4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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281 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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290 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
291 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
294 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
295 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
296 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
297 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
298 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
299 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
300 License'' in the Emacs manual.
302 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
303 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
304 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
306 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
307 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
308 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
309 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
317 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
319 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
320 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
322 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
323 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
324 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
325 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
326 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
327 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
328 License'' in the Emacs manual.
330 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
331 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
332 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
334 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
335 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
336 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
337 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
343 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
345 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
348 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
349 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
350 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
352 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
353 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
354 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
355 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
356 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
357 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
358 License'' in the Emacs manual.
360 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
361 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
362 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
364 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
365 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
366 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
367 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
376 @top The gnus Newsreader
380 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
381 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
382 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
385 T-gnus provides @sc{mime} features based on @sc{semi} API. So T-gnus
386 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
387 other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
388 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
389 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
390 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
392 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
403 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
404 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
406 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
407 being accused of plagiarism:
409 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
410 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
411 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
412 can even read news with it!
414 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
415 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
416 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
417 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
418 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
424 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
425 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
426 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
427 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
428 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
429 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
430 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
431 * Various:: General purpose settings.
432 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
433 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
434 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
435 * Key Index:: Key Index.
438 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
442 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
443 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
444 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
445 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
446 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
447 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
448 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
449 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
450 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
451 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
452 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
456 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
457 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
458 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
462 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
463 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
464 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
465 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
466 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
467 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
468 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
469 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
470 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
471 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
472 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
473 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
474 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
475 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
476 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
477 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
478 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
482 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
483 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
484 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
488 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
489 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
490 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
491 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
492 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
496 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
497 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
498 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
499 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
500 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
504 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
505 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
506 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
507 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
508 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
509 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
510 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
511 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
512 * Threading:: How threads are made.
513 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
514 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
515 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
516 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
517 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
518 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
519 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
520 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
521 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
522 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
523 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
524 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
525 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
526 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
527 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
528 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
529 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
530 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
531 or reselecting the current group.
532 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
533 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
534 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
535 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
537 Summary Buffer Format
539 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
540 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
541 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
542 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
546 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
547 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
549 Reply, Followup and Post
551 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
552 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
553 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
554 * Canceling and Superseding::
558 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
559 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
560 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
562 * Generic Marking Commands::
563 * Setting Process Marks::
567 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
568 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
569 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
573 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
574 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
576 Customizing Threading
578 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
579 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
580 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
581 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
585 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
586 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
587 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
588 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
589 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
590 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
594 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
595 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
596 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
600 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
601 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
602 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
603 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
604 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
605 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
606 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
607 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
608 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
609 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
611 Alternative Approaches
613 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
614 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
616 Various Summary Stuff
618 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
619 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
620 * Summary Generation Commands::
621 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
625 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
626 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
627 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
628 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
629 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
633 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
634 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
635 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
636 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
637 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
638 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
639 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
640 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
644 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
645 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
646 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
647 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
648 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
649 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
650 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
651 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
655 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
656 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
657 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
658 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
659 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
660 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
661 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
665 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
666 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
670 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
671 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
672 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
676 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
677 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
678 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
679 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
680 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
681 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
682 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
683 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
684 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
685 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
686 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
687 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
688 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
692 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
693 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
694 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
696 Choosing a Mail Back End
698 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
699 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
700 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
701 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
702 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
703 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
708 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
709 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
710 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
711 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
712 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
713 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
717 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
718 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
719 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
723 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
724 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
725 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
726 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
727 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
731 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
735 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
736 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
737 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
741 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
742 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
746 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
747 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
748 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
749 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
750 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
751 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
752 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
753 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
754 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
755 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
756 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
760 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
761 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
762 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
766 * Group Agent Commands::
767 * Summary Agent Commands::
768 * Server Agent Commands::
772 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
773 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
774 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
775 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
776 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
777 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
778 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
779 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
780 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
781 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
782 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
783 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
784 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
785 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
786 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
787 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
788 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
792 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
793 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
794 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
795 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
799 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
800 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
801 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
805 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
806 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
807 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
808 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
809 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
810 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
811 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
812 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
813 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
814 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
815 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
816 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
817 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
818 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
819 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
820 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
821 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
822 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
823 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
827 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
828 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
829 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
830 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
831 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
832 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
833 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
834 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
838 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
839 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
840 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
841 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
842 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
846 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
847 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
848 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
849 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
850 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
854 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
855 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
856 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
860 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
861 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
862 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
863 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
864 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
865 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
866 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
867 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
868 * Frequently Asked Questions::
872 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
873 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
874 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
875 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
876 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
877 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
878 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
879 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
880 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
884 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
885 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
886 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
887 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
888 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
892 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
893 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
894 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
895 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
899 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
900 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
901 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
902 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
903 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
904 * Group Info:: The group info format.
905 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
906 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
907 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
911 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
912 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
913 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
914 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
915 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
916 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
920 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
921 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
925 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
926 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
932 @chapter Starting gnus
937 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
938 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
941 @findex gnus-other-frame
942 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
943 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
944 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
946 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
947 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
948 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
950 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
951 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
954 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
955 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
956 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
957 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
958 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
959 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
960 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
961 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
962 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
963 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
964 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
968 @node Finding the News
969 @section Finding the News
972 @vindex gnus-select-method
974 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
975 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
976 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
977 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
980 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
981 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
984 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
987 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
990 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
993 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
994 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
995 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
997 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
999 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1000 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1001 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1002 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1003 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1004 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1006 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1007 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1008 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1009 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1011 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1012 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1013 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1014 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1015 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1016 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1017 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1018 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1019 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1022 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1024 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1025 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1026 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1027 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1028 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1029 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1031 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1033 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1034 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1035 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1036 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1037 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1038 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1041 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1042 you would typically set this variable to
1045 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1049 @node The First Time
1050 @section The First Time
1051 @cindex first time usage
1053 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1054 be subscribed by default.
1056 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1057 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1058 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1059 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1062 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1063 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1064 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1066 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1067 help you with most common problems.
1069 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1070 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1074 @node The Server is Down
1075 @section The Server is Down
1076 @cindex server errors
1078 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1079 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1080 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1082 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1083 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1084 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1085 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1086 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1087 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1088 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1090 @findex gnus-no-server
1091 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1093 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1094 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1095 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1096 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1097 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1098 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1099 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1103 @section Slave Gnusae
1106 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1107 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1108 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1109 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1111 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1112 @code{.newsrc} file.
1114 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1115 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1116 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1117 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1118 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1119 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1120 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1122 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1123 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1124 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1125 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1126 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1127 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1128 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1129 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1131 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1132 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1134 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1135 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1136 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1137 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1138 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1140 @node Fetching a Group
1141 @section Fetching a Group
1142 @cindex fetching a group
1144 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1145 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1146 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1147 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1148 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1149 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1155 @cindex subscription
1157 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1158 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1159 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1160 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1161 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1162 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1163 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1164 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1165 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1168 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1169 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1170 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1174 @node Checking New Groups
1175 @subsection Checking New Groups
1177 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1178 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1179 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1180 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1181 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1182 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1183 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1184 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1185 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1186 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1188 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1189 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1190 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1191 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1192 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1193 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1194 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1195 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1196 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1197 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1198 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1200 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1201 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1202 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1203 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1204 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1205 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1208 @node Subscription Methods
1209 @subsection Subscription Methods
1211 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1212 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1213 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1215 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1216 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1218 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1222 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1223 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1224 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1225 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1226 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1228 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1229 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1230 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1231 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1233 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1234 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1235 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1237 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1238 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1239 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1240 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1241 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1242 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1243 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1244 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1245 up. Or something like that.
1247 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1248 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1249 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1250 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1251 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1253 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1254 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1255 Kill all new groups.
1257 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1258 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1259 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1260 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1261 topic parameter that looks like
1267 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1270 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1275 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1276 A closely related variable is
1277 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1278 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1279 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1280 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1283 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1284 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1285 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1286 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1289 @node Filtering New Groups
1290 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1292 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1293 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1294 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1297 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1300 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1301 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1302 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1303 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1304 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1305 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1306 subscribing these groups.
1307 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1308 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1310 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1311 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1312 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1313 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1314 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1315 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1316 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1317 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1319 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1320 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1321 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1322 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1323 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1324 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1325 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1326 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1327 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1328 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1331 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1332 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1335 @node Changing Servers
1336 @section Changing Servers
1337 @cindex changing servers
1339 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1340 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1341 very flaky and you want to use another.
1343 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1344 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1348 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1349 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1350 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1351 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1354 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1355 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1356 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1357 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1359 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1360 @findex gnus-change-server
1361 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1362 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1363 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1364 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1365 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1367 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1368 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1369 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1370 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1371 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1373 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1374 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1375 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1376 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1377 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1378 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1380 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1381 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1382 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1383 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1385 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1386 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1387 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1388 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1389 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1390 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1391 cache for all groups).
1395 @section Startup Files
1396 @cindex startup files
1401 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1402 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1404 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1405 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1406 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1407 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1408 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1409 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1410 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1412 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1413 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1414 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1415 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1416 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1417 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1419 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1420 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1421 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1422 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1423 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1424 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1425 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1426 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1427 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1428 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1430 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1431 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1432 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1433 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1434 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1435 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1436 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1437 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1438 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1439 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1440 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1441 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1443 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1444 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1445 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1446 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1448 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1449 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1450 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1451 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1452 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1453 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1454 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1455 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1456 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1457 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1460 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1461 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1463 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1464 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1467 @vindex gnus-init-file
1468 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1469 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1470 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1471 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1472 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1473 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1474 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1475 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1476 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1482 @cindex dribble file
1485 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1486 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1487 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1488 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1489 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1492 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1493 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1496 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1497 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1498 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1500 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1501 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1502 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1503 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1504 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1505 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1507 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1508 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1509 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1512 @node The Active File
1513 @section The Active File
1515 @cindex ignored groups
1517 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1518 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1519 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1521 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1522 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1523 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1524 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1525 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1526 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1527 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1530 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1531 @c if you set it to anything else.
1533 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1535 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1536 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1537 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1539 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1540 you actually subscribe to.
1542 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1543 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1544 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1545 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1547 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1548 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1549 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1550 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1551 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1552 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1554 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1555 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1556 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1559 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1560 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1561 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1562 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1563 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1564 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1566 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1567 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1569 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1570 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1572 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1573 secondary select methods.
1576 @node Startup Variables
1577 @section Startup Variables
1581 @item gnus-load-hook
1582 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1583 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1584 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1585 times you start gnus.
1587 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1588 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1589 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1591 @item gnus-startup-hook
1592 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1593 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1595 @item gnus-started-hook
1596 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1597 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1600 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1601 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1602 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1603 generating the group buffer.
1605 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1606 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1607 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1608 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1609 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1610 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1611 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1612 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1614 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1615 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1616 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1617 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1618 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1619 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1621 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1622 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1623 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1625 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1626 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1627 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1629 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1630 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1631 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1632 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1638 @chapter Group Buffer
1639 @cindex group buffer
1641 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1643 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1644 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1645 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1646 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1647 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1648 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1649 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1650 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1651 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1652 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1653 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1654 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1655 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1656 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1657 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1658 @c human rights at 9...
1661 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1662 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1663 long as gnus is active.
1667 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1668 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1669 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1670 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1671 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1672 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1673 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1674 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1680 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1681 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1682 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1683 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1684 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1685 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1686 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1687 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1688 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1689 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1690 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1691 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1692 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1693 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1694 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1695 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1696 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1700 @node Group Buffer Format
1701 @section Group Buffer Format
1704 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1705 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1706 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1710 @node Group Line Specification
1711 @subsection Group Line Specification
1712 @cindex group buffer format
1714 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1715 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1717 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1720 25: news.announce.newusers
1721 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1726 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1727 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1728 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1729 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1731 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1732 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1733 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1734 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1735 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1736 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1738 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1740 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1741 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1742 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1743 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1744 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1746 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1747 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1748 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1750 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1755 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1758 Whether the group is subscribed.
1761 Level of subscribedness.
1764 Number of unread articles.
1767 Number of dormant articles.
1770 Number of ticked articles.
1773 Number of read articles.
1776 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1777 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1779 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1780 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1781 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1782 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1783 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1784 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1785 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1786 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1789 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1792 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1801 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1802 comment element in the group parameters.
1805 Newsgroup description.
1808 @samp{m} if moderated.
1811 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1820 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1824 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1827 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1828 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1829 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1830 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1831 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1834 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1836 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1840 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1843 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1847 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1848 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1849 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1850 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1851 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1852 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1857 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1858 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1859 group, or a bogus native group.
1862 @node Group Modeline Specification
1863 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1864 @cindex group modeline
1866 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1867 The mode line can be changed by setting
1868 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1869 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1873 The native news server.
1875 The native select method.
1879 @node Group Highlighting
1880 @subsection Group Highlighting
1881 @cindex highlighting
1882 @cindex group highlighting
1884 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1885 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1886 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1887 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1888 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1890 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1894 (cond (window-system
1895 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1896 (defface my-group-face-1
1897 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1898 (defface my-group-face-2
1899 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1900 (defface my-group-face-3
1901 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1902 (defface my-group-face-4
1903 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1904 (defface my-group-face-5
1905 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1907 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1908 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1909 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1910 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1911 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1912 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1915 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1917 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1924 The number of unread articles in the group.
1928 Whether the group is a mail group.
1930 The level of the group.
1932 The score of the group.
1934 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1936 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1937 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1939 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1940 topic being inserted.
1943 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1944 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1945 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1947 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1948 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1949 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1950 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1951 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1954 @node Group Maneuvering
1955 @section Group Maneuvering
1956 @cindex group movement
1958 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1959 expected, hopefully.
1965 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1966 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1967 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1973 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1974 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1975 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1979 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1980 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1984 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1985 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1989 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1990 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1991 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1995 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1996 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1997 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2000 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2006 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2007 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2008 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2013 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2014 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2015 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2019 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2020 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2021 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2024 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2025 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2026 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2027 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2031 @node Selecting a Group
2032 @section Selecting a Group
2033 @cindex group selection
2038 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2039 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2040 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2041 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2042 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2043 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2044 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2045 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2046 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2047 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2049 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2050 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2051 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2053 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2054 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2059 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2060 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2061 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2062 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2063 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2067 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2068 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2069 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2070 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2071 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2072 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2073 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2074 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2075 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2076 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2079 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2080 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2081 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2082 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2083 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2086 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2087 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2088 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2089 doing any processing of its contents
2090 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2091 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2092 manner will have no permanent effects.
2096 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2097 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2098 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2099 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2100 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2101 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2102 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2103 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2106 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2107 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2108 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2109 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2110 Which article this is is controlled by the
2111 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2117 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2120 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2123 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2125 @item unseen-or-unread
2126 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2127 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2131 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2135 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2136 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2138 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2139 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2140 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2141 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2145 @node Subscription Commands
2146 @section Subscription Commands
2147 @cindex subscription
2155 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2156 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2157 Toggle subscription to the current group
2158 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2164 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2165 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2166 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2167 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2173 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2174 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2175 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2181 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2182 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2185 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2186 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2187 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2188 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2189 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2195 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2196 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2200 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2201 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2204 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2205 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2206 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2207 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2208 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2209 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2210 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2211 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2212 @file{.newsrc} file.
2216 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2226 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2227 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2228 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2229 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2230 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2231 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2236 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2237 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2238 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2242 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2243 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2244 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2246 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2247 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2248 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2249 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2250 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2251 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2258 @section Group Levels
2262 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2263 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2264 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2265 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2266 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2268 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2274 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2275 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2276 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2277 prompted for a level.
2280 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2281 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2282 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2283 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2284 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2285 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2286 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2287 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2288 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2289 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2290 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2291 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2292 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2293 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2294 reasons of efficiency.
2296 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2297 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2299 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2300 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2301 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2302 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2303 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2304 groups are hidden, in a way.
2306 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2307 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2308 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2309 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2310 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2311 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2313 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2314 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2315 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2316 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2317 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2318 list of killed groups.)
2320 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2321 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2322 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2324 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2325 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2326 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2327 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2328 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2329 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2330 relevant valid ranges.
2332 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2333 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2334 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2335 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2336 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2337 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2340 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2341 one with the best level.
2343 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2344 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2345 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2348 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2349 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2350 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2351 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2354 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2355 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2356 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2357 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2359 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2360 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2361 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2362 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2363 to 5. The default is 6.
2367 @section Group Score
2372 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2373 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2374 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2377 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2378 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2379 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2380 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2381 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2382 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2383 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2384 least significant part.))
2386 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2387 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2388 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2389 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2390 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2391 action after each summary exit, you can add
2392 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2393 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2394 slow things down somewhat.
2397 @node Marking Groups
2398 @section Marking Groups
2399 @cindex marking groups
2401 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2402 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2403 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2404 bidding on those groups.
2406 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2407 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2408 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2416 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2417 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2423 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2424 Remove the mark from the current group
2425 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2429 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2430 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2434 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2435 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2439 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2440 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2444 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2445 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2446 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2449 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2451 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2452 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2453 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2454 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2455 the command to be executed.
2458 @node Foreign Groups
2459 @section Foreign Groups
2460 @cindex foreign groups
2462 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2463 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2464 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2465 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2472 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2473 @cindex making groups
2474 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2475 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2476 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2480 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2481 @cindex renaming groups
2482 Rename the current group to something else
2483 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2484 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2490 @findex gnus-group-customize
2491 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2495 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2496 @cindex renaming groups
2497 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2498 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2502 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2503 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2504 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2508 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2509 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2510 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2514 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2516 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2517 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2522 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2523 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2527 @cindex (ding) archive
2528 @cindex archive group
2529 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2530 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2531 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2532 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2533 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2534 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2535 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2539 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2541 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2542 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2543 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2544 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2548 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2550 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2551 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2552 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2556 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2557 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2559 Make a group based on some file or other
2560 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2561 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2562 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2563 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2564 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2565 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2566 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2567 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2568 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2572 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2573 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2574 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2575 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2579 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2583 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2584 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2585 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2586 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2587 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2588 @xref{Web Searches}.
2590 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2591 to a particular group by using a match string like
2592 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2595 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2596 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2597 This function will delete the current group
2598 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2599 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2600 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2601 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2602 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2606 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2607 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2608 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2612 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2613 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2614 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2617 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2620 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2621 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2622 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2623 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2624 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2625 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2629 @node Group Parameters
2630 @section Group Parameters
2631 @cindex group parameters
2633 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2634 Here's an example group parameter list:
2637 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2641 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2642 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2643 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2644 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2646 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2647 is an alist of regexps and values.
2649 The following group parameters can be used:
2654 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2657 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2660 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2661 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2662 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2663 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2664 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2666 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2667 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2668 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2669 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2670 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2671 list address instead.
2673 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2677 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2680 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2683 It is totally ignored
2684 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2685 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2687 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2688 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2689 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2690 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2691 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2693 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2694 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2695 sending the message.
2697 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2698 @cindex Mail List Groups
2699 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2700 entering summary buffer.
2702 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2707 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2708 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2709 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2710 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2711 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2712 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2714 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2715 directly uses this group parameter.
2719 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2720 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2721 of whether it has any unread articles.
2723 @item broken-reply-to
2724 @cindex broken-reply-to
2725 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2726 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2727 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2728 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2729 broken behavior. So there!
2733 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2734 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2738 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2739 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2740 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2745 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2746 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2747 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2748 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2749 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2750 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2751 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2752 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2753 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept artciles.
2757 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2758 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2759 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2761 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2764 @cindex total-expire
2765 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2766 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2767 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2768 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2771 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2775 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2776 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2777 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2778 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2779 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2780 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2783 @cindex score file group parameter
2784 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2785 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2786 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2789 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2790 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2791 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2792 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2795 @cindex admin-address
2796 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2797 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2798 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2799 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2803 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2804 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2808 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2811 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2812 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2815 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2819 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2821 Here are some examples:
2825 Display only unread articles.
2828 Display everything except expirable articles.
2830 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2831 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2835 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2836 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2837 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2838 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2839 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2843 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2844 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2845 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2849 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2850 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2851 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2855 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2856 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2857 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2859 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2861 @item ignored-charsets
2862 @cindex ignored-charset
2863 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2864 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2865 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2867 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2870 @cindex posting-style
2871 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2872 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2873 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2874 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2875 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2877 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2878 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2879 like this in the group parameters:
2884 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2889 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2890 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2894 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2895 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2896 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2897 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2898 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2902 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2903 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2904 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2905 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2907 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2908 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2909 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2910 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2913 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2914 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2918 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2921 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2922 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2923 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2924 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2925 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2926 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2927 @code{eval}ed there.
2929 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2930 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2931 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2932 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2933 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2934 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2935 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2936 parameters for the group.
2939 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2940 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2941 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2942 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2943 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2947 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2948 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2949 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2950 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2951 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2953 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2954 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2958 (setq gnus-parameters
2960 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2961 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2962 (gnus-summary-line-format
2963 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2967 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2971 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2975 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2978 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2979 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2982 @node Listing Groups
2983 @section Listing Groups
2984 @cindex group listing
2986 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2994 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2995 List all groups that have unread articles
2996 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2997 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2998 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2999 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3006 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3007 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3008 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3009 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3010 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3011 unsubscribed groups).
3015 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3016 List all unread groups on a specific level
3017 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3018 with no unread articles.
3022 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3023 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3024 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3025 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3030 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3031 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3035 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3036 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3037 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3041 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3042 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3046 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3047 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3048 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3049 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3050 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3051 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3052 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3053 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3057 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3058 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3059 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3063 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3064 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3065 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3069 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3070 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3074 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3075 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3079 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3080 List groups limited within the current selection
3081 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3085 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3086 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3090 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3091 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3095 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3096 @cindex visible group parameter
3097 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3098 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3099 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3100 get the same effect.
3102 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3103 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3104 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3105 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3106 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3109 @node Sorting Groups
3110 @section Sorting Groups
3111 @cindex sorting groups
3113 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3114 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3115 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3116 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3117 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3118 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3123 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3124 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3125 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3127 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3128 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3129 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3131 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3132 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3133 Sort by group level.
3135 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3136 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3137 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3139 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3140 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3141 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3142 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3144 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3145 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3146 Sort by number of unread articles.
3148 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3149 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3150 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3152 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3153 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3154 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3159 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3160 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3164 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3165 some sorting criteria:
3169 @kindex G S a (Group)
3170 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3171 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3172 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3175 @kindex G S u (Group)
3176 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3177 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3178 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3181 @kindex G S l (Group)
3182 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3183 Sort the group buffer by group level
3184 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3187 @kindex G S v (Group)
3188 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3189 Sort the group buffer by group score
3190 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3193 @kindex G S r (Group)
3194 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3195 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3196 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3199 @kindex G S m (Group)
3200 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3201 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3202 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3206 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3207 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3209 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3210 commands will sort in reverse order.
3212 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3216 @kindex G P a (Group)
3217 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3218 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3219 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3222 @kindex G P u (Group)
3223 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3224 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3225 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3228 @kindex G P l (Group)
3229 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3230 Sort the groups by group level
3231 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3234 @kindex G P v (Group)
3235 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3236 Sort the groups by group score
3237 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3240 @kindex G P r (Group)
3241 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3242 Sort the groups by group rank
3243 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3246 @kindex G P m (Group)
3247 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3248 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3249 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3252 @kindex G P s (Group)
3253 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3254 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3258 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3262 @node Group Maintenance
3263 @section Group Maintenance
3264 @cindex bogus groups
3269 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3270 Find bogus groups and delete them
3271 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3275 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3276 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3277 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3278 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3279 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3283 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3284 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3285 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3286 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3287 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3288 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3291 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3292 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3293 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3294 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3299 @node Browse Foreign Server
3300 @section Browse Foreign Server
3301 @cindex foreign servers
3302 @cindex browsing servers
3307 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3308 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3309 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3310 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3313 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3314 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3315 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3316 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3318 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3323 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3324 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3328 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3329 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3332 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3333 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3334 Enter the current group and display the first article
3335 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3338 @kindex RET (Browse)
3339 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3340 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3344 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3345 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3346 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3352 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3353 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3357 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3358 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3362 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3363 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3364 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3369 @section Exiting gnus
3370 @cindex exiting gnus
3372 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3377 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3378 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3379 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3380 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3384 @findex gnus-group-exit
3385 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3386 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3390 @findex gnus-group-quit
3391 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3392 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3395 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3396 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3397 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3398 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3399 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3404 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3405 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3406 trying to customize meta-variables.
3411 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3412 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3413 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3419 @section Group Topics
3422 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3423 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3424 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3425 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3426 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3427 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3431 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3432 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3443 2: alt.religion.emacs
3446 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3448 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3449 13: comp.sources.unix
3452 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3454 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3455 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3456 is a toggling command.)
3458 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3459 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3460 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3461 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3464 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3465 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3466 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3469 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3473 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3474 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3475 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3476 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3477 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3481 @node Topic Commands
3482 @subsection Topic Commands
3483 @cindex topic commands
3485 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3486 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3487 definitions slightly.
3489 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3490 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3491 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3492 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3493 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3494 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3496 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3503 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3504 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3505 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3509 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3511 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3512 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3513 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3514 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3517 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3518 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3519 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3520 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3524 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3525 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3526 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3527 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3533 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3534 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3535 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3539 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3540 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3541 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3544 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3545 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3546 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3547 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3548 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3550 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3551 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3555 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3556 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3563 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3565 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3566 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3567 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3568 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3569 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3570 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3574 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3580 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3581 Move the current group to some other topic
3582 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3583 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3587 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3588 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3592 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3593 Copy the current group to some other topic
3594 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3595 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3599 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3600 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3601 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3605 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3606 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3607 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3611 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3612 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3613 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3614 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3615 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3616 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3617 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3620 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3621 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3625 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3626 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3627 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3631 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3632 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3633 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3637 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3638 Toggle hiding empty topics
3639 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3643 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3644 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3645 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3648 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3649 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3650 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3651 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3654 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3655 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3656 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3657 expiry process (if any)
3658 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3662 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3663 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3666 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3667 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3668 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3672 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3673 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3674 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3677 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3678 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3679 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3682 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3683 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3684 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3688 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3689 @cindex group parameters
3690 @cindex topic parameters
3692 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3693 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3698 @node Topic Variables
3699 @subsection Topic Variables
3700 @cindex topic variables
3702 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3703 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3705 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3706 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3707 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3720 Number of groups in the topic.
3722 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3724 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3727 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3728 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3729 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3732 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3733 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3735 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3736 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3737 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3741 @subsection Topic Sorting
3742 @cindex topic sorting
3744 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3750 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3751 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3752 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3753 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3756 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3757 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3758 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3759 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3762 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3763 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3764 Sort the current topic by group level
3765 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3768 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3769 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3770 Sort the current topic by group score
3771 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3774 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3775 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3776 Sort the current topic by group rank
3777 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3780 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3781 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3782 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3783 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3786 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3787 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3788 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3789 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3793 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3794 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3795 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3796 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3800 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3801 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3805 @node Topic Topology
3806 @subsection Topic Topology
3807 @cindex topic topology
3810 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3816 2: alt.religion.emacs
3819 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3821 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3822 13: comp.sources.unix
3825 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3826 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3827 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3832 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3833 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3837 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3838 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3839 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3840 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3841 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3842 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3844 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3845 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3846 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3849 @node Topic Parameters
3850 @subsection Topic Parameters
3851 @cindex topic parameters
3853 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3854 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3855 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3857 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3862 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3863 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3864 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3867 @item subscribe-level
3868 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3869 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3870 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3874 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3875 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3876 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3877 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3883 2: alt.religion.emacs
3887 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3889 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3890 13: comp.sources.unix
3894 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3895 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3896 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3897 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3898 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3899 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3901 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3902 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3903 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3904 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3905 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3907 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3908 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3909 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3910 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3911 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3912 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3913 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3914 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3917 @node Misc Group Stuff
3918 @section Misc Group Stuff
3921 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3922 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3923 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3924 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3925 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3932 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3933 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3934 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3938 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3939 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3940 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3941 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3942 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3943 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3944 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3948 @findex gnus-group-mail
3949 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3950 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3951 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3952 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3956 @findex gnus-group-news
3957 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3958 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3959 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3961 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3962 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3963 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3964 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3965 for this to work though.
3969 Variables for the group buffer:
3973 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3974 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3975 is called after the group buffer has been
3978 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3979 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3980 is called after the group buffer is
3981 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3984 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3985 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3986 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3987 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3989 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3990 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3991 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3992 whether they are empty or not.
3994 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3995 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3996 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3997 non-ASCII group names.
4001 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4002 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4005 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4006 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4007 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4008 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4009 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4010 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
4014 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4015 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4020 @node Scanning New Messages
4021 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4022 @cindex new messages
4023 @cindex scanning new news
4029 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4030 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4031 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4032 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4033 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4034 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4039 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4040 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4041 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4042 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4043 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4044 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4045 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4047 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4048 @cindex activating groups
4050 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4051 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4056 @findex gnus-group-restart
4057 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4058 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4059 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4063 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4064 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4066 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4067 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4071 @node Group Information
4072 @subsection Group Information
4073 @cindex group information
4074 @cindex information on groups
4081 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4082 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4085 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4086 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4087 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4088 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4089 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4090 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4091 for fetching the file.
4093 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4094 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4098 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4099 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4101 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4102 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Gnus will use
4103 @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of the charter.
4104 If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control messages for the
4105 group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4109 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4110 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4111 @cindex control message
4112 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4113 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}).
4115 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-nil, Gnus
4116 will open the control messages in a browser using @code{browse-url}.
4117 Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp} and displayed in an
4120 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4121 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4122 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4126 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4128 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4129 @cindex describing groups
4130 @cindex group description
4131 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4132 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4133 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4137 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4138 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4139 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4146 @findex gnus-version
4147 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4151 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4152 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4155 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4158 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4159 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4163 @node Group Timestamp
4164 @subsection Group Timestamp
4166 @cindex group timestamps
4168 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4169 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4170 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4173 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4176 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4178 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4179 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4182 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4183 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4186 This will result in lines looking like:
4189 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4190 0: custom 19961002T012713
4193 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4194 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4198 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4199 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4202 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4203 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4207 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4208 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4209 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4210 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4212 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4218 @subsection File Commands
4219 @cindex file commands
4225 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4226 @vindex gnus-init-file
4227 @cindex reading init file
4228 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4229 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4233 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4234 @cindex saving .newsrc
4235 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4236 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4237 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4240 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4241 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4242 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4247 @node Sieve Commands
4248 @subsection Sieve Commands
4249 @cindex group sieve commands
4251 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4252 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4253 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4254 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4255 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4257 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4258 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4259 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4260 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4261 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4262 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4263 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4264 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4265 regenerate the Sieve script.
4267 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4268 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4269 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4270 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4271 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4272 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4273 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4274 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4275 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4276 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4279 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4280 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4285 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4291 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4292 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4293 @cindex generating sieve script
4294 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4295 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4299 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4300 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4301 @cindex updating sieve script
4302 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4303 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4304 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4309 @node Summary Buffer
4310 @chapter Summary Buffer
4311 @cindex summary buffer
4313 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4314 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4316 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4317 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4319 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4322 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4323 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4324 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4325 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4326 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4327 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4328 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4329 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4330 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4331 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4332 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4333 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4334 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4335 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4336 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4337 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4338 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4339 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4340 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4341 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4342 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4343 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4344 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4345 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4346 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4347 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4348 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4349 or reselecting the current group.
4350 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4351 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4352 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4353 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4357 @node Summary Buffer Format
4358 @section Summary Buffer Format
4359 @cindex summary buffer format
4363 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4364 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4365 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4371 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4372 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4373 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4374 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4377 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4378 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4379 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4380 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4381 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4382 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4383 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4384 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4385 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4386 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4387 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4388 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4389 other function instead:
4392 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4393 'mail-extract-address-components)
4396 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4397 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4398 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4399 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4402 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4403 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4405 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4406 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4407 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4408 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4409 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4411 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4412 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4413 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4414 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4415 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4416 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4418 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4420 The following format specification characters and extended format
4421 specification(s) are understood:
4427 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4428 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4430 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4431 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4432 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4434 Full @code{From} header.
4436 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4438 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4441 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4442 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4443 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4444 may be more thorough.
4446 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4449 Number of lines in the article.
4451 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4452 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4454 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4455 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4457 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4459 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4462 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4463 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4465 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4466 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4468 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4469 for adopted articles.
4471 One space for each thread level.
4473 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4475 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4478 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4479 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4480 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4483 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4485 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4486 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4487 default level. If the difference between
4488 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4489 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4497 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4499 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4505 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4506 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4508 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4509 article has any children.
4515 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4516 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4518 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4519 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4520 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4521 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4522 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4523 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4526 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4527 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4528 There can only be one such area.
4530 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4531 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4532 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4533 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4534 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4535 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4537 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4538 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4540 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4543 @node To From Newsgroups
4544 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4548 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4549 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4550 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4551 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4552 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4556 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4557 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4558 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4562 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4563 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4566 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4567 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4570 @findex gnus-extra-header
4571 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4572 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4573 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4576 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4580 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4581 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4582 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4583 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4584 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4585 headers are used instead.
4589 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4590 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4591 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4592 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4593 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4594 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4596 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4597 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4598 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4599 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4601 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4605 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4607 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4608 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4609 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4610 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4614 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4617 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4618 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4621 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4622 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4623 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4629 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4630 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4633 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4634 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4636 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4637 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4638 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4639 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4641 Here are the elements you can play with:
4647 Unprefixed group name.
4649 Current article number.
4651 Current article score.
4655 Number of unread articles in this group.
4657 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4660 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4661 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4662 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4663 and no unselected ones.
4665 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4666 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4668 Subject of the current article.
4670 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4672 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4674 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4676 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4678 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4680 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4684 @node Summary Highlighting
4685 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4689 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4690 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4691 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4692 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4693 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4695 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4696 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4697 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4698 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4700 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4701 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4702 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4703 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4705 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4706 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4707 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4708 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4709 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4710 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4713 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4714 ((> score default) . bold))
4716 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4717 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4721 @node Summary Maneuvering
4722 @section Summary Maneuvering
4723 @cindex summary movement
4725 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4726 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4728 None of these commands select articles.
4733 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4734 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4735 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4736 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4737 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4741 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4742 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4743 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4744 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4745 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4748 @kindex G g (Summary)
4749 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4750 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4751 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4754 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4755 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4756 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4757 to the group buffer.
4759 Variables related to summary movement:
4763 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4764 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4765 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4766 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4767 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4768 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4769 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4770 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4771 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
4772 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4773 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4774 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4775 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4776 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4778 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4779 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4780 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4781 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4782 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4783 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4784 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4786 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4788 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4789 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4790 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4791 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4792 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4794 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4795 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4796 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4797 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4798 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4799 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4800 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4801 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4804 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4805 the given number of lines from the top.
4810 @node Choosing Articles
4811 @section Choosing Articles
4812 @cindex selecting articles
4815 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4816 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4820 @node Choosing Commands
4821 @subsection Choosing Commands
4823 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4824 and they all select and display an article.
4826 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4827 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4831 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4832 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4833 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4834 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4839 @kindex G n (Summary)
4840 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4841 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4842 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4847 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4848 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4849 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4854 @kindex G N (Summary)
4855 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4856 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4861 @kindex G P (Summary)
4862 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4863 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4866 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4867 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4868 Go to the next article with the same subject
4869 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4872 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4873 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4874 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4875 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4879 @kindex G f (Summary)
4881 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4882 Go to the first unread article
4883 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4887 @kindex G b (Summary)
4889 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4890 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4891 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4892 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4897 @kindex G l (Summary)
4898 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4899 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4902 @kindex G o (Summary)
4903 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4905 @cindex article history
4906 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4907 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4908 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4909 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4910 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4911 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4916 @kindex G j (Summary)
4917 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4918 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4919 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4924 @node Choosing Variables
4925 @subsection Choosing Variables
4927 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4930 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4931 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4932 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4933 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4934 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4935 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4937 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4938 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4939 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4940 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4942 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4943 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4944 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4945 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4946 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4947 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4948 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4949 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4950 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4951 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4952 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4953 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4954 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4955 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4960 @node Paging the Article
4961 @section Scrolling the Article
4962 @cindex article scrolling
4967 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4968 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4969 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4970 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4971 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4974 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4975 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4976 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4979 @kindex RET (Summary)
4980 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4981 Scroll the current article one line forward
4982 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4985 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4986 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4987 Scroll the current article one line backward
4988 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4992 @kindex A g (Summary)
4994 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4995 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4996 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4997 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4998 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4999 the way it came from the server.
5001 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5002 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5003 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5006 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5011 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5016 @kindex A < (Summary)
5017 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5018 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5019 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5024 @kindex A > (Summary)
5025 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5026 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5030 @kindex A s (Summary)
5032 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5033 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5034 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5038 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5039 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5044 @node Reply Followup and Post
5045 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5048 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5049 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5050 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5051 * Canceling and Superseding::
5055 @node Summary Mail Commands
5056 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5058 @cindex composing mail
5060 Commands for composing a mail message:
5066 @kindex S r (Summary)
5068 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5069 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5070 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5071 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5072 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5077 @kindex S R (Summary)
5078 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5079 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5080 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5081 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5082 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5085 @kindex S w (Summary)
5086 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5087 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5088 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5089 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5090 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5093 @kindex S W (Summary)
5094 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5095 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5096 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5097 the process/prefix convention.
5100 @kindex S v (Summary)
5101 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5102 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5103 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5104 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5105 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5106 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5109 @kindex S V (Summary)
5110 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5111 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5112 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5113 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5116 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5117 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5118 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5119 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5122 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5123 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5124 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5125 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5126 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5130 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5131 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5132 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5133 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5134 Forward the current article to some other person
5135 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5136 headers of the forwarded article.
5141 @kindex S m (Summary)
5142 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5143 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5144 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5145 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5146 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5151 @kindex S i (Summary)
5152 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5153 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5154 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5155 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5157 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5158 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5159 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5160 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5161 for this to work though.
5164 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5165 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5166 @cindex bouncing mail
5167 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5168 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5169 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5170 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5171 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5172 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5173 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5174 very well fail, though.
5177 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5178 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5179 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5180 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5181 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5182 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5183 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5184 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5185 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5186 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5188 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5189 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5190 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5191 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5192 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5194 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5195 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5198 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5199 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5200 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5201 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5202 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5205 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5206 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5207 @cindex crossposting
5208 @cindex excessive crossposting
5209 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5210 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5212 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5213 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5214 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5215 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5216 command understands the process/prefix convention
5217 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5221 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5222 Manual}, for more information.
5225 @node Summary Post Commands
5226 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5228 @cindex composing news
5230 Commands for posting a news article:
5236 @kindex S p (Summary)
5237 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5238 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5239 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5240 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5241 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5246 @kindex S f (Summary)
5247 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5248 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5249 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5253 @kindex S F (Summary)
5255 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5256 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5257 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5258 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5259 process/prefix convention.
5262 @kindex S n (Summary)
5263 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5264 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5265 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5268 @kindex S N (Summary)
5269 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5270 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5271 message through mail and include the original message
5272 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5273 the process/prefix convention.
5276 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5277 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5278 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5279 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5280 headers of the forwarded article.
5283 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5284 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5286 @cindex making digests
5287 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5288 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5289 process/prefix convention.
5292 @kindex S u (Summary)
5293 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5294 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5295 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5296 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5299 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5300 Manual}, for more information.
5303 @node Summary Message Commands
5304 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5308 @kindex S y (Summary)
5309 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5310 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5311 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5312 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5313 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5318 @node Canceling and Superseding
5319 @subsection Canceling Articles
5320 @cindex canceling articles
5321 @cindex superseding articles
5323 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5324 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5326 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5328 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5330 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5331 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5332 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5333 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5334 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5335 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5337 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5338 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5341 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5342 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5343 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5345 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5346 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5347 your original article.
5349 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5351 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5352 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5353 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5356 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5357 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5358 have posted almost the same article twice.
5360 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5361 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5362 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5363 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5364 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5365 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5366 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5367 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5368 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5369 canceled/superseded.
5371 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5373 @node Delayed Articles
5374 @section Delayed Articles
5375 @cindex delayed sending
5376 @cindex send delayed
5378 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5379 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5380 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5381 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5384 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5387 @findex gnus-delay-article
5388 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5389 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5390 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5391 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5395 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5396 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5397 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5398 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5401 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5402 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5403 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5406 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5407 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5408 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5409 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5410 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5411 that means a time tomorrow.
5414 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5415 couple of variables:
5418 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5419 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5420 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5421 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5423 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5424 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5425 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5426 formats described above.
5428 @item gnus-delay-group
5429 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5430 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5431 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5432 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5434 @item gnus-delay-header
5435 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5436 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5437 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5438 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5441 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5442 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5443 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5444 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5445 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5447 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5448 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5449 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5450 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5451 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5452 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5455 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5456 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5457 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5458 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5459 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5460 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5461 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5462 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5464 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5465 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5466 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5467 forget to set that up :-)
5471 @node Marking Articles
5472 @section Marking Articles
5473 @cindex article marking
5474 @cindex article ticking
5477 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5479 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5480 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5481 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5483 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5486 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5487 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5488 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5492 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5496 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5497 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5498 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5502 @node Unread Articles
5503 @subsection Unread Articles
5505 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5510 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5511 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5513 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5514 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5515 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5516 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5517 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5518 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5519 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5522 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5523 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5525 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5526 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5527 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5528 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5532 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5533 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5535 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5540 @subsection Read Articles
5541 @cindex expirable mark
5543 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5548 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5549 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5550 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5553 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5554 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5557 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5558 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5559 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5562 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5563 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5566 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5567 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5570 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5571 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5574 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5575 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5578 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5579 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5582 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5583 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5586 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5587 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5591 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5592 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5593 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5597 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5598 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5600 One more special mark, though:
5604 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5605 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5607 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5608 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5609 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5610 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5616 @subsection Other Marks
5617 @cindex process mark
5620 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5626 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5627 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5628 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5629 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5630 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5633 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5634 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5635 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5636 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5639 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5640 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5641 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5644 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5645 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5646 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5649 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5650 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5651 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5652 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5655 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5656 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5657 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5658 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5659 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5660 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5663 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5664 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5665 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5666 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5669 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5670 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5671 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5672 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5673 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5676 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5677 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5678 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5679 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5680 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5681 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5685 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5686 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5687 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5689 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5690 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5691 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5695 @subsection Setting Marks
5696 @cindex setting marks
5698 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5703 @kindex M c (Summary)
5704 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5705 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5706 @cindex mark as unread
5707 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5708 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5714 @kindex M t (Summary)
5715 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5716 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5717 @xref{Article Caching}.
5722 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5723 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5724 Mark the current article as dormant
5725 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5729 @kindex M d (Summary)
5731 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5732 Mark the current article as read
5733 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5737 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5738 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5739 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5744 @kindex M k (Summary)
5745 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5746 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5747 and then select the next unread article
5748 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5752 @kindex M K (Summary)
5753 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5754 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5755 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5756 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5759 @kindex M C (Summary)
5760 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5761 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5762 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5765 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5766 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5767 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5768 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5771 @kindex M H (Summary)
5772 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5773 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5774 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5777 @kindex M h (Summary)
5778 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5779 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5780 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5783 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5784 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5785 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5786 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5789 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5790 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5791 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5792 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5796 @kindex M e (Summary)
5798 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5799 Mark the current article as expirable
5800 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5803 @kindex M b (Summary)
5804 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5805 Set a bookmark in the current article
5806 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5809 @kindex M B (Summary)
5810 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5811 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5812 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5815 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5816 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5817 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5818 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5821 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5822 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5823 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5824 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5827 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5828 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5829 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5830 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5831 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5834 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5835 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5836 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5837 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5838 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5839 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5840 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5841 The default is @code{t}.
5844 @node Generic Marking Commands
5845 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5847 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5848 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5849 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5850 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5851 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5854 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5855 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5858 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5859 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5860 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5861 to list in this manual.
5863 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5864 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5865 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5866 article, you could say something like:
5869 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5870 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5871 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5877 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5878 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5882 @node Setting Process Marks
5883 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5884 @cindex setting process marks
5891 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5892 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5893 Mark the current article with the process mark
5894 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5895 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5899 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5900 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5901 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5902 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5905 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5906 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5907 Remove the process mark from all articles
5908 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5911 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5912 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5913 Invert the list of process marked articles
5914 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5917 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5918 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5919 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5920 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5923 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5924 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5925 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5926 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5929 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5930 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5931 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5935 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5936 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5939 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5940 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5941 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5942 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5945 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5946 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5947 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5948 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5951 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5952 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5953 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5954 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5957 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5958 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5959 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5962 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5963 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5964 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5965 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5968 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5969 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5970 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5973 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5974 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5975 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5976 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5979 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5980 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5981 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5982 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5985 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5986 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5987 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5988 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5991 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5992 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5993 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5994 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5998 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5999 set process marks based on article body contents.
6006 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6007 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6008 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6011 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6012 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6013 additional articles.
6019 @kindex / / (Summary)
6020 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6021 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6022 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6026 @kindex / a (Summary)
6027 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6028 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6029 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6033 @kindex / x (Summary)
6034 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6035 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6036 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6037 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6042 @kindex / u (Summary)
6044 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6045 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6046 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6047 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6048 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6051 @kindex / m (Summary)
6052 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6053 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6054 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6057 @kindex / t (Summary)
6058 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6059 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6060 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6061 articles younger than that number of days.
6064 @kindex / n (Summary)
6065 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6066 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6067 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6068 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6071 @kindex / w (Summary)
6072 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6073 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6074 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6078 @kindex / . (Summary)
6079 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6080 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6081 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6084 @kindex / v (Summary)
6085 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6086 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6087 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6090 @kindex / p (Summary)
6091 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6092 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6093 group parameter predicate
6094 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6095 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6099 @kindex M S (Summary)
6100 @kindex / E (Summary)
6101 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6102 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6103 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6106 @kindex / D (Summary)
6107 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6108 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6109 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6112 @kindex / * (Summary)
6113 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6114 Include all cached articles in the limit
6115 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6118 @kindex / d (Summary)
6119 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6120 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6121 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6124 @kindex / M (Summary)
6125 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6126 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6129 @kindex / T (Summary)
6130 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6131 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6134 @kindex / c (Summary)
6135 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6136 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6137 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6140 @kindex / C (Summary)
6141 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6142 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6143 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6144 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6147 @kindex / N (Summary)
6148 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6149 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6150 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6153 @kindex / o (Summary)
6154 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6155 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6156 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6164 @cindex article threading
6166 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6167 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6168 hierarchical fashion.
6170 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6171 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6172 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6173 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6174 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6175 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6176 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6178 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6182 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6185 A tree-like article structure.
6188 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6191 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6192 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6193 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6194 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6195 called loose threads.
6197 @item thread gathering
6198 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6200 @item sparse threads
6201 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6202 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6208 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6209 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6213 @node Customizing Threading
6214 @subsection Customizing Threading
6215 @cindex customizing threading
6218 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6219 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6220 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6221 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6226 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6229 @cindex loose threads
6232 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6233 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6234 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6235 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6236 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6237 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6239 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6240 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6241 There are four possible values:
6245 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6246 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6247 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6248 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6249 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6254 @cindex adopting articles
6259 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6260 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6261 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6262 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6265 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6266 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6267 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6268 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6269 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6270 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6271 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6274 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6275 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6276 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6280 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6281 display them after one another.
6284 Don't gather loose threads.
6287 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6288 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6289 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6290 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6291 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6292 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6293 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6294 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6295 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6296 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6297 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6299 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6300 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6301 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6304 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6305 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6306 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6307 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6308 simplification is used.
6310 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6311 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6312 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6313 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6315 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6317 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6323 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6324 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6325 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6326 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6331 (mapconcat 'identity
6332 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6334 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6337 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6340 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6341 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6342 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6343 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6344 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6345 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6347 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6350 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6351 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6352 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6354 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6355 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6358 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6359 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6360 Remove excessive whitespace.
6362 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6363 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6364 Remove all whitespace.
6367 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6370 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6371 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6372 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6373 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6374 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6375 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6376 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6377 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6379 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6380 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6381 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6382 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6383 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6384 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6385 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6386 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6387 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6391 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6392 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6393 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6394 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6396 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6397 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6398 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6401 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6405 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6406 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6412 @node Filling In Threads
6413 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6416 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6417 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6418 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6419 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6420 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6421 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6422 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6423 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6424 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6425 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6426 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6427 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6430 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6431 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6432 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6434 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6435 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6436 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6437 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6438 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6439 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6440 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6441 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6442 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6443 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6444 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6445 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6446 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6447 @code{nil} by default.
6449 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6450 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6451 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6452 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6453 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6454 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6455 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6457 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6458 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6459 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6464 @node More Threading
6465 @subsubsection More Threading
6468 @item gnus-show-threads
6469 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6470 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6471 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6472 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6473 slower and more awkward.
6475 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6476 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6477 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6480 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6481 Avaliable predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6482 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6487 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6488 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6489 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6492 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6493 unread, but you get my drift.)
6496 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6497 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6498 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6499 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6500 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6501 threads are expunged.
6503 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6504 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6505 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6508 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6509 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6510 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6511 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6512 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6513 result in a new thread.
6515 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6516 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6517 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6520 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6521 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6522 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6523 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6524 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6525 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6526 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6527 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6528 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6529 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6530 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6535 @node Low-Level Threading
6536 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6540 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6541 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6542 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6543 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6544 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6545 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6547 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6548 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6549 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6550 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6551 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6552 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6553 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6554 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6555 meaningful. Here's one example:
6558 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6560 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6561 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6563 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6565 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6572 @node Thread Commands
6573 @subsection Thread Commands
6574 @cindex thread commands
6580 @kindex T k (Summary)
6581 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6582 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6583 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6584 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6585 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6590 @kindex T l (Summary)
6591 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6592 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6593 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6594 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6597 @kindex T i (Summary)
6598 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6599 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6600 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6603 @kindex T # (Summary)
6604 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6605 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6606 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6609 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6610 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6611 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6612 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6615 @kindex T T (Summary)
6616 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6617 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6620 @kindex T s (Summary)
6621 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6622 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6623 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6626 @kindex T h (Summary)
6627 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6628 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6631 @kindex T S (Summary)
6632 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6633 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6636 @kindex T H (Summary)
6637 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6638 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6641 @kindex T t (Summary)
6642 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6643 Re-thread the current article's thread
6644 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6645 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6648 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6649 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6650 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6651 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6655 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6656 understand the numeric prefix.
6661 @kindex T n (Summary)
6663 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6665 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6666 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6667 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6670 @kindex T p (Summary)
6672 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6674 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6675 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6676 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6679 @kindex T d (Summary)
6680 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6681 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6684 @kindex T u (Summary)
6685 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6686 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6689 @kindex T o (Summary)
6690 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6691 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6694 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6695 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6696 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6697 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6698 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6699 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6700 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6701 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6702 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6703 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6704 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6705 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6709 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6710 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6712 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6713 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6714 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6715 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6716 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6717 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6718 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6719 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6720 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6721 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6722 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6723 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6724 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6726 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6727 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6728 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6729 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6730 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6731 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6732 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6733 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6735 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6736 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6737 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6739 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6740 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6741 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6742 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6743 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6744 ascending article order.
6746 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6747 by number, you could do something like:
6750 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6751 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6752 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6753 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6756 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6757 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6758 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6759 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6760 which the articles arrived.
6762 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6766 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6768 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6769 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6772 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6773 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6774 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6775 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6778 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6779 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6780 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6781 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6782 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6783 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6784 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6785 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6786 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6787 variable. It is very similar to the
6788 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6789 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6790 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6791 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6792 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6793 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6794 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6796 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6800 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6801 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6802 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6807 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6808 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6809 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6810 @cindex article pre-fetch
6813 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6814 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6815 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6816 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6817 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6819 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6820 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6822 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6823 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6824 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6825 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6826 connection is blocked.
6828 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6829 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6830 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6831 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6833 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6834 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6835 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6836 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6839 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6842 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6843 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6844 happen automatically.
6846 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6847 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6848 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6849 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6850 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6851 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6852 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6854 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6855 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6856 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6857 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6858 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6859 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6860 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6861 data structure as the only parameter.
6863 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6866 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6867 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6868 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6869 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6872 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6875 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6876 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
6877 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6879 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6880 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6881 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6882 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6886 Remove articles when they are read.
6889 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6892 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6894 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6895 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6896 @c from the next group.
6899 @node Article Caching
6900 @section Article Caching
6901 @cindex article caching
6904 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6905 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6906 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6907 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6908 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6910 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6912 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6913 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6914 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6915 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6916 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6917 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6918 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6919 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6921 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6922 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6923 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6924 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6925 as dormant, and don't worry.
6927 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6929 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6930 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6931 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6932 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6933 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6934 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6935 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6936 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6937 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6938 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6940 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6941 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6942 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6943 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6944 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6945 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6946 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6947 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6948 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6949 not then be downloaded by this command.
6951 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6952 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6953 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6954 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6955 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6956 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6958 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6959 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6960 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6961 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6962 variables, the group is not cached.
6964 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6965 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6966 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6967 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6968 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6969 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
6970 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6971 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6972 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6975 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
6976 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
6977 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
6978 where, isn't that cool?
6980 @node Persistent Articles
6981 @section Persistent Articles
6982 @cindex persistent articles
6984 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6985 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6986 useful in my opinion.
6988 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6989 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6990 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6991 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6992 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6993 the expiry going on at the news server.
6995 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6996 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6997 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7003 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7004 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7007 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7008 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7009 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7010 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7014 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7016 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7017 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7018 interested in persistent articles:
7021 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7025 @node Article Backlog
7026 @section Article Backlog
7028 @cindex article backlog
7030 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7031 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7032 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7033 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7034 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7035 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7036 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7037 increase memory usage some.
7039 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7040 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7041 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7042 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7043 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7044 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7045 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7047 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7050 @node Saving Articles
7051 @section Saving Articles
7052 @cindex saving articles
7054 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7055 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7056 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7057 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7058 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7060 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7061 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7062 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7064 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7065 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7066 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7068 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7069 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7070 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7071 deleted before saving.
7077 @kindex O o (Summary)
7079 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7080 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7081 Save the current article using the default article saver
7082 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7085 @kindex O m (Summary)
7086 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7087 Save the current article in mail format
7088 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7091 @kindex O r (Summary)
7092 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7093 Save the current article in rmail format
7094 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7097 @kindex O f (Summary)
7098 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7099 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7100 Save the current article in plain file format
7101 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7104 @kindex O F (Summary)
7105 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7106 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7107 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7110 @kindex O b (Summary)
7111 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7112 Save the current article body in plain file format
7113 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7116 @kindex O h (Summary)
7117 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7118 Save the current article in mh folder format
7119 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7122 @kindex O v (Summary)
7123 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7124 Save the current article in a VM folder
7125 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7129 @kindex O p (Summary)
7131 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7132 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7133 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7136 @kindex O P (Summary)
7137 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7138 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7139 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7140 external program Muttprint (see
7141 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7142 options to use is controlled by the variable
7143 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7147 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7148 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7149 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7150 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7151 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7152 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7153 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7154 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7155 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7156 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7157 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7158 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7162 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7163 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7164 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7165 functions below, or you can create your own.
7169 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7170 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7171 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7172 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7173 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7174 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7175 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7177 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7178 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7179 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7180 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7181 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7182 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7184 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7185 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7186 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7187 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7188 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7189 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7190 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7192 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7193 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7194 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7195 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7196 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7197 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7199 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7200 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7201 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7202 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7203 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7205 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7206 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7207 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7208 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7209 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7212 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7213 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7214 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7215 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7216 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7218 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7219 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7220 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7221 reader to use this setting.
7224 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7225 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7226 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7227 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7230 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7231 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7232 available functions that generate names:
7236 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7237 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7238 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7240 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7241 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7242 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7244 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7245 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7246 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7248 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7249 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7250 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7252 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7253 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7254 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7257 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7258 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7259 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7260 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7261 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7265 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7266 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7267 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7268 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7271 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7272 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7273 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7274 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7275 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7276 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7277 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7278 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7279 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7281 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7282 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7283 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7284 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7286 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7287 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7288 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7291 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7292 lots of mail groups called things like
7293 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7294 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7295 following will do just that:
7298 (defun my-save-name (group)
7299 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7300 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7302 (setq gnus-split-methods
7303 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7308 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7309 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7310 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7311 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7312 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7313 all the files in the top level directory
7314 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7315 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7316 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7317 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7319 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7320 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7321 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7322 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7323 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7326 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7330 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7331 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7332 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7335 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7336 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7337 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7338 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7341 @node Decoding Articles
7342 @section Decoding Articles
7343 @cindex decoding articles
7345 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7346 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7349 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7350 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7351 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7352 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7353 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7354 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7358 @cindex article series
7359 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7360 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7361 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7362 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7363 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7365 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7366 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7367 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7369 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7370 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7371 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7373 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7374 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7375 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7378 @node Uuencoded Articles
7379 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7381 @cindex uuencoded articles
7386 @kindex X u (Summary)
7387 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7388 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7389 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7392 @kindex X U (Summary)
7393 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7394 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7395 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7398 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7399 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7400 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7403 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7404 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7405 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7406 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7410 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7411 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7412 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7413 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7414 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7416 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7417 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7418 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7419 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7422 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7423 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7424 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7425 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7426 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7427 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7431 @node Shell Archives
7432 @subsection Shell Archives
7434 @cindex shell archives
7435 @cindex shared articles
7437 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7438 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7439 some commands to deal with these:
7444 @kindex X s (Summary)
7445 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7446 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7449 @kindex X S (Summary)
7450 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7451 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7454 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7455 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7456 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7459 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7460 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7461 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7462 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7466 @node PostScript Files
7467 @subsection PostScript Files
7473 @kindex X p (Summary)
7474 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7475 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7478 @kindex X P (Summary)
7479 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7480 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7481 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7484 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7485 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7486 View the current PostScript series
7487 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7490 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7491 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7492 View and save the current PostScript series
7493 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7498 @subsection Other Files
7502 @kindex X o (Summary)
7503 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7504 Save the current series
7505 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7508 @kindex X b (Summary)
7509 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7510 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7511 doesn't really work yet.
7515 @node Decoding Variables
7516 @subsection Decoding Variables
7518 Adjective, not verb.
7521 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7522 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7523 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7527 @node Rule Variables
7528 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7529 @cindex rule variables
7531 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7532 variables are of the form
7535 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7542 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7543 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7545 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7546 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7549 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7550 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7553 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7554 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7555 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7556 user and default view rules.
7558 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7559 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7560 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7565 @node Other Decode Variables
7566 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7569 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7571 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7572 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7573 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7574 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7575 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7579 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7580 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7583 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7584 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7585 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7588 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7589 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7590 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7591 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7592 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7595 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7596 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7597 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7599 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7600 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7601 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7602 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7603 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7606 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7607 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7608 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7610 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7611 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7612 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7613 looking for files to display.
7615 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7616 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7617 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7620 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7621 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7622 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7625 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7626 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7627 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7630 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7631 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7632 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7635 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7636 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7637 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7638 decoded articles as unread.
7640 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7641 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7642 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7643 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7645 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7646 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7647 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7649 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7650 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7652 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7653 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7654 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7655 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7657 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7658 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7659 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7660 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7661 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7662 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7663 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7664 simply dropped them.
7669 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7670 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7674 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7675 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7676 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7677 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7678 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7679 for you when you post the article.
7681 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7682 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7683 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7684 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7686 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7687 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7688 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7689 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7690 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7691 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7692 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7694 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7695 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7696 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7697 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7698 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7699 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7700 Default is @code{t}.
7706 @subsection Viewing Files
7707 @cindex viewing files
7708 @cindex pseudo-articles
7710 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7711 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7712 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7713 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7714 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7715 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7716 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7718 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7719 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7720 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7721 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7723 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7724 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7725 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7727 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7728 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7729 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7730 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7731 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7733 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7734 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7735 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7736 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7737 a list of parameters to that command.
7739 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7740 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7741 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7743 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7744 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7745 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7748 @node Article Treatment
7749 @section Article Treatment
7751 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7752 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7753 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7754 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7755 these articles easier.
7758 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7759 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7760 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7761 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7762 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7763 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7764 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7765 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7766 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7767 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7771 @node Article Highlighting
7772 @subsection Article Highlighting
7773 @cindex highlighting
7775 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7776 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7781 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7782 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7783 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7784 Do much highlighting of the current article
7785 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7786 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7789 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7790 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7791 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7792 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7793 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7794 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7795 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7796 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7797 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7798 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7799 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7800 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7803 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7804 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7805 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7807 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7810 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7812 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7813 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7814 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7816 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7817 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7818 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7820 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7821 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7822 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7823 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7824 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7825 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7827 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7828 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7829 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7831 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7832 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7833 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7835 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7836 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7837 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7838 that it's a citation.
7840 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7841 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7842 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7844 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7845 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7846 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7848 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7849 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7850 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7851 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7857 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7858 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7859 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7860 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7861 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7862 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7863 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7864 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7869 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7872 @node Article Fontisizing
7873 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7875 @cindex article emphasis
7877 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7878 @kindex W e (Summary)
7879 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7880 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7881 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7882 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7884 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7885 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7886 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7887 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7888 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7889 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7890 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7891 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7895 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7896 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7897 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7906 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7907 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7908 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7909 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7910 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7911 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7912 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7913 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7914 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7915 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7916 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7917 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7918 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7920 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7921 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7922 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7926 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7929 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7931 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7932 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7933 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7934 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7936 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7939 @node Article Hiding
7940 @subsection Article Hiding
7941 @cindex article hiding
7943 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7944 too much cruft in most articles.
7949 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7950 @findex gnus-article-hide
7951 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7952 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7953 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7956 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7957 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7958 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7962 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7963 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7964 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7965 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7968 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7969 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7970 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7974 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7975 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7976 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7977 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7978 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7979 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7980 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7981 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7985 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7986 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7987 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7988 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7993 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7994 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7995 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7996 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7997 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7998 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7999 articles that have signatures in them do:
8001 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8003 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8005 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8006 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8008 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8011 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8016 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8017 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8018 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8019 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8022 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8023 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8024 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8025 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8028 @cindex stripping advertisements
8029 @cindex advertisements
8030 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8031 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8032 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8033 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8034 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8035 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8036 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8037 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8038 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8039 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8042 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8043 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8044 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8048 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8049 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8050 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8051 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8052 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8053 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8054 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8055 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8056 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8057 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8058 following element to remove them:
8061 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8067 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8068 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8069 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8070 customizing the hiding:
8074 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8075 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8076 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8077 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8078 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8079 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8080 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8085 Starting point of the hidden text.
8087 Ending point of the hidden text.
8089 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8091 Number of lines of hidden text.
8094 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8095 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8096 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8097 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8098 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8103 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8104 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8106 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8107 following two variables:
8110 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8111 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8112 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8113 50), hide the cited text.
8115 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8116 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8117 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8122 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8123 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8124 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8125 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8126 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8127 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8131 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8132 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8133 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8135 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8136 citation customization.
8138 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8142 @node Article Washing
8143 @subsection Article Washing
8145 @cindex article washing
8147 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8148 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8150 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8151 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8154 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8155 articles by default.
8160 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8161 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8165 @kindex W l (Summary)
8166 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8167 Remove page breaks from the current article
8168 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8172 @kindex W r (Summary)
8173 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8174 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8175 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8176 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8177 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8178 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8180 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8181 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8182 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8183 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8187 @kindex W t (Summary)
8189 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8190 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8191 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8194 @kindex W v (Summary)
8195 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8196 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8197 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8200 @kindex W m (Summary)
8201 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8202 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
8203 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8206 @kindex W o (Summary)
8207 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8208 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8211 @kindex W d (Summary)
8212 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8213 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8215 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8217 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8218 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8219 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8220 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8223 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8224 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8225 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8226 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8229 @kindex W k (Summary)
8230 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8231 @cindex Outlook Express
8232 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles and redisplay
8233 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8236 @kindex W w (Summary)
8237 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8238 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8240 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8244 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8245 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8246 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8249 @kindex W C (Summary)
8250 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8251 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8252 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8255 @kindex W c (Summary)
8256 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8257 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8258 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8259 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8260 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8263 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8264 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8265 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8266 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8267 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8268 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8269 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8271 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8274 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8275 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8276 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8277 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8278 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8281 @kindex W u (Summary)
8282 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8283 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8284 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8285 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8286 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8289 @kindex W h (Summary)
8290 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8291 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8292 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8293 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8295 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8297 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8298 The default is to use the function specified by
8299 @code{mm-inline-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Customization, , , emacs-mime})
8300 to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8301 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8309 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8313 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8316 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8319 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8324 @kindex W b (Summary)
8325 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8326 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8327 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8330 @kindex W B (Summary)
8331 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8332 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8333 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8336 @kindex W p (Summary)
8337 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8338 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8339 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8340 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8341 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8342 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8343 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8346 @kindex W s (Summary)
8347 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8348 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8349 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8352 @kindex W a (Summary)
8353 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8354 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8355 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8358 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8359 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8360 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8361 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8364 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8365 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8366 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8367 lines with a single empty line.
8368 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8371 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8372 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8373 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8374 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8377 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8378 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8379 Do all the three commands above
8380 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8383 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8384 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8385 Remove all blank lines
8386 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8389 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8390 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8391 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8392 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8395 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8396 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8397 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8398 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8402 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8405 @node Article Header
8406 @subsection Article Header
8408 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8413 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8414 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8415 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8418 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8419 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8420 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8421 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8424 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8425 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8426 Fold all the message headers
8427 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8431 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8432 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8433 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8438 @node Article Buttons
8439 @subsection Article Buttons
8442 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8443 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8444 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8445 button on these references.
8447 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8448 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8449 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8450 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8451 one that handles article heads:
8455 @item gnus-button-alist
8456 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8457 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8460 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8466 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8467 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8468 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a variable containing a
8469 regexp, useful variables to use include @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8472 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8473 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8474 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8477 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8478 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8479 avoid false matches.
8482 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8485 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8486 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8490 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8493 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8496 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8497 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8498 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8499 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8500 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8503 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8506 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8508 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8509 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8510 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8511 default values of the variables above.
8513 @item gnus-article-button-face
8514 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8515 Face used on buttons.
8517 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8518 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8519 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8523 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8527 @subsection Article Date
8529 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8530 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8531 when the article was sent.
8536 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8537 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8538 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8539 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8542 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8543 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8545 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8546 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8549 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8550 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8551 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8554 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8555 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8556 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8557 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8560 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8561 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8562 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8563 @findex format-time-string
8564 Display the date using a user-defined format
8565 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8566 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8567 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8568 for a list of possible format specs.
8571 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8572 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8573 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8574 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8575 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8576 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8579 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8582 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8583 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8586 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8587 into wonderful absurdities.
8589 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8592 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8595 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8596 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8600 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8601 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8602 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8603 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8604 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8605 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8606 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8610 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8611 preferred format automatically.
8614 @node Article Display
8615 @subsection Article Display
8620 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8621 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8623 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8624 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8626 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8627 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8629 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8630 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8632 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8637 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8638 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8639 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8640 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8643 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8644 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8645 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8648 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8649 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8650 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8653 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8654 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8655 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8656 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8659 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8660 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8661 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8662 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8665 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8666 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8667 Remove all images from the article buffer
8668 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8674 @node Article Signature
8675 @subsection Article Signature
8677 @cindex article signature
8679 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8680 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8681 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8682 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8683 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8684 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8685 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8686 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8687 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8690 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8691 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8692 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8693 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8694 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8695 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8696 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8697 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8700 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8703 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8704 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8705 signature when displaying articles.
8709 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8712 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8715 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8716 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8718 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8719 in question is not a signature.
8722 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8723 listed above. Here's an example:
8726 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8727 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8730 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8731 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8732 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8733 signature after all.
8736 @node Article Miscellania
8737 @subsection Article Miscellania
8741 @kindex A t (Summary)
8742 @findex gnus-article-babel
8743 Translate the article from one language to another
8744 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8750 @section MIME Commands
8751 @cindex MIME decoding
8753 @cindex viewing attachments
8755 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8756 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8762 @kindex K v (Summary)
8763 View the @sc{mime} part.
8766 @kindex K o (Summary)
8767 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8770 @kindex K c (Summary)
8771 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8774 @kindex K e (Summary)
8775 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8778 @kindex K i (Summary)
8779 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8782 @kindex K | (Summary)
8783 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8786 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8791 @kindex K b (Summary)
8792 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8793 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8797 @kindex K m (Summary)
8798 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8799 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8800 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8801 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8802 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8805 @kindex X m (Summary)
8806 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8807 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8808 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8809 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8812 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8813 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8814 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8815 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8818 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8819 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8820 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8821 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8824 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8825 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8826 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8827 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8829 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8830 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8831 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8832 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8833 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8834 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8837 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8838 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8839 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8840 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8847 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8848 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8849 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8850 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8853 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8856 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8860 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8861 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8862 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8863 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8864 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8865 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8868 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8869 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8870 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8871 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8872 displayed. This variable overrides
8873 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8875 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8876 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8877 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8879 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8880 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8881 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8882 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8883 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8884 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8885 save all jpegs into some directory).
8887 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8890 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8891 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8893 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8894 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8895 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8896 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8897 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8900 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8901 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8902 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8904 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8905 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8906 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8907 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8909 Ready-made functions include@*
8910 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8911 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8912 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8913 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8914 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8915 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8916 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8917 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8918 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8919 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8920 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8921 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8923 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8924 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8926 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8927 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8928 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8931 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8932 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8933 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8934 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8938 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8947 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8948 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8949 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8950 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8951 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8952 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8953 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8955 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8956 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8957 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8958 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8960 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8961 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8962 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8963 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8964 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8965 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8966 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8967 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8969 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8970 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8971 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8972 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8973 quoted-printable header encoding.
8975 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8976 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8977 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8981 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8984 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8985 means encode all charsets),
8987 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8988 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8989 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8996 @cindex coding system aliases
8997 @cindex preferred charset
8999 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9001 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9002 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9005 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9006 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9009 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9010 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9012 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9015 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9018 This will almost do the right thing.
9020 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9024 (codepage-setup 1251)
9025 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9029 @node Article Commands
9030 @section Article Commands
9037 @kindex A P (Summary)
9038 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9039 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9040 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9041 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9042 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9043 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9048 @node Summary Sorting
9049 @section Summary Sorting
9050 @cindex summary sorting
9052 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9053 can't really see why you'd want that.
9058 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9059 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9060 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9063 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9064 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9065 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9068 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9069 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9070 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9073 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9074 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9075 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9078 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9079 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9080 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9083 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9084 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9085 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9088 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9089 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9090 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9093 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9094 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9095 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9098 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9099 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9100 Sort using the default sorting method
9101 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9104 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9105 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9106 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9107 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9108 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9112 @node Finding the Parent
9113 @section Finding the Parent
9114 @cindex parent articles
9115 @cindex referring articles
9120 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9121 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9122 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9123 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9124 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9125 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9126 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9127 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9128 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9130 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9131 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9132 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9133 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9134 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9138 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9139 @kindex A R (Summary)
9140 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9141 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9144 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9145 @kindex A T (Summary)
9146 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9147 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9148 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9149 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9150 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9151 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9152 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9154 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9155 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9156 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9157 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9158 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9159 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9162 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9163 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9165 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9166 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9167 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9168 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9169 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9170 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9171 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9174 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9175 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9176 by giving this command a prefix.
9178 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9179 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9180 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9181 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9182 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9183 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9186 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9187 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9188 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9191 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9192 then ask Google if that fails:
9195 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9197 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type google))))
9200 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9201 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9202 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9203 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9204 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9205 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9206 support this at all.
9209 @node Alternative Approaches
9210 @section Alternative Approaches
9212 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9213 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9216 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9217 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9222 @subsection Pick and Read
9223 @cindex pick and read
9225 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9226 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9227 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9228 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9230 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9231 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9232 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9233 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9234 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9235 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9237 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9242 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9243 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9244 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9245 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9246 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9247 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9248 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9249 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9252 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9253 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9254 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9255 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9259 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9260 Unpick the thread or article
9261 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9262 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9263 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9264 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9265 the thread or article at that line.
9269 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9270 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9271 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9272 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9273 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9274 will still be visible when you are reading.
9278 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9279 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9280 which is mapped to the same function
9281 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9283 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9286 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9289 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9290 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9292 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9293 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9294 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9296 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9297 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9298 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9299 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9300 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9301 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9302 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9306 @subsection Binary Groups
9307 @cindex binary groups
9309 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9310 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9311 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9312 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9313 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9314 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9315 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9318 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9319 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9320 command, when you have turned on this mode
9321 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9323 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9324 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9328 @section Tree Display
9331 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9332 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9333 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9334 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9337 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9340 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9341 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9342 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9344 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9345 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9346 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9347 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9348 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9350 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9351 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9352 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9353 default is @code{modeline}.
9355 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9356 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9357 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9358 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9359 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9360 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9361 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9367 The name of the poster.
9369 The @code{From} header.
9371 The number of the article.
9373 The opening bracket.
9375 The closing bracket.
9380 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9382 Variables related to the display are:
9385 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9386 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9387 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9388 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9389 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9390 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9392 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9393 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9394 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9395 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9399 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9400 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9401 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9402 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9403 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9404 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9405 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9406 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9407 other windows displayed next to it.
9409 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9413 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9414 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9417 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9418 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9419 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9420 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9421 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9422 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9423 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9427 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9430 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9440 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9444 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9445 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9447 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9449 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9454 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9455 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9456 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9459 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9460 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9461 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9462 (gnus-add-configuration
9466 (summary 0.75 point)
9471 @xref{Window Layout}.
9474 @node Mail Group Commands
9475 @section Mail Group Commands
9476 @cindex mail group commands
9478 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9479 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9481 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9482 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9487 @kindex B e (Summary)
9488 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9489 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9490 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9491 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9492 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9495 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9496 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9497 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9498 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9499 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9500 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9503 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9504 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9505 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9506 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9507 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9508 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9511 @kindex B m (Summary)
9513 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9514 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9515 Move the article from one mail group to another
9516 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9517 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9520 @kindex B c (Summary)
9522 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9523 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9524 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9525 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9526 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9529 @kindex B B (Summary)
9530 @cindex crosspost mail
9531 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9532 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9533 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9534 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9535 be properly updated.
9538 @kindex B i (Summary)
9539 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9540 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9541 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9542 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9545 @kindex B I (Summary)
9546 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9547 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9548 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9549 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9552 @kindex B r (Summary)
9553 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9554 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9555 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9556 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9557 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9558 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9559 (which is the default).
9563 @kindex B w (Summary)
9565 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9566 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9567 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9568 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9569 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9570 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9571 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9574 @kindex B q (Summary)
9575 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9576 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9577 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9578 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9581 @kindex B t (Summary)
9582 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9583 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9584 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9587 @kindex B p (Summary)
9588 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9589 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9590 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9591 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9592 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9593 article from your news server (or rather, from
9594 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9595 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9596 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9597 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9598 just not have arrived yet.
9601 @kindex K E (Summary)
9602 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9603 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9604 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9605 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9606 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9610 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9611 @cindex moving articles
9612 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
9613 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9614 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9615 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9616 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9617 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9618 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9621 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9622 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9623 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9624 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9628 @node Various Summary Stuff
9629 @section Various Summary Stuff
9632 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9633 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9634 * Summary Generation Commands::
9635 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9639 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9640 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9641 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9643 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9644 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9645 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9646 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9647 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9648 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9651 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9652 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9653 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9654 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9655 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9657 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9658 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9659 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9662 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9663 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9664 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9665 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9666 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9667 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9668 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
9669 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9670 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9671 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9673 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9674 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9675 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9676 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9677 list of articles to be selected.
9679 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9680 the list in one particular group:
9683 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9684 (if (string= group "some.group")
9685 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9689 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9690 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9691 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9692 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9693 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9694 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9695 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9696 buffers. For example:
9699 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9700 '(message-use-followup-to
9701 (gnus-visible-headers .
9702 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9708 @node Summary Group Information
9709 @subsection Summary Group Information
9714 @kindex H f (Summary)
9715 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9716 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9717 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9718 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9719 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9720 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9721 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9722 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9723 be used for fetching the file.
9726 @kindex H d (Summary)
9727 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9728 Give a brief description of the current group
9729 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9730 rereading the description from the server.
9733 @kindex H h (Summary)
9734 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9735 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9736 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9739 @kindex H i (Summary)
9740 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9741 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9745 @node Searching for Articles
9746 @subsection Searching for Articles
9751 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9752 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9753 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9754 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9757 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9758 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9759 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9760 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9764 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9765 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9766 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9767 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9768 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9769 search backward instead.
9771 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9772 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9775 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9776 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9777 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9778 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9781 @node Summary Generation Commands
9782 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9787 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9788 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9789 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9792 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9793 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9794 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9795 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9800 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9801 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9807 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9808 @kindex A D (Summary)
9809 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9810 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9811 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9812 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9813 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9814 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9815 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9816 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9820 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9821 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9822 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9823 several documents into one biiig group
9824 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9825 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9826 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9827 command understands the process/prefix convention
9828 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9831 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9832 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9833 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9834 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9835 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9836 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9840 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9841 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9842 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9845 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9846 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9847 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9848 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9851 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9852 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9853 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9854 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9859 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9860 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9861 @cindex summary exit
9862 @cindex exiting groups
9864 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9865 group and return you to the group buffer.
9871 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9873 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9874 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9875 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9876 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9877 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9878 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9879 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9880 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9881 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9882 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9883 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9887 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9889 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9890 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9891 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9895 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9897 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9898 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9899 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9900 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9903 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9904 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9905 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9906 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9909 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9910 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9911 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9912 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9915 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9916 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9917 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9918 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9919 all articles, both read and unread.
9923 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9924 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9925 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9926 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9927 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9928 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9929 articles, both read and unread.
9932 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9933 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9934 Exit the group and go to the next group
9935 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9938 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9939 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9940 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9941 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9944 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9945 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9946 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9947 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9948 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9949 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9952 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9953 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9954 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9955 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9957 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9958 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9959 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9960 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9961 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9962 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9963 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9964 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9965 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9966 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9967 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9968 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9970 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9972 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9973 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9974 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9975 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9976 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9977 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9978 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9979 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9980 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9983 @node Crosspost Handling
9984 @section Crosspost Handling
9988 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9989 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9990 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9991 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9992 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9993 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9996 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9997 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9998 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9999 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10000 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10002 @cindex cross-posting
10005 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10006 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10007 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10008 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10009 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10010 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10011 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10012 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10013 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10014 the cross reference mechanism.
10016 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10017 @cindex overview.fmt
10018 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10019 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10020 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10021 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10022 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10023 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10026 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10027 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10028 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10033 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10036 @node Duplicate Suppression
10037 @section Duplicate Suppression
10039 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10040 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10041 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10042 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10047 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10048 is evil and not very common.
10051 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10052 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10055 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10056 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10059 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10062 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10063 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10065 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10066 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10067 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10068 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10069 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10070 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10071 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10074 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10075 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10076 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10077 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10078 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10079 saw the article in.
10082 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10083 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10084 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10086 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10087 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10088 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10089 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10090 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10091 session are suppressed.
10093 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10094 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10095 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10096 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10098 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10099 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10100 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10101 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10104 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10105 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10106 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10107 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10108 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10109 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10110 to you to figure out, I think.
10115 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10116 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10117 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10121 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10122 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10125 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10126 or newer is recommended.
10130 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10131 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10134 @item mm-verify-option
10135 @vindex mm-verify-option
10136 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10137 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10138 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10140 @item mm-decrypt-option
10141 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10142 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10143 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10144 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10149 @section Mailing List
10151 @kindex A M (summary)
10152 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10153 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10154 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10155 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10156 summary buffer, or say:
10159 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10162 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10167 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10168 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10169 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10172 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10173 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10174 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10177 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10178 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10179 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10183 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10184 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10185 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10188 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10189 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10190 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10193 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10194 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10195 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10199 @node Article Buffer
10200 @chapter Article Buffer
10201 @cindex article buffer
10203 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10204 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10205 tell gnus otherwise.
10208 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10209 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10210 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10211 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10212 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10216 @node Hiding Headers
10217 @section Hiding Headers
10218 @cindex hiding headers
10219 @cindex deleting headers
10221 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10222 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10224 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10225 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10226 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10227 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10228 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10229 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10230 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10231 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10232 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10234 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10238 @item gnus-visible-headers
10239 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10240 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10241 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10242 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10244 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10245 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10248 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10251 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10254 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10255 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10256 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10257 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10258 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10259 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10261 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10262 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10265 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10268 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10271 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10272 variable will have no effect.
10276 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10277 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10278 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10279 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10280 the headers are to be displayed.
10282 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10283 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10286 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10289 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10290 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10292 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10293 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10294 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10295 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10296 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10297 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10298 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10301 These conditions are:
10304 Remove all empty headers.
10306 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10307 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10309 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10310 @code{From} header.
10312 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10315 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10316 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10318 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10321 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10323 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10326 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10329 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10330 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10333 This is also the default value for this variable.
10337 @section Using MIME
10340 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10341 while people stand around yawning.
10343 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10344 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10346 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10347 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10348 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10350 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10351 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10352 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10353 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
10354 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10355 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10356 calls the @sc{semi} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
10357 information on @sc{semi} MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is
10358 not existed yet, sorry).
10360 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10361 @sc{mime} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set, then
10362 you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10363 These can't be avoided.
10365 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10366 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10367 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10368 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
10369 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
10370 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
10371 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
10372 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
10373 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
10376 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10378 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10379 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10380 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10381 buffer when there are nobody else.
10383 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10386 @node Customizing Articles
10387 @section Customizing Articles
10388 @cindex article customization
10390 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10391 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10392 called automatically when you select the articles.
10394 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10395 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10396 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10397 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10399 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10400 for sensible values.
10404 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10407 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10410 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10413 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10416 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10420 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10421 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10422 regexps in the list.
10425 A list where the first element is not a string:
10427 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10428 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10429 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10433 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10437 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10442 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10443 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10444 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10445 considered to contain just a single part.
10447 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10448 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10449 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10450 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10451 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10452 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10453 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10455 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10456 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10457 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10458 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10461 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10462 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10464 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10466 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10467 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10468 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10469 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10470 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10471 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10472 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10473 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10474 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10475 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10476 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
10478 @xref{Article Washing}.
10480 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10481 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10482 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10483 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10484 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10485 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10486 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10488 @xref{Article Date}.
10490 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10491 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10492 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10496 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10498 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10500 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10501 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10502 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10506 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10510 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10511 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10512 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10513 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10514 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10515 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10516 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10517 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10519 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10521 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10522 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10523 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10525 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10527 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10528 @item gnus-treat-translate
10529 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10531 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10532 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10533 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10534 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10536 @xref{Article Header}.
10541 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10542 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10543 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10544 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10545 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10549 @node Article Keymap
10550 @section Article Keymap
10552 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10553 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10554 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10555 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10558 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10563 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10564 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10565 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10568 @kindex DEL (Article)
10569 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10570 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10573 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10574 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10575 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10576 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10577 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10580 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10581 @findex gnus-article-mail
10582 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10583 given a prefix, include the mail.
10586 @kindex s (Article)
10587 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10588 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10589 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10592 @kindex ? (Article)
10593 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10594 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10595 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10598 @kindex TAB (Article)
10599 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10600 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10601 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10604 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10605 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10606 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10609 @kindex R (Article)
10610 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10611 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10612 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10613 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10617 @kindex F (Article)
10618 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10619 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10620 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10621 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10629 @section Misc Article
10633 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10634 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10635 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10636 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10639 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10640 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10642 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10643 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10645 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10646 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10647 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10648 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10649 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10650 the contents of the article buffer.
10652 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10653 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10654 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10656 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10657 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10658 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10659 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10661 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10662 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10663 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10664 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10665 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10671 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10672 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10673 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10678 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10681 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10684 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10685 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10686 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10689 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10692 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10695 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10700 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10704 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10706 @item gnus-break-pages
10707 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10708 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10709 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10710 paging will not be done.
10712 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10713 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10714 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10719 @node Composing Messages
10720 @chapter Composing Messages
10721 @cindex composing messages
10724 @cindex sending mail
10729 @cindex using s/mime
10730 @cindex using smime
10732 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10733 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10734 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10735 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10736 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10737 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10740 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10741 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10742 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10743 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10744 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10745 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10746 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10747 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10750 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10751 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10757 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10760 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10761 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10762 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10763 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10765 @item gnus-add-to-list
10766 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10767 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10768 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10770 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10771 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10772 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus requests confirmation when replying to news.
10773 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10774 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10779 @node Posting Server
10780 @section Posting Server
10782 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10783 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10785 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10787 It can be quite complicated.
10789 @vindex gnus-post-method
10790 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10791 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10792 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10793 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10794 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10795 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10796 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10797 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10798 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10801 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10804 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10805 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10806 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10807 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10809 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10810 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10812 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10813 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10816 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10817 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10819 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
10820 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
10821 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
10822 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
10823 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
10824 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
10825 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
10826 package correctly. An example:
10829 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
10830 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
10833 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
10834 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
10835 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
10837 Other possible choises for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
10838 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
10839 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
10841 @node Mail and Post
10842 @section Mail and Post
10844 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10848 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10849 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10850 @cindex mailing lists
10852 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10853 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10854 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10855 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10856 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10857 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10858 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10859 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10860 still a pain, though.
10864 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10865 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10866 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10869 @findex ispell-message
10871 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10874 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10875 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10878 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10882 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10883 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10885 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10888 Modify to suit your needs.
10891 @node Archived Messages
10892 @section Archived Messages
10893 @cindex archived messages
10894 @cindex sent messages
10896 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10897 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10898 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10899 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10902 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
10903 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
10906 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10907 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
10908 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10911 (nnfolder "archive"
10912 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10913 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10914 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10915 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10918 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10919 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10920 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10921 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10924 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10925 '(nnfolder "archive"
10926 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10927 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10928 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10931 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10933 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10934 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10935 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10937 This variable can be used to do the following:
10942 Messages will be saved in that group.
10944 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10945 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10946 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10947 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10948 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10949 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10950 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10951 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10955 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10957 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10958 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10961 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10966 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10968 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10971 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10973 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10976 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10978 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10979 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10980 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10981 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10984 More complex stuff:
10986 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10987 '((if (message-news-p)
10992 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10993 messages in one file per month:
10996 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10997 '((if (message-news-p)
10999 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11002 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11003 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11005 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11006 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11007 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11008 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11009 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11010 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11011 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11012 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11013 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11014 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11016 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11017 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11018 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11019 this will disable archiving.
11022 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11023 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11024 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11025 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11026 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11029 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11030 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11031 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11034 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11035 but the latter is the preferred method.
11037 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11038 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11039 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11041 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11042 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11043 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11044 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11045 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11046 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11047 changed in the future.
11052 @node Posting Styles
11053 @section Posting Styles
11054 @cindex posting styles
11057 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11059 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11060 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11061 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11064 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11065 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11066 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11067 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11068 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11073 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11074 (organization "What me?"))
11076 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11077 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11078 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11081 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11082 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11083 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11084 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11085 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11086 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11087 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11088 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11090 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11091 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11092 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11093 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11094 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. If it's a function symbol, that
11095 function will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol,
11096 then the variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list
11097 will be @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil}
11098 value, then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
11100 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11101 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11102 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11103 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11104 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11105 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11106 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11107 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11108 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11109 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11112 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11113 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11114 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11115 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11116 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11117 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11118 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11119 references chars lines xref extra.
11121 @vindex message-reply-headers
11123 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11124 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11125 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11127 @findex message-mail-p
11128 @findex message-news-p
11130 So here's a new example:
11133 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11135 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11137 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11138 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11140 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11141 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11142 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11143 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11144 (signature my-news-signature))
11145 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11146 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11147 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11148 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11149 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11150 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11151 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11152 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11153 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11154 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11156 (From (save-excursion
11157 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11158 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11160 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11163 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11164 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11165 if you fill many roles.
11167 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11168 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11169 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11170 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11171 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11172 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11173 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11174 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11179 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11181 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11183 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11184 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11187 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11190 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11191 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11198 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11199 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11200 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11201 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11202 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11204 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11205 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11206 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11207 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11208 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11212 @vindex nndraft-directory
11213 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11214 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11215 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11216 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11217 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11218 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11220 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11221 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11224 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11225 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11226 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11227 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11228 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11229 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11230 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11231 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11232 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11233 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11234 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11235 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11236 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11237 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11239 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11240 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11241 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11243 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11244 @kindex D e (Draft)
11245 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11246 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11247 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11249 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11252 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11253 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11254 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11255 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11256 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11257 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11258 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11261 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11262 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11263 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11266 @node Rejected Articles
11267 @section Rejected Articles
11268 @cindex rejected articles
11270 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11271 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11272 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11273 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11275 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11276 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11277 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11278 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11279 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11281 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11282 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11283 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11285 @node Signing and encrypting
11286 @section Signing and encrypting
11288 @cindex using s/mime
11289 @cindex using smime
11291 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11292 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11293 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11294 (@pxref{Security}).
11296 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11297 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11298 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11300 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11301 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11302 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11303 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11304 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11305 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11306 automatically encrypted messages.
11308 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11309 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11310 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11315 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11316 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11318 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11321 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11322 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11324 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11327 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11328 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11330 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11333 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11334 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11336 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11339 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11340 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11342 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11345 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11346 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11348 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11351 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11352 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11353 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11357 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11359 @node Select Methods
11360 @chapter Select Methods
11361 @cindex foreign groups
11362 @cindex select methods
11364 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11365 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11366 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11367 personal mail group.
11369 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11370 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11371 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11372 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11373 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11374 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11376 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11377 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11379 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11382 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11383 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11384 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11385 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11386 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11388 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11391 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11392 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11393 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11394 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11395 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11396 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11397 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11398 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11402 @node Server Buffer
11403 @section Server Buffer
11405 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11406 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11407 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11408 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11409 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11410 back end represents a virtual server.
11412 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11413 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11414 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11415 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11417 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11418 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11419 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11420 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11421 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11422 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11423 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11425 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11426 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11429 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11430 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11431 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11432 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11433 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11434 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11435 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11438 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11439 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11442 @node Server Buffer Format
11443 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11444 @cindex server buffer format
11446 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11447 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11448 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11449 variable, with some simple extensions:
11454 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11457 The name of this server.
11460 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11463 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11466 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11467 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11468 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11469 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11479 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11482 @node Server Commands
11483 @subsection Server Commands
11484 @cindex server commands
11490 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11491 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11495 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11496 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11499 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11500 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11501 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11505 @findex gnus-server-exit
11506 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11510 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11511 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11515 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11516 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11520 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11521 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11525 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11526 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11530 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11531 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11532 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11537 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11538 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11539 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11540 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11545 @node Example Methods
11546 @subsection Example Methods
11548 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11551 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11554 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11560 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11561 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11564 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11565 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11567 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11568 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11572 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11575 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11576 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11578 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11579 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11580 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11584 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11587 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11590 Here's the method for a public spool:
11594 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11595 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11601 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11602 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11603 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11604 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11605 should probably look something like this:
11609 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11610 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11611 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11612 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11615 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11616 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11617 configuration to the example above:
11620 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11623 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11625 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11626 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11627 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11631 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11632 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11633 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11634 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11637 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11638 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11639 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11640 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11643 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11644 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11646 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11647 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11649 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11650 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11651 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11653 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11655 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11656 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11657 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11658 will contain the following:
11668 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11669 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11670 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11673 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11674 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11675 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11678 @node Server Variables
11679 @subsection Server Variables
11681 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11682 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11683 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11684 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11685 won't change the "derived" variables.
11687 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11688 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11689 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11690 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11691 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11692 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11693 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11694 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11695 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11699 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11700 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11701 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11705 @node Servers and Methods
11706 @subsection Servers and Methods
11708 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11709 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11710 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11711 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11715 @node Unavailable Servers
11716 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11718 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11719 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11720 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11721 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11722 actually the case or not.
11724 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11725 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11726 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11727 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11728 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11729 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11730 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11731 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11733 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11734 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11736 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11737 with the following commands:
11743 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11744 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11745 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11749 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11750 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11751 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11755 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11756 Mark the current server as unreachable
11757 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11760 @kindex M-o (Server)
11761 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11762 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11763 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11766 @kindex M-c (Server)
11767 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11768 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11769 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11773 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11774 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11775 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11779 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11780 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11786 @section Getting News
11787 @cindex reading news
11788 @cindex news back ends
11790 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11791 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11792 or it can read from a local spool.
11795 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11796 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11804 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11805 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11806 server as the, uhm, address.
11808 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11809 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11810 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11811 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11813 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11814 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11815 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11817 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11822 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11823 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11824 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11826 @cindex authentification
11827 @cindex nntp authentification
11828 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11829 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11830 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11831 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11832 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11833 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11834 present in this hook.
11836 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11837 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11838 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11839 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11840 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11841 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11842 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11843 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11844 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11845 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11846 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11847 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11851 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11854 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11856 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11857 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11858 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11859 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11860 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11861 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11862 @samp{force} is explained below.
11866 Here's an example file:
11869 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11870 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11873 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11874 have to be first, for instance.
11876 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11877 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11878 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11879 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11880 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11881 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11882 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11884 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11885 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11891 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11892 previously mentioned.
11894 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11896 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11897 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11898 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11899 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11900 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11903 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11904 '(("innd" (ding))))
11907 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11909 The default value is
11912 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11913 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11914 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11917 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11918 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11920 @item nntp-maximum-request
11921 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11922 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11923 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11924 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11925 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11926 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11927 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11929 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11930 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11931 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11932 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11933 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11934 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11935 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11936 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11937 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11938 no timeouts are done.
11940 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11941 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11942 @c @cindex PPP connections
11943 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11944 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11945 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11946 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11947 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11948 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11949 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11950 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11951 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11952 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11954 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11955 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11956 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11957 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11958 @c described above.
11960 @item nntp-server-hook
11961 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11962 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11965 @item nntp-buggy-select
11966 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11967 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11969 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11970 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
11971 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
11972 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
11975 @item nntp-xover-commands
11976 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
11979 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
11980 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
11984 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
11985 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
11986 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
11987 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
11988 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
11989 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
11990 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
11991 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
11992 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
11993 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
11994 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
11996 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
11997 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
11998 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12000 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12001 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12002 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12003 server closes connection.
12005 @item nntp-record-commands
12006 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12007 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12008 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12009 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12010 that doesn't seem to work.
12012 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12013 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12014 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12015 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12016 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12017 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12018 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12019 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12021 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12022 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12023 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12024 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12025 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12026 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12027 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12030 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12033 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12034 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12036 @item nntp-list-options
12037 @vindex nntp-list-options
12038 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12039 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12040 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12041 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12042 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12046 (setq gnus-select-method
12047 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12048 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12051 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12052 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12053 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12054 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12055 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12056 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12057 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12060 (setq gnus-select-method
12061 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12062 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12065 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12066 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12067 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12068 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12069 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12070 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12071 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12074 (setq gnus-select-method
12075 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12076 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12081 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12082 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12083 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12087 @node Direct Functions
12088 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12089 @cindex direct connection functions
12091 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12092 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12093 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12094 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12097 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12098 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12099 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12102 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12103 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12104 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12105 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12106 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12107 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12108 define a server as follows:
12111 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12113 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12114 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12116 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12117 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12118 (nntp-port-number 563)
12119 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12122 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12123 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12124 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12125 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12126 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12127 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12128 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12129 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12133 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12134 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12135 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12138 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12139 session, which is not a good idea.
12143 @node Indirect Functions
12144 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12145 @cindex indirect connection functions
12147 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12148 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12149 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12150 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12151 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12152 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12155 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12156 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12157 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12158 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12159 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12161 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12164 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12165 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12166 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12167 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12169 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12170 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12171 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12172 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12173 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12174 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12175 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12176 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12179 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12180 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12181 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12182 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12184 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12187 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12188 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12189 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12192 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12193 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12194 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12195 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12197 @item nntp-via-user-password
12198 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12199 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12201 @item nntp-via-envuser
12202 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12203 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12204 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12205 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12207 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12208 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12209 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12210 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12217 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12222 @item nntp-via-user-name
12223 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12224 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12226 @item nntp-via-address
12227 @vindex nntp-via-address
12228 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12233 @node Common Variables
12234 @subsubsection Common Variables
12236 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12237 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12242 @item nntp-pre-command
12243 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12244 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12245 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12246 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12247 wrapper for instance.
12250 @vindex nntp-address
12251 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12253 @item nntp-port-number
12254 @vindex nntp-port-number
12255 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12256 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12257 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12258 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12260 @item nntp-end-of-line
12261 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12262 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12263 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12264 using a non native connection function.
12266 @item nntp-telnet-command
12267 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12268 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12269 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12270 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12272 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12273 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12274 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12281 @subsection News Spool
12285 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12286 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12287 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12290 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12291 anything else) as the address.
12293 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12294 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12295 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12296 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12300 @item nnspool-inews-program
12301 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12302 Program used to post an article.
12304 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12305 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12306 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12308 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12309 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12310 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12311 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12313 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12314 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12315 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12316 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12318 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12319 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12320 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12322 @item nnspool-active-file
12323 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12324 The path to the active file.
12326 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12327 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12328 The path to the group descriptions file.
12330 @item nnspool-history-file
12331 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12332 The path to the news history file.
12334 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12335 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12336 The path to the active date file.
12338 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12339 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12340 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12343 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12344 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12346 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12347 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12348 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12354 @section Getting Mail
12355 @cindex reading mail
12358 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12362 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12363 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12364 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12365 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12366 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12367 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12368 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12369 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12370 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12371 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12372 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12373 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12374 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12378 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12379 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12381 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12382 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12383 of a culture shock.
12385 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12386 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12388 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12389 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12390 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12391 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12393 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12395 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12396 deleted? How awful!
12398 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12399 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12400 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12401 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12404 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12405 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12406 they want to treat a message.
12408 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12409 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12410 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12411 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12412 archived somewhere else.
12414 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12415 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12416 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12417 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12418 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12420 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12421 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12422 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12424 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12425 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12428 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12429 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12430 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12431 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12432 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12434 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12435 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12436 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12437 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12438 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12439 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12443 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12444 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12446 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12447 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12448 and things will happen automatically.
12450 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12451 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12454 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12457 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12458 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12459 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12460 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12461 like any other group.
12463 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12466 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12467 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12468 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12472 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12473 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12474 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12477 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12478 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12479 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12482 @node Splitting Mail
12483 @subsection Splitting Mail
12484 @cindex splitting mail
12485 @cindex mail splitting
12487 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12488 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12489 to be split into groups.
12492 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12493 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12494 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12495 ("mail.other" "")))
12498 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12499 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12500 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12501 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12502 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12503 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12504 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12507 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12510 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12511 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12512 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12513 mail belongs in that group.
12515 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12516 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12517 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12518 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12519 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12520 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12522 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12523 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12524 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12525 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12526 thinks should carry this mail message.
12528 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12529 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12530 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12531 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12533 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12534 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12535 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12536 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12537 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12539 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12542 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12543 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12544 links. If that's the case for you, set
12545 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12546 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12548 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12549 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12550 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12551 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12552 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12553 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12556 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12557 Header lines longer than the value of
12558 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12561 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12562 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12563 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12564 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12565 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12566 can be turned off completely by binding
12567 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12568 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12570 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12571 By default, splitting is not performed on all incoming messages. If
12572 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12573 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12574 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12575 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12576 happen even in this case.
12578 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12579 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12580 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12581 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12582 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12583 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12584 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12585 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12586 month's rent money.
12590 @subsection Mail Sources
12592 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12593 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12597 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12598 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12599 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12603 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12604 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12606 @cindex mail server
12609 @cindex mail source
12611 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12612 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12617 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12620 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12621 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12622 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12625 The following mail source types are available:
12629 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12635 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12636 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12637 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12640 An example file mail source:
12643 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12646 Or using the default path:
12652 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12653 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12654 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12657 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12661 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12664 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12668 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12671 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12673 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12676 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12680 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12681 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12682 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12683 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12684 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12685 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12686 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12687 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12688 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12689 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12691 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12692 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12693 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12694 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12700 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12704 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12708 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12709 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12710 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12711 predicate are considered.
12715 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12719 An example directory mail source:
12722 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12727 Get mail from a POP server.
12733 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12734 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12737 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12738 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12739 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12740 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12741 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12744 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12748 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12752 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12753 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12756 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12759 The valid format specifier characters are:
12763 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12764 included in this string.
12767 The name of the server.
12770 The port number of the server.
12773 The user name to use.
12776 The password to use.
12779 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12780 corresponding keywords.
12783 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12784 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12787 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12788 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12791 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12792 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12795 @item :authentication
12796 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12797 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12801 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
12802 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
12803 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
12804 programs and libraries:
12808 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
12809 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
12810 library @samp{ssl.el}.
12812 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
12813 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
12818 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
12819 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
12823 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12824 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12826 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12827 default user name, and default fetcher:
12833 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12836 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12837 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12840 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12843 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12847 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12848 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12849 contains exactly one mail.
12855 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12856 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12859 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12860 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12862 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12863 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12864 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12867 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12868 from locking problems).
12872 Two example maildir mail sources:
12875 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12876 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12880 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12885 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12886 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12887 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12888 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12891 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12892 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12898 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12899 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12902 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12903 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12906 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12910 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12914 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12915 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12916 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12917 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12919 @item :authentication
12920 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12921 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12922 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12923 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12926 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12927 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12928 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12934 The valid format specifier characters are:
12938 The name of the server.
12941 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12944 The port number of the server.
12947 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12948 corresponding keywords.
12951 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12952 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12955 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12956 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12957 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12958 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
12959 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12960 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
12963 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12964 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12965 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12966 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
12969 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12970 after finishing the fetch.
12974 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12977 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12979 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12983 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
12984 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
12985 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
12987 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12988 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12990 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
12996 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12997 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13000 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13004 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13008 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13009 folder after finishing the fetch.
13013 An example webmail source:
13016 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13018 :password "secret")
13023 @item Common Keywords
13024 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13030 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13031 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13035 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13040 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13041 useful when you use local mail and news.
13046 @subsubsection Function Interface
13048 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13049 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13050 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13051 consider the following mail-source setting:
13054 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13055 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13058 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13059 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13060 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13061 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13062 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13064 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13067 @node Mail Source Customization
13068 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13070 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13071 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13075 @item mail-source-crash-box
13076 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13077 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13078 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13080 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13081 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13082 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13084 @item mail-source-directory
13085 @vindex mail-source-directory
13086 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13087 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13088 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13091 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13092 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13093 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13094 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13095 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13096 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13098 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13099 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13100 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13102 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13103 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13104 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13105 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13110 @node Fetching Mail
13111 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13113 @vindex mail-sources
13114 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13115 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13116 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13117 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13119 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13120 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13123 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13124 mail server, you'd say something like:
13129 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13130 :password "secret")))
13133 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13137 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13138 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13141 :password "secret")))
13145 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13146 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13147 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13148 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13149 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13150 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13154 @node Mail Back End Variables
13155 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13157 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13161 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13162 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13163 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13164 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13166 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13167 @item nnmail-split-hook
13168 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13169 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13170 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13171 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13172 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13173 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13174 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13175 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13176 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13179 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13180 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13181 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13182 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13183 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13184 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13185 starting to handle the new mail) and
13186 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13187 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13188 default file modes the new mail files get:
13191 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13192 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13194 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13195 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13198 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13199 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13200 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13201 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13202 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13203 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13204 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13206 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13207 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13208 @findex delete-file
13209 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13211 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13212 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13213 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13214 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13215 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13217 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13218 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13219 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13220 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13221 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13223 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13224 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13225 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13230 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13231 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13232 @cindex mail splitting
13233 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13235 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13236 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13237 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13238 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13239 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13240 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13242 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13245 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13246 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13247 ;; from real errors.
13248 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13250 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13251 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13252 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13253 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13254 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13255 ;; Other mailing lists...
13256 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13257 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13258 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13259 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13260 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13261 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13262 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13263 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13265 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13266 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13270 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13271 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13272 the five possible split syntaxes:
13277 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13278 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13282 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13283 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13284 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13285 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13286 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13287 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13288 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13289 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13292 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13293 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13294 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13295 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13298 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13299 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13302 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13303 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13306 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13307 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13308 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13309 function should return a @var{split}.
13312 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13313 body of the messages:
13316 (defun split-on-body ()
13318 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13319 (goto-char (point-min))
13320 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13324 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13325 when the @code{:} function is run.
13328 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13329 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13330 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13334 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13338 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13339 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13340 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13341 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13342 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13344 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13345 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13346 are expanded as specified by the variable
13347 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13348 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13351 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13352 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13353 when all this splitting is performed.
13355 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13356 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13357 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13360 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13363 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13364 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13366 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13367 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13368 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13369 groupings 1 through 9.
13371 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13372 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13373 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13374 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13375 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13376 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13377 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13378 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13379 it once per thread.
13381 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13382 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13383 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13386 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13387 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13389 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13390 ;; other splits go here
13394 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13395 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13396 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13397 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13398 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13399 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13400 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13401 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13402 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13403 unless the group name matches the regexp
13404 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13405 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13406 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13407 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13408 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13409 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13410 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13411 messages goes into the new group.
13413 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13414 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13415 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13416 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13417 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13421 @node Group Mail Splitting
13422 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13423 @cindex mail splitting
13424 @cindex group mail splitting
13426 @findex gnus-group-split
13427 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13428 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13429 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13430 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13431 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13432 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13433 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13434 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13436 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13437 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13438 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13439 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13441 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13442 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13443 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13444 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13445 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13446 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13447 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13449 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13450 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13451 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13452 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13453 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13454 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13455 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13457 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13458 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13459 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13460 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13461 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13462 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13463 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13464 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13465 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13466 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13467 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13468 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13469 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13471 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13476 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13477 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13479 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13480 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13481 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13482 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13484 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13487 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13488 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13489 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13492 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13493 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13494 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13498 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13499 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13500 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13504 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13507 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13508 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13509 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13510 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13511 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13512 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13513 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13514 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13515 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13517 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13518 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13519 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13520 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13521 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13522 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13523 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13524 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13525 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13527 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13528 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13529 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13530 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13531 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13532 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13535 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13538 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13539 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13540 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13541 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13542 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13545 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13546 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13547 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13548 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13550 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13551 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13552 @cindex incorporating old mail
13553 @cindex import old mail
13555 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13556 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13557 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13560 Doing so can be quite easy.
13562 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13563 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13564 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13565 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13566 your @code{nnml} groups.
13572 Go to the group buffer.
13575 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13576 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13579 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13582 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13583 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13586 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13587 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13590 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13591 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13592 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13593 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13594 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13596 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13597 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13598 using the new mail back end.
13601 @node Expiring Mail
13602 @subsection Expiring Mail
13603 @cindex article expiry
13605 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13606 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13607 different approach to mail reading.
13609 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13610 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13611 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13612 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13613 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13614 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13617 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13618 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
13619 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13620 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13621 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13622 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13623 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13624 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13626 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13627 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
13628 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
13629 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
13630 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
13631 column in the summary buffer.
13633 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13634 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13635 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13636 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13639 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13641 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13642 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13643 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13646 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13647 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13648 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13649 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13650 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13652 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13653 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13656 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13657 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13660 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13661 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13663 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13664 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13665 don't really mix very well.
13667 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13668 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13669 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13670 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13673 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13674 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13675 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13676 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13679 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13681 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13683 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13685 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13687 ((string= group "important")
13693 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13694 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13696 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13697 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13698 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13701 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13702 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13704 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13705 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13706 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13707 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13708 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13709 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13710 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13711 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13712 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13713 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13714 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13715 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13716 name or @code{delete}.
13718 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13720 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13723 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13724 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13725 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13726 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13727 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13730 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13731 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13732 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13733 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13734 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13737 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13738 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13739 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13740 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13741 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13742 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13744 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13745 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13746 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13747 easier for procmail users.
13749 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13750 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13751 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13752 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13753 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13754 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13755 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13756 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13757 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13758 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13759 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13760 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13761 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13764 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13766 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13767 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13768 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13769 auto-expire turned on.
13773 @subsection Washing Mail
13774 @cindex mail washing
13775 @cindex list server brain damage
13776 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13778 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13779 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13780 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13781 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13782 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13783 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13785 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13786 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13787 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13790 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13791 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13792 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13793 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13796 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13797 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13798 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13799 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13800 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13803 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13804 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13805 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13806 Emacs running on MS machines.
13810 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13811 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13812 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13813 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13816 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13817 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13818 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13819 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13821 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
13822 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
13823 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
13824 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
13825 into a feature by documenting it.)
13827 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13828 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13829 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13830 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13831 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13832 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13833 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13836 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13837 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13840 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13841 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13844 This can also be done non-destructively with
13845 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13847 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13848 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13849 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13851 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13852 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13854 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13855 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13856 @code{References} headers.
13860 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13861 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13862 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13866 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13867 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13868 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13875 @subsection Duplicates
13877 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13878 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13879 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13880 @cindex duplicate mails
13881 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13882 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13883 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13884 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13885 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13886 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13887 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13888 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13889 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13890 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13891 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13892 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13893 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13895 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13896 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13897 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13898 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13900 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13903 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13904 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13908 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13909 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13910 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13911 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13912 (any mail "mail.misc")
13919 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13920 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13925 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13926 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13927 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13928 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13929 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13932 @node Not Reading Mail
13933 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13935 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13936 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13937 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13939 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13940 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13941 mail, which should help.
13943 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13944 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13945 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13946 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13947 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13948 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13949 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13950 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13951 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13952 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13953 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13955 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13956 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13960 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13961 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13963 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13964 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13965 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13967 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13968 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13969 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
13970 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
13971 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
13972 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
13973 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
13976 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13977 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13978 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13979 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13980 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13981 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13985 @node Unix Mail Box
13986 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13988 @cindex unix mail box
13990 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13991 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13992 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13993 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13994 which group it belongs in.
13996 Virtual server settings:
13999 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14000 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14001 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14004 @item nnmbox-active-file
14005 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14006 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14007 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14009 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14010 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14011 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14012 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14017 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14021 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14022 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14023 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14024 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14025 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14027 Virtual server settings:
14030 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14031 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14032 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14034 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14035 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14036 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14037 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14039 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14040 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14041 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14047 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14049 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14051 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14052 format. It should be used with some caution.
14054 @vindex nnml-directory
14055 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14056 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14057 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14058 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14060 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14063 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14064 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14065 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14066 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14067 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14068 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14069 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14070 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14072 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14073 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14074 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14075 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14077 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14079 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14080 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14081 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14082 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14083 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14084 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14085 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14086 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14089 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14090 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14091 them next time it starts.
14093 Virtual server settings:
14096 @item nnml-directory
14097 @vindex nnml-directory
14098 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14099 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14102 @item nnml-active-file
14103 @vindex nnml-active-file
14104 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14105 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14107 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14108 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14109 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14110 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14112 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14113 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14114 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14117 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14118 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14119 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14120 default is @code{nil}.
14122 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14123 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14124 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14126 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14127 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14128 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14130 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14131 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14132 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14133 default is @code{nil}.
14135 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14136 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14137 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14139 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14140 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14141 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14146 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14147 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14148 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14149 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14150 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14151 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14152 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14157 @subsubsection MH Spool
14159 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14161 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14162 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14163 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14164 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14166 Virtual server settings:
14169 @item nnmh-directory
14170 @vindex nnmh-directory
14171 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14172 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14175 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14176 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14177 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14181 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14182 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14183 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14184 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14185 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14186 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14187 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14192 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14194 @cindex mbox folders
14195 @cindex mail folders
14197 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14198 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14199 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14202 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14204 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14205 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14206 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14207 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14208 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14209 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14210 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14211 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14212 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14213 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14215 Virtual server settings:
14218 @item nnfolder-directory
14219 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14220 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14221 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14224 @item nnfolder-active-file
14225 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14226 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14228 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14229 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14230 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14231 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14233 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14234 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14235 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14238 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14239 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14240 @cindex backup files
14241 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14242 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14243 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14244 your @file{.emacs} file:
14247 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14248 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14250 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14253 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14254 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14255 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14256 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14257 extract some information from it before removing it.
14259 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14260 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14261 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14262 default is @code{nil}.
14264 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14265 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14266 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14268 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14269 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14270 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14271 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14273 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14274 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14275 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14276 default is @code{nil}.
14278 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14279 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14280 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14282 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14283 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14284 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14285 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14290 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14291 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14292 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14293 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14294 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14295 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14298 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14299 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14301 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14302 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14303 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14304 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14305 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14307 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14308 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14309 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14310 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14311 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14312 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14313 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14314 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14317 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14318 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14319 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14320 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14325 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14326 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14327 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14328 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14329 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14330 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14331 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14332 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14333 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14334 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14335 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14336 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14337 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14342 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14343 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14344 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14345 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14346 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14347 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14348 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14349 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14350 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14351 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14352 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14353 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14354 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14355 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14357 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14358 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14363 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14364 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14365 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14366 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14367 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14368 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14369 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14370 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14371 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14372 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14373 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14374 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14375 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14376 provided by the active file and overviews.
14378 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14379 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
14380 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14381 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14382 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14385 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14386 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14391 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14392 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14393 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14394 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14395 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14396 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14397 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14401 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14402 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14403 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14404 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14405 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14406 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14407 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14408 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14409 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14411 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14412 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14413 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14414 friendly mail back end all over.
14418 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14419 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14420 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14421 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14422 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14423 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14424 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14425 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14428 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14429 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14430 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14431 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14432 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14433 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14434 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14435 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14436 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14437 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14438 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14440 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14441 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14442 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14443 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14444 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14445 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14446 This will probably be changed in the future.
14448 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14449 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14450 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14451 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14452 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14455 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14456 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14458 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14459 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14460 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14461 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14462 parameter to somthing small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14463 would) to make it use less memory.
14465 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14466 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14467 depending in part on your filesystem.
14469 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14470 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14475 @node Browsing the Web
14476 @section Browsing the Web
14478 @cindex browsing the web
14482 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14483 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14484 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14485 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14486 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14487 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14488 even know what a news group is.
14490 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14491 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14492 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14493 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14494 you mad in the end.
14496 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14499 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14500 interfaces to these sources.
14504 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14505 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14506 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14507 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14508 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14509 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14512 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14514 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14515 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14516 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14517 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14518 though, you should be ok.
14520 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14521 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14522 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14523 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14524 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14526 @node Archiving Mail
14527 @subsection Archiving Mail
14528 @cindex archiving mail
14529 @cindex backup of mail
14531 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14532 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14533 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14534 marks is fairly simple.
14536 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14537 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14540 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14541 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14542 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14543 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14544 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14545 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14546 might interfer with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14547 before you restore the data.
14549 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14550 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14551 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14552 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14553 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14554 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14555 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14556 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14557 is unnecessary in that case.
14560 @subsection Web Searches
14565 @cindex Usenet searches
14566 @cindex searching the Usenet
14568 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14569 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14570 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14571 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14572 searches without having to use a browser.
14574 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14575 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14576 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14577 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14578 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14580 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14581 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14582 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14583 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14584 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14585 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14586 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14587 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14588 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14589 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14592 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14593 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14594 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14595 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14596 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14597 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14599 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14600 to use @code{nnweb}.
14602 Virtual server variables:
14607 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14608 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14609 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14612 @vindex nnweb-search
14613 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14615 @item nnweb-max-hits
14616 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14617 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14620 @item nnweb-type-definition
14621 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14622 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14623 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14628 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14632 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14635 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14638 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14642 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14649 @subsection Slashdot
14653 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14654 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14655 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14657 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14658 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14661 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14662 '((nnslashdot "")))
14665 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14666 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14667 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14668 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14669 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14672 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14673 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14675 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14676 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14677 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14678 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14679 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14680 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14683 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14686 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14687 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14688 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14689 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14690 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14691 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14692 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14694 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14695 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14696 The login name to use when posting.
14698 @item nnslashdot-password
14699 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14700 The password to use when posting.
14702 @item nnslashdot-directory
14703 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14704 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14705 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14707 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14708 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14709 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14710 news articles and comments. The default is
14711 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14713 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14714 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14715 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14717 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14719 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14720 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14721 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14723 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14725 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14726 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14727 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14729 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14730 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14731 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14732 updated. The default is 0.
14739 @subsection Ultimate
14741 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14743 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14744 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14745 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14746 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14748 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14749 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14750 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14751 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14752 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14753 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14754 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14756 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14759 @item nnultimate-directory
14760 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14761 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14762 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14767 @subsection Web Archive
14769 @cindex Web Archive
14771 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14772 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14773 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14774 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14777 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14778 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14779 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14780 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14781 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14782 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14783 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14785 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14788 @item nnwarchive-directory
14789 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14790 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14791 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14793 @item nnwarchive-login
14794 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14795 The account name on the web server.
14797 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14798 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14799 The password for your account on the web server.
14807 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14808 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14809 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14812 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14813 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14816 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14819 @item nnrss-directory
14820 @vindex nnrss-directory
14821 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14822 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14826 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14827 the summary buffer.
14830 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14831 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14833 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14835 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14836 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14839 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14842 (require 'browse-url)
14844 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14846 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14849 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14850 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14852 (browse-url (cdr url))
14853 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14855 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14856 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14857 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14858 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14861 @node Customizing w3
14862 @subsection Customizing w3
14868 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14869 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14870 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14872 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14873 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14874 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14877 (eval-after-load "w3"
14879 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14880 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14881 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14882 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14884 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14887 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14888 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14897 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14898 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14899 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14900 specify the network address of the server.
14902 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14903 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14904 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14905 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
14906 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
14908 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
14909 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
14910 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
14911 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
14913 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14914 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
14915 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14916 usage explained in this section.
14918 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14919 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
14920 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
14923 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14924 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14925 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14927 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14928 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14929 ; a UW server running on localhost
14931 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14932 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14933 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14934 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14935 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14936 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14937 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14938 (nnimap-stream network))
14939 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14941 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14942 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14943 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14946 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14951 @item nnimap-address
14952 @vindex nnimap-address
14954 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14955 server name if not specified.
14957 @item nnimap-server-port
14958 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14959 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14961 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
14964 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14965 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14968 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14969 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14970 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14971 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14972 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14973 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14974 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14976 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14977 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14978 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14981 Example server specification:
14984 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14985 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14986 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14989 @item nnimap-stream
14990 @vindex nnimap-stream
14991 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14992 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14993 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
14994 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
14996 Example server specification:
14999 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15000 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15003 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15007 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15008 @samp{imtest} program.
15010 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15012 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15013 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15016 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15017 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15018 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15020 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15022 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15025 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15026 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15027 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15028 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15029 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15030 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15031 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15032 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15033 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15036 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15037 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15038 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15039 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
15040 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15041 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15042 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15043 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15044 distribution, for instance).
15046 @vindex imap-shell-program
15047 @vindex imap-shell-host
15048 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15049 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15051 @item nnimap-authenticator
15052 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15054 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15055 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15057 Example server specification:
15060 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15061 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15064 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15068 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15069 external program @code{imtest}.
15071 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15074 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15075 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15077 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15079 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15081 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
15084 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15086 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15087 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15088 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15089 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15090 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15091 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15094 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15095 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15096 running in circles yet?
15098 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15099 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15102 The possible options are:
15107 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15110 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15111 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15112 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15113 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15115 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15120 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15121 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15123 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15124 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15125 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15126 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15127 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15130 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15131 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15134 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15135 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15136 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15137 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15140 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15141 as ticked for other users.
15143 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15145 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15147 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15148 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15149 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15150 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15152 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15153 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15154 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15155 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15157 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15158 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15160 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15161 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15162 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15168 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15169 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15170 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15175 @node Splitting in IMAP
15176 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15177 @cindex splitting imap mail
15179 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15180 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15181 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15182 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15183 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15187 Here are the variables of interest:
15191 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15192 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15194 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15196 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15197 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15199 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15201 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15202 @cindex splitting, inbox
15204 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15206 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15207 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15211 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15212 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15215 No nnmail equivalent.
15217 @item nnimap-split-rule
15218 @cindex Splitting, rules
15219 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15221 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15224 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15225 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15226 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15227 Neither did I, we need examples.
15230 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15232 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15233 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15234 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15237 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15238 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15239 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15241 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15242 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15246 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15249 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15250 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15252 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15253 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15254 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15255 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15257 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15258 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15259 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15260 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15261 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15262 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15264 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15265 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15266 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15268 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15269 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15270 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15272 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15274 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15275 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15276 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15279 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15280 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15281 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15282 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15283 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15284 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15287 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15288 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15289 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15290 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15291 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15292 group/function elements.
15294 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15296 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15298 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15300 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15301 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15303 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15304 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15305 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15308 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15309 @cindex splitting, fancy
15310 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15311 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15313 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15314 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15315 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15317 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15318 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15319 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15320 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15325 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15326 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15329 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15333 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15334 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15335 @cindex editing imap acls
15336 @cindex Access Control Lists
15337 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15339 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15341 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15342 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15343 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15346 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15347 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15348 editing window with detailed instructions.
15350 Some possible uses:
15354 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15355 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15356 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15358 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15359 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15360 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15364 @node Expunging mailboxes
15365 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15369 @cindex Manual expunging
15371 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15373 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15374 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15375 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15377 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15382 @node Other Sources
15383 @section Other Sources
15385 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15386 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15390 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15391 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15392 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15393 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15394 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15398 @node Directory Groups
15399 @subsection Directory Groups
15401 @cindex directory groups
15403 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15404 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15407 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15408 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15409 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15410 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15412 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15413 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15414 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15415 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15416 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15418 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15420 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15421 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15422 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15423 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15426 @node Anything Groups
15427 @subsection Anything Groups
15430 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15431 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15432 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15435 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15436 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15437 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15438 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15439 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15440 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15441 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15442 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15443 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15444 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15447 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15448 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15449 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15450 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15452 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15453 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15454 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15455 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15457 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15458 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15459 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15460 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15461 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15462 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15463 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15464 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15469 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15470 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15471 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15472 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15474 @item nneething-exclude-files
15475 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15476 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15477 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15479 @item nneething-include-files
15480 @vindex nneething-include-files
15481 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15482 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15484 @item nneething-map-file
15485 @vindex nneething-map-file
15486 Name of the map files.
15490 @node Document Groups
15491 @subsection Document Groups
15493 @cindex documentation group
15496 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15497 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15504 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15509 The standard Unix mbox file.
15511 @cindex MMDF mail box
15513 The MMDF mail box format.
15516 Several news articles appended into a file.
15519 @cindex rnews batch files
15520 The rnews batch transport format.
15521 @cindex forwarded messages
15524 Forwarded articles.
15527 Netscape mail boxes.
15530 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15532 @item standard-digest
15533 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15536 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15538 @item lanl-gov-announce
15539 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15541 @item rfc822-forward
15542 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15545 The Outlook mail box.
15548 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15551 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15554 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15557 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15563 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15566 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15572 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15573 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15574 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15577 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15578 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15579 group. And that's it.
15581 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15582 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15583 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15584 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15585 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15586 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15587 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15588 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15589 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15590 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15592 Virtual server variables:
15595 @item nndoc-article-type
15596 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15597 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15598 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15599 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15600 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15601 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15603 @item nndoc-post-type
15604 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15605 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15606 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15611 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15615 @node Document Server Internals
15616 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15618 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15619 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15620 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15621 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15623 First, here's an example document type definition:
15627 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15628 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15631 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15632 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15633 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15634 types can be defined with very few settings:
15637 @item first-article
15638 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15639 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15642 @item article-begin
15643 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15644 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15646 @item head-begin-function
15647 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15650 @item nndoc-head-begin
15651 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15654 @item nndoc-head-end
15655 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15656 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15658 @item body-begin-function
15659 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15663 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15666 @item body-end-function
15667 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15671 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15674 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15675 regexp will be totally ignored.
15679 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15680 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15681 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15682 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15683 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15686 @item prepare-body-function
15687 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15688 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15689 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15691 @item article-transform-function
15692 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15693 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15694 body of the article.
15696 @item generate-head-function
15697 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15698 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15699 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15700 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15704 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15709 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15710 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15711 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15712 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15713 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15714 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15715 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15716 (subtype digest guess))
15719 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15720 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15721 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15722 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15723 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15725 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15726 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15727 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15728 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15729 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
15730 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15731 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15732 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15733 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15734 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15742 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15743 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15744 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15746 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15747 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15748 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15751 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15752 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15753 that interested in doing things properly.
15755 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15756 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15759 First some terminology:
15764 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15765 get news and/or mail from.
15768 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15769 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15772 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15776 @item message packets
15777 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15778 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15779 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15781 @item response packets
15782 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15783 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15784 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15794 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15795 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15796 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15797 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15800 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15803 You put the packet in your home directory.
15806 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15807 the native or secondary server.
15810 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15811 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15814 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15818 You transfer this packet to the server.
15821 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15824 You then repeat until you die.
15828 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15829 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15832 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15833 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15834 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15838 @node SOUP Commands
15839 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15841 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15845 @kindex G s b (Group)
15846 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15847 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15848 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15849 process/prefix convention.
15852 @kindex G s w (Group)
15853 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15854 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15857 @kindex G s s (Group)
15858 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15859 Send all replies from the replies packet
15860 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15863 @kindex G s p (Group)
15864 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
15865 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
15868 @kindex G s r (Group)
15869 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
15870 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
15873 @kindex O s (Summary)
15874 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
15875 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
15876 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
15877 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15882 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
15887 @item gnus-soup-directory
15888 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
15889 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
15890 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
15892 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
15893 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
15894 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
15895 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
15897 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
15898 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
15899 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
15900 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
15902 @item gnus-soup-packer
15903 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
15904 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15905 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
15907 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
15908 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
15909 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15910 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15912 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
15913 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
15914 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
15916 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15917 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15918 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
15919 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
15925 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
15928 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
15929 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
15930 you can read them at leisure.
15932 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
15936 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
15937 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
15938 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
15939 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
15941 @item nnsoup-directory
15942 @vindex nnsoup-directory
15943 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
15944 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
15946 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
15947 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
15948 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
15949 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
15951 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
15952 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
15953 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
15954 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
15955 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
15957 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
15958 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
15959 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
15960 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
15962 @item nnsoup-active-file
15963 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
15964 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
15965 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
15966 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
15967 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
15969 @item nnsoup-packer
15970 @vindex nnsoup-packer
15971 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
15972 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
15974 @item nnsoup-unpacker
15975 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
15976 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
15977 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15979 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
15980 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
15981 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
15984 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
15985 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
15986 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
15989 @item nnsoup-always-save
15990 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
15991 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
15997 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
15999 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16000 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16001 more for that to happen.
16003 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16004 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16005 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16008 In specific, this is what it does:
16011 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16012 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16015 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16016 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16017 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16020 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16021 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16022 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16025 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16026 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16027 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16029 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16035 @item nngateway-address
16036 @vindex nngateway-address
16037 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16039 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16040 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16041 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16042 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16043 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16044 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16045 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16048 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16049 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16050 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16053 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16056 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16059 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16062 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16064 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16067 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16068 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16069 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16071 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16073 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16074 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16075 @code{nngateway-address}.
16080 (setq gnus-post-method
16082 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16083 (nngateway-header-transformation
16084 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16092 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16095 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16100 @node Combined Groups
16101 @section Combined Groups
16103 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16107 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16108 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16112 @node Virtual Groups
16113 @subsection Virtual Groups
16115 @cindex virtual groups
16116 @cindex merging groups
16118 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16121 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16122 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16123 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16125 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16126 regexp to match component groups.
16128 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16129 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16130 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16131 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16132 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16133 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16134 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16135 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16137 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16138 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16141 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16144 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16145 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16147 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16148 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16149 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16150 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16153 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16156 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16157 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16158 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16160 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16161 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16162 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16163 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16164 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16166 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16167 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16168 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16170 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16171 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16172 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16173 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16174 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16175 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16176 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16177 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16178 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16179 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16180 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16182 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16183 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16184 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16185 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16186 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16187 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16188 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16190 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16191 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16193 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16194 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16198 @node Kibozed Groups
16199 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16203 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16204 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16205 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16206 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16208 @kindex G k (Group)
16209 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16212 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16213 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16214 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16215 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16217 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16218 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16219 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16221 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16222 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16223 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16224 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16225 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16226 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16227 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16228 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16230 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16231 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16232 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16233 Stranger things have happened.
16235 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16236 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16238 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16239 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16240 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16241 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16242 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16243 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16245 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16246 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16249 @node Gnus Unplugged
16250 @section Gnus Unplugged
16255 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16257 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16258 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16259 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16260 read news. Believe it or not.
16262 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16263 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16264 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16265 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16266 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16268 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16269 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16270 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16271 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16272 reading news on a machine.
16274 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16275 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16277 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16280 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16281 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16282 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16283 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16284 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16285 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16286 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16287 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16288 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16289 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16290 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16295 @subsection Agent Basics
16297 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16299 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16300 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16301 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16302 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16304 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16305 connected to the net continuously.
16307 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16308 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16310 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16315 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16316 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16317 already fetched while in this mode.
16320 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16321 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16322 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16323 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16324 Source Specifiers}).
16327 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16328 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16329 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16330 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16331 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16334 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16335 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16336 then you read the news offline.
16339 And then you go to step 2.
16342 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16348 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16349 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16350 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16351 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16352 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16353 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16354 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16355 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16358 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16365 @node Agent Categories
16366 @subsection Agent Categories
16368 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16369 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16370 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16371 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16372 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16373 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16374 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16376 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16377 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16378 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16379 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16380 managing categories.
16383 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16384 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16385 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16389 @node Category Syntax
16390 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16392 A category consists of two things.
16396 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16397 are eligible for downloading; and
16400 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16401 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16402 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16405 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16406 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16407 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16408 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16410 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16411 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16412 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16414 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16415 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16416 operators sprinkled in between.
16418 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16420 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16421 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16427 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16428 short (for some value of ``short'').
16430 Here's a more complex predicate:
16439 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16440 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16443 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16444 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16445 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16447 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16448 you want to do, you can write your own.
16452 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16453 lines; default 100.
16456 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16457 lines; default 200.
16460 True iff the article has a download score less than
16461 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16464 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16465 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16468 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16469 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16470 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16479 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16480 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16481 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16484 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16485 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16486 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16487 something along the lines of the following:
16490 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16491 "Say whether an article is old."
16492 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16493 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16496 with the predicate then defined as:
16499 (not my-article-old-p)
16502 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16503 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16507 (require 'gnus-agent)
16508 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16509 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16510 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16513 and simply specify your predicate as:
16519 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16520 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16521 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16522 just don't give a damn.
16524 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16525 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16526 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16527 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16528 parameters like so:
16531 (agent-predicate . short)
16534 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16535 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16536 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16538 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16541 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16544 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16545 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16546 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16549 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16550 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16551 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16552 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16553 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16554 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16556 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16557 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16558 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16559 if it's to be specific to that group.
16561 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16568 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16569 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16575 Category specification
16579 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16585 Group Parameter specification
16588 (agent-score ("from"
16589 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16594 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16600 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16607 Category specification
16610 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16616 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16620 Group Parameter specification
16623 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16626 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16631 Use @code{normal} score files
16633 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16634 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16635 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16636 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16638 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16639 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16640 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16641 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16645 Category Specification
16652 Group Parameter specification
16655 (agent-score . file)
16660 @node Category Buffer
16661 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16663 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16664 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16665 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16667 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16671 @kindex q (Category)
16672 @findex gnus-category-exit
16673 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16676 @kindex k (Category)
16677 @findex gnus-category-kill
16678 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16681 @kindex c (Category)
16682 @findex gnus-category-copy
16683 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16686 @kindex a (Category)
16687 @findex gnus-category-add
16688 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16691 @kindex p (Category)
16692 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16693 Edit the predicate of the current category
16694 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16697 @kindex g (Category)
16698 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16699 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16700 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16703 @kindex s (Category)
16704 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16705 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16706 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16709 @kindex l (Category)
16710 @findex gnus-category-list
16711 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16715 @node Category Variables
16716 @subsubsection Category Variables
16719 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16720 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16721 Hook run in category buffers.
16723 @item gnus-category-line-format
16724 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16725 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16726 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16730 The name of the category.
16733 The number of groups in the category.
16736 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16737 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16738 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16740 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16741 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16742 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16744 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16745 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16746 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16748 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16749 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16750 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16753 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16754 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16755 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16761 @node Agent Commands
16762 @subsection Agent Commands
16764 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16765 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16766 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16770 * Group Agent Commands::
16771 * Summary Agent Commands::
16772 * Server Agent Commands::
16775 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
16776 following incantation:
16778 @cindex gnus-agent-batch
16780 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch
16785 @node Group Agent Commands
16786 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16790 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16791 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16792 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16793 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16796 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16797 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16798 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16801 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16802 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16803 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16804 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16807 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16808 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
16809 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
16810 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
16813 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16814 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16815 Add the current group to an Agent category
16816 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16817 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16820 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16821 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16822 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16823 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16824 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16827 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16828 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16829 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16835 @node Summary Agent Commands
16836 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16840 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16841 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16842 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16845 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16846 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16847 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16848 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16851 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16852 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16853 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16856 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16857 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16858 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16861 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16862 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16863 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16864 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
16869 @node Server Agent Commands
16870 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
16874 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
16875 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
16876 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
16877 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
16880 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
16881 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
16882 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
16883 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
16888 @node Agent as Cache
16889 @subsection Agent as Cache
16891 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
16892 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
16893 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
16894 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
16895 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
16896 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
16897 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
16898 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
16899 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
16901 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
16902 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
16905 @subsection Agent Expiry
16907 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
16908 @findex gnus-agent-expire
16909 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
16910 @cindex Agent expiry
16911 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
16914 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
16915 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
16916 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
16917 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
16918 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
16919 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
16921 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
16922 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
16923 expiry in different groups.
16926 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
16932 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
16933 method---it must always match all groups.
16935 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
16936 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
16937 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
16938 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
16939 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
16941 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
16942 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
16943 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
16944 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
16946 @node Agent and IMAP
16947 @subsection Agent and IMAP
16949 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
16950 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
16951 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
16952 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
16954 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
16955 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
16956 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
16957 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
16959 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
16960 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
16961 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
16962 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
16964 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16965 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
16966 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
16967 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
16968 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
16969 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
16971 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
16972 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
16973 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
16974 in the group buffer.
16976 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
16977 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
16982 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
16985 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
16989 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
16990 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
16991 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
16992 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
16993 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
16994 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
16995 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
16996 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
16999 @node Outgoing Messages
17000 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17002 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17003 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17004 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17006 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17007 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17008 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17009 messages in the draft group.
17013 @node Agent Variables
17014 @subsection Agent Variables
17017 @item gnus-agent-directory
17018 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17019 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17020 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17022 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17023 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17024 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17025 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17026 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17029 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17030 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17031 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17033 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17034 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17035 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17037 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17038 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17039 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17041 @item gnus-agent-cache
17042 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17043 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17044 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17045 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17047 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17048 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17049 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17050 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17051 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17052 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17053 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17059 @node Example Setup
17060 @subsection Example Setup
17062 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17063 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17064 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17067 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17068 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17069 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17071 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17072 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17073 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17075 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17076 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17078 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17079 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17080 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17083 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17084 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17087 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17088 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17089 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17090 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17091 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17094 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17095 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17096 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17097 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17098 back all the killed groups.)
17100 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17101 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17102 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17105 @node Batching Agents
17106 @subsection Batching Agents
17108 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17109 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17110 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17114 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
17118 @node Agent Caveats
17119 @subsection Agent Caveats
17121 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17122 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17126 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17130 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17132 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17136 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17137 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17138 locally stored articles.
17145 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17146 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17147 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17150 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17151 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17152 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17153 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17154 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17156 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17157 before generating the summary buffer.
17159 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17160 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17161 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17163 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17164 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17165 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17166 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17169 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17170 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17171 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17172 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17173 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17174 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17175 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17176 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17177 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17178 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17179 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17180 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17181 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17182 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17183 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17184 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17185 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17189 @node Summary Score Commands
17190 @section Summary Score Commands
17191 @cindex score commands
17193 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17194 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17195 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17196 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17197 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17199 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17200 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17201 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17202 score file the current one.
17204 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17209 @kindex V s (Summary)
17210 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17211 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17214 @kindex V S (Summary)
17215 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17216 Display the score of the current article
17217 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17220 @kindex V t (Summary)
17221 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17222 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17223 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17226 @kindex V w (Summary)
17227 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17228 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17231 @kindex V R (Summary)
17232 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17233 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17234 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17235 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17236 effect you're having.
17239 @kindex V c (Summary)
17240 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17241 Make a different score file the current
17242 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17245 @kindex V e (Summary)
17246 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17247 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17248 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17252 @kindex V f (Summary)
17253 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17254 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17255 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17258 @kindex V F (Summary)
17259 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17260 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17261 after editing score files.
17264 @kindex V C (Summary)
17265 @findex gnus-score-customize
17266 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17267 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17271 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17276 @kindex V m (Summary)
17277 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17278 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17279 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17282 @kindex V x (Summary)
17283 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17284 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17285 expunge all articles below this score
17286 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17289 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17290 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17293 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17294 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17298 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17299 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17301 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17302 keys are available:
17306 Score on the author name.
17309 Score on the subject line.
17312 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17315 Score on the @code{References} line.
17321 Score on the number of lines.
17324 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17327 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17328 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17331 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17332 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17333 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17342 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17348 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17349 what headers you are scoring on.
17361 Substring matching.
17364 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17393 Greater than number.
17398 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17399 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17400 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17405 Temporary score entry.
17408 Permanent score entry.
17411 Immediately scoring.
17415 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17416 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17417 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17421 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17422 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17423 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17424 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17426 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17427 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17428 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17429 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17430 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17432 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17433 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17434 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17435 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17436 current score file.
17438 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17439 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17440 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17443 @node Group Score Commands
17444 @section Group Score Commands
17445 @cindex group score commands
17447 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17452 @kindex W f (Group)
17453 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17454 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17455 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17456 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17460 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17462 @findex gnus-batch-score
17463 @cindex batch scoring
17465 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17469 @node Score Variables
17470 @section Score Variables
17471 @cindex score variables
17475 @item gnus-use-scoring
17476 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17477 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17478 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17480 @item gnus-kill-killed
17481 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17482 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17483 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17484 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17485 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17486 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17487 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17489 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17490 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17491 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17492 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17493 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17495 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17496 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17497 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17498 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17500 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17501 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17502 @cindex score cache
17503 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17504 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17505 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
17506 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17507 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17508 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17511 @item gnus-save-score
17512 @vindex gnus-save-score
17513 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17514 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17515 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17517 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17518 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17519 across group visits.
17521 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17522 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17523 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17524 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17525 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17526 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17527 manually entered data.
17529 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17530 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17531 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17533 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17534 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17535 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17536 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17537 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17538 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17540 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17541 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17542 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17543 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17545 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17546 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17547 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17548 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17550 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17551 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17552 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17553 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17555 Predefined functions available are:
17558 @item gnus-score-find-single
17559 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17560 Only apply the group's own score file.
17562 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17563 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17564 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17565 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17566 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17567 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17568 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17569 then a regexp match is done.
17571 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17572 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17574 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17575 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17576 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17577 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17579 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17580 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17581 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17582 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17583 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17587 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17588 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17589 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17590 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17591 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17592 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17593 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17596 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17597 overall score file, you could use the value
17599 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17600 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17603 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17604 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17605 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17606 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17607 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17609 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17610 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17611 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17612 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17613 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17614 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17615 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17616 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17618 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17619 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17620 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17622 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17623 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17624 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17625 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17626 threading---according to the current value of
17627 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17628 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17629 simplified in this manner.
17634 @node Score File Format
17635 @section Score File Format
17636 @cindex score file format
17638 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17639 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17640 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17642 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17646 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17648 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17650 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17652 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17657 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17661 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17662 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17663 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17664 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17668 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17669 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17671 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17672 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17673 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17675 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17680 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17681 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17682 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17683 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17684 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17685 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17686 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17687 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17688 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17689 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17690 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17691 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17692 to articles that matches these score entries.
17694 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17695 score entry has one to four elements.
17699 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17700 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17704 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17705 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17706 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17707 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17708 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17709 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17712 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17713 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17714 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17715 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17716 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17719 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17720 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17721 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17722 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17725 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17726 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17727 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17728 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17729 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17730 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17731 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17732 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17733 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17734 instead, if you feel like.
17737 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
17738 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
17739 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
17740 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
17741 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
17742 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
17745 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
17749 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17750 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17752 These predicates are true if
17755 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17758 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17759 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17766 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17767 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17768 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17769 it's not. I think.)
17771 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17772 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17773 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17774 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17777 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17778 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17779 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17780 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17781 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17782 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17783 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17787 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17788 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17789 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17790 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17791 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17792 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17793 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17794 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17797 @item Head, Body, All
17798 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17802 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17803 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17804 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17805 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17806 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17807 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17808 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17812 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17813 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17814 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17815 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17816 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17817 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17818 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17819 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17820 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17821 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17822 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17826 @cindex Score File Atoms
17828 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17829 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17832 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17833 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17835 @item mark-and-expunge
17836 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17837 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
17840 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
17841 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
17842 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
17843 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
17844 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
17847 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
17848 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
17851 @item exclude-files
17852 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
17853 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
17857 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
17858 ignored when handling global score files.
17861 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
17862 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
17863 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
17864 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
17867 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
17868 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
17869 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
17870 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
17872 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
17876 (mark-and-expunge -100)
17879 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
17880 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
17881 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
17882 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
17883 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
17885 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
17886 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
17887 scoring rules exist.
17890 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
17891 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
17892 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
17893 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
17894 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
17895 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
17896 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17897 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
17898 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
17899 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
17900 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
17904 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
17905 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
17906 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
17907 file for a number of groups.
17910 @cindex local variables
17911 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
17912 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
17913 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
17914 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
17915 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
17919 @node Score File Editing
17920 @section Score File Editing
17922 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
17923 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
17924 with a mode for that.
17926 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
17927 additional commands:
17932 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
17933 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
17934 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
17935 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
17938 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
17939 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
17940 Insert the current date in numerical format
17941 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
17942 you were wondering.
17945 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
17946 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
17947 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
17948 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
17949 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
17954 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
17956 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
17957 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
17959 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
17960 e} to begin editing score files.
17963 @node Adaptive Scoring
17964 @section Adaptive Scoring
17965 @cindex adaptive scoring
17967 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
17968 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
17969 stupidity, to be precise.
17971 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
17972 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
17973 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
17974 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
17975 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17976 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
17977 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
17978 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
17979 variable to @code{(word line)}.
17981 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17982 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
17983 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
17984 might look something like this:
17987 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17988 '((gnus-unread-mark)
17989 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
17990 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
17991 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
17992 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
17993 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
17994 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
17995 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
17996 (gnus-ancient-mark)
17997 (gnus-low-score-mark)
17998 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18001 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18002 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18003 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18004 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18005 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18006 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18009 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18010 will be applied to each article.
18012 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18013 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18014 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18015 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18017 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18018 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18019 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18020 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18022 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18023 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18024 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18025 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18027 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18028 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18029 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18030 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18031 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18032 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18034 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
18035 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
18036 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
18037 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
18038 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
18039 aspirins afterwards.)
18041 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18042 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18043 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18045 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18046 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18047 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18049 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18050 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18051 let you use different rules in different groups.
18053 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18054 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18055 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18058 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18059 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18060 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18061 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18062 the length of the match is less than
18063 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18064 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18067 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18068 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18069 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18070 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18071 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18074 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18075 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18076 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18077 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18078 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18081 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18082 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18083 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18084 score with 30 points.
18086 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18087 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18088 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18089 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18090 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18092 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18093 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18094 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18095 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18096 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
18098 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18099 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18100 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18101 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18103 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18104 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18105 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18106 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18108 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18109 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18110 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18111 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18112 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18114 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18115 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18116 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18118 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18119 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18120 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18121 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18124 @node Home Score File
18125 @section Home Score File
18127 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18128 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18129 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18130 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18132 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18133 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18134 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18136 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18137 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18142 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18146 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18147 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18151 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18155 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18156 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18159 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18160 the home score file.
18163 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18166 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18171 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18174 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18175 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18178 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18179 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18181 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18183 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18184 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18187 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18188 Other functions include
18191 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18192 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18193 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18194 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18198 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18199 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18200 their own home score files:
18203 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18204 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18205 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18206 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18207 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18210 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18211 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18212 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18213 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18214 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18216 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18217 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18218 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18219 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18220 precedence over this variable.
18223 @node Followups To Yourself
18224 @section Followups To Yourself
18226 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18227 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18228 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18229 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18230 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18231 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18235 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18236 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18237 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18240 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18241 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18242 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18246 @vindex message-sent-hook
18247 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18248 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18250 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18254 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18255 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18259 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18260 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18263 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18264 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18269 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18273 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18274 is system-dependent.
18277 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18278 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18279 @cindex scoring on other headers
18281 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18282 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18283 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18284 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18285 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18287 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18288 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18289 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18290 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18291 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18293 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18296 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18297 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18300 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18301 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18302 time if you have much mail.
18304 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18305 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18311 @section Scoring Tips
18312 @cindex scoring tips
18318 @cindex scoring crossposts
18319 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18320 the @code{Xref} header.
18322 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18325 @item Multiple crossposts
18326 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18327 more than, say, 3 groups:
18330 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18334 @item Matching on the body
18335 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18336 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18337 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18338 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18339 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18340 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18341 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18344 @item Marking as read
18345 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18346 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18347 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18351 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18353 @item Negated character classes
18354 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18355 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18356 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18360 @node Reverse Scoring
18361 @section Reverse Scoring
18362 @cindex reverse scoring
18364 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18365 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18366 like this in your score file:
18370 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18375 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18376 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18379 @node Global Score Files
18380 @section Global Score Files
18381 @cindex global score files
18383 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18384 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18385 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18387 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18388 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18389 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18391 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18392 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18393 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18394 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18395 files are applicable to which group.
18397 To use the score file
18398 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18399 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18403 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18404 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18405 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18408 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18410 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18411 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18412 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18413 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18415 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18416 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18418 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18419 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18420 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18421 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18422 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18423 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18425 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18431 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18433 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18435 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18437 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18438 lowered out of existence.
18440 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18441 articles completely.
18444 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18445 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18446 old articles for a long time.
18449 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18450 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18451 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18452 holding our breath yet?
18456 @section Kill Files
18459 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18460 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18461 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18463 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18464 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18465 files into score files.
18467 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18468 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18469 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18470 that isn't a very good idea.
18472 Normal kill files look like this:
18475 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18476 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18480 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18481 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18483 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18484 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18487 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18492 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18493 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18494 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18497 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18498 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18499 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18502 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18507 @kindex M-k (Group)
18508 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18509 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18512 @kindex M-K (Group)
18513 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18514 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18517 Kill file variables:
18520 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18521 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18522 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18523 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18524 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18525 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18526 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18528 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18529 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18530 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18531 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18534 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18535 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18536 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18537 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18538 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18539 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18540 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18541 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18542 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18544 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18545 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18546 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18551 @node Converting Kill Files
18552 @section Converting Kill Files
18554 @cindex converting kill files
18556 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18557 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18558 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18561 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18562 You can fetch it from
18563 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18565 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18566 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18567 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18575 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18576 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18577 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18578 news articles generated every day.
18580 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18581 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18582 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18583 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18584 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18585 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18586 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18587 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18590 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18591 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18594 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18595 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18596 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18597 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18601 @node Using GroupLens
18602 @subsection Using GroupLens
18604 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18606 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18607 better bit in town at the moment.
18609 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18613 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18614 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18615 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18616 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18618 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18619 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18620 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18621 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18623 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18624 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18625 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18629 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18630 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18631 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18632 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18633 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18634 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18637 @node Rating Articles
18638 @subsection Rating Articles
18640 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18641 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18642 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18643 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18646 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18651 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18652 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18653 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18656 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18657 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18658 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18659 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18660 threads in rec.humor.
18664 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18665 the score of the article you're reading.
18670 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18671 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18672 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18675 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18676 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18677 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18681 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18682 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18685 @node Displaying Predictions
18686 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18688 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18689 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18690 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18691 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18692 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18694 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18695 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18696 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18697 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18698 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18699 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18700 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18701 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18702 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18703 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18704 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18705 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18706 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18708 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18709 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18710 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18711 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18713 The following are valid values for that variable.
18716 @item prediction-spot
18717 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18720 @item confidence-interval
18721 A numeric confidence interval.
18723 @item prediction-bar
18724 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18726 @item confidence-bar
18727 Numerical confidence.
18729 @item confidence-spot
18730 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18732 @item prediction-num
18733 Plain-old numeric value.
18735 @item confidence-plus-minus
18736 Prediction +/- confidence.
18741 @node GroupLens Variables
18742 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18746 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18747 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18748 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18749 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18752 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18753 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18756 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18757 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18759 @item grouplens-score-offset
18760 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18761 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18764 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18765 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18766 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18771 @node Advanced Scoring
18772 @section Advanced Scoring
18774 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18775 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18776 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18777 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18778 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18780 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18784 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18785 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18786 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18790 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18791 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18793 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18794 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18795 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18796 non-@code{nil} value.
18798 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18799 operator, and various match operators.
18806 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18807 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18808 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18813 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18814 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18815 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18820 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18821 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18825 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18826 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18827 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18828 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18829 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18830 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18831 the ancestry you want to go.
18833 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18834 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18835 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18836 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18837 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
18840 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
18841 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
18843 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
18844 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
18847 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
18848 when he's talking about Gnus:
18852 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18853 ("subject" "Gnus"))
18859 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
18863 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18870 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
18871 really don't want to read what he's written:
18875 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18876 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
18880 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
18881 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
18882 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
18889 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
18890 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
18891 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
18892 ("body" "white.*socks"))
18896 The possibilities are endless.
18899 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
18900 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
18902 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
18903 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
18904 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
18905 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
18906 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
18907 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
18908 @samp{subject}) first.
18910 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
18911 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
18922 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
18923 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
18929 ("subject" "Gnus")))
18936 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
18937 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
18942 @section Score Decays
18943 @cindex score decays
18946 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
18947 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
18948 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
18949 use them in any sensible way.
18951 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
18952 @findex gnus-decay-score
18953 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
18954 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
18955 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
18956 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
18957 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
18958 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
18959 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
18960 definition of that function:
18963 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
18965 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
18966 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
18969 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
18971 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
18973 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
18976 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
18977 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
18978 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
18979 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
18983 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
18986 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
18989 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
18993 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
18994 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
18995 the new score, which should be an integer.
18997 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
18998 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19003 @include message.texi
19004 @chapter Emacs MIME
19005 @include emacs-mime.texi
19007 @include sieve.texi
19015 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19016 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19017 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19018 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19019 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19020 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19021 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19022 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19023 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19024 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19025 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19026 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19027 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19028 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19029 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19030 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19031 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19032 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19033 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19037 @node Process/Prefix
19038 @section Process/Prefix
19039 @cindex process/prefix convention
19041 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19042 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19044 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19045 command to be performed on.
19049 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19050 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19051 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19052 with the current one.
19054 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19055 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19056 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19058 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19059 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19062 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19063 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19065 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19068 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19069 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19070 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19071 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19073 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19074 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19075 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19076 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19077 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19078 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19079 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19080 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19082 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19083 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19084 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19085 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19086 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19090 @section Interactive
19091 @cindex interaction
19095 @item gnus-novice-user
19096 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19097 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19098 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19099 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19100 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19103 @item gnus-expert-user
19104 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19105 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19106 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19107 matter how strange.
19109 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19110 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19111 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19112 is @code{t} by default.
19114 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19115 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19116 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19121 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19122 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19123 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19125 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19126 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19127 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19128 rule of 900 to the current article.
19130 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19131 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19132 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19133 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19134 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19135 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19136 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19138 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19139 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19140 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19141 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19142 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19143 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19144 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19145 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19146 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19148 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19149 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19150 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19152 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19156 @node Formatting Variables
19157 @section Formatting Variables
19158 @cindex formatting variables
19160 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19161 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19162 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19163 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19164 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19167 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19168 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19169 lots of percentages everywhere.
19172 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19173 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19174 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19175 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19176 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19177 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19178 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19179 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19182 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19183 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19184 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19185 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19186 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19187 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19188 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19189 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19191 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19192 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19194 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19195 @findex gnus-update-format
19196 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19197 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19198 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19199 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19203 @node Formatting Basics
19204 @subsection Formatting Basics
19206 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19207 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19208 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19210 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19211 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19212 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19213 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19214 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19217 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19218 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19219 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19220 less than 4 characters wide.
19222 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19223 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19226 @node Mode Line Formatting
19227 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19229 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19230 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19231 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19232 with the following two differences:
19237 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19240 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19241 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19242 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19243 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19244 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19245 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19246 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19251 @node Advanced Formatting
19252 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19254 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19255 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19256 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19257 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19259 These are the valid modifiers:
19264 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19268 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19273 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19276 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19281 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19284 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19287 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19290 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19296 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19301 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19302 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19303 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19304 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19305 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19306 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19307 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19309 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19310 last operation, padding.
19312 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
19313 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
19314 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
19315 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
19316 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
19317 the look of your lines.
19318 @xref{Compilation}.
19321 @node User-Defined Specs
19322 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19324 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19325 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19326 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19327 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19328 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19329 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19330 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19331 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19332 should protect against that.
19334 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19335 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19337 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19338 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19339 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19340 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19344 @node Formatting Fonts
19345 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19347 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19348 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19349 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19350 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19353 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19354 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19355 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19356 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19357 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19358 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19360 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
19361 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
19362 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
19363 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
19364 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
19365 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
19366 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
19367 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
19369 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19372 ;; Create three face types.
19373 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19374 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19376 ;; We want the article count to be in
19377 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19378 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19379 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19381 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19382 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19384 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19385 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19386 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19389 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19390 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19392 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19393 mode-line variables.
19395 @node Positioning Point
19396 @subsection Positioning Point
19398 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19399 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19400 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19402 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19404 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19405 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19406 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19408 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19409 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
19410 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19415 @subsection Tabulation
19417 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19418 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19419 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19420 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19422 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19423 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19425 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19426 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19427 This is the soft tabulator.
19429 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19430 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19431 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19434 @node Wide Characters
19435 @subsection Wide Characters
19437 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19438 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19439 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19441 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19442 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19443 these coutries, that's not true.
19445 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19446 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19447 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19448 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
19452 @node Window Layout
19453 @section Window Layout
19454 @cindex window layout
19456 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19458 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19459 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19460 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19461 @code{t} by default.
19463 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19464 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19466 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19467 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19468 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19471 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19472 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19473 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19477 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19478 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19479 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19480 possible names is listed below.
19482 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19483 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19486 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19490 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19491 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19492 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19493 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19494 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19495 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19496 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19497 size spec per split.
19499 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19500 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19501 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19502 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19503 present) gets focus.
19505 Here's a more complicated example:
19508 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19509 (summary 0.25 point)
19510 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19514 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19515 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19516 occupy, not a percentage.
19518 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19519 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19520 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19521 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19522 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19525 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19528 (article (horizontal 1.0
19533 (summary 0.25 point)
19538 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19539 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19541 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19542 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19543 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19544 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19545 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19547 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19548 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19549 lines from the splits.
19551 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19555 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19556 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19557 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19558 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19559 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19560 size = number | frame-params
19561 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19564 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19565 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19566 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19567 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19569 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19570 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19571 @cindex window height
19572 @cindex window width
19573 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19574 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19575 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19576 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19577 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19578 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19580 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19581 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19582 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19583 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19585 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19586 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19587 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19588 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19589 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19590 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19591 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19592 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19593 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19594 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19595 configuration list.
19598 (gnus-configure-frame
19602 (article 0.3 point))
19610 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19611 @code{frame} split:
19614 (gnus-configure-frame
19617 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19619 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19620 (user-position . t)
19621 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19626 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19627 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19628 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19629 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19630 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19631 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19632 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19633 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19635 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19636 be found in its default value.
19638 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19639 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19640 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19644 (message (horizontal 1.0
19645 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19647 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19652 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19653 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19654 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19659 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19660 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19661 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19662 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19663 (name . "Message"))
19664 (message 1.0 point))))
19667 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19668 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19669 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19670 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19671 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19674 (gnus-add-configuration
19675 '(article (vertical 1.0
19677 (summary .25 point)
19681 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19682 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19683 Gnus has been loaded.
19685 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19686 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19687 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19688 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19689 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19691 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19692 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19693 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19696 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19700 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19701 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19716 (gnus-add-configuration
19719 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19721 (summary 0.16 point)
19724 (gnus-add-configuration
19727 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19728 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19734 @node Faces and Fonts
19735 @section Faces and Fonts
19740 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19741 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19742 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19747 @section Compilation
19748 @cindex compilation
19749 @cindex byte-compilation
19751 @findex gnus-compile
19753 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19754 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19755 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
19756 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
19757 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
19758 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19759 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19760 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19763 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19764 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19765 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19766 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
19767 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19770 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
19771 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
19772 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
19773 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
19774 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
19779 @section Mode Lines
19782 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19783 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19784 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
19785 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
19786 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
19787 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
19788 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
19791 @cindex display-time
19793 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
19794 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
19795 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
19796 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
19797 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
19798 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
19799 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
19800 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19803 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19805 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19806 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19808 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19809 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19810 (length display-time-string)))))
19813 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19814 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19815 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19816 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19817 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19820 @node Highlighting and Menus
19821 @section Highlighting and Menus
19823 @cindex highlighting
19826 @vindex gnus-visual
19827 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19828 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19829 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19832 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19833 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19836 @item group-highlight
19837 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19838 @item summary-highlight
19839 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19840 @item article-highlight
19841 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19843 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
19845 Create menus in the group buffer.
19847 Create menus in the summary buffers.
19849 Create menus in the article buffer.
19851 Create menus in the browse buffer.
19853 Create menus in the server buffer.
19855 Create menus in the score buffers.
19857 Create menus in all buffers.
19860 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
19861 buffers, you could say something like:
19864 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
19867 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
19870 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
19873 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
19874 in all Gnus buffers.
19876 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
19879 @item gnus-mouse-face
19880 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
19881 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
19882 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
19886 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
19890 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
19891 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
19892 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
19894 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
19895 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
19896 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
19898 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
19899 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
19900 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
19902 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
19903 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
19904 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
19906 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
19907 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
19908 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
19910 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
19911 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
19912 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
19923 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
19924 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
19925 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
19926 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
19927 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
19931 @vindex gnus-carpal
19932 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
19933 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
19934 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
19939 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19940 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19941 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
19943 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
19944 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
19945 Face used on buttons.
19947 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
19948 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
19949 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
19951 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19952 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19953 Buttons in the group buffer.
19955 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19956 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19957 Buttons in the summary buffer.
19959 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19960 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19961 Buttons in the server buffer.
19963 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19964 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19965 Buttons in the browse buffer.
19968 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
19969 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
19970 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
19978 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
19979 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
19980 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
19981 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
19982 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
19984 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
19985 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
19986 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
19988 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
19989 been idle for thirty minutes:
19992 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
19995 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
19999 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20002 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20003 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20004 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20006 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20007 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20008 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20009 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20011 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20012 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20013 @var{idle} minutes.
20015 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20016 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20019 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20020 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20021 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20023 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20024 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20025 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20026 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20028 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20029 your @file{.gnus} file:
20031 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20033 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20036 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20037 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20038 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20039 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20040 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20041 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20042 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20043 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20044 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20045 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20046 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
20048 @findex gnus-demon-init
20049 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20050 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20051 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20052 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20053 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20055 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20056 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20057 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20066 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20067 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20069 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20070 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20071 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20072 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20075 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20076 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20077 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20078 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20080 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20081 this will make spam disappear.
20083 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20086 @item gnus-use-nocem
20087 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20088 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20091 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20092 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20093 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20094 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20095 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20097 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20098 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20099 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20100 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20101 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20102 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20104 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20105 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20107 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20108 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20109 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20110 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20111 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20112 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20113 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20114 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20115 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20116 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20118 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20119 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20122 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20125 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20126 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20129 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20132 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20135 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20136 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20138 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20139 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20140 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20141 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20143 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20144 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20147 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20149 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20157 This might be dangerous, though.
20159 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20160 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20161 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20162 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20164 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20165 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20166 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20167 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20168 might then see old spam.
20170 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20171 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20172 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20173 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20174 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20177 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20178 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20179 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20180 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20184 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20185 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20186 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20187 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20194 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20195 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20196 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20198 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20199 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20200 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20201 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20202 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20203 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20204 @code{undo} function.
20206 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20207 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20208 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20209 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20210 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20211 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20212 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20213 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20214 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20215 never be totally undoable.
20217 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20218 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20220 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20221 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20222 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20223 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20227 @node Predicate Specifiers
20228 @section Predicate Specifiers
20229 @cindex predicate specifiers
20231 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20232 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20233 to type all that much.
20235 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20240 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20241 gnus-article-unread-p)
20244 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20245 functions all take one parameter.
20247 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20248 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20249 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20250 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20255 @section Moderation
20258 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20259 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20260 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20263 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20267 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20270 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20272 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20277 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20278 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20279 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20282 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20283 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20286 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20287 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20291 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20294 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20295 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20299 @node Image Enhancements
20300 @section Image Enhancements
20302 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20303 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20306 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20307 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20308 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20309 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20310 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20323 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20324 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20325 over your shoulder as you read news.
20328 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20329 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20330 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20331 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20332 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20337 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20339 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20348 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20349 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20350 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20351 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20352 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20353 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20354 @code{GIF} formats.
20357 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20358 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20359 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20360 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20361 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20363 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20364 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20365 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20366 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20367 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20368 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20370 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20371 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20374 @node Picon Requirements
20375 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20377 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20378 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20379 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20380 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20382 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20383 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20384 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20385 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20386 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20387 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20390 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20392 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20393 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20396 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20397 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20400 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20401 containing the Picons databases.
20403 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20406 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20407 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20412 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20420 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20421 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20422 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20423 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20424 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20429 @item gnus-picons-database
20430 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20431 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20432 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20433 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20434 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20435 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20437 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20438 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20439 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20440 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20441 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20442 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20443 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20445 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20446 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20447 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20448 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20449 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20450 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20451 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20452 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20454 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20455 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20456 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20461 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20462 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20464 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20465 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20468 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20470 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20471 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20472 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20473 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20475 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20476 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20477 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20478 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20484 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20485 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20493 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20494 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20495 don't need to worry about.
20499 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20500 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20501 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20502 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20504 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20505 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20506 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20507 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20509 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20510 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20511 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20512 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20513 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20515 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20516 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20517 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20518 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20519 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20520 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20521 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20522 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20524 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20525 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20526 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20527 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20528 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20530 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20531 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20532 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20533 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20534 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20535 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20536 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20538 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20539 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20540 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20541 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20543 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20544 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20545 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20546 Defaults to @code{t}.
20548 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20549 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20550 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20551 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20553 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20554 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20555 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20557 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20558 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20559 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20560 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20562 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20563 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20565 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20566 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20567 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20568 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20569 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20570 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20571 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20572 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20583 @subsection Smileys
20588 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20593 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20594 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20596 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20597 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20600 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20603 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20604 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20605 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20606 text and maps that to file names.
20608 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20609 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20610 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20611 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20612 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20613 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20615 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20616 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20618 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20619 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20620 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20622 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20623 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20627 @item smiley-data-directory
20628 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20629 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20631 @item smiley-flesh-color
20632 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20633 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20635 @item smiley-features-color
20636 @vindex smiley-features-color
20637 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20639 @item smiley-tongue-color
20640 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20641 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20643 @item smiley-circle-color
20644 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20645 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20647 @item smiley-mouse-face
20648 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20649 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20658 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20659 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20660 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20664 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20665 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20666 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20667 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20675 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20676 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20677 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20678 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20680 The variable that controls this is the
20681 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20682 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20683 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20684 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20685 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20687 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20688 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20689 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20690 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20693 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20694 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20695 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20696 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20697 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20698 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20699 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20700 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20702 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20705 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20706 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20708 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20709 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20710 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20711 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20712 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20713 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20715 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a file as the parameter, and then
20716 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20717 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20719 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20720 like the folllowing in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20723 (setq message-required-news-headers
20724 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20725 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20728 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20731 (setq message-required-news-headers
20732 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20733 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20734 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20735 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20740 @subsection Toolbar
20750 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20751 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20752 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20753 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20754 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20756 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20757 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20758 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20760 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20761 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20762 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20764 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20765 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20766 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20772 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20775 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20776 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20777 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20778 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20779 unusual directory structure.
20781 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20782 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20783 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20784 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20786 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20787 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20788 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20789 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20790 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20791 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20793 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20794 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20795 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20809 @node Fuzzy Matching
20810 @section Fuzzy Matching
20811 @cindex fuzzy matching
20813 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20814 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20816 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
20817 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
20818 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
20820 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
20821 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
20822 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
20823 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
20824 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
20827 @node Thwarting Email Spam
20828 @section Thwarting Email Spam
20832 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20834 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
20835 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
20836 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
20837 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
20838 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
20839 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
20840 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
20841 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
20844 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
20845 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
20846 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
20847 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
20848 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
20849 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
20854 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
20855 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
20856 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
20859 @node Anti-Spam Basics
20860 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
20864 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20866 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
20867 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
20869 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
20870 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
20871 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
20872 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
20873 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
20874 part of the mail address.)
20877 (setq message-default-news-headers
20878 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
20881 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
20882 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20887 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
20888 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
20889 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
20895 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
20896 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
20897 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
20898 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
20900 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
20901 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
20902 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
20903 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
20904 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
20905 your fancy split rule in this way:
20910 (to "larsi" "misc")
20914 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
20915 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
20916 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
20917 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
20918 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
20920 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
20921 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
20922 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
20923 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
20924 cosmic balance somewhat.
20926 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
20927 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
20928 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
20929 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
20934 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
20935 @cindex SpamAssassin
20936 @cindex Vipul's Razor
20939 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
20940 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
20941 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
20942 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
20943 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
20944 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
20945 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
20947 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
20948 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
20949 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
20950 Specifiers}) follows.
20954 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
20957 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
20960 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
20961 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
20962 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
20965 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
20969 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20972 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
20973 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
20977 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
20978 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
20979 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
20980 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
20983 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
20985 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
20987 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
20988 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
20990 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
20992 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
20993 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
20997 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
20998 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
20999 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21002 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21003 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21005 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21006 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21007 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21011 @subsection Hashcash
21014 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21015 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21016 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21017 since it is not part of the internet standards, but it may be useful
21018 in smaller communities.
21020 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21021 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21022 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21023 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21024 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21025 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21026 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21027 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21028 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21029 one of them separately.
21032 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21033 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21034 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21035 header. For more details, and for the external application
21036 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21037 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21038 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21040 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21044 (require 'hashcash)
21045 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21048 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21049 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21050 development contrib directory.
21052 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21056 @item hashcash-default-payment
21057 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21058 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21059 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21060 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21062 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21063 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21064 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21065 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21066 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21067 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21068 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21069 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21073 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21077 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21078 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21079 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21080 a useful contribution, however.
21082 @node Various Various
21083 @section Various Various
21089 @item gnus-home-directory
21090 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
21091 defaults to @file{~/}.
21093 @item gnus-directory
21094 @vindex gnus-directory
21095 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
21096 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
21097 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
21099 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
21100 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
21101 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
21102 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
21104 @item gnus-default-directory
21105 @vindex gnus-default-directory
21106 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
21107 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
21108 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
21109 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
21110 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
21111 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
21114 @vindex gnus-verbose
21115 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
21116 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
21117 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
21118 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
21119 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
21121 @item gnus-verbose-backends
21122 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
21123 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
21124 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
21126 @item nnheader-max-head-length
21127 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
21128 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
21129 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
21130 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
21131 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
21132 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
21133 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
21134 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
21135 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
21137 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
21138 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
21139 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
21140 read when doing the operation described above.
21142 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21143 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21145 @cindex invalid characters in file names
21146 @cindex characters in file names
21147 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
21148 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
21149 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
21152 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21156 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
21157 Windows (phooey) systems.
21159 @item gnus-hidden-properties
21160 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
21161 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
21162 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
21163 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
21165 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
21166 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
21167 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
21168 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
21169 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
21171 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
21172 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
21173 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
21175 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21176 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21178 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
21179 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
21180 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
21181 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
21184 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
21192 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
21193 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
21195 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
21197 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
21203 Not because of victories @*
21206 but for the common sunshine,@*
21208 the largess of the spring.
21212 but for the day's work done@*
21213 as well as I was able;@*
21214 not for a seat upon the dais@*
21215 but at the common table.@*
21220 @chapter Appendices
21223 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
21224 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
21225 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
21226 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
21227 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
21228 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
21229 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
21230 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
21231 * Frequently Asked Questions::
21238 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
21240 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
21241 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
21242 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
21243 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
21244 @samp{xemacs-base}, and @samp{fsf-compat}.
21251 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
21252 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
21254 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
21255 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
21256 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
21257 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
21258 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
21260 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
21261 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
21262 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
21263 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
21264 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
21265 appropriate name, don't you think?)
21267 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
21268 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
21269 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
21270 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
21273 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
21274 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
21275 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
21276 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
21277 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
21278 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
21279 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
21280 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
21281 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
21285 @node Gnus Versions
21286 @subsection Gnus Versions
21288 @cindex September Gnus
21290 @cindex Quassia Gnus
21291 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
21295 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
21296 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
21297 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
21299 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
21300 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
21302 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
21303 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
21305 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
21306 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
21308 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
21309 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
21312 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
21314 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
21315 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
21316 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
21317 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
21318 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
21319 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
21322 @node Other Gnus Versions
21323 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
21326 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
21327 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
21328 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
21329 @sc{mime} capabilities.
21331 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
21332 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
21333 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
21334 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
21341 What's the point of Gnus?
21343 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
21344 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
21345 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
21346 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
21347 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
21348 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
21349 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
21350 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
21351 keep track of millions of people who post?
21353 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
21354 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
21355 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
21356 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
21357 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
21358 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
21359 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
21360 every one of you to explore and invent.
21362 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
21363 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
21366 @node Compatibility
21367 @subsection Compatibility
21369 @cindex compatibility
21370 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
21371 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
21372 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
21377 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
21381 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
21384 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
21387 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
21388 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
21389 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
21390 important variables have their values copied into their global
21391 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
21392 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
21394 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
21395 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
21396 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
21397 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
21398 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
21402 @cindex highlighting
21403 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
21404 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
21405 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
21406 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
21407 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
21408 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
21411 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
21412 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
21413 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
21414 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
21416 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
21417 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
21418 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
21419 to stop doing it the old way.
21421 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
21423 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21425 @cindex reporting bugs
21427 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
21428 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
21429 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
21431 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
21432 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
21433 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
21434 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
21439 @subsection Conformity
21441 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
21442 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
21450 There are no known breaches of this standard.
21454 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
21456 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
21457 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
21458 We do have some breaches to this one.
21464 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
21465 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
21466 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
21467 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
21468 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
21473 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
21474 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
21475 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
21476 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
21478 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
21480 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
21482 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
21483 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
21485 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
21488 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
21489 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
21490 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
21491 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
21492 decoding (verification and decryption).
21494 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
21495 RFC 2015 (superceded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
21496 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
21497 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
21499 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
21500 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
21502 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
21503 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
21504 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
21505 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
21506 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
21507 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
21508 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
21512 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
21513 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
21518 @subsection Emacsen
21524 Gnus should work on :
21532 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
21536 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
21537 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
21538 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
21539 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
21540 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
21542 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
21543 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
21544 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
21548 @node Gnus Development
21549 @subsection Gnus Development
21551 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
21552 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
21553 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
21554 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
21555 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
21556 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
21557 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
21558 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
21560 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
21561 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
21562 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
21563 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
21564 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
21567 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
21568 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
21569 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
21570 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
21571 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
21573 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
21574 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
21575 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
21576 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
21577 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
21578 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
21579 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
21580 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
21581 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
21582 can't be assumed to do so.
21587 @subsection Contributors
21588 @cindex contributors
21590 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
21591 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
21592 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
21593 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
21594 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
21595 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
21596 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
21597 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
21598 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
21599 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
21601 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
21607 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
21610 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
21611 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
21612 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
21613 functionality and stuff.
21616 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
21617 well as numerous other things).
21620 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
21623 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
21626 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
21629 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
21632 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
21633 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
21636 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
21639 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
21640 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
21643 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
21646 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
21649 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
21652 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
21655 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
21656 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
21659 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
21662 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
21665 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
21668 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
21672 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
21675 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
21678 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
21681 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
21682 well as autoconf support.
21686 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
21687 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
21689 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
21698 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
21702 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
21712 Alexei V. Barantsev,
21727 Massimo Campostrini,
21732 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
21733 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
21737 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
21740 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
21746 Michael Welsh Duggan,
21751 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
21755 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
21763 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
21765 Michelangelo Grigni,
21769 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
21771 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
21773 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
21780 François Felix Ingrand,
21781 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
21782 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
21784 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
21795 Peter Skov Knudsen,
21796 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
21798 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
21799 Thor Kristoffersen,
21802 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
21820 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
21821 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
21828 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
21833 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
21837 John McClary Prevost,
21843 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
21848 Christian von Roques,
21851 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
21858 Philippe Schnoebelen,
21860 Randal L. Schwartz,
21874 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
21879 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
21895 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
21900 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
21901 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
21902 (550kB and counting).
21904 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
21907 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
21908 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
21912 @subsection New Features
21913 @cindex new features
21916 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
21917 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
21918 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
21919 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
21920 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
21923 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
21924 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
21925 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
21928 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
21930 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
21935 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
21936 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
21939 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
21940 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
21943 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
21946 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
21947 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
21948 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
21951 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
21952 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
21953 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
21954 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
21957 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
21958 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21961 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
21962 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
21963 (@pxref{The Active File}).
21966 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
21967 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
21970 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
21971 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
21972 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
21975 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
21976 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
21977 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
21980 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
21981 the @file{.emacs} file.
21984 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
21985 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
21988 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
21989 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
21992 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
21993 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21996 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
21997 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
22000 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
22001 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22004 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
22007 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
22008 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
22011 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
22012 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
22015 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
22016 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
22019 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
22022 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
22023 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22026 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
22030 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
22034 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
22035 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
22038 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
22044 @node September Gnus
22045 @subsubsection September Gnus
22049 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
22053 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
22058 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
22059 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
22063 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
22064 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
22068 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
22072 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
22073 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
22076 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
22080 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22083 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
22086 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
22089 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
22093 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
22094 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
22097 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
22101 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
22105 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
22109 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
22113 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
22116 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
22117 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
22120 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
22124 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
22125 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
22128 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
22131 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
22132 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
22133 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22136 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
22140 The Gnus cache is much faster.
22143 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
22147 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
22148 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
22151 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
22152 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
22155 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
22156 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22159 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
22160 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
22161 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
22164 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
22165 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
22168 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
22171 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22174 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
22177 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
22180 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
22181 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
22184 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
22188 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
22191 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
22196 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
22199 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
22203 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22206 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
22210 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
22213 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
22216 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
22217 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22220 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
22221 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
22225 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
22226 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
22229 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
22233 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
22234 buffer to allow easier treatment.
22237 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
22240 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
22244 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
22248 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
22249 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
22252 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
22256 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
22257 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22260 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
22261 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22264 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
22268 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22271 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
22274 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
22280 @subsubsection Red Gnus
22282 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
22286 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
22293 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
22296 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
22297 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22300 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
22301 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
22305 Article washing status can be displayed in the
22306 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
22309 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
22312 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
22313 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
22316 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
22320 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
22321 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
22325 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
22326 Server Internals}).
22329 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
22333 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
22336 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
22337 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
22340 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
22341 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
22342 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
22345 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
22346 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22349 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
22350 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
22353 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
22357 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
22358 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22361 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
22362 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22365 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
22369 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
22372 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
22376 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
22377 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22380 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
22381 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22384 A new command for reading collections of documents
22385 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
22386 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
22389 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
22393 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
22394 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
22397 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
22398 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
22399 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
22402 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
22403 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
22407 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
22411 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
22415 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
22420 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
22424 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
22428 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
22429 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
22432 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
22438 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
22440 New features in Gnus 5.6:
22445 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
22446 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
22447 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
22450 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
22451 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
22452 group, which is created automatically.
22455 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
22459 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
22462 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
22463 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
22466 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
22470 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
22473 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
22474 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
22477 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
22480 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
22481 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
22484 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
22485 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
22488 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
22489 control over simplification.
22492 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
22495 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
22499 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
22502 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
22505 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
22506 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
22507 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
22510 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
22511 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
22514 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
22518 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
22519 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
22522 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
22523 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
22526 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
22530 A history of where mails have been split is available.
22533 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
22536 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
22537 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
22540 A new function for citing in Message has been
22541 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
22544 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
22547 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
22551 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
22552 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
22555 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
22556 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
22559 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
22562 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
22566 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
22567 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
22569 New features in Gnus 5.8:
22574 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
22575 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
22577 If you used procmail like in
22580 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
22581 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
22582 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
22583 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
22586 this now has changed to
22590 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
22594 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
22595 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
22598 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
22599 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
22602 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
22603 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
22606 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
22607 called to position point.
22610 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
22611 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
22614 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
22615 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
22618 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
22619 subtly different manner.
22622 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
22623 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
22624 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
22627 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
22635 @section The Manual
22639 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
22640 either @code{texi2dvi}
22642 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
22643 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
22645 to get what you hold in your hands now.
22647 The following conventions have been used:
22652 This is a @samp{string}
22655 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
22658 This is a @file{file}
22661 This is a @code{symbol}
22665 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
22669 (setq flargnoze "yes")
22672 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
22675 (setq flumphel 'yes)
22678 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
22679 ever get them confused.
22683 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
22684 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
22685 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
22686 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
22687 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
22688 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
22689 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
22695 @node On Writing Manuals
22696 @section On Writing Manuals
22698 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
22699 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
22700 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
22701 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
22702 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
22703 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
22706 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
22707 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
22708 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
22711 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
22712 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
22717 @section Terminology
22719 @cindex terminology
22724 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
22725 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
22726 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
22727 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
22728 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
22732 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
22733 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
22734 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
22735 not posting, and replying is not following up.
22739 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
22743 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
22748 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
22749 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
22750 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
22751 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
22752 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
22753 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
22754 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
22755 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
22756 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
22758 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
22759 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
22760 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
22761 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
22762 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
22765 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
22766 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
22767 access the articles.
22769 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
22770 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
22771 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
22776 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
22777 default, way of getting news.
22781 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
22782 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
22787 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
22788 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
22792 A message that has been posted as news.
22795 @cindex mail message
22796 A message that has been mailed.
22800 A mail message or news article
22804 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
22809 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
22814 A line from the head of an article.
22818 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
22819 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
22823 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
22824 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
22825 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
22826 normal @sc{head} format.
22830 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
22831 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
22832 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
22833 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
22834 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
22835 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
22837 @item killed groups
22838 @cindex killed groups
22839 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
22840 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
22842 @item zombie groups
22843 @cindex zombie groups
22844 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
22847 @cindex active file
22848 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
22849 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
22850 is rather large, as you might surmise.
22853 @cindex bogus groups
22854 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
22855 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
22856 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
22859 @cindex activating groups
22860 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
22861 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
22862 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
22866 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
22868 @item select method
22869 @cindex select method
22870 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
22873 @item virtual server
22874 @cindex virtual server
22875 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
22876 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
22877 whole is a virtual server.
22881 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
22882 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
22885 @item ephemeral groups
22886 @cindex ephemeral groups
22887 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
22888 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
22889 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
22892 @cindex solid groups
22893 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
22894 group buffer are solid groups.
22896 @item sparse articles
22897 @cindex sparse articles
22898 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
22899 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
22903 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
22904 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
22908 @cindex thread root
22909 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
22910 articles in the thread.
22914 An article that has responses.
22918 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
22922 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
22923 specified by RFC 1153.
22929 @node Customization
22930 @section Customization
22931 @cindex general customization
22933 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
22934 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
22935 for some quite common situations.
22938 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
22939 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
22940 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
22941 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
22945 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
22946 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
22948 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
22949 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
22950 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
22954 @item gnus-read-active-file
22955 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
22956 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
22957 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
22958 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
22959 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
22961 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
22962 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
22963 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
22964 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
22968 @node Slow Terminal Connection
22969 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
22971 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
22972 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
22973 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
22977 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
22978 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
22979 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
22980 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
22981 horizontal and vertical recentering.
22983 @item gnus-visible-headers
22984 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
22985 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
22986 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
22987 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
22989 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
22991 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
22992 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
22993 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
22996 @item gnus-use-full-window
22997 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
22998 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
22999 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
23000 want to read them anyway.
23002 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
23003 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
23007 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
23008 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
23009 lines, which might save some time.
23013 @node Little Disk Space
23014 @subsection Little Disk Space
23017 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
23018 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
23022 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
23023 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
23024 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23025 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23028 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
23029 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
23030 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23031 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23034 @item gnus-save-killed-list
23035 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
23036 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
23037 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
23038 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
23044 @subsection Slow Machine
23045 @cindex slow machine
23047 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
23048 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
23050 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23051 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
23053 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
23054 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
23055 summary buffer faster.
23059 @node Troubleshooting
23060 @section Troubleshooting
23061 @cindex troubleshooting
23063 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
23071 Make sure your computer is switched on.
23074 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
23075 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
23079 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
23080 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
23081 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
23082 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
23083 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
23086 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
23090 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
23091 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
23092 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
23093 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
23094 something like that.
23097 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
23100 @cindex reporting bugs
23102 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23104 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
23105 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
23106 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
23107 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
23109 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
23110 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
23111 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
23112 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
23115 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
23116 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
23117 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
23118 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
23119 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
23120 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
23122 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
23123 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
23124 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
23128 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
23129 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
23131 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
23132 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
23134 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
23135 @cindex ding mailing list
23136 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
23137 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
23141 @node Gnus Reference Guide
23142 @section Gnus Reference Guide
23144 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
23145 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
23146 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
23147 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
23150 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
23151 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
23152 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
23153 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
23154 and general methods of operation.
23157 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
23158 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
23159 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
23160 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
23161 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
23162 * Group Info:: The group info format.
23163 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
23164 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
23165 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
23169 @node Gnus Utility Functions
23170 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
23171 @cindex Gnus utility functions
23172 @cindex utility functions
23174 @cindex internal variables
23176 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
23177 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
23178 Below is a list of the most common ones.
23182 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
23183 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
23184 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
23186 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
23187 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
23188 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
23190 @item gnus-group-real-name
23191 @findex gnus-group-real-name
23192 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
23195 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
23196 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
23197 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
23198 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
23200 @item gnus-get-info
23201 @findex gnus-get-info
23202 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
23204 @item gnus-group-unread
23205 @findex gnus-group-unread
23206 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
23210 @findex gnus-active
23211 The active entry for @var{group}.
23213 @item gnus-set-active
23214 @findex gnus-set-active
23215 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
23217 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23218 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23219 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
23222 @item gnus-continuum-version
23223 @findex gnus-continuum-version
23224 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
23225 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
23228 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
23229 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
23230 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
23232 @item gnus-news-group-p
23233 @findex gnus-news-group-p
23234 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
23236 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23237 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23238 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
23240 @item gnus-server-to-method
23241 @findex gnus-server-to-method
23242 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
23244 @item gnus-server-equal
23245 @findex gnus-server-equal
23246 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
23248 @item gnus-group-native-p
23249 @findex gnus-group-native-p
23250 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
23252 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
23253 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
23254 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
23256 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
23257 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
23258 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
23260 @item group-group-find-parameter
23261 @findex group-group-find-parameter
23262 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
23263 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
23265 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
23266 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
23267 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
23269 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
23270 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
23271 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
23273 @item gnus-check-backend-function
23274 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
23275 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
23276 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
23279 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
23283 @item gnus-read-method
23284 @findex gnus-read-method
23285 Prompts the user for a select method.
23290 @node Back End Interface
23291 @subsection Back End Interface
23293 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
23294 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
23295 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
23296 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
23297 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
23298 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
23300 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
23301 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
23302 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
23303 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
23304 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
23305 been opened, the function should fail.
23307 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
23308 name. Take this example:
23312 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
23313 (nntp-port-number 4324))
23316 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
23317 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
23319 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
23320 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
23321 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
23323 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
23324 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
23325 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
23327 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
23328 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
23329 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
23330 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
23331 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
23332 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
23335 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
23336 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
23337 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
23338 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
23341 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
23342 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
23343 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
23344 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
23345 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
23346 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
23347 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
23348 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
23349 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
23350 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
23352 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
23353 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
23354 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
23355 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
23356 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
23357 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
23358 of numbers as long as possible.
23360 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
23363 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
23366 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
23367 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
23368 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
23369 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
23370 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
23371 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
23375 @node Required Back End Functions
23376 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
23380 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
23382 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
23383 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
23384 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
23385 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
23387 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
23388 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
23389 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
23390 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
23392 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
23393 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
23394 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
23395 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
23396 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
23397 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
23398 number, do maximum fetches.
23400 Here's an example HEAD:
23403 221 1056 Article retrieved.
23404 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
23405 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
23406 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
23407 Subject: Re: Something very droll
23408 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
23409 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
23411 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
23412 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
23413 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
23417 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
23418 these in the data buffer.
23420 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
23424 head = error / valid-head
23425 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
23426 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
23427 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
23428 header = <text> eol
23431 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
23432 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
23436 nov-buffer = *nov-line
23437 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
23438 field = <text except TAB>
23441 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
23445 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
23447 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
23448 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
23450 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
23451 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
23452 server. In fact, it should do so.
23454 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
23455 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
23458 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
23460 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
23461 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
23464 There should be no data returned.
23467 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
23469 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
23470 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
23471 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
23472 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
23474 There should be no data returned.
23477 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
23479 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
23480 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
23481 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
23482 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
23484 There should be no data returned.
23487 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
23489 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
23491 There should be no data returned.
23494 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
23496 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
23497 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
23498 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
23499 it would be nice if that were possible.
23501 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
23502 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
23503 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
23504 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
23505 into its article buffer.
23507 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
23508 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
23509 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
23510 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
23511 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
23512 on successful article retrieval.
23515 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
23517 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
23518 making @var{group} the current group.
23520 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
23523 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
23526 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
23529 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
23530 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
23531 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
23532 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
23533 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
23534 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
23535 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
23536 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
23537 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
23541 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
23542 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
23543 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
23547 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23549 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
23550 a no-op on most back ends.
23552 There should be no data returned.
23555 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
23557 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
23560 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
23563 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
23564 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
23567 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
23568 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
23569 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
23570 and the highest as 0.
23573 active-file = *active-line
23574 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
23576 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
23579 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
23580 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
23581 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
23584 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
23586 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
23587 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
23588 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
23589 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
23590 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
23591 clear if the posting could not be completed.
23593 There should be no result data from this function.
23598 @node Optional Back End Functions
23599 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
23603 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
23605 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
23606 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
23607 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
23609 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
23610 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
23611 former is in the same format as the data from
23612 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
23613 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
23616 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
23620 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
23622 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
23623 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
23624 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
23625 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
23626 should return the (altered) group info.
23628 There should be no result data from this function.
23631 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
23633 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
23634 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
23635 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
23636 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
23637 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
23638 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
23639 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
23640 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
23642 There should be no result data from this function.
23645 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
23647 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
23648 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
23649 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
23650 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
23651 propagate the mark information to the server.
23653 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
23656 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
23659 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
23660 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
23661 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
23662 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
23663 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
23664 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
23665 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
23666 possible, not limit itself to these.
23668 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
23669 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
23670 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
23671 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
23673 An example action list:
23676 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
23677 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
23678 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
23681 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
23682 mark on (currently not used for anything).
23684 There should be no result data from this function.
23686 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
23688 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
23689 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
23690 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
23691 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
23692 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
23694 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
23695 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
23696 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
23699 There should be no result data from this function.
23702 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
23704 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
23705 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
23706 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
23707 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
23708 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
23709 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
23710 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
23712 There should be no result data from this function.
23715 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
23717 The result data from this function should be a description of
23721 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
23723 description = <text>
23726 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
23728 The result data from this function should be the description of all
23729 groups available on the server.
23732 description-buffer = *description-line
23736 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
23738 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
23739 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
23740 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
23741 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
23742 in the active buffer format.
23744 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
23745 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
23746 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
23747 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
23748 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
23749 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
23750 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
23753 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23755 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
23757 There should be no return data.
23760 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
23762 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
23763 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
23764 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
23765 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
23766 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
23769 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
23772 There should be no result data returned.
23775 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
23778 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
23779 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
23781 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
23782 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
23783 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
23784 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
23785 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
23786 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
23788 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
23789 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
23792 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23793 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23795 There should be no data returned.
23798 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
23800 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
23801 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
23802 this function in short order.
23804 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23805 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23807 There should be no data returned.
23810 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
23812 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
23813 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
23815 There should be no data returned.
23818 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
23820 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
23821 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
23822 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
23824 There should be no data returned.
23827 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
23829 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
23830 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
23832 There should be no data returned.
23837 @node Error Messaging
23838 @subsubsection Error Messaging
23840 @findex nnheader-report
23841 @findex nnheader-get-report
23842 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
23843 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
23844 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
23845 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
23846 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
23847 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
23850 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
23852 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
23855 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
23856 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
23857 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
23858 takes one argument---the server symbol.
23860 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
23861 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
23862 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
23865 @node Writing New Back Ends
23866 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
23868 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
23869 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
23870 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
23871 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
23872 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
23875 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
23876 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
23877 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
23879 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
23880 package called @code{nnoo}.
23882 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
23883 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
23889 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
23890 parameters. For instance:
23893 (nnoo-declare nndir
23897 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
23898 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
23901 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
23902 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
23903 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
23905 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
23906 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
23907 a function in those back ends.
23910 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23911 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23912 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23915 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
23916 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
23917 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
23919 @item nnoo-define-basics
23920 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
23924 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23928 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
23929 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
23930 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
23932 @item nnoo-map-functions
23933 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
23934 functions from the parent back ends.
23937 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
23938 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23939 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
23942 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
23943 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
23944 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
23945 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
23948 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
23949 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
23950 haven't already been defined.
23956 nnmh-request-newgroups)
23960 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
23961 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
23962 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
23967 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
23970 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
23971 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23975 (require 'nnheader)
23979 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
23981 (nnoo-declare nndir
23984 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23985 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23986 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23988 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
23989 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
23992 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
23994 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
23995 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
23996 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
23998 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
23999 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
24001 ;;; Interface functions.
24003 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
24005 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
24006 (setq nndir-directory
24007 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
24009 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
24010 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
24011 (push `(nndir-current-group
24012 ,(file-name-nondirectory
24013 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24015 (push `(nndir-top-directory
24016 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24018 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
24020 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24021 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24022 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24023 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
24024 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
24028 nnmh-status-message
24030 nnmh-request-newgroups))
24036 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24037 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24039 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
24040 @findex gnus-declare-backend
24041 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
24042 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
24043 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
24045 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
24046 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
24051 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
24054 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
24056 The abilities can be:
24060 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
24062 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
24064 This back end supports both mail and news.
24066 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
24069 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
24070 articles and groups.
24072 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
24073 true for almost all back ends.
24074 @item prompt-address
24075 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
24076 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
24077 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
24081 @node Mail-like Back Ends
24082 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
24084 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
24085 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
24086 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
24087 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
24090 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
24091 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
24092 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
24095 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
24096 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
24099 This function takes four parameters.
24103 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
24106 @item exit-function
24107 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
24109 @item temp-directory
24110 Where the temporary files should be stored.
24113 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
24114 performed for one group only.
24117 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
24118 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
24119 find the article number assigned to this article.
24121 The function also uses the following variables:
24122 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
24123 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
24124 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
24125 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
24129 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
24130 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
24134 @node Score File Syntax
24135 @subsection Score File Syntax
24137 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
24138 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
24139 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
24141 Here's a typical score file:
24145 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
24152 BNF definition of a score file:
24155 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
24156 element = rule / atom
24157 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
24158 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
24159 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
24160 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
24162 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
24163 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
24164 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
24165 date-header = "date"
24166 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24167 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24168 score = "nil" / <integer>
24169 date = "nil" / <natural number>
24170 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
24171 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
24172 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
24173 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
24174 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24175 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24176 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
24177 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24178 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
24179 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
24180 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
24181 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
24182 exclude-files / read-only / touched
24183 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
24184 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
24185 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
24186 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
24187 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
24188 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
24189 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
24190 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
24191 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
24192 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
24193 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
24194 eval = "eval" space <form>
24195 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
24198 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
24201 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
24202 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
24203 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
24204 one looong line, then that's ok.
24206 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
24207 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24211 @subsection Headers
24213 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
24214 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
24215 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
24216 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
24218 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
24219 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
24220 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
24221 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
24222 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
24223 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
24224 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
24226 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
24227 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
24228 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
24229 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
24230 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
24232 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
24233 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
24239 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
24240 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
24242 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
24243 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
24244 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
24245 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
24247 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
24251 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
24254 is transformed into
24257 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
24260 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
24261 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
24264 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
24267 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
24268 is slightly tricky:
24271 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
24277 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
24280 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
24286 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
24293 and is equal to the previous range.
24295 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
24296 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
24297 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
24301 range = simple-range / normal-range
24302 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
24303 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
24304 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
24305 number *[ " " contents ]
24308 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
24309 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
24310 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
24311 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
24312 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
24317 @subsection Group Info
24319 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
24320 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
24321 describes the group.
24323 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
24324 second is a more complex one:
24327 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
24329 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
24330 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
24332 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
24335 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
24336 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
24337 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
24338 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
24339 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
24340 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
24341 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
24342 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
24343 this section is about.
24345 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
24346 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
24347 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
24349 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
24352 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
24353 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
24354 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24355 group = quote <string> quote
24356 ralevel = rank / level
24357 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24358 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
24359 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24361 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
24362 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
24363 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
24364 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
24367 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
24368 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
24371 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
24372 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
24375 @item gnus-info-group
24376 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
24377 @findex gnus-info-group
24378 @findex gnus-info-set-group
24379 Get/set the group name.
24381 @item gnus-info-rank
24382 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
24383 @findex gnus-info-rank
24384 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
24385 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
24387 @item gnus-info-level
24388 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
24389 @findex gnus-info-level
24390 @findex gnus-info-set-level
24391 Get/set the group level.
24393 @item gnus-info-score
24394 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
24395 @findex gnus-info-score
24396 @findex gnus-info-set-score
24397 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
24399 @item gnus-info-read
24400 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
24401 @findex gnus-info-read
24402 @findex gnus-info-set-read
24403 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
24405 @item gnus-info-marks
24406 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
24407 @findex gnus-info-marks
24408 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
24409 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
24411 @item gnus-info-method
24412 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
24413 @findex gnus-info-method
24414 @findex gnus-info-set-method
24415 Get/set the group select method.
24417 @item gnus-info-params
24418 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
24419 @findex gnus-info-params
24420 @findex gnus-info-set-params
24421 Get/set the group parameters.
24424 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
24425 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
24427 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
24428 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
24429 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
24430 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
24433 @node Extended Interactive
24434 @subsection Extended Interactive
24435 @cindex interactive
24436 @findex gnus-interactive
24438 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
24439 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
24440 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
24443 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
24444 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
24449 The best thing to do would have been to implement
24450 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
24451 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
24452 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
24453 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
24454 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
24455 @code{interactive}.
24457 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
24462 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
24463 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
24467 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
24468 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
24469 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
24472 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
24476 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
24480 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
24486 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
24487 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
24491 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
24492 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
24493 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
24495 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
24496 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
24497 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
24498 Gnus, that's very useful.
24500 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
24501 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
24502 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
24503 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
24504 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
24505 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
24506 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
24507 following function:
24510 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
24514 (,function ,@@args))
24518 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
24519 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
24520 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
24523 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
24524 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
24525 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
24527 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
24528 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
24529 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
24532 @node Various File Formats
24533 @subsection Various File Formats
24536 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
24537 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
24541 @node Active File Format
24542 @subsubsection Active File Format
24544 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
24545 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
24548 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
24551 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
24552 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
24553 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
24554 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
24555 no.general 1000 900 y
24558 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
24561 active = *group-line
24562 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
24563 group = <non-white-space string>
24565 high-number = <non-negative integer>
24566 low-number = <positive integer>
24567 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
24570 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
24571 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
24574 @node Newsgroups File Format
24575 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
24577 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
24578 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
24579 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
24582 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
24583 Here's the definition:
24587 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
24588 group = <non-white-space string>
24590 description = <string>
24595 @node Emacs for Heathens
24596 @section Emacs for Heathens
24598 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
24599 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
24600 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
24601 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
24602 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
24603 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
24604 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
24608 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
24609 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
24614 @subsection Keystrokes
24618 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
24621 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
24624 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
24625 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
24626 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
24627 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
24628 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
24629 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
24631 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
24632 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
24633 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
24634 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
24635 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
24636 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
24637 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
24639 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
24640 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
24641 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
24642 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
24643 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
24644 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
24645 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
24647 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
24648 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
24649 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
24650 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
24651 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
24657 @subsection Emacs Lisp
24659 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
24660 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
24661 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
24662 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
24664 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
24665 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
24666 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
24667 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
24668 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
24669 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
24670 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
24673 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
24674 write the following:
24677 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
24680 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
24681 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
24682 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
24685 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
24686 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
24687 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
24688 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
24689 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
24691 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
24692 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
24693 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
24697 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
24701 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
24704 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
24705 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
24708 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
24711 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
24712 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
24715 @include gnus-faq.texi
24735 @c Local Variables:
24737 @c coding: iso-8859-1
24739 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
24740 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
24741 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
24742 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
24743 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref