Create three face types.
14317 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
14318 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
14320 ;; We want the article count to be in
14321 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
14322 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
14323 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
14325 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
14326 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
14328 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
14329 (setq gnus-group-line-format
14330 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
14333 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
14334 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
14336 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
14337 mode-line variables.
14340 @node Windows Configuration
14341 @section Windows Configuration
14342 @cindex windows configuration
14344 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
14346 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
14347 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
14348 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
14349 @code{t} by default.
14351 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
14352 glitches. Use at your own peril.
14354 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
14355 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
14356 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
14359 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
14360 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
14361 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14365 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
14366 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
14367 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
14368 possible names is listed below.
14370 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
14371 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
14374 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14378 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
14379 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
14380 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
14381 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
14382 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
14383 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
14384 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
14385 size spec per split.
14387 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
14388 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
14389 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
14390 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
14391 present) gets focus.
14393 Here's a more complicated example:
14396 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
14397 (summary 0.25 point)
14398 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
14402 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
14403 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
14404 occupy, not a percentage.
14406 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
14407 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
14408 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
14409 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
14410 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
14413 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
14416 (article (horizontal 1.0
14421 (summary 0.25 point)
14426 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
14427 @code{horizontal} thingie?
14429 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
14430 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
14431 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
14432 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
14433 the screen is to be given to this strip.
14435 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
14436 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
14437 lines from the splits.
14439 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
14443 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
14444 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
14445 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
14446 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
14447 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
14448 size = number | frame-params
14449 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
14452 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
14453 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
14454 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
14455 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
14457 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
14458 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
14459 @cindex window height
14460 @cindex window width
14461 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
14462 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
14463 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
14464 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
14465 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
14466 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
14468 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
14469 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
14470 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
14471 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
14473 @findex gnus-configure-frame
14474 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
14475 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
14476 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
14477 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
14478 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
14479 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
14480 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
14481 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
14482 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
14483 configuration list.
14486 (gnus-configure-frame
14490 (article 0.3 point))
14498 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
14499 @code{frame} split:
14502 (gnus-configure-frame
14505 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
14507 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
14508 (user-position . t)
14509 (left . -1) (top . 1))
14514 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
14515 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
14516 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
14517 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
14518 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
14519 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
14520 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
14521 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
14524 Here's a list of all possible keys for
14525 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
14527 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
14528 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
14529 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
14530 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
14531 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
14532 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
14534 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
14535 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
14536 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
14540 (message (horizontal 1.0
14541 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
14543 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
14548 @findex gnus-add-configuration
14549 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
14550 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
14551 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
14552 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
14555 (gnus-add-configuration
14556 '(article (vertical 1.0
14558 (summary .25 point)
14562 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
14563 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
14564 Gnus has been loaded.
14566 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
14567 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
14568 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
14569 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
14570 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
14572 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
14573 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
14574 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
14578 @node Faces and Fonts
14579 @section Faces and Fonts
14584 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
14585 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
14586 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
14591 @section Compilation
14592 @cindex compilation
14593 @cindex byte-compilation
14595 @findex gnus-compile
14597 Remember all those line format specification variables?
14598 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
14599 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
14600 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
14601 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
14602 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
14605 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
14606 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
14607 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
14608 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
14609 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
14610 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
14611 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
14615 @section Mode Lines
14618 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
14619 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
14620 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
14621 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
14622 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
14623 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
14624 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
14627 @cindex display-time
14629 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
14630 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
14631 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
14632 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
14633 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
14634 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
14635 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
14636 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
14639 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
14641 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
14642 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
14644 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
14645 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
14646 (length display-time-string)))))
14649 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
14650 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
14651 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
14652 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
14653 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
14656 @node Highlighting and Menus
14657 @section Highlighting and Menus
14659 @cindex highlighting
14662 @vindex gnus-visual
14663 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
14664 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
14665 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
14668 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
14669 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
14672 @item group-highlight
14673 Do highlights in the group buffer.
14674 @item summary-highlight
14675 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
14676 @item article-highlight
14677 Do highlights according to @code{gnus-article-display-hook} in the
14680 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
14682 Create menus in the group buffer.
14684 Create menus in the summary buffers.
14686 Create menus in the article buffer.
14688 Create menus in the browse buffer.
14690 Create menus in the server buffer.
14692 Create menus in the score buffers.
14694 Create menus in all buffers.
14697 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
14698 buffers, you could say something like:
14701 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
14704 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
14707 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
14710 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
14711 in all Gnus buffers.
14713 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
14716 @item gnus-mouse-face
14717 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
14718 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
14719 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
14723 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
14727 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
14728 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
14729 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
14731 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
14732 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
14733 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14735 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14736 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14737 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14739 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14740 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14741 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14743 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14744 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14745 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14747 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14748 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14749 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14760 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14761 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14762 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14763 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14764 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14768 @vindex gnus-carpal
14769 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14770 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14771 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14776 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14777 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14778 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14780 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14781 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14782 Face used on buttons.
14784 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14785 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14786 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14788 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14789 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14790 Buttons in the group buffer.
14792 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14793 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14794 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14796 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14797 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14798 Buttons in the server buffer.
14800 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14801 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14802 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14805 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14806 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14807 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14815 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14816 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14817 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14818 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14819 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14821 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14822 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14823 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14825 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14826 been idle for thirty minutes:
14829 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14832 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14836 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14839 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14840 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14841 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14843 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14844 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14845 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14846 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14848 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14849 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14850 @var{idle} minutes.
14852 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14853 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14856 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14857 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14858 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14860 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14861 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14862 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14863 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14865 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14866 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14867 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14869 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14870 your @file{.gnus} file:
14872 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14874 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14877 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14878 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14879 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14880 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14881 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14882 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14883 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14884 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14885 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14886 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14887 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14889 @findex gnus-demon-init
14890 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14891 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14892 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14893 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14894 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14896 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
14897 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14898 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14907 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14908 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
14910 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
14911 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
14912 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
14913 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
14916 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
14917 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
14918 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
14919 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
14921 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
14922 this will make spam disappear.
14924 There are some variables to customize, of course:
14927 @item gnus-use-nocem
14928 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
14929 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
14932 @item gnus-nocem-groups
14933 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
14934 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
14935 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
14936 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
14938 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
14939 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
14940 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
14941 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
14942 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
14943 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
14944 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
14946 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
14949 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
14950 @cindex Chris Lewis
14951 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
14952 usenet abuse than anybody else.
14955 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
14956 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
14957 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
14959 @item jem@@xpat.com;
14961 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
14964 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
14965 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
14966 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
14969 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
14970 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
14971 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
14972 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
14973 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
14974 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
14975 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
14976 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
14977 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
14978 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
14980 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
14981 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
14984 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
14987 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
14988 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
14991 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
14994 The specs are applied left-to-right.
14997 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
14998 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
15000 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
15001 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
15002 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
15003 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
15005 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
15006 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
15009 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
15011 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
15019 This might be dangerous, though.
15021 @item gnus-nocem-directory
15022 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
15023 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
15024 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
15026 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
15027 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
15028 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
15029 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
15030 might then see old spam.
15034 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
15035 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
15036 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
15037 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
15044 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
15045 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
15046 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
15048 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
15049 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
15050 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
15051 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
15052 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
15053 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
15054 @code{undo} function.
15056 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
15057 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
15058 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
15059 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
15060 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
15061 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
15062 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
15063 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
15064 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
15065 never be totally undoable.
15067 @findex gnus-undo-mode
15068 @vindex gnus-use-undo
15070 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
15071 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
15072 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
15073 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
15078 @section Moderation
15081 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
15082 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
15083 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
15086 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
15090 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
15093 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
15095 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
15100 You split your incoming mail by matching on
15101 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
15102 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
15105 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
15106 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
15109 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
15110 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
15114 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
15117 (setq gnus-moderated-list
15118 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
15122 @node XEmacs Enhancements
15123 @section XEmacs Enhancements
15126 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
15130 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
15131 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
15132 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
15133 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
15146 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
15147 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
15148 over your shoulder as you read news.
15151 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
15152 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
15153 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
15154 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
15155 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
15160 @subsubsection Picon Basics
15162 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
15171 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
15172 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
15173 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
15174 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
15175 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
15176 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
15177 @code{GIF} formats.
15180 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15181 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
15182 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
15183 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
15184 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
15186 @vindex gnus-picons-database
15187 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
15188 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
15189 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
15190 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
15191 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
15194 @node Picon Requirements
15195 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
15197 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
15198 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
15201 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
15202 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
15203 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
15205 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15206 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
15207 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
15208 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
15209 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
15213 @subsubsection Easy Picons
15215 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
15216 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
15219 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
15220 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15221 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
15222 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15223 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
15226 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
15227 containing the Picons databases.
15229 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
15232 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15233 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
15238 @subsubsection Hard Picons
15246 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
15247 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
15248 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
15249 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
15250 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
15255 @item gnus-picons-database
15256 @vindex gnus-picons-database
15257 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
15258 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
15259 subdirectories. This is only useful if
15260 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
15261 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
15263 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15264 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15265 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
15266 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
15267 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
15268 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
15269 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
15271 @item gnus-picons-display-where
15272 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
15273 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
15274 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
15275 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
15276 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
15277 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
15278 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
15280 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
15281 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
15282 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
15287 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
15288 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
15290 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
15291 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
15294 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
15295 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
15297 @item gnus-article-display-picons
15298 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
15299 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
15300 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
15301 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
15303 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
15304 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
15305 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
15306 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
15310 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
15311 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
15314 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
15318 @node Picon Useless Configuration
15319 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
15327 The following variables offer further control over how things are
15328 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
15329 don't need to worry about.
15333 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
15334 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
15335 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
15336 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
15338 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
15339 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
15340 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
15341 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
15343 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
15344 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
15345 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
15346 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
15347 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
15349 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15350 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15351 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
15352 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
15353 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
15354 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
15355 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
15357 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
15358 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
15359 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
15360 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
15362 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
15363 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
15364 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
15365 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
15366 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
15367 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
15368 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
15370 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
15371 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
15372 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
15373 Defaults to @code{nil}.
15375 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
15376 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
15377 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
15378 Defaults to @code{t}.
15380 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15381 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15382 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
15383 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
15385 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15386 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15387 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
15388 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
15390 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15391 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15392 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
15393 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
15394 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
15395 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
15396 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
15397 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
15408 @subsection Smileys
15413 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
15418 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
15419 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
15421 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
15422 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15425 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
15428 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
15429 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
15430 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
15431 text and maps that to file names.
15433 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
15434 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
15435 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
15436 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
15437 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
15438 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
15440 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
15441 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
15443 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
15444 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
15445 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
15447 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
15448 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
15452 @item smiley-data-directory
15453 @vindex smiley-data-directory
15454 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
15456 @item smiley-flesh-color
15457 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
15458 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
15460 @item smiley-features-color
15461 @vindex smiley-features-color
15462 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15464 @item smiley-tongue-color
15465 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
15466 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
15468 @item smiley-circle-color
15469 @vindex smiley-circle-color
15470 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15472 @item smiley-mouse-face
15473 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
15474 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
15480 @subsection Toolbar
15490 @item gnus-use-toolbar
15491 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
15492 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
15493 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
15494 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
15496 @item gnus-group-toolbar
15497 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
15498 The toolbar in the group buffer.
15500 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
15501 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
15502 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
15504 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15505 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15506 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
15512 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
15515 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15516 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15517 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
15518 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
15519 unusual directory structure.
15521 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15522 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15523 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
15524 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
15526 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15527 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15528 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
15529 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
15530 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
15531 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
15533 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15534 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15535 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
15549 @node Fuzzy Matching
15550 @section Fuzzy Matching
15551 @cindex fuzzy matching
15553 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
15554 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
15556 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
15557 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
15558 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
15560 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
15561 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
15562 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
15563 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
15564 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
15567 @node Thwarting Email Spam
15568 @section Thwarting Email Spam
15572 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
15574 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
15575 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
15576 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
15577 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
15578 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
15579 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
15580 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
15581 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
15584 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
15585 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
15586 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
15587 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
15588 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
15589 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
15593 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
15594 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
15596 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
15597 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
15598 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
15599 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
15600 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
15601 part of the mail address.)
15604 (setq message-default-news-headers
15605 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
15608 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15609 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
15614 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
15615 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
15616 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
15622 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
15623 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
15624 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
15625 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
15627 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
15628 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
15629 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
15630 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
15631 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
15632 your fancy split rule in this way:
15637 (to "larsi" "misc")
15641 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
15642 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
15643 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
15644 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
15645 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
15647 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
15648 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
15649 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
15650 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
15651 cosmic balance somewhat.
15653 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
15654 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
15655 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
15656 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
15659 @node Various Various
15660 @section Various Various
15666 @item gnus-home-directory
15667 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
15668 defaults to @file{~/}.
15670 @item gnus-directory
15671 @vindex gnus-directory
15672 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
15673 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
15674 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
15676 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
15677 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
15678 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
15679 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
15681 @item gnus-default-directory
15682 @vindex gnus-default-directory
15683 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
15684 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
15685 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
15686 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15687 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
15688 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
15691 @vindex gnus-verbose
15692 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
15693 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
15694 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
15695 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
15696 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
15698 @item gnus-verbose-backends
15699 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
15700 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
15701 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
15703 @item nnheader-max-head-length
15704 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
15705 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
15706 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
15707 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
15708 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
15709 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
15710 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
15711 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
15712 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
15714 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
15715 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
15716 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
15717 read when doing the operation described above.
15719 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15720 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15722 @cindex invalid characters in file names
15723 @cindex characters in file names
15724 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
15725 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
15726 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
15729 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15733 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
15734 Windows (phooey) systems.
15736 @item gnus-hidden-properties
15737 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
15738 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
15739 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
15740 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
15742 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
15743 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
15744 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
15745 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
15746 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
15748 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
15749 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
15750 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
15759 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
15760 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
15762 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
15764 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
15770 Not because of victories @*
15773 but for the common sunshine,@*
15775 the largess of the spring.
15779 but for the day's work done@*
15780 as well as I was able;@*
15781 not for a seat upon the dais@*
15782 but at the common table.@*
15787 @chapter Appendices
15790 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
15791 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
15792 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
15793 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
15794 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
15795 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15796 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15804 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15805 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15807 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15808 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15809 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15810 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15811 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15813 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15814 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15815 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15816 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15817 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15818 appropriate name, don't you think?)
15820 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
15821 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
15822 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
15823 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
15825 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
15826 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
15827 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
15829 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
15830 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
15832 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
15833 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
15835 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37
15836 releases. If was released as ``Gnus 5.6 on March 8th 1998.
15838 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
15839 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
15840 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
15841 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
15842 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
15846 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
15847 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
15848 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
15849 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
15850 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
15851 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
15852 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15859 What's the point of Gnus?
15861 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15862 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15863 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15864 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15865 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15866 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15867 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15868 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15869 keep track of millions of people who post?
15871 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15872 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15873 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15874 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15875 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15876 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15877 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15878 every one of you to explore and invent.
15880 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15881 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
15884 @node Compatibility
15885 @subsection Compatibility
15887 @cindex compatibility
15888 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
15889 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
15890 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
15895 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
15899 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
15902 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
15905 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
15906 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
15907 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
15908 important variables have their values copied into their global
15909 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
15910 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
15912 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
15913 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
15914 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
15915 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
15916 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
15920 @cindex highlighting
15921 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
15922 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
15923 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
15924 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
15925 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
15926 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
15929 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
15930 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
15931 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
15932 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
15934 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
15935 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
15936 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
15937 to stop doing it the old way.
15939 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
15941 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
15943 @cindex reporting bugs
15945 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
15946 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
15947 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
15949 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
15950 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
15951 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
15952 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
15957 @subsection Conformity
15959 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
15960 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
15967 There are no known breaches of this standard.
15971 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
15973 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
15974 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
15975 We do have some breaches to this one.
15980 Gnus does not yet fully handle MIME, and this standard-to-be seems to
15981 think that MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
15984 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
15985 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
15986 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
15987 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
15988 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
15993 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
15994 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
15995 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
15996 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
16000 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
16001 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
16006 @subsection Emacsen
16012 Gnus should work on :
16020 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
16024 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
16025 reliably, at least.
16027 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
16028 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
16029 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
16034 @subsection Contributors
16035 @cindex contributors
16037 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
16038 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
16039 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
16040 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
16041 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
16042 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
16043 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
16044 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
16045 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
16046 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
16048 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
16054 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
16057 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
16058 well as numerous other things).
16061 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
16064 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
16067 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
16068 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
16071 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
16074 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
16075 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16078 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
16081 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
16084 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
16087 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
16090 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
16091 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
16094 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
16097 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
16100 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
16103 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
16107 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
16110 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
16113 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
16116 Fran
\e,Ag
\e(Bois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
16117 well as autoconf support.
16121 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
16122 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
16124 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
16129 David K
\e,Ae
\e(Bgedal,
16133 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
16137 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
16159 Massimo Campostrini,
16167 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
16173 Michael Welsh Duggan,
16176 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
16180 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
16187 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
16189 Michelangelo Grigni,
16192 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
16194 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
16196 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
16201 Fran
\e,Ag
\e(Bois Felix Ingrand,
16202 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
16204 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
16213 Peter Skov Knudsen,
16214 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
16215 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
16216 Thor Kristoffersen,
16219 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
16236 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
16237 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
16244 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
16248 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
16251 John McClary Prevost,
16257 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
16262 Christian von Roques,
16264 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
16271 Philippe Schnoebelen,
16273 Randal L. Schwartz,
16302 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
16304 Shenghuo Zhu. @c Zhu
16306 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
16307 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
16308 (550kB and counting).
16310 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
16313 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
16314 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
16318 @subsection New Features
16319 @cindex new features
16322 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
16323 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
16324 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
16325 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
16328 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
16329 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
16330 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
16334 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
16336 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
16341 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
16342 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
16345 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
16346 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
16349 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
16352 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
16353 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
16354 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
16357 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
16358 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
16359 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
16360 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16363 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
16364 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16367 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
16368 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
16369 (@pxref{The Active File}).
16372 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
16373 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
16376 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
16377 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
16378 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16381 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
16382 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
16383 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
16386 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
16387 the @file{.emacs} file.
16390 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
16391 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16394 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
16395 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
16398 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
16399 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16402 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
16403 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
16406 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
16407 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16410 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
16413 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
16414 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
16417 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
16418 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
16421 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
16422 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
16425 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
16428 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
16429 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16432 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
16436 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
16440 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
16441 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
16444 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
16450 @node September Gnus
16451 @subsubsection September Gnus
16455 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
16459 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
16464 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
16465 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
16469 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
16470 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
16474 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
16478 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
16479 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
16482 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
16486 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16489 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
16492 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
16495 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
16499 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
16500 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
16503 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
16507 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
16511 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
16515 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
16519 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
16522 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
16523 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
16526 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
16530 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
16531 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
16534 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
16537 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
16538 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
16539 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16542 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
16546 The Gnus cache is much faster.
16549 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
16553 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
16554 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16557 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
16558 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
16561 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
16562 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16565 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
16566 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
16567 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
16570 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
16571 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
16574 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
16577 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16580 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16581 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
16585 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
16588 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
16591 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
16592 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
16595 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
16599 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
16602 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
16607 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
16610 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
16614 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16617 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
16621 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
16624 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
16627 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
16628 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16631 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
16632 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
16636 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
16637 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
16640 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
16644 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
16645 buffer to allow easier treatment.
16648 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
16651 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
16655 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
16659 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
16660 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
16663 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
16667 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
16668 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16671 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
16672 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16675 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
16679 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16682 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16683 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
16687 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
16690 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
16696 @subsubsection Red Gnus
16698 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
16702 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
16709 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
16712 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
16713 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16716 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
16717 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
16721 Article washing status can be displayed in the
16722 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
16725 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
16728 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
16729 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
16732 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
16736 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
16737 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
16741 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
16742 Server Internals}).
16745 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
16749 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
16752 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
16753 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
16756 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
16757 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
16758 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
16761 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
16762 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16765 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
16766 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
16769 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
16773 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
16774 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16777 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
16778 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16781 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
16785 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
16788 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
16792 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
16793 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16796 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
16797 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16800 A new command for reading collections of documents
16801 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
16802 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
16805 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
16809 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
16810 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
16813 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
16814 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
16815 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
16818 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
16819 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
16823 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
16827 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
16831 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
16836 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
16840 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
16844 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
16845 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
16848 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
16851 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16852 'gnus-article-emphasize)
16859 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
16861 New features in Gnus 5.6:
16866 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
16867 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
16868 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
16871 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
16872 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
16873 group, which is created automatically.
16876 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
16880 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
16883 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
16884 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
16887 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
16891 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
16894 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
16895 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
16898 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
16901 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
16902 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
16905 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
16906 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
16909 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
16910 control over simplification.
16913 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
16916 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
16920 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
16923 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16926 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
16927 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
16928 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
16931 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
16932 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
16935 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
16939 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
16940 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
16943 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
16944 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
16947 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
16951 A history of where mails have been split is available.
16954 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
16957 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
16958 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
16961 A new function for citing in Message has been
16962 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
16965 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
16968 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
16972 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
16973 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
16976 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
16977 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
16980 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
16983 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
16988 @node Newest Features
16989 @subsection Newest Features
16992 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
16995 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
16997 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
16998 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
17001 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
17006 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
17009 Really do unbinhexing.
17012 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
17013 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
17016 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
17019 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
17022 facep is not declared.
17025 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
17026 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
17029 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
17034 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
17035 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
17036 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
17037 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
17038 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
17039 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
17040 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
17045 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
17048 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
17051 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
17053 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
17054 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
17056 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
17058 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
17060 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
17061 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
17063 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
17065 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
17066 be marked as unread.
17068 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
17070 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
17072 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
17073 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
17075 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
17077 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
17079 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
17080 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
17082 topics that contain just groups with ticked
17083 articles aren't displayed.
17085 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
17087 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
17088 make the mail groups killed.
17090 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
17092 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
17093 and articles have to be removed.
17095 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
17098 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
17100 finding short score file names takes forever.
17102 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17104 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
17106 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
17108 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
17110 nnweb doesn't work properly.
17112 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
17114 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
17115 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
17119 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
17121 really unbinhex binhex files.
17123 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
17124 bar and the Gnus bar.
17127 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
17128 `(canonize-message-id id)'
17129 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
17130 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
17131 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
17132 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
17137 nnml .overview directory with splits.
17141 postponed commands.
17143 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
17145 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
17148 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
17149 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
17151 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
17152 inherit copy prompts and save files.
17154 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
17156 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
17157 for backends that support that.
17159 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
17161 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
17162 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
17164 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
17165 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
17167 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
17169 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
17171 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
17173 server mode command: close/open all connections
17175 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
17176 has been changed before using it.
17178 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
17180 hide (sub)threads with low score.
17182 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
17184 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
17186 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
17187 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
17189 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
17190 contain groups that match a regexp.
17192 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
17195 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
17198 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
17199 from subject lines.
17201 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
17203 nntp-ping-before-connect
17205 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
17207 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
17208 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
17210 message annotations.
17212 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
17214 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
17215 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
17217 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
17222 support qmail maildir spools
17224 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
17226 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
17228 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
17230 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
17231 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
17233 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
17235 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
17237 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
17238 finds and generate proper active ranges.
17240 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
17241 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
17243 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
17245 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
17247 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
17248 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
17250 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
17252 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
17254 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
17255 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
17258 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
17260 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
17262 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
17263 `C-c C-c' when posting.
17265 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
17268 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
17269 should be marker as expirable.
17271 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
17273 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
17274 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
17276 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
17277 Also consult Date headers.
17279 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
17281 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
17283 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
17284 Message-ID, delete the "original".
17286 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
17287 into a See-Also header.
17289 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
17291 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
17293 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
17294 should be listed as such and not as "K".
17296 generate font names dynamically.
17298 score file mode auto-alist.
17300 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
17301 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
17303 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
17304 absolutely all headers there is.
17306 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
17307 and pipe them to the process.
17309 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
17310 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
17311 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
17313 function for starting to edit a file to put into
17314 the current mail group.
17316 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
17318 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
17319 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
17321 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
17322 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
17324 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
17326 when replying to several process-marked articles,
17327 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
17329 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
17330 groups it has been mailed to.
17332 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
17334 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
17336 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
17338 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
17339 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
17341 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
17342 newlines) should be ignored.
17344 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
17345 groups in subtopics as well.
17347 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
17349 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
17352 add edit and forward secondary marks.
17354 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
17356 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
17358 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
17360 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
17362 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
17364 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
17365 or the formatted article.
17367 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
17369 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
17370 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
17372 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
17374 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
17376 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
17378 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
17379 even unread articles.
17381 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
17383 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
17385 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
17387 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
17389 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17391 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
17394 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
17395 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
17397 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
17398 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
17400 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
17402 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
17404 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
17405 from a particular server? Hm.
17407 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
17408 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
17410 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
17412 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
17413 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
17415 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
17416 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
17418 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
17419 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
17420 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
17423 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
17424 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
17426 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
17428 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
17430 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
17432 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
17435 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
17438 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
17439 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
17441 command to show and edit group scores
17443 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
17446 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
17448 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
17450 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
17451 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
17454 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
17455 that are of that length.
17457 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
17459 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
17461 asynchronous posting under nntp.
17463 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
17465 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
17467 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
17469 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
17470 a score lower than this number.
17472 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
17474 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
17476 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
17477 so that each copy can be edited separately.
17479 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
17481 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
17482 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
17484 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
17487 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
17488 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
17489 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
17490 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
17492 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
17495 command to remove all topic stuff.
17497 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
17498 and splitting the resulting digests.
17500 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
17502 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
17504 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
17505 matches an alist -- before saving.
17507 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
17509 variable to activate each group before entering them
17510 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
17512 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
17513 starting Gnus first if necessary.
17515 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
17516 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
17518 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
17520 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
17521 of several groups at once.
17523 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
17524 matches some regexp(s).
17526 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
17528 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
17530 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
17532 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
17534 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
17536 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
17538 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
17540 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
17541 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
17542 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
17543 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
17545 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
17546 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
17548 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
17550 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
17551 recently cited text.
17553 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
17555 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
17558 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
17559 server and just read the articles in the server
17561 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
17562 value of nnoo variables.
17564 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
17566 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
17567 listed in each group info.
17569 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
17572 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
17573 should only be applied to some groups.
17575 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
17576 mail-copies-to: never.
17578 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
17579 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
17581 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
17583 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
17586 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
17589 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
17591 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
17594 group user-defined meta-parameters.
17598 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
17600 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
17601 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
17602 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
17603 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
17604 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
17606 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
17607 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
17614 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
17615 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
17617 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
17618 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
17620 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
17621 "Return the date the group was last read."
17622 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
17627 tanken var at n
\e,Ae
\e(Br du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til ilete
17628 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den v
\e,Af
\e(Bre en
17629 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
17630 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
17634 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
17635 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
17637 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
17640 They could be used like this:
17644 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
17645 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
17646 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
17648 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
17650 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
17653 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
17656 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
17657 affect the summary line format.
17661 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
17663 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
17664 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
17666 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
17669 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
17671 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
17673 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
17675 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
17677 - For other files, just find them normally.
17679 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
17680 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
17683 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
17684 tell him what you are doing.
17687 Currently, I get prompted:
17691 decend into sci.something ?
17695 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
17696 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
17697 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
17698 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
17701 Ja, det burde v
\e,Af
\e(Bre en m
\e,Ae
\e(Bte
\e,Ae
\e(B si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
17702 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? S
\e,Ae
\e(B kunne score-regler legges til den
17703 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
17704 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
17707 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
17708 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
17714 more than n blank lines
17716 more than m identical lines
17717 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
17719 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
17723 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
17724 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
17725 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
17726 "same" subject for threading purposes.
17729 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
17730 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
17731 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
17732 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
17735 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
17738 soup - bowl of soup
17739 score below - dim light bulb
17740 score over - bright light bulb
17743 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
17748 show-list-of-articles-in-group
17749 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17750 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
17751 if (articles-selected)
17752 start-reading-selected-articles;
17753 junk-unread-articles;
17758 else if (key-pressed = '.')
17759 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
17760 select-thread-under-cursor;
17762 select-article-under-cursor;
17766 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17767 if (more-pages-in-article)
17769 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
17776 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
17777 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
17778 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
17781 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
17782 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
17783 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
17784 the wildcard expression).
17787 It would be nice if it also handled
17789 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
17791 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
17796 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
17797 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
17798 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
17799 article versions) variable.
17801 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
17803 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
17804 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
17808 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
17811 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
17812 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
17813 (message-sent-hook).
17815 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
17818 * Enhancements to Gnus:
17822 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
17823 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
17826 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
17827 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
17828 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
17831 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
17832 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
17836 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
17839 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
17843 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
17844 the nnmail duplicate checking.
17847 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
17848 value of the signature file.
17851 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
17852 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
17855 (setq message-tab-alist
17856 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
17857 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
17859 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
17863 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
17866 a command to import a buffer into a group.
17869 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
17872 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
17873 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
17876 a command to process mark all unread articles.
17879 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
17880 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
17881 do more gathering by subject.
17884 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
17885 article numerical order.
17888 (gnus-thread-total-score
17889 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
17893 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
17896 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
17897 in the summary buffer.
17900 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
17901 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
17904 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
17905 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
17906 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
17907 and/or newsgroup name.
17910 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
17913 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
17916 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
17919 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
17920 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
17921 will automatically get the process mark.
17924 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
17925 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
17926 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
17929 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
17933 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
17934 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
17937 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
17938 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
17942 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
17943 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
17946 be able to post via DejaNews.
17949 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
17952 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
17953 allow them to be displayed separately.
17956 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
17957 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
17960 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
17961 articles that match a certain From header.
17964 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
17965 saving living summary buffers.
17968 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
17969 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
17972 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
17973 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
17976 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
17977 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
17980 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
17981 (goto-char (point-min))
17982 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
17983 (replace-match "`" t t))
17984 (goto-char (point-min))
17985 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
17986 (replace-match "'" t t))
17987 (goto-char (point-min))
17988 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
17989 (replace-match "\"" t t))
17990 (goto-char (point-min))
17991 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
17992 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
17997 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
17999 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
18000 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
18001 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
18002 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
18006 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
18009 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
18010 numbers and match on the age of the article.
18014 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
18015 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
18016 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
18018 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
18019 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
18021 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
18022 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
18027 all commands that react to the process mark should push
18028 the current process mark set onto the stack.
18031 gnus-article-hide-pgp
18032 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt islette den dersom teksten matcher
18034 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
18036 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
18037 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
18040 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
18041 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
18044 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
18048 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
18049 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
18052 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
18055 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
18058 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
18061 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
18065 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
18071 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
18074 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
18078 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
18079 X characters in the body.
18082 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
18085 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
18088 format spec to "tab" to a position.
18091 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
18094 command to display all dormant articles.
18097 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
18100 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
18101 to something someone else has said.
18104 Read Netscape discussion groups:
18105 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
18108 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
18109 the displayed version.
18112 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
18116 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
18119 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
18120 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
18121 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
18125 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
18126 in the head or body.
18129 Allow breaking lengthy NNTP commands.
18132 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
18135 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
18136 in a special, unique buffer.
18139 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
18142 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
18143 is less than a certain number of days old.
18146 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
18149 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
18152 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
18153 file, for instance.
18156 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
18157 in any other dummy thread will make gnus highlight the
18158 dummy root instead of the first article.
18161 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
18162 topics for displaying.
18165 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
18166 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
18169 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
18172 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
18173 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
18174 summary buffer for each article.
18177 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
18180 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
18184 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
18187 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
18191 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
18194 gnus-ignored-mime-types to avoid seeing buttons for Vcards and the
18198 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
18201 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
18202 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
18205 Solve the halting problem.
18214 @section The Manual
18218 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
18219 either @code{texi2dvi}
18221 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
18222 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
18224 to get what you hold in your hands now.
18226 The following conventions have been used:
18231 This is a @samp{string}
18234 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
18237 This is a @file{file}
18240 This is a @code{symbol}
18244 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
18248 (setq flargnoze "yes")
18251 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
18254 (setq flumphel 'yes)
18257 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
18258 ever get them confused.
18262 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
18263 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
18264 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
18265 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
18266 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
18267 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
18268 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
18276 @section Terminology
18278 @cindex terminology
18283 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
18284 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
18285 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
18286 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
18287 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
18291 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
18292 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
18293 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
18294 not posting, and replying is not following up.
18298 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
18302 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
18307 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
18308 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
18309 is all done by the backends.
18313 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
18314 default, way of getting news.
18318 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
18319 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
18324 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
18325 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
18329 A message that has been posted as news.
18332 @cindex mail message
18333 A message that has been mailed.
18337 A mail message or news article
18341 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
18346 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
18351 A line from the head of an article.
18355 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
18356 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
18360 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
18361 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
18362 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
18363 normal @sc{head} format.
18367 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
18368 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
18369 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
18370 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
18371 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
18372 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
18374 @item killed groups
18375 @cindex killed groups
18376 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
18377 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
18379 @item zombie groups
18380 @cindex zombie groups
18381 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
18384 @cindex active file
18385 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
18386 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
18387 is rather large, as you might surmise.
18390 @cindex bogus groups
18391 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
18392 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
18393 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
18396 @cindex activating groups
18397 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
18398 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
18399 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
18403 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
18405 @item select method
18406 @cindex select method
18407 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
18410 @item virtual server
18411 @cindex virtual server
18412 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
18413 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
18414 whole is a virtual server.
18418 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
18419 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
18422 @item ephemeral groups
18423 @cindex ephemeral groups
18424 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
18425 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
18426 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
18429 @cindex solid groups
18430 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
18431 group buffer are solid groups.
18433 @item sparse articles
18434 @cindex sparse articles
18435 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
18436 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
18440 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
18441 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
18445 @cindex thread root
18446 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
18447 articles in the thread.
18451 An article that has responses.
18455 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
18459 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
18460 specified by RFC1153.
18466 @node Customization
18467 @section Customization
18468 @cindex general customization
18470 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
18471 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
18472 for some quite common situations.
18475 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
18476 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
18477 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
18478 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
18482 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
18483 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
18485 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
18486 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
18487 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
18491 @item gnus-read-active-file
18492 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
18493 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
18494 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18495 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
18496 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
18498 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
18499 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
18500 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
18501 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
18505 @node Slow Terminal Connection
18506 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
18508 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
18509 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
18510 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
18514 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
18515 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
18516 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
18517 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
18518 horizontal and vertical recentering.
18520 @item gnus-visible-headers
18521 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
18522 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
18523 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
18524 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
18526 @item gnus-article-display-hook
18527 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
18529 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
18530 '(gnus-article-hide-headers
18531 gnus-article-hide-signature
18532 gnus-article-hide-citation))
18535 @item gnus-use-full-window
18536 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
18537 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
18538 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
18539 want to read them anyway.
18541 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
18542 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
18545 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
18546 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
18547 lines, which might save some time.
18551 @node Little Disk Space
18552 @subsection Little Disk Space
18555 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
18556 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
18560 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
18561 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
18562 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
18563 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18566 @item gnus-save-killed-list
18567 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
18568 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
18569 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
18570 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
18576 @subsection Slow Machine
18577 @cindex slow machine
18579 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
18580 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
18582 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18583 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
18585 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
18586 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
18587 summary buffer faster.
18589 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
18590 processing a bit faster.
18594 @node Troubleshooting
18595 @section Troubleshooting
18596 @cindex troubleshooting
18598 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
18606 Make sure your computer is switched on.
18609 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
18610 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
18614 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
18615 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
18616 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
18617 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
18620 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
18624 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
18625 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
18626 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
18627 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
18628 something like that.
18631 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
18634 @cindex reporting bugs
18636 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18638 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
18639 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
18640 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
18641 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
18643 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
18644 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
18645 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
18646 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
18649 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
18650 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
18651 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
18652 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
18653 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
18654 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
18656 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
18657 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
18658 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
18661 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
18662 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
18664 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
18665 @cindex ding mailing list
18666 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
18667 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
18671 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
18672 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
18674 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
18675 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
18676 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
18677 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
18680 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
18681 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
18682 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
18683 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
18684 and general methods of operation.
18687 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
18688 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
18689 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
18690 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
18691 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
18692 * Group Info:: The group info format.
18693 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
18694 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
18695 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
18699 @node Gnus Utility Functions
18700 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
18701 @cindex Gnus utility functions
18702 @cindex utility functions
18704 @cindex internal variables
18706 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
18707 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
18708 Below is a list of the most common ones.
18712 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
18713 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
18714 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
18716 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
18717 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
18718 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
18720 @item gnus-group-real-name
18721 @findex gnus-group-real-name
18722 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
18725 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
18726 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
18727 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
18728 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
18730 @item gnus-get-info
18731 @findex gnus-get-info
18732 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
18734 @item gnus-group-unread
18735 @findex gnus-group-unread
18736 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
18740 @findex gnus-active
18741 The active entry for @var{group}.
18743 @item gnus-set-active
18744 @findex gnus-set-active
18745 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
18747 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18748 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18749 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
18752 @item gnus-continuum-version
18753 @findex gnus-continuum-version
18754 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
18755 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
18758 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
18759 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
18760 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
18762 @item gnus-news-group-p
18763 @findex gnus-news-group-p
18764 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
18766 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18767 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18768 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
18770 @item gnus-server-to-method
18771 @findex gnus-server-to-method
18772 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
18774 @item gnus-server-equal
18775 @findex gnus-server-equal
18776 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
18778 @item gnus-group-native-p
18779 @findex gnus-group-native-p
18780 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
18782 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
18783 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
18784 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
18786 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
18787 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
18788 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
18790 @item group-group-find-parameter
18791 @findex group-group-find-parameter
18792 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
18793 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
18795 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
18796 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
18797 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
18799 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
18800 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
18801 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
18803 @item gnus-check-backend-function
18804 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
18805 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
18806 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
18809 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
18813 @item gnus-read-method
18814 @findex gnus-read-method
18815 Prompts the user for a select method.
18820 @node Backend Interface
18821 @subsection Backend Interface
18823 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
18824 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
18825 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
18826 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
18827 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
18828 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
18830 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
18831 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
18832 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
18833 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
18834 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
18835 been opened, the function should fail.
18837 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
18838 name. Take this example:
18842 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
18843 (nntp-port-number 4324))
18846 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
18847 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
18849 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
18850 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
18851 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
18853 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
18854 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
18855 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
18857 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
18858 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
18859 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
18860 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
18861 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
18862 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
18865 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
18866 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
18867 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
18868 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
18871 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
18874 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
18877 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
18878 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
18879 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
18880 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
18881 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
18882 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
18886 @node Required Backend Functions
18887 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
18891 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
18893 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
18894 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
18895 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
18896 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
18898 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
18899 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
18900 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
18901 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
18903 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
18904 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
18905 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
18906 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
18907 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
18908 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
18909 number, do maximum fetches.
18911 Here's an example HEAD:
18914 221 1056 Article retrieved.
18915 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
18916 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
18917 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
18918 Subject: Re: Something very droll
18919 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
18920 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
18922 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
18923 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
18924 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
18928 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
18929 these in the data buffer.
18931 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
18935 head = error / valid-head
18936 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
18937 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
18938 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
18939 header = <text> eol
18942 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
18943 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
18947 nov-buffer = *nov-line
18948 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
18949 field = <text except TAB>
18952 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
18956 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
18958 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
18959 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
18961 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
18962 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
18963 server. In fact, it should do so.
18965 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
18966 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
18969 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
18971 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
18972 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
18975 There should be no data returned.
18978 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
18980 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
18981 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
18982 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
18983 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
18985 There should be no data returned.
18988 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
18990 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
18991 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
18992 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
18993 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
18995 There should be no data returned.
18998 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
19000 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
19002 There should be no data returned.
19005 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
19007 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
19008 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
19009 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
19010 it would be nice if that were possible.
19012 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
19013 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
19014 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
19015 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
19016 into its article buffer.
19018 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
19019 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
19020 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
19021 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
19022 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
19023 on successful article retrieval.
19026 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
19028 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
19029 making @var{group} the current group.
19031 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
19034 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
19037 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
19040 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
19041 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
19042 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
19043 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
19044 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
19045 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
19046 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
19047 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
19050 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
19051 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
19052 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
19056 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
19058 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
19059 a no-op on most backends.
19061 There should be no data returned.
19064 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
19066 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
19069 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
19072 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
19073 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
19076 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
19077 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
19080 active-file = *active-line
19081 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
19083 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
19086 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
19087 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
19088 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
19091 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
19093 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
19094 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
19095 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
19096 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
19097 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
19098 clear if the posting could not be completed.
19100 There should be no result data from this function.
19105 @node Optional Backend Functions
19106 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
19110 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
19112 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
19113 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
19114 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
19116 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
19117 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
19118 former is in the same format as the data from
19119 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
19120 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
19123 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
19127 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
19129 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
19130 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
19131 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
19132 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
19133 should return the (altered) group info.
19135 There should be no result data from this function.
19138 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
19140 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
19141 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
19142 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
19143 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
19144 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
19145 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
19146 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
19147 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
19149 There should be no result data from this function.
19152 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
19154 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
19155 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
19156 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as IMAP) however carry all
19157 information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to propagate
19158 the mark information to the server.
19160 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
19163 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
19166 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
19167 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
19168 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
19169 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
19170 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a
19171 symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
19172 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
19173 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
19174 not limit itself to theese.
19176 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
19177 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
19178 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
19179 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
19181 An example action list:
19184 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
19185 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
19186 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
19189 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
19190 mark on (currently not used for anything).
19192 There should be no result data from this function.
19194 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
19196 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
19197 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
19198 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
19199 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
19200 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
19202 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
19203 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
19204 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
19207 There should be no result data from this function.
19210 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
19212 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
19213 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
19214 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
19215 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
19216 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
19217 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
19218 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
19220 There should be no result data from this function.
19223 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
19225 The result data from this function should be a description of
19229 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
19231 description = <text>
19234 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
19236 The result data from this function should be the description of all
19237 groups available on the server.
19240 description-buffer = *description-line
19244 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
19246 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
19247 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
19248 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
19251 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
19253 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
19255 There should be no return data.
19258 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
19260 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
19261 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
19262 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
19263 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
19264 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
19267 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
19270 There should be no result data returned.
19273 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
19276 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
19277 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
19279 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
19280 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
19281 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
19282 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
19283 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
19284 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
19286 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
19287 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
19290 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
19291 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
19293 There should be no data returned.
19296 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
19298 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
19299 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
19300 this function in short order.
19302 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
19303 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
19305 There should be no data returned.
19308 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
19310 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
19311 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
19313 There should be no data returned.
19316 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
19318 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
19319 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
19320 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
19322 There should be no data returned.
19325 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
19327 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
19328 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
19330 There should be no data returned.
19335 @node Error Messaging
19336 @subsubsection Error Messaging
19338 @findex nnheader-report
19339 @findex nnheader-get-report
19340 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
19341 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
19342 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
19343 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
19344 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
19345 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
19348 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
19350 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
19353 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
19354 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
19355 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
19356 takes one argument---the server symbol.
19358 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
19359 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
19360 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
19363 @node Writing New Backends
19364 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
19366 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
19367 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
19368 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
19369 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
19370 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
19373 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
19374 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
19375 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
19377 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
19378 package called @code{nnoo}.
19380 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
19381 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
19387 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
19388 parameters. For instance:
19391 (nnoo-declare nndir
19395 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
19396 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
19399 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
19400 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
19401 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
19403 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
19404 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
19405 a function in those backends.
19408 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19409 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19410 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19413 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
19414 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
19415 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
19417 @item nnoo-define-basics
19418 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
19422 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19426 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
19427 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
19428 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
19430 @item nnoo-map-functions
19431 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
19432 functions from the parent backends.
19435 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19436 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19437 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
19440 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
19441 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
19442 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
19443 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
19446 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
19447 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
19448 haven't already been defined.
19454 nnmh-request-newgroups)
19458 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
19459 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
19460 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
19465 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
19468 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
19469 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
19473 (require 'nnheader)
19477 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
19479 (nnoo-declare nndir
19482 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19483 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19484 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19486 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
19487 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
19490 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
19491 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
19492 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
19494 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
19495 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
19497 ;;; Interface functions.
19499 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19501 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
19502 (setq nndir-directory
19503 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
19505 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
19506 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
19507 (push `(nndir-current-group
19508 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19510 (push `(nndir-top-directory
19511 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19513 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
19515 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19516 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19517 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19518 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
19519 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
19523 nnmh-status-message
19525 nnmh-request-newgroups))
19531 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19532 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19534 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
19535 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
19536 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
19537 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
19539 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
19540 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
19545 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
19548 The abilities can be:
19552 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
19554 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
19556 This backend supports both mail and news.
19558 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
19561 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
19562 articles and groups.
19564 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
19565 true for almost all backends.
19566 @item prompt-address
19567 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
19568 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
19569 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
19573 @node Mail-like Backends
19574 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
19576 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
19577 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
19578 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
19579 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
19582 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
19583 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
19584 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
19587 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
19588 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
19591 This function takes four parameters.
19595 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
19598 @item exit-function
19599 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
19601 @item temp-directory
19602 Where the temporary files should be stored.
19605 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
19606 performed for one group only.
19609 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
19610 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
19611 find the article number assigned to this article.
19613 The function also uses the following variables:
19614 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
19615 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
19616 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
19617 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
19621 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
19622 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
19626 @node Score File Syntax
19627 @subsection Score File Syntax
19629 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
19630 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
19631 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
19633 Here's a typical score file:
19637 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
19644 BNF definition of a score file:
19647 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
19648 element = rule / atom
19649 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
19650 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
19651 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
19652 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
19654 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
19655 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
19656 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
19657 date-header = "date"
19658 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19659 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19660 score = "nil" / <integer>
19661 date = "nil" / <natural number>
19662 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
19663 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
19664 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
19665 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
19666 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19667 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19668 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
19669 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19670 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
19671 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
19672 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
19673 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
19674 exclude-files / read-only / touched
19675 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
19676 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
19677 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
19678 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
19679 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
19680 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
19681 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
19682 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
19683 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
19684 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
19685 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
19686 eval = "eval" space <form>
19687 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
19690 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
19693 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
19694 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
19695 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
19696 one looong line, then that's ok.
19698 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
19699 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19703 @subsection Headers
19705 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
19706 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
19707 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
19708 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
19710 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
19711 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
19712 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
19713 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
19714 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
19715 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
19716 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
19718 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
19719 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
19720 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
19721 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
19722 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
19724 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
19731 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
19732 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
19734 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
19735 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
19736 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
19737 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
19739 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
19743 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
19746 is transformed into
19749 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
19752 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
19753 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
19756 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
19759 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
19760 is slightly tricky:
19763 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
19769 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
19772 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
19778 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
19785 and is equal to the previous range.
19787 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
19788 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
19789 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
19793 range = simple-range / normal-range
19794 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
19795 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
19796 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
19797 number *[ " " contents ]
19800 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
19801 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
19802 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
19803 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
19804 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
19809 @subsection Group Info
19811 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
19812 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
19813 describes the group.
19815 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
19816 second is a more complex one:
19819 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
19821 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
19822 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
19824 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
19827 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
19828 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
19829 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
19830 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
19831 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
19832 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
19833 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
19834 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
19835 this section is about.
19837 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
19838 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
19839 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
19841 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
19844 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
19845 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
19846 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19847 group = quote <string> quote
19848 ralevel = rank / level
19849 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19850 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
19851 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19853 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
19854 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
19855 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
19856 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
19859 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
19860 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
19863 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
19864 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
19867 @item gnus-info-group
19868 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
19869 @findex gnus-info-group
19870 @findex gnus-info-set-group
19871 Get/set the group name.
19873 @item gnus-info-rank
19874 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
19875 @findex gnus-info-rank
19876 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
19877 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
19879 @item gnus-info-level
19880 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
19881 @findex gnus-info-level
19882 @findex gnus-info-set-level
19883 Get/set the group level.
19885 @item gnus-info-score
19886 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
19887 @findex gnus-info-score
19888 @findex gnus-info-set-score
19889 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
19891 @item gnus-info-read
19892 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
19893 @findex gnus-info-read
19894 @findex gnus-info-set-read
19895 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
19897 @item gnus-info-marks
19898 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
19899 @findex gnus-info-marks
19900 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
19901 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
19903 @item gnus-info-method
19904 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
19905 @findex gnus-info-method
19906 @findex gnus-info-set-method
19907 Get/set the group select method.
19909 @item gnus-info-params
19910 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
19911 @findex gnus-info-params
19912 @findex gnus-info-set-params
19913 Get/set the group parameters.
19916 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
19917 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
19919 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
19920 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
19921 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
19922 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
19925 @node Extended Interactive
19926 @subsection Extended Interactive
19927 @cindex interactive
19928 @findex gnus-interactive
19930 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
19931 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
19932 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
19935 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
19936 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
19941 The best thing to do would have been to implement
19942 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
19943 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
19944 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
19945 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
19946 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
19947 @code{interactive}.
19949 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
19954 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
19955 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
19959 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
19960 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
19961 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
19964 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
19968 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
19972 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
19978 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
19979 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
19983 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
19984 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
19985 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
19987 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
19988 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
19989 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
19990 Gnus, that's very useful.
19992 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
19993 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
19994 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
19995 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
19996 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
19997 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
19998 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
19999 following function:
20002 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
20006 (,function ,@@args))
20010 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
20011 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
20012 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
20015 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
20016 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
20017 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
20019 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
20020 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
20021 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
20024 @node Various File Formats
20025 @subsection Various File Formats
20028 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
20029 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
20033 @node Active File Format
20034 @subsubsection Active File Format
20036 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
20037 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
20040 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
20043 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
20044 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
20045 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
20046 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
20047 no.general 1000 900 y
20050 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
20053 active = *group-line
20054 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
20055 group = <non-white-space string>
20057 high-number = <non-negative integer>
20058 low-number = <positive integer>
20059 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
20062 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
20063 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
20066 @node Newsgroups File Format
20067 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
20069 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
20070 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
20071 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
20074 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
20075 Here's the definition:
20079 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
20080 group = <non-white-space string>
20082 description = <string>
20087 @node Emacs for Heathens
20088 @section Emacs for Heathens
20090 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
20091 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
20092 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
20093 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
20094 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
20095 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
20096 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
20100 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
20101 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
20106 @subsection Keystrokes
20110 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
20113 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
20116 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
20117 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
20118 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
20119 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
20120 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
20121 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
20123 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
20124 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
20125 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
20126 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
20127 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
20128 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
20129 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
20131 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
20132 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
20133 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
20134 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
20135 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
20136 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
20137 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
20139 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
20140 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
20141 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
20142 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
20143 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
20149 @subsection Emacs Lisp
20151 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
20152 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
20153 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
20154 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
20156 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
20157 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
20158 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
20159 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
20160 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
20161 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
20162 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
20165 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
20166 write the following:
20169 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
20172 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
20173 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
20174 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
20177 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
20178 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
20179 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
20180 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
20181 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
20183 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
20184 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
20185 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
20189 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
20193 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
20196 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
20197 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
20200 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
20203 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
20204 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
20207 @include gnus-faq.texi