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4 @settitle Pterodactyl Gnus 0.48 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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264 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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273 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
275 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
276 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
277 are preserved on all copies.
279 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
280 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
281 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
282 permission notice identical to this one.
284 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
285 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
294 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
296 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
303 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
304 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
305 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
306 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
309 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
310 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
311 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
312 permission notice identical to this one.
314 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
315 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
321 @title Pterodactyl Gnus 0.48 Manual
323 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
326 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
327 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
329 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
330 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
331 are preserved on all copies.
333 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
334 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
335 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
336 permission notice identical to this one.
338 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
339 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
348 @top The Gnus Newsreader
352 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
353 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
354 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
357 This manual corresponds to Pterodactyl Gnus 0.48.
368 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
369 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
371 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
372 being accused of plagiarism:
374 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
375 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
376 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
377 even read news with it!
379 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
380 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
381 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
382 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
383 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
390 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
391 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
392 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
393 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
394 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
395 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
396 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
397 * Various:: General purpose settings.
398 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
399 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
400 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
401 * Key Index:: Key Index.
405 @chapter Starting Gnus
410 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
411 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
414 @findex gnus-other-frame
415 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
416 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
417 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
419 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
420 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
421 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
423 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
424 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
427 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
428 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
429 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
430 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
431 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
432 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
433 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
434 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
435 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
436 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
437 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
441 @node Finding the News
442 @section Finding the News
445 @vindex gnus-select-method
447 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
448 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
449 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
450 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
453 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
454 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
457 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
460 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
463 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
466 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
467 certainly be much faster.
469 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
471 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
472 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
473 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
474 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
475 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
476 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
478 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
479 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
480 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
481 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
483 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
484 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
485 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
486 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
487 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
488 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
490 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
492 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
493 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
494 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
495 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
496 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
497 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
499 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
501 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
502 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
503 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
504 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
505 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
506 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
509 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
510 would typically set this variable to
513 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
518 @section The First Time
519 @cindex first time usage
521 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
522 be subscribed by default.
524 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
525 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
526 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
527 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
530 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
531 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
532 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
534 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
535 help you with most common problems.
537 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
538 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
542 @node The Server is Down
543 @section The Server is Down
544 @cindex server errors
546 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
547 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
548 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
550 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
551 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
552 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
553 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
554 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
555 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
556 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
558 @findex gnus-no-server
559 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
561 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
562 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
563 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
564 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
565 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
566 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
571 @section Slave Gnusae
574 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
575 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
576 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
577 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
579 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
582 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
583 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
584 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
585 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
586 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
587 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
588 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
590 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
591 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
592 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
593 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
594 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
595 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
596 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
597 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
599 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
600 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
603 @node Fetching a Group
604 @section Fetching a Group
605 @cindex fetching a group
607 @findex gnus-fetch-group
608 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
609 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
610 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
611 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
612 It takes the group name as a parameter.
620 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
621 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
622 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
623 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
624 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
625 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
626 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
627 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
628 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
631 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
632 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
633 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
637 @node Checking New Groups
638 @subsection Checking New Groups
640 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
641 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
642 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
643 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
644 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
645 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
646 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
647 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
648 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
649 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
651 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
652 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
653 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
654 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
655 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
656 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
657 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
658 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
659 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
660 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
661 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
663 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
664 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
665 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
666 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
667 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
668 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
671 @node Subscription Methods
672 @subsection Subscription Methods
674 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
675 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
676 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
678 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
679 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
681 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
685 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
686 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
687 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
688 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
689 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
691 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
692 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
693 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
694 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
696 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
697 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
698 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
700 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
701 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
702 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
703 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
704 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
705 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
706 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
707 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
708 up. Or something like that.
710 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
711 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
712 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
713 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
714 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
716 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
717 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
722 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
723 A closely related variable is
724 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
725 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
726 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
727 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
730 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
731 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
732 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
733 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
736 @node Filtering New Groups
737 @subsection Filtering New Groups
739 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
740 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
741 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
744 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
747 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
748 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
749 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
750 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
751 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
752 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
753 subscribing these groups.
754 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
755 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
757 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
758 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
759 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
760 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
761 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
762 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
763 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
764 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
766 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
767 Yet another variable that meddles here is
768 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
769 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
770 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
771 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
772 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
773 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
774 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
775 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
777 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
778 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
781 @node Changing Servers
782 @section Changing Servers
783 @cindex changing servers
785 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
786 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
787 very flaky and you want to use another.
789 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
790 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
794 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
795 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
796 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
797 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
800 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
801 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
802 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
803 functions more than absolutely necessary.
805 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
806 @findex gnus-change-server
807 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
808 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
809 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
810 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
811 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
813 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
814 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
815 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
816 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
817 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
819 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
820 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
821 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
822 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
823 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
824 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
826 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
827 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
828 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
832 @section Startup Files
833 @cindex startup files
838 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
839 information is traditionally stored in this file.
841 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
842 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
843 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
844 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
845 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
846 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
847 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
849 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
850 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
851 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
852 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
853 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
854 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
856 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
857 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
858 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
859 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
860 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
861 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
863 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
864 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
865 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
866 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
867 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
868 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
869 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
870 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
871 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
872 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
873 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
874 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
876 @vindex gnus-startup-file
877 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
878 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
879 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
881 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
882 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
883 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
884 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
885 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
886 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
887 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
888 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
889 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
890 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
893 (defun turn-off-backup ()
894 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
896 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
897 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
900 @vindex gnus-init-file
901 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
902 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
903 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
904 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
905 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
906 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
907 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
908 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
909 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
918 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
919 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
920 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
921 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
922 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
925 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
926 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
929 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
930 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
931 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
933 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
934 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
935 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
936 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
937 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
938 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
940 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
941 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
942 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
945 @node The Active File
946 @section The Active File
948 @cindex ignored groups
950 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
951 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
952 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
954 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
955 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
956 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
957 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
958 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
959 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
960 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
963 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
964 @c if you set it to anything else.
966 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
968 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
969 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
970 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
972 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
973 you actually subscribe to.
975 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
976 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
977 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
978 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
980 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
981 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
982 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
983 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
984 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
985 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
987 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
988 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
989 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
990 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
991 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
992 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
994 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
995 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
997 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
998 secondary select methods.
1001 @node Startup Variables
1002 @section Startup Variables
1006 @item gnus-load-hook
1007 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1008 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1009 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1010 times you start Gnus.
1012 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1013 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1014 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1016 @item gnus-startup-hook
1017 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1018 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1020 @item gnus-started-hook
1021 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1022 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1025 @item gnus-started-hook
1026 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1027 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1028 generating the group buffer.
1030 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1031 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1032 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1033 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1034 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1035 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1036 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1037 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1039 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1040 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1041 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1042 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1043 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1044 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1046 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1047 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1048 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1050 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1051 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1052 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1054 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1055 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1056 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1057 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1062 @node The Group Buffer
1063 @chapter The Group Buffer
1064 @cindex group buffer
1066 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1067 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1068 long as Gnus is active.
1072 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1073 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1074 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1075 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1076 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1077 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1078 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1079 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1085 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1086 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1087 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1088 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1089 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1090 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1091 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1092 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1093 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1094 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1095 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1096 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1097 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1098 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1099 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1100 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1101 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1105 @node Group Buffer Format
1106 @section Group Buffer Format
1109 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1110 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1111 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1115 @node Group Line Specification
1116 @subsection Group Line Specification
1117 @cindex group buffer format
1119 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1120 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1122 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1125 25: news.announce.newusers
1126 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1131 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1132 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1133 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1134 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1136 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1137 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1138 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1139 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1140 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1141 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1143 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1145 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1146 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1147 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1148 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1151 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1152 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1153 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1155 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1160 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1163 Whether the group is subscribed.
1166 Level of subscribedness.
1169 Number of unread articles.
1172 Number of dormant articles.
1175 Number of ticked articles.
1178 Number of read articles.
1181 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1182 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1185 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1188 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1197 Newsgroup description.
1200 @samp{m} if moderated.
1203 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1212 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1216 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1219 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1220 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1221 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1222 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1223 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1226 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1228 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1232 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1236 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1237 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1238 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1239 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1240 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1241 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1246 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1247 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1248 group, or a bogus native group.
1251 @node Group Modeline Specification
1252 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1253 @cindex group modeline
1255 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1256 The mode line can be changed by setting
1257 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1258 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1262 The native news server.
1264 The native select method.
1268 @node Group Highlighting
1269 @subsection Group Highlighting
1270 @cindex highlighting
1271 @cindex group highlighting
1273 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1274 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1275 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1276 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1277 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1279 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1283 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1
1284 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1285 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2
1286 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1287 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3
1288 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1289 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4
1290 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1291 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5
1292 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1294 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1295 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1296 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1297 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1298 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1299 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1302 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1304 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1311 The number of unread articles in the group.
1315 Whether the group is a mail group.
1317 The level of the group.
1319 The score of the group.
1321 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1323 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1324 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1326 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1327 topic being inserted.
1330 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1331 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1332 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1334 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1335 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1336 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1337 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1338 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1341 @node Group Maneuvering
1342 @section Group Maneuvering
1343 @cindex group movement
1345 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1346 expected, hopefully.
1352 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1353 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1354 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1360 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1361 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1362 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1366 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1367 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1371 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1372 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1376 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1377 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1378 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1382 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1383 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1384 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1387 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1393 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1394 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1395 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1400 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1401 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1402 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1406 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1407 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1408 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1411 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1412 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1413 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1414 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1418 @node Selecting a Group
1419 @section Selecting a Group
1420 @cindex group selection
1425 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1426 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1427 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1428 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1429 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1430 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1431 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1432 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1433 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1434 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1438 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1439 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1440 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1441 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1442 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1446 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1447 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1448 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1449 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1450 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1451 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1452 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1453 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1454 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1455 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1458 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1459 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1460 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1461 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1462 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1465 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1466 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1467 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1468 doing any processing of its contents
1469 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1470 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1471 manner will have no permanent effects.
1475 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1476 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1477 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1478 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1479 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1480 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1481 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1482 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1485 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1486 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1487 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1488 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1493 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1494 full summary buffer.
1497 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1500 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1505 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
1506 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
1507 Useful functions include:
1510 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
1511 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
1512 don't select the article.
1514 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
1515 Select the first unread article.
1517 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
1518 Select the highest-scored unread article.
1522 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1523 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1524 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1528 @node Subscription Commands
1529 @section Subscription Commands
1530 @cindex subscription
1538 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1539 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1540 Toggle subscription to the current group
1541 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1547 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1548 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1549 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1550 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1556 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1557 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1558 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1564 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1565 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1568 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1569 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1570 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1571 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1572 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1578 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1579 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1583 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1584 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1587 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1588 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1589 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1590 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1591 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1592 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1593 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1594 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1595 @file{.newsrc} file.
1599 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1609 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1610 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1611 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1612 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1613 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1614 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1619 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1620 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1621 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1625 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1626 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1627 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1629 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1630 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1631 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1632 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1633 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1634 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1641 @section Group Levels
1645 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1646 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1647 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1648 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1649 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1651 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1657 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1658 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1659 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1660 prompted for a level.
1663 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1664 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1665 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1666 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1667 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1668 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1669 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1670 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1671 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1672 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1673 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1674 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1675 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1676 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1677 reasons of efficiency.
1679 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1680 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1682 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1683 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1684 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1686 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1687 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1688 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1689 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1690 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1691 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1692 relevant valid ranges.
1694 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1695 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1696 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1697 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1698 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1699 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1702 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1703 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1704 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1707 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1708 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1709 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1710 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1713 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1714 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1715 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1716 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1718 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1719 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1720 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1721 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1722 to 5. The default is 6.
1726 @section Group Score
1731 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1732 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1733 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1736 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1737 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1738 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1739 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1740 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1741 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1742 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1744 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1745 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1746 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1747 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1748 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1749 action after each summary exit, you can add
1750 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1751 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1752 slow things down somewhat.
1755 @node Marking Groups
1756 @section Marking Groups
1757 @cindex marking groups
1759 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1760 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1761 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1762 bidding on those groups.
1764 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1765 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1766 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1774 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1775 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1781 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1782 Remove the mark from the current group
1783 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1787 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1788 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1792 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1793 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1797 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1798 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1802 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1803 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1804 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1807 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1809 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1810 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1811 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1812 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1813 the command to be executed.
1816 @node Foreign Groups
1817 @section Foreign Groups
1818 @cindex foreign groups
1820 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1821 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1822 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1823 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1830 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1831 @cindex making groups
1832 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1833 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1834 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1838 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1839 @cindex renaming groups
1840 Rename the current group to something else
1841 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1842 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1848 @findex gnus-group-customize
1849 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1853 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1854 @cindex renaming groups
1855 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1856 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1860 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1861 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1862 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1866 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1867 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1868 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1872 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1874 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1875 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1880 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1881 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1885 @cindex (ding) archive
1886 @cindex archive group
1887 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1888 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1889 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1890 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1891 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1892 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1893 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1897 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1899 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1900 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1901 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1902 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1906 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1908 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1909 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1910 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1914 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1915 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1917 Make a group based on some file or other
1918 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1919 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1920 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1921 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1922 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1923 this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
1924 @xref{Document Groups}.
1928 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
1929 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
1930 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
1931 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
1935 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1940 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1941 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1942 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1943 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1944 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1945 @xref{Web Searches}.
1947 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1948 to a particular group by using a match string like
1949 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1952 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1953 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1954 This function will delete the current group
1955 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1956 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1957 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1958 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1959 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1963 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1964 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1965 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1969 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1970 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1971 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1974 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1977 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1978 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1979 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1980 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1981 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
1982 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
1986 @node Group Parameters
1987 @section Group Parameters
1988 @cindex group parameters
1990 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
1991 Here's an example group parameter list:
1994 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
1998 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
1999 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2000 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2001 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2003 The following group parameters can be used:
2008 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2011 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2014 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2015 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2016 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2017 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2018 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2020 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2021 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2022 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2023 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2024 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2025 list address instead.
2029 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2032 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2035 It is totally ignored
2036 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2037 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2039 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2040 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2041 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2042 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2043 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2045 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2046 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2047 sending the message.
2051 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2052 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2053 of whether it has any unread articles.
2055 @item broken-reply-to
2056 @cindex broken-reply-to
2057 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2058 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2059 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2060 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2061 broken behavior. So there!
2065 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2066 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2070 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2071 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2072 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2077 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2078 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2079 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2080 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2081 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2082 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2083 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2087 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2088 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2089 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2092 @cindex total-expire
2093 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2094 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2095 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2096 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2101 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2102 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2103 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2104 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2105 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2106 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2109 @cindex score file group parameter
2110 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2111 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2112 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2115 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2116 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2117 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2118 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2121 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2122 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2123 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2124 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2127 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2128 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2132 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2135 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2140 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2141 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2142 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2146 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2147 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2148 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2150 @item @var{(variable form)}
2151 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2152 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2153 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2154 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2155 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2156 @code{eval}ed there.
2158 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2159 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2160 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2161 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2162 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2166 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2167 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2171 @node Listing Groups
2172 @section Listing Groups
2173 @cindex group listing
2175 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2183 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2184 List all groups that have unread articles
2185 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2186 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2187 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2188 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2195 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2196 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2197 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2198 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2199 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2200 unsubscribed groups).
2204 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2205 List all unread groups on a specific level
2206 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2207 with no unread articles.
2211 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2212 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2213 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2214 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2219 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2220 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2224 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2225 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2226 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2230 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2231 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2235 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2236 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2237 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2238 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2239 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2240 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2241 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2242 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2246 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2247 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2248 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2252 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2253 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2254 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2258 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2259 @cindex visible group parameter
2260 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2261 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2262 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2263 get the same effect.
2265 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2266 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2267 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2268 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2269 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2272 @node Sorting Groups
2273 @section Sorting Groups
2274 @cindex sorting groups
2276 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2277 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2278 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2279 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2280 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2281 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2286 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2287 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2288 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2290 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2291 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2292 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2294 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2295 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2296 Sort by group level.
2298 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2299 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2300 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2302 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2303 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2304 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2305 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2307 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2308 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2309 Sort by number of unread articles.
2311 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2312 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2313 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2318 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2319 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2323 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2324 some sorting criteria:
2328 @kindex G S a (Group)
2329 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2330 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2331 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2334 @kindex G S u (Group)
2335 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2336 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2337 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2340 @kindex G S l (Group)
2341 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2342 Sort the group buffer by group level
2343 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2346 @kindex G S v (Group)
2347 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2348 Sort the group buffer by group score
2349 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2352 @kindex G S r (Group)
2353 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2354 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2355 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2358 @kindex G S m (Group)
2359 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2360 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2361 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2365 All the commands below obeys the process/prefix convention
2366 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2368 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2369 commands will sort in reverse order.
2371 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2375 @kindex G P a (Group)
2376 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2377 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2378 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2381 @kindex G P u (Group)
2382 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2383 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2384 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2387 @kindex G P l (Group)
2388 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2389 Sort the groups by group level
2390 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2393 @kindex G P v (Group)
2394 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2395 Sort the groups by group score
2396 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2399 @kindex G P r (Group)
2400 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2401 Sort the groups by group rank
2402 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2405 @kindex G P m (Group)
2406 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2407 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2408 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2414 @node Group Maintenance
2415 @section Group Maintenance
2416 @cindex bogus groups
2421 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2422 Find bogus groups and delete them
2423 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2427 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2428 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2429 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2430 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2431 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2435 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2436 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2437 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2438 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2441 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2442 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2443 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2444 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2449 @node Browse Foreign Server
2450 @section Browse Foreign Server
2451 @cindex foreign servers
2452 @cindex browsing servers
2457 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2458 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2459 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2460 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2463 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2464 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2465 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2466 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2468 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2473 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2474 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2478 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2479 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2482 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2483 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2484 Enter the current group and display the first article
2485 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2488 @kindex RET (Browse)
2489 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2490 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2494 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2495 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2496 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2502 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2503 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2507 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2508 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2509 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2514 @section Exiting Gnus
2515 @cindex exiting Gnus
2517 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2522 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2523 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2524 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2525 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2529 @findex gnus-group-exit
2530 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2531 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2535 @findex gnus-group-quit
2536 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2537 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2540 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2541 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2542 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2543 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2544 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2549 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2550 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2551 trying to customize meta-variables.
2556 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2557 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2558 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2564 @section Group Topics
2567 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2568 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2569 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2570 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2571 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2572 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2576 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2577 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2588 2: alt.religion.emacs
2591 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2593 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2594 13: comp.sources.unix
2597 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2599 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2600 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2601 is a toggling command.)
2603 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2604 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2605 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2606 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2609 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2610 the hook for the group mode:
2613 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2617 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2618 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2619 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2620 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2621 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2625 @node Topic Variables
2626 @subsection Topic Variables
2627 @cindex topic variables
2629 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2630 really neat, I think.
2632 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2633 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2634 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2647 Number of groups in the topic.
2649 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2651 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2654 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2655 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2656 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2659 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2660 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2662 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2663 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2664 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2667 @node Topic Commands
2668 @subsection Topic Commands
2669 @cindex topic commands
2671 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2672 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2673 definitions slightly.
2679 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2680 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2681 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2685 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2686 Move the current group to some other topic
2687 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2688 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2692 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2693 Copy the current group to some other topic
2694 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2695 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2699 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2700 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2701 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
2702 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
2703 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
2704 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
2705 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
2708 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2709 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2713 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2714 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2715 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2719 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2720 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2721 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2725 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2726 Toggle hiding empty topics
2727 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2731 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2732 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2733 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2736 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2737 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2738 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2739 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2743 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2745 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2746 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2747 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2748 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2749 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2750 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2754 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2756 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2757 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2758 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2759 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2762 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
2763 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
2764 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2765 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
2769 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2770 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2771 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2775 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2776 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2777 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2782 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2783 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2786 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2787 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2788 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2792 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2793 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2794 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2798 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2799 @cindex group parameters
2800 @cindex topic parameters
2802 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2803 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2809 @subsection Topic Sorting
2810 @cindex topic sorting
2812 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2818 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2819 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2820 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2821 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2824 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2825 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2826 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2827 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2830 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2831 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2832 Sort the current topic by group level
2833 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2836 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2837 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2838 Sort the current topic by group score
2839 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2842 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2843 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2844 Sort the current topic by group rank
2845 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2848 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2849 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2850 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2851 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2855 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2858 @node Topic Topology
2859 @subsection Topic Topology
2860 @cindex topic topology
2863 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2869 2: alt.religion.emacs
2872 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2874 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2875 13: comp.sources.unix
2878 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2879 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2880 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2885 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2886 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2890 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2891 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2892 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2893 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2894 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2895 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2897 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2898 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2899 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2902 @node Topic Parameters
2903 @subsection Topic Parameters
2904 @cindex topic parameters
2906 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2907 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2908 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2910 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2911 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2912 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2913 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2919 2: alt.religion.emacs
2923 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2925 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2926 13: comp.sources.unix
2930 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2931 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2932 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2933 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2934 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2935 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2937 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2938 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2939 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2940 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2941 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2943 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2944 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2945 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2946 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2947 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2948 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2949 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2950 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2953 @node Misc Group Stuff
2954 @section Misc Group Stuff
2957 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2958 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2959 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2960 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2967 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2968 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2969 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2973 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2974 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2975 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2979 @findex gnus-group-mail
2980 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2984 Variables for the group buffer:
2988 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2989 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2990 is called after the group buffer has been
2993 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2994 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2995 is called after the group buffer is
2996 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2999 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3000 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3001 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3002 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3004 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3005 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3006 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3007 whether they are empty or not.
3012 @node Scanning New Messages
3013 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3014 @cindex new messages
3015 @cindex scanning new news
3021 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3022 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3023 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3024 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3025 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3026 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3031 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3032 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3033 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3034 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3035 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3036 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3037 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3039 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3040 @cindex activating groups
3042 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3043 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3048 @findex gnus-group-restart
3049 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3050 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3051 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3055 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3056 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3058 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3059 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3063 @node Group Information
3064 @subsection Group Information
3065 @cindex group information
3066 @cindex information on groups
3073 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3074 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3077 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3078 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3079 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3080 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3081 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3082 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3083 for fetching the file.
3085 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3086 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3090 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3092 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3093 @cindex describing groups
3094 @cindex group description
3095 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3096 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3097 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3101 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3102 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3103 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3110 @findex gnus-version
3111 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3115 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3116 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3119 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3122 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3123 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3127 @node Group Timestamp
3128 @subsection Group Timestamp
3130 @cindex group timestamps
3132 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3133 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3134 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3137 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3140 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3142 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3143 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3146 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3147 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3150 This will result in lines looking like:
3153 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3154 0: custom 19961002T012713
3157 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3158 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3162 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3163 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3168 @subsection File Commands
3169 @cindex file commands
3175 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3176 @vindex gnus-init-file
3177 @cindex reading init file
3178 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3179 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3183 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3184 @cindex saving .newsrc
3185 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3186 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3187 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3190 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3191 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3192 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3197 @node The Summary Buffer
3198 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3199 @cindex summary buffer
3201 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3202 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3204 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3205 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3207 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3210 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3211 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3212 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3213 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3214 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3215 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3216 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3217 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3218 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3219 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3220 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3221 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3222 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3223 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3224 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3225 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3226 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3227 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3228 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3229 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3230 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3231 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3232 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3233 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3234 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3235 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3236 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3237 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3241 @node Summary Buffer Format
3242 @section Summary Buffer Format
3243 @cindex summary buffer format
3247 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3248 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3249 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3255 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3256 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3257 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3258 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3261 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3262 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3263 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3264 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3265 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3266 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3267 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3268 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3269 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3270 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3271 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
3274 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3275 'mail-extract-address-components)
3278 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3279 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3280 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3281 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3284 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3285 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3287 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3288 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3289 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3290 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3291 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3293 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3295 The following format specification characters are understood:
3303 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3304 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3305 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3307 Full @code{From} header.
3309 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3311 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3312 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3314 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3315 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3316 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3317 may be more thorough.
3319 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3322 Number of lines in the article.
3324 Number of characters in the article.
3326 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3328 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3329 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3331 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3332 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3334 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3335 for adopted articles.
3337 One space for each thread level.
3339 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3344 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3345 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3349 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3351 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3352 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3353 default level. If the difference between
3354 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3355 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3363 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3365 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3371 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3372 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3374 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3375 article has any children.
3381 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3382 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3383 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3384 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3385 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3386 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3389 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3390 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3391 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3392 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3393 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3394 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3396 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3397 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3399 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3402 @node To From Newsgroups
3403 @subsection To From Newsgroups
3407 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
3408 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
3409 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
3410 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
3411 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
3415 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
3416 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
3417 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
3421 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3422 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
3425 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
3426 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
3429 @findex gnus-extra-header
3430 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
3431 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
3432 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
3435 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
3439 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
3440 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
3441 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
3442 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
3443 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
3444 headers are used instead.
3448 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
3449 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
3450 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files.
3452 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
3455 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3457 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
3458 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
3459 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
3460 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
3465 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3466 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3468 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3469 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
3470 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
3471 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3473 Here are the elements you can play with:
3479 Unprefixed group name.
3481 Current article number.
3483 Current article score.
3487 Number of unread articles in this group.
3489 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3492 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3493 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3494 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3495 and no unselected ones.
3497 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3498 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3500 Subject of the current article.
3502 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3504 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3506 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3508 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3510 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3512 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3516 @node Summary Highlighting
3517 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3521 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3522 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3523 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3524 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3525 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3527 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3528 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3529 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3530 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3532 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3533 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3534 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3535 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3537 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3538 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3539 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3540 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3541 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3542 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3544 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3545 ((> score default) . bold))
3547 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3548 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3552 @node Summary Maneuvering
3553 @section Summary Maneuvering
3554 @cindex summary movement
3556 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3557 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3559 None of these commands select articles.
3564 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3565 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3566 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3567 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3568 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3572 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3573 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3574 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3575 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3576 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3581 @kindex G j (Summary)
3582 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3583 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3584 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3587 @kindex G g (Summary)
3588 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3589 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3590 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3593 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3594 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3595 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3596 to the group buffer.
3598 Variables related to summary movement:
3602 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3603 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3604 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3605 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3606 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3607 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3608 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3609 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3610 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3611 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3612 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3613 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3614 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3615 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3617 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3618 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3619 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3620 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3621 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3622 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
3623 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
3625 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3627 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3628 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3629 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3630 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3631 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3633 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3634 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3635 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3636 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3637 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3638 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3639 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3640 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3643 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
3644 the given number of lines from the top.
3649 @node Choosing Articles
3650 @section Choosing Articles
3651 @cindex selecting articles
3654 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3655 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3659 @node Choosing Commands
3660 @subsection Choosing Commands
3662 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3663 and they all select and display an article.
3667 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3668 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3669 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3670 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3675 @kindex G n (Summary)
3676 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3677 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3678 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3683 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3684 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3685 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3690 @kindex G N (Summary)
3691 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3692 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3697 @kindex G P (Summary)
3698 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3699 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3702 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3703 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3704 Go to the next article with the same subject
3705 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3708 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3709 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3710 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3711 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3715 @kindex G f (Summary)
3717 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3718 Go to the first unread article
3719 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3723 @kindex G b (Summary)
3725 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3726 Go to the article with the highest score
3727 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3732 @kindex G l (Summary)
3733 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3734 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3737 @kindex G o (Summary)
3738 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3740 @cindex article history
3741 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3742 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3743 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3744 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3745 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3746 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3750 @node Choosing Variables
3751 @subsection Choosing Variables
3753 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3756 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3757 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3758 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3759 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3760 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3761 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3763 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3764 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3765 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3766 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3768 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3769 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3770 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3771 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3772 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3773 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3774 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3775 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3776 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3777 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3778 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3779 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3780 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3781 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3786 @node Paging the Article
3787 @section Scrolling the Article
3788 @cindex article scrolling
3793 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3794 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3795 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3796 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3797 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3800 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3801 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3802 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3805 @kindex RET (Summary)
3806 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3807 Scroll the current article one line forward
3808 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3811 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
3812 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
3813 Scroll the current article one line backward
3814 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
3818 @kindex A g (Summary)
3820 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3821 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3822 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3823 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3824 the way it came from the server.
3829 @kindex A < (Summary)
3830 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3831 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3832 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3837 @kindex A > (Summary)
3838 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3839 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3843 @kindex A s (Summary)
3845 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3846 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3847 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3851 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3852 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3857 @node Reply Followup and Post
3858 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3861 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3862 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3866 @node Summary Mail Commands
3867 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3869 @cindex composing mail
3871 Commands for composing a mail message:
3877 @kindex S r (Summary)
3879 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3880 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3881 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3882 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3883 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3888 @kindex S R (Summary)
3889 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3890 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3891 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3892 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3893 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3896 @kindex S w (Summary)
3897 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3898 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3899 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3900 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3901 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3904 @kindex S W (Summary)
3905 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3906 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3907 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3908 the process/prefix convention.
3911 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3912 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3913 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3914 Forward the current article to some other person
3915 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3916 headers of the forwarded article.
3921 @kindex S m (Summary)
3922 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3923 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3924 Send a mail to some other person
3925 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3928 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3929 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3930 @cindex bouncing mail
3931 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3932 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3933 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3934 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3935 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3936 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3937 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3938 very well fail, though.
3941 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3942 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3943 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3944 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3945 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3946 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3947 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3948 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3949 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3950 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3952 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3953 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3954 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3955 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3956 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3958 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3959 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3962 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3963 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3964 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3965 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3966 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3969 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3970 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3971 @cindex crossposting
3972 @cindex excessive crossposting
3973 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3974 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3976 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3977 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
3978 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3979 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3980 command understands the process/prefix convention
3981 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3985 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3988 @node Summary Post Commands
3989 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3991 @cindex composing news
3993 Commands for posting a news article:
3999 @kindex S p (Summary)
4000 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4001 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4002 Post an article to the current group
4003 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4008 @kindex S f (Summary)
4009 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4010 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4011 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4015 @kindex S F (Summary)
4017 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4018 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4019 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4020 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4021 process/prefix convention.
4024 @kindex S n (Summary)
4025 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4026 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4027 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4030 @kindex S N (Summary)
4031 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4032 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4033 message through mail and include the original message
4034 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4035 the process/prefix convention.
4038 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4039 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4040 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4041 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4042 headers of the forwarded article.
4045 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4046 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4048 @cindex making digests
4049 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4050 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4051 process/prefix convention.
4054 @kindex S u (Summary)
4055 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4056 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4057 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4058 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4061 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4064 @node Canceling and Superseding
4065 @section Canceling Articles
4066 @cindex canceling articles
4067 @cindex superseding articles
4069 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4070 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4072 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4074 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4076 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4077 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4078 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4079 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4080 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4081 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4083 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4084 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4087 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4088 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4089 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4091 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4092 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4093 your original article.
4095 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4097 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4098 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4099 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4102 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4103 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4104 have posted almost the same article twice.
4106 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4107 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4108 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4109 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4110 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4111 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4112 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4113 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4114 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4115 canceled/superseded.
4117 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4120 @node Marking Articles
4121 @section Marking Articles
4122 @cindex article marking
4123 @cindex article ticking
4126 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4128 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4129 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4130 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4132 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4135 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4136 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4137 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4141 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4145 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4146 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4150 @node Unread Articles
4151 @subsection Unread Articles
4153 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4158 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4159 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4161 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4162 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4163 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4164 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4165 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4169 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4170 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4172 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4173 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4174 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4177 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4178 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4180 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4185 @subsection Read Articles
4186 @cindex expirable mark
4188 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4193 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4194 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4195 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4198 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4199 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4202 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4203 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4204 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4207 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4208 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4211 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4212 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4215 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4216 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4219 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4220 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4223 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4224 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4227 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4228 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4231 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4232 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4236 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4237 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4238 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4242 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4243 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4245 One more special mark, though:
4249 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4250 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4252 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4253 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4254 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4255 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4261 @subsection Other Marks
4262 @cindex process mark
4265 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4271 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4272 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4273 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4274 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4275 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4278 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4279 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4280 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4281 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4284 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4285 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4286 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4289 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4290 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4291 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4292 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4295 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4296 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4297 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4298 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4299 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4302 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4303 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4304 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4305 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4306 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4307 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4311 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4312 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4313 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4315 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4316 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4317 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4321 @subsection Setting Marks
4322 @cindex setting marks
4324 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4329 @kindex M c (Summary)
4330 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4331 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4332 @cindex mark as unread
4333 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4334 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4340 @kindex M t (Summary)
4341 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4342 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4343 @xref{Article Caching}.
4348 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4349 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4350 Mark the current article as dormant
4351 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4355 @kindex M d (Summary)
4357 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4358 Mark the current article as read
4359 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4363 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4364 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4365 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4370 @kindex M k (Summary)
4371 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4372 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4373 and then select the next unread article
4374 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4378 @kindex M K (Summary)
4379 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4380 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4381 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4382 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4385 @kindex M C (Summary)
4386 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4387 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4388 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4391 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4392 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4393 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4394 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4397 @kindex M H (Summary)
4398 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4399 Catchup the current group to point
4400 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4403 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4404 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4405 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4406 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4409 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4410 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4411 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4412 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4416 @kindex M e (Summary)
4418 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4419 Mark the current article as expirable
4420 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4423 @kindex M b (Summary)
4424 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4425 Set a bookmark in the current article
4426 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4429 @kindex M B (Summary)
4430 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4431 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4432 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4435 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4436 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4437 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4438 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4441 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4442 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4443 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4444 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4447 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4448 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4449 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4450 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4451 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4454 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4455 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4456 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4457 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4458 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4459 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4460 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4461 The default is @code{t}.
4464 @node Setting Process Marks
4465 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4466 @cindex setting process marks
4473 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4474 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4475 Mark the current article with the process mark
4476 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4477 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4481 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4482 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4483 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4484 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4487 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4488 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4489 Remove the process mark from all articles
4490 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4493 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4494 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4495 Invert the list of process marked articles
4496 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4499 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4500 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4501 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4502 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4505 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4506 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4507 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4510 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4511 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4512 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4513 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4516 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4517 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4518 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4519 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4522 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4523 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4524 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4525 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4528 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4529 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4530 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4533 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4534 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4535 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4536 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4539 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4540 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4541 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4544 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4545 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4546 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4547 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4550 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4551 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4552 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4553 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4556 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4557 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4558 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4559 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4562 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4563 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4564 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4565 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4574 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4575 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4576 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4579 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4580 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4581 additional articles.
4587 @kindex / / (Summary)
4588 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4589 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4590 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4593 @kindex / a (Summary)
4594 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4595 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4596 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4600 @kindex / u (Summary)
4602 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4603 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4604 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4605 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4606 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4609 @kindex / m (Summary)
4610 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4611 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
4612 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4615 @kindex / t (Summary)
4616 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4617 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4618 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4619 articles younger than that number of days.
4622 @kindex / n (Summary)
4623 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4624 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4625 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4626 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4629 @kindex / w (Summary)
4630 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4631 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4632 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4636 @kindex / v (Summary)
4637 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4638 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4639 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4643 @kindex M S (Summary)
4644 @kindex / E (Summary)
4645 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4646 Include all expunged articles in the limit
4647 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4650 @kindex / D (Summary)
4651 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4652 Include all dormant articles in the limit
4653 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4656 @kindex / * (Summary)
4657 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4658 Include all cached articles in the limit
4659 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4662 @kindex / d (Summary)
4663 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4664 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
4665 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4668 @kindex / T (Summary)
4669 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4670 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
4673 @kindex / c (Summary)
4674 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4675 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
4676 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4679 @kindex / C (Summary)
4680 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4681 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4682 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4683 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4691 @cindex article threading
4693 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4694 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4695 hierarchical fashion.
4697 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4698 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4699 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4700 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
4701 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4702 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4703 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4705 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4709 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4712 A tree-like article structure.
4715 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4718 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4719 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4720 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
4721 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4722 called loose threads.
4724 @item thread gathering
4725 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4727 @item sparse threads
4728 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4729 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4735 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4736 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4740 @node Customizing Threading
4741 @subsection Customizing Threading
4742 @cindex customizing threading
4745 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4746 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4747 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4748 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4753 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4756 @cindex loose threads
4759 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4760 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4761 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4762 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4763 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4764 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4766 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4767 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4768 There are four possible values:
4772 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4773 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4774 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4775 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4776 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4781 @cindex adopting articles
4786 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4787 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4788 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4789 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4792 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4793 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4794 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4795 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4796 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4797 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4798 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4801 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4802 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4803 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4807 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4808 display them after one another.
4811 Don't gather loose threads.
4814 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4815 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4816 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4817 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4818 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4819 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4820 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4821 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4822 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4823 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4824 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4826 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4827 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4828 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4831 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4832 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4833 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4834 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4835 simplification is used.
4837 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4838 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4839 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4840 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4842 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4844 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4850 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4851 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4852 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4853 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4858 (mapconcat 'identity
4859 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4861 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4864 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4867 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4868 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4869 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4870 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4871 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4872 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4874 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4877 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4878 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4879 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4881 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4882 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4885 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4886 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4887 Remove excessive whitespace.
4890 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4893 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4894 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4895 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4896 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4897 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4898 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4899 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4900 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4902 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4903 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4904 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4905 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4906 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4907 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4908 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4909 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4910 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4914 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4915 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4916 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4917 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4919 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4920 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4921 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4924 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4928 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4929 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4935 @node Filling In Threads
4936 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4939 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4940 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4941 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4942 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
4943 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4944 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4945 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4946 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4947 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4948 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4949 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4950 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4952 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4953 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4954 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4956 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4957 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4958 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4959 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4960 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4961 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4962 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4963 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4964 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4965 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4966 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4967 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4968 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4969 @code{nil} by default.
4974 @node More Threading
4975 @subsubsection More Threading
4978 @item gnus-show-threads
4979 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4980 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4981 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4982 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4983 slower and more awkward.
4985 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4986 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4987 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4990 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4991 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4992 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4993 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4994 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4995 threads are expunged.
4997 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4998 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4999 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5002 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5003 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5004 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5005 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5006 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5009 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5010 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5011 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5017 @node Low-Level Threading
5018 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5022 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5023 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5024 Hook run before parsing any headers.
5026 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5027 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5028 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5029 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5030 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5031 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5032 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5033 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5034 meaningful. Here's one example:
5037 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5039 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5040 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5042 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5044 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5051 @node Thread Commands
5052 @subsection Thread Commands
5053 @cindex thread commands
5059 @kindex T k (Summary)
5060 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5061 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5062 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5063 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5064 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5069 @kindex T l (Summary)
5070 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5071 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5072 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5073 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5076 @kindex T i (Summary)
5077 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5078 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5079 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5082 @kindex T # (Summary)
5083 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5084 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5085 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5088 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5089 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5090 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5091 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5094 @kindex T T (Summary)
5095 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5096 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5099 @kindex T s (Summary)
5100 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5101 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5102 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5105 @kindex T h (Summary)
5106 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5107 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5110 @kindex T S (Summary)
5111 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5112 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5115 @kindex T H (Summary)
5116 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5117 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5120 @kindex T t (Summary)
5121 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5122 Re-thread the current article's thread
5123 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5124 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5127 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5128 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5129 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5130 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5134 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5135 understand the numeric prefix.
5140 @kindex T n (Summary)
5141 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5142 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5145 @kindex T p (Summary)
5146 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5147 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5150 @kindex T d (Summary)
5151 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5152 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5155 @kindex T u (Summary)
5156 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5157 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5160 @kindex T o (Summary)
5161 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5162 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5165 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5166 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5167 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5168 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5169 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5170 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5171 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5172 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5173 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5174 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5175 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5176 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5183 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5184 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5185 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5186 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5187 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5188 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5189 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5190 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5191 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5192 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5193 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5195 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5196 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5197 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5198 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5199 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5201 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5202 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5203 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
5205 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
5206 last function in the list. You should probably always include
5207 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5208 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5209 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5210 ascending article order.
5212 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
5213 by number, you could do something like:
5216 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5217 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5218 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5219 (reverse gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
5222 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5223 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5224 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5225 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5226 which the articles arrived.
5228 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5232 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5234 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5235 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5238 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5239 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5240 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5241 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5244 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5245 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5246 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5247 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5248 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5249 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5250 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5251 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5252 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5253 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5254 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5255 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5256 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5258 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5262 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5263 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5264 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5269 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5270 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5271 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5272 @cindex article pre-fetch
5275 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5276 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5277 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5278 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5279 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5281 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5282 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5284 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5285 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5286 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5287 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5288 connection is blocked.
5290 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5291 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5292 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5293 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
5295 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5296 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5297 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5298 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5301 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5304 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5305 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5306 happen automatically.
5308 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5309 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5310 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5311 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5312 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5313 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5314 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5316 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5317 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5318 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5319 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5320 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5321 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5322 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5323 data structure as the only parameter.
5325 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5328 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5329 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5330 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5331 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5334 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5337 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5338 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
5339 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5341 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5342 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5343 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5344 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5348 Remove articles when they are read.
5351 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5354 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5356 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5357 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5358 @c from the next group.
5361 @node Article Caching
5362 @section Article Caching
5363 @cindex article caching
5366 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5367 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5368 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5369 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5370 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5372 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5374 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5375 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5376 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5377 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5378 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5379 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5380 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5381 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5383 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5384 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5385 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5386 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5387 as dormant, and don't worry.
5389 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5391 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5392 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5393 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5394 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5395 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5396 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5397 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5398 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5399 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5400 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5402 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5403 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5404 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5405 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5406 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5407 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5408 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5409 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5410 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5411 not then be downloaded by this command.
5413 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5414 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
5415 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
5416 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5417 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5418 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
5420 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
5421 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
5422 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
5423 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
5424 variables, the group is not cached.
5426 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5427 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5428 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5429 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5430 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5431 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
5432 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5433 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5434 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5438 @node Persistent Articles
5439 @section Persistent Articles
5440 @cindex persistent articles
5442 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5443 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5444 useful in my opinion.
5446 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5447 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5448 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5449 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5450 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5451 the expiry going on at the news server.
5453 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5454 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5455 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5461 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5462 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5465 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5466 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5467 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5468 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5472 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5474 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5475 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5476 interested in persistent articles:
5479 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5483 @node Article Backlog
5484 @section Article Backlog
5486 @cindex article backlog
5488 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5489 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5490 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
5491 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5492 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5493 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5494 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5495 increase memory usage some.
5497 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5498 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5499 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5500 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5501 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5502 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5503 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5505 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5508 @node Saving Articles
5509 @section Saving Articles
5510 @cindex saving articles
5512 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5513 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5514 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5515 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5516 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5518 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5519 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5520 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5522 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5523 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5524 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5525 deleted before saving.
5531 @kindex O o (Summary)
5533 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5534 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5535 Save the current article using the default article saver
5536 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5539 @kindex O m (Summary)
5540 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5541 Save the current article in mail format
5542 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5545 @kindex O r (Summary)
5546 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5547 Save the current article in rmail format
5548 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5551 @kindex O f (Summary)
5552 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5553 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5554 Save the current article in plain file format
5555 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5558 @kindex O F (Summary)
5559 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5560 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5561 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5564 @kindex O b (Summary)
5565 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5566 Save the current article body in plain file format
5567 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5570 @kindex O h (Summary)
5571 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5572 Save the current article in mh folder format
5573 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5576 @kindex O v (Summary)
5577 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5578 Save the current article in a VM folder
5579 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5582 @kindex O p (Summary)
5583 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5584 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5585 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5588 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5589 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5590 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5591 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5592 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5593 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5594 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5595 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5596 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5597 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5598 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5599 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5603 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5604 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5605 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
5606 functions below, or you can create your own.
5610 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5611 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5612 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5613 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5614 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5615 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5616 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5618 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5619 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5620 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5621 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5622 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5623 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5625 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5626 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5627 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5628 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5629 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5630 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5631 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5633 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5634 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5635 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5636 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5637 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5639 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5640 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5641 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5642 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5643 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5646 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5647 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5648 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5649 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5650 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5652 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5653 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5654 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5655 reader to use this setting.
5658 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5659 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5660 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5661 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5664 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5665 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5666 available functions that generate names:
5670 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5671 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5672 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5674 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5675 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5676 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5678 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5679 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5680 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5682 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5683 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5684 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5687 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5688 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5689 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5690 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5691 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5695 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5696 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5697 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5698 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5701 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5702 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5703 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5704 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5705 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5706 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5707 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5708 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5709 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5711 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5712 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5713 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5714 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5716 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5717 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5718 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5721 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5722 lots of mail groups called things like
5723 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5724 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5725 following will do just that:
5728 (defun my-save-name (group)
5729 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5730 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5732 (setq gnus-split-methods
5733 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5738 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5739 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5740 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5741 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5742 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5743 all the files in the top level directory
5744 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5745 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5746 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5747 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5749 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5750 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5751 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5752 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5753 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5756 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5760 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5761 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5764 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5765 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5766 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5767 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5770 @node Decoding Articles
5771 @section Decoding Articles
5772 @cindex decoding articles
5774 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5775 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5778 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5779 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5780 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5781 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5782 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5783 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5787 @cindex article series
5788 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5789 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5790 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5791 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5792 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5794 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5795 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5796 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5798 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5799 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5800 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5802 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5803 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5804 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5807 @node Uuencoded Articles
5808 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5810 @cindex uuencoded articles
5815 @kindex X u (Summary)
5816 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5817 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5818 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5821 @kindex X U (Summary)
5822 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5823 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5824 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5827 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5828 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5829 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5832 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5833 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5834 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5835 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5839 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5840 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5841 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5842 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5843 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5845 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5846 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5847 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5848 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5851 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5852 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5853 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5854 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5855 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5856 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5860 @node Shell Archives
5861 @subsection Shell Archives
5863 @cindex shell archives
5864 @cindex shared articles
5866 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5867 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5868 some commands to deal with these:
5873 @kindex X s (Summary)
5874 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5875 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5878 @kindex X S (Summary)
5879 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5880 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5883 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5884 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5885 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5888 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5889 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5890 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5891 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5895 @node PostScript Files
5896 @subsection PostScript Files
5902 @kindex X p (Summary)
5903 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5904 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5907 @kindex X P (Summary)
5908 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5909 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5910 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5913 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5914 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5915 View the current PostScript series
5916 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5919 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5920 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5921 View and save the current PostScript series
5922 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5927 @subsection Other Files
5931 @kindex X o (Summary)
5932 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5933 Save the current series
5934 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5937 @kindex X b (Summary)
5938 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5939 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5940 doesn't really work yet.
5944 @node Decoding Variables
5945 @subsection Decoding Variables
5947 Adjective, not verb.
5950 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5951 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5952 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5956 @node Rule Variables
5957 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5958 @cindex rule variables
5960 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5961 variables are of the form
5964 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5971 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5972 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5974 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5975 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5978 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5979 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5982 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5983 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5984 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5985 user and default view rules.
5987 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5988 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5989 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5994 @node Other Decode Variables
5995 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5998 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6000 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6001 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6002 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6003 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6004 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6008 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6009 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6012 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6013 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6014 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6017 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6018 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6019 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6020 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6021 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6024 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6025 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6026 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6028 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6029 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6030 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6031 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6032 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6035 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6036 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6037 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6039 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6040 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6041 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6042 looking for files to display.
6044 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6045 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6046 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6049 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6050 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6051 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6054 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6055 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6056 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6059 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6060 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6061 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6064 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6065 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6066 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6067 decoded articles as unread.
6069 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6070 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6071 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6072 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6074 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6075 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6076 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6078 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6079 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6081 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6082 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6083 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6084 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6086 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6087 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6088 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6089 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6090 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6091 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
6092 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6093 simply dropped them.
6098 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6099 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6103 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6104 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6105 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6106 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6107 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6108 for you when you post the article.
6110 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6111 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6112 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6113 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6115 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6116 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6117 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6118 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6119 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6120 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6121 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6123 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6124 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6125 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6126 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6127 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6128 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6129 Default is @code{t}.
6135 @subsection Viewing Files
6136 @cindex viewing files
6137 @cindex pseudo-articles
6139 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
6140 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6141 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6142 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
6143 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6144 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6145 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6147 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6148 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6149 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6150 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6152 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6153 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6154 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6156 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6157 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6158 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6159 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6160 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6162 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6163 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6164 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6165 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6166 a list of parameters to that command.
6168 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6169 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6170 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6172 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6173 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6174 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6177 @node Article Treatment
6178 @section Article Treatment
6180 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6181 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6182 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6183 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6184 these articles easier.
6187 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6188 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6189 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6190 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6191 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6192 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6193 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6197 @node Article Highlighting
6198 @subsection Article Highlighting
6199 @cindex highlighting
6201 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6202 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6207 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6208 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6209 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6210 Do much highlighting of the current article
6211 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6212 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6214 Most users would prefer using @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} in
6215 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}) instead.
6216 This is a bit less agressive---it highlights only the headers, the
6217 signature and adds buttons.
6220 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6221 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6222 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6223 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6224 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6225 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6226 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6227 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6228 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6229 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6230 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6233 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6234 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6235 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6237 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6240 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6242 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6243 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6244 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6246 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6247 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6248 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6250 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6251 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6252 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6254 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6255 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6256 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6257 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6258 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6259 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6261 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6262 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6263 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6265 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6266 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6267 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6269 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6270 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6271 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6272 that it's a citation.
6274 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6275 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6276 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6278 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6279 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6280 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6282 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6283 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6284 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6285 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6291 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6292 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6293 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6294 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6295 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6296 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6297 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6298 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6303 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to highlight articles automatically.
6306 @node Article Fontisizing
6307 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6309 @cindex article emphasis
6311 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6312 @kindex W e (Summary)
6313 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6314 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6315 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6316 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6318 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
6319 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6320 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
6321 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6322 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6323 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6324 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6325 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6329 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6330 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6331 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6334 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6335 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6336 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6337 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6338 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6339 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6340 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6341 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6342 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6343 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6344 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6345 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6346 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6348 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6349 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6350 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6354 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6357 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to fontize articles automatically.
6360 @node Article Hiding
6361 @subsection Article Hiding
6362 @cindex article hiding
6364 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6365 too much cruft in most articles.
6370 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6371 @findex gnus-article-hide
6372 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
6373 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
6374 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
6377 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6378 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6379 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6383 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6384 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6385 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6386 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6389 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6390 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6391 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6395 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6396 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6397 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6398 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6399 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6400 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
6401 articles that have signatures in them do:
6403 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
6405 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp)
6407 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
6408 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
6410 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6413 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
6418 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6419 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6420 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6421 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6424 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6425 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6426 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6427 customizing the hiding:
6431 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6432 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6433 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6434 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6435 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6436 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6437 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6442 Starting point of the hidden text.
6444 Ending point of the hidden text.
6446 Number of characters in the hidden region.
6448 Number of lines of hidden text.
6451 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6452 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6453 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6458 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
6459 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
6461 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
6462 following two variables:
6465 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6466 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6467 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6468 50), hide the cited text.
6470 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6471 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6472 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6477 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6478 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6479 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6480 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6481 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6482 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6486 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6487 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6488 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6490 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6491 citation customization.
6493 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to hide article elements
6497 @node Article Washing
6498 @subsection Article Washing
6500 @cindex article washing
6502 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6503 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6505 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6506 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6512 @kindex W l (Summary)
6513 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6514 Remove page breaks from the current article
6515 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article} for page
6519 @kindex W r (Summary)
6520 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6521 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6522 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6523 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6524 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6525 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6527 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6528 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6529 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6530 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6533 @kindex W t (Summary)
6534 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6535 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6536 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6539 @kindex W v (Summary)
6540 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6541 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6542 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6545 @kindex W m (Summary)
6546 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6547 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
6548 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6551 @kindex W o (Summary)
6552 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6553 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6556 @kindex W d (Summary)
6557 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6558 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
6560 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
6562 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
6563 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
6564 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6567 @kindex W w (Summary)
6568 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6569 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6570 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6571 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6573 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6577 @kindex W c (Summary)
6578 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6579 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
6580 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
6581 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
6582 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6585 @kindex W q (Summary)
6586 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
6587 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
6588 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
6589 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
6590 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
6594 @kindex W f (Summary)
6596 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6597 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6598 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6599 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6605 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6606 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6607 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6608 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6609 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6610 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6611 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6612 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6613 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6614 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6615 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6616 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6617 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6618 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6622 @kindex W b (Summary)
6623 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6624 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6625 @xref{Article Buttons}.
6628 @kindex W B (Summary)
6629 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6630 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6631 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6634 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6635 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6636 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6637 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6640 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6641 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6642 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6643 lines with a single empty line.
6644 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6647 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6648 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6649 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6650 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6653 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6654 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6655 Do all the three commands above
6656 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6659 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6660 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6661 Remove all blank lines
6662 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6665 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6666 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6667 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6668 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6672 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to wash articles automatically.
6675 @node Article Buttons
6676 @subsection Article Buttons
6679 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6680 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6681 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6682 button on these references.
6684 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6685 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6686 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6691 @item gnus-button-alist
6692 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6693 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6696 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6702 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6703 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6704 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6707 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6708 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6709 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6712 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6713 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6714 avoid false matches.
6717 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6720 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6721 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6725 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6728 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6731 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6732 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6733 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6734 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6735 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6738 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6741 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6743 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6744 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6745 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6746 default values of the variables above.
6748 @item gnus-article-button-face
6749 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6750 Face used on buttons.
6752 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6753 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6754 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6758 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to buttonize articles automatically.
6762 @subsection Article Date
6764 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6765 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6766 when the article was sent.
6771 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6772 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6773 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6774 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6777 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6778 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6780 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6781 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6784 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6785 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6786 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6789 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6790 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6791 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6792 @findex format-time-string
6793 Display the date using a user-defined format
6794 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6795 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6796 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6797 for a list of possible format specs.
6800 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6801 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6802 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6803 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6804 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6805 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6806 updated continually, you can put
6809 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6812 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6813 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6817 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6818 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6819 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6820 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6821 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6822 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6823 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6827 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to display the date in your
6828 preferred format automatically.
6831 @node Article Signature
6832 @subsection Article Signature
6834 @cindex article signature
6836 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6837 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6838 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6839 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6840 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6841 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6842 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6843 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6844 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6847 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6848 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6849 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6850 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6851 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6852 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6853 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6854 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6857 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6860 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6861 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6866 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6869 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6872 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6873 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6875 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6876 in question is not a signature.
6879 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6880 listed above. Here's an example:
6883 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6884 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6887 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6888 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6889 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6890 signature after all.
6894 @section MIME Commands
6895 @cindex MIME decoding
6899 @kindex W M w (Summary)
6900 Decode RFC2047-encoded words in the article headers
6901 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
6904 @kindex W M c (Summary)
6905 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
6906 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
6908 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
6909 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
6910 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
6911 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
6912 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
6913 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
6916 @kindex W M v (Summary)
6917 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
6918 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
6925 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
6926 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
6927 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
6928 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
6931 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
6934 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
6941 @node Article Commands
6942 @section Article Commands
6949 @kindex A P (Summary)
6950 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6951 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6952 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6953 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6954 run just before printing the buffer.
6959 @node Summary Sorting
6960 @section Summary Sorting
6961 @cindex summary sorting
6963 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6964 can't really see why you'd want that.
6969 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6970 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6971 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6974 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6975 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6976 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6979 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6980 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6981 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6984 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6985 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6986 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6989 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6990 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6991 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6994 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6995 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6996 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6999 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
7000 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
7001 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
7002 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
7003 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
7007 @node Finding the Parent
7008 @section Finding the Parent
7009 @cindex parent articles
7010 @cindex referring articles
7015 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
7016 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
7017 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
7018 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
7019 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
7020 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
7021 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
7022 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
7023 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
7025 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
7026 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
7027 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
7028 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
7029 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
7033 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
7034 @kindex A R (Summary)
7035 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
7036 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
7039 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
7040 @kindex A T (Summary)
7041 Display the full thread where the current article appears
7042 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
7043 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
7044 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
7045 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
7046 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
7047 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
7049 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
7050 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
7051 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
7052 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
7053 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
7054 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
7057 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
7058 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
7060 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
7061 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
7062 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
7063 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
7064 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
7065 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
7066 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
7069 The current select method will be used when fetching by
7070 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
7071 by giving this command a prefix.
7073 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
7074 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
7075 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
7076 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
7077 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
7078 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
7081 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
7082 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
7083 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
7084 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
7085 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
7086 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
7089 @node Alternative Approaches
7090 @section Alternative Approaches
7092 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
7093 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
7096 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
7097 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
7102 @subsection Pick and Read
7103 @cindex pick and read
7105 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
7106 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
7107 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
7108 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
7110 @findex gnus-pick-mode
7111 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
7112 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
7113 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
7114 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
7115 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
7117 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
7122 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
7123 Pick the article or thread on the current line
7124 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7125 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
7126 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
7127 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
7128 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
7129 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
7132 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
7133 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
7134 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
7135 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
7139 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
7140 Unpick the thread or article
7141 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7142 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
7143 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
7144 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
7145 the thread or article at that line.
7149 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
7150 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
7151 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
7152 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
7153 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
7154 will still be visible when you are reading.
7158 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
7159 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
7160 which is mapped to the same function
7161 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
7163 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
7166 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
7169 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
7170 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
7172 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
7173 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
7174 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
7176 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
7177 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
7178 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
7179 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
7180 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
7181 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
7182 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
7186 @subsection Binary Groups
7187 @cindex binary groups
7189 @findex gnus-binary-mode
7190 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
7191 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
7192 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
7193 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
7194 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
7195 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
7198 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
7199 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
7200 command, when you have turned on this mode
7201 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
7203 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
7204 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
7208 @section Tree Display
7211 @vindex gnus-use-trees
7212 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
7213 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
7214 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
7217 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
7220 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
7221 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
7222 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
7224 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7225 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7226 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
7227 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
7228 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
7230 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7231 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7232 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7233 default is @code{modeline}.
7235 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7236 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7237 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7238 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7239 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7240 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7241 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7247 The name of the poster.
7249 The @code{From} header.
7251 The number of the article.
7253 The opening bracket.
7255 The closing bracket.
7260 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7262 Variables related to the display are:
7265 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7266 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7267 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7268 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7269 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7270 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7272 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7273 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7274 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7275 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7279 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7280 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7281 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
7282 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
7283 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7284 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7285 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7286 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7287 other windows displayed next to it.
7289 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7290 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7291 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7292 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7293 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7294 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7295 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7299 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7302 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7312 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7316 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7317 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7319 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7321 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7326 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7327 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7328 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7331 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7332 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7333 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7334 (gnus-add-configuration
7338 (summary 0.75 point)
7343 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7346 @node Mail Group Commands
7347 @section Mail Group Commands
7348 @cindex mail group commands
7350 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7351 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7353 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7354 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7359 @kindex B e (Summary)
7360 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7361 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7362 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7365 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7366 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7367 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7368 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7369 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7370 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7373 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7374 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7375 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7376 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7377 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7378 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7381 @kindex B m (Summary)
7383 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7384 Move the article from one mail group to another
7385 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7388 @kindex B c (Summary)
7390 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7391 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7392 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7393 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7396 @kindex B B (Summary)
7397 @cindex crosspost mail
7398 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7399 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7400 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7401 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7402 be properly updated.
7405 @kindex B i (Summary)
7406 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7407 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7408 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7409 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7412 @kindex B r (Summary)
7413 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7414 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
7415 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7416 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7417 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7421 @kindex B w (Summary)
7423 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7424 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7425 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7426 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7427 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7428 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7431 @kindex B q (Summary)
7432 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7433 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7434 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7435 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7438 @kindex B t (Summary)
7439 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
7440 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
7441 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
7444 @kindex B p (Summary)
7445 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7446 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7447 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7448 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7449 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7450 article from your news server (or rather, from
7451 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7452 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7453 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7454 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7455 just not have arrived yet.
7459 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7460 @cindex moving articles
7461 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
7462 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7463 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7464 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7465 suggestions you find reasonable.
7468 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7469 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7470 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7471 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7475 @node Various Summary Stuff
7476 @section Various Summary Stuff
7479 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7480 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7481 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7482 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7486 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7487 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7488 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7490 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7491 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7492 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7493 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7494 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7495 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7498 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7499 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7500 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7501 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7502 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7504 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7505 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7506 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
7509 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7510 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7511 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7512 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7513 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7514 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7515 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
7516 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7517 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7518 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7523 @node Summary Group Information
7524 @subsection Summary Group Information
7529 @kindex H f (Summary)
7530 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7531 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7532 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7533 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7534 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7535 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7536 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7537 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7538 be used for fetching the file.
7541 @kindex H d (Summary)
7542 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7543 Give a brief description of the current group
7544 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7545 rereading the description from the server.
7548 @kindex H h (Summary)
7549 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7550 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7551 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7554 @kindex H i (Summary)
7555 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7556 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7560 @node Searching for Articles
7561 @subsection Searching for Articles
7566 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7567 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7568 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7569 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7572 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7573 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7574 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7575 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7579 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7580 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7581 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7582 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7586 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7587 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7588 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7589 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7592 @node Summary Generation Commands
7593 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7598 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7599 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7600 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7603 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7604 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7605 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7606 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7611 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7612 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7617 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7618 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7619 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7620 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7621 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7622 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7623 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7624 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7625 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7629 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7630 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7631 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7632 several documents into one biiig group
7633 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7634 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7635 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7636 command understands the process/prefix convention
7637 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7640 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7641 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7642 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7643 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7644 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7645 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7649 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7650 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7651 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7654 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
7655 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
7656 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7657 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
7662 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7663 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7664 @cindex summary exit
7665 @cindex exiting groups
7667 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7668 group and return you to the group buffer.
7674 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7676 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7677 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7678 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7679 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7680 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7681 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7682 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7683 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7684 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7685 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7686 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7690 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7692 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7693 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7694 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7698 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7700 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7701 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7702 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7703 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7706 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7707 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7708 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7709 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7712 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7713 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7714 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7715 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7718 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7719 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7720 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7721 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7722 all articles, both read and unread.
7726 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7727 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7728 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7729 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7730 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7731 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7732 articles, both read and unread.
7735 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7736 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7737 Exit the group and go to the next group
7738 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7741 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7742 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7743 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7744 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7747 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7748 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7749 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7750 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7751 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7752 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7755 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7756 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7759 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7760 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7761 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7762 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7763 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7764 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7765 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7766 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7767 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7768 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7769 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7770 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7772 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7774 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7775 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7776 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7777 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7778 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7779 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7780 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7781 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7782 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7785 @node Crosspost Handling
7786 @section Crosspost Handling
7790 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7791 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7792 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7793 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7794 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7795 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7798 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7799 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7800 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7801 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7802 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7804 @cindex cross-posting
7807 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7808 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7809 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7810 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7811 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7812 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7813 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7814 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7815 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7816 the cross reference mechanism.
7818 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7819 @cindex overview.fmt
7820 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7821 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7822 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7823 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7824 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7825 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7828 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7829 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7830 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7835 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7838 @node Duplicate Suppression
7839 @section Duplicate Suppression
7841 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7842 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7843 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7844 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
7849 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7850 is evil and not very common.
7853 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7854 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7857 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7858 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7861 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7864 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7865 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7867 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7868 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7869 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7870 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7871 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7872 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7873 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7876 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7877 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7878 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7879 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7880 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7884 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7885 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7886 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7888 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7889 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7890 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7891 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7892 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
7893 session are suppressed.
7895 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7896 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7897 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7898 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7900 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7901 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7902 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7903 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7906 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7907 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7908 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7909 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7910 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7911 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7912 to you to figure out, I think.
7915 @node The Article Buffer
7916 @chapter The Article Buffer
7917 @cindex article buffer
7919 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7920 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7921 tell Gnus otherwise.
7924 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7925 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7926 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7927 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7928 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7932 @node Hiding Headers
7933 @section Hiding Headers
7934 @cindex hiding headers
7935 @cindex deleting headers
7937 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7938 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7940 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7941 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7942 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7943 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7944 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7945 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7946 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7947 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7948 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7950 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7954 @item gnus-visible-headers
7955 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7956 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7957 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7958 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7960 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7961 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7964 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7967 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7970 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7971 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7972 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7973 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7974 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7975 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7977 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7978 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7981 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7984 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7987 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7988 variable will have no effect.
7992 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7993 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7994 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7995 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7996 the headers are to be displayed.
7998 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7999 and then the subject, you might say something like:
8002 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
8005 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
8006 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
8008 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8009 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8010 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
8011 You can hide further boring headers by entering
8012 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
8013 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
8014 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
8015 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
8016 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
8018 These conditions are:
8021 Remove all empty headers.
8023 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
8024 @code{Newsgroups} header.
8026 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
8029 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
8032 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
8035 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
8037 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
8040 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
8043 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
8044 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
8047 This is also the default value for this variable.
8051 @section Using @sc{mime}
8054 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
8055 while people stand around yawning.
8057 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
8058 while all newsreaders die of fear.
8060 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
8061 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
8062 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
8064 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
8065 @findex gnus-display-mime
8066 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
8067 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
8068 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
8069 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
8071 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
8075 @findex gnus-article-press-button
8077 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
8078 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
8079 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
8081 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
8082 @item M-RET (Article)
8084 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
8085 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
8087 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
8089 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
8090 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
8092 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
8094 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
8095 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
8097 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
8099 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
8102 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
8103 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
8106 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
8107 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
8108 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
8109 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
8110 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
8111 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
8112 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
8113 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
8114 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
8116 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
8119 @node Customizing Articles
8120 @section Customizing Articles
8121 @cindex article customization
8123 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8124 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
8125 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
8126 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
8128 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8129 @findex gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers
8130 By default this hook just contains
8131 @code{gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers},
8132 @code{gnus-hide-boring-headers}, @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike},
8133 and @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} (and under XEmacs,
8134 @code{gnus-article-display-x-face}), but there are thousands, nay
8135 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
8136 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
8137 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
8138 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
8139 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
8141 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
8142 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
8143 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
8144 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
8145 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
8148 @node Article Keymap
8149 @section Article Keymap
8151 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
8152 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
8153 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
8154 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
8157 A few additional keystrokes are available:
8162 @kindex SPACE (Article)
8163 @findex gnus-article-next-page
8164 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
8167 @kindex DEL (Article)
8168 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
8169 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
8172 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
8173 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
8174 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
8175 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
8176 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
8179 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
8180 @findex gnus-article-mail
8181 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
8182 given a prefix, include the mail.
8186 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
8187 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
8188 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
8192 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
8193 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
8194 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
8197 @kindex TAB (Article)
8198 @findex gnus-article-next-button
8199 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
8200 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
8203 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
8204 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
8205 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
8211 @section Misc Article
8215 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
8216 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
8217 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
8218 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
8221 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
8222 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
8224 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
8225 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
8227 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
8228 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
8229 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
8230 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
8231 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
8232 the contents of the article buffer.
8234 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8235 @item gnus-article-display-hook
8236 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
8237 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
8238 hiding headers, and the like.
8240 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
8241 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
8242 Hook called in article mode buffers.
8244 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8245 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8246 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
8247 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
8249 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
8250 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
8251 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
8252 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
8253 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with one
8258 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
8259 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
8263 @vindex gnus-break-pages
8265 @item gnus-break-pages
8266 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
8267 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
8268 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8269 paging will not be done.
8271 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8272 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8273 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8278 @node Composing Messages
8279 @chapter Composing Messages
8280 @cindex composing messages
8283 @cindex sending mail
8288 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8289 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8290 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
8291 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
8292 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
8293 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
8294 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
8297 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8298 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8299 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8300 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8301 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8302 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
8303 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8304 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8307 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8308 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8314 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8317 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8318 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8319 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8320 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8322 @item gnus-add-to-list
8323 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8324 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8325 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8333 Variables for composing news articles:
8336 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8337 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8338 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8339 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8340 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8341 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8342 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8343 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8344 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
8347 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8348 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8349 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8350 file. It is 1000 by default.
8355 @node Posting Server
8356 @section Posting Server
8358 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8359 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8361 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8363 @vindex gnus-post-method
8365 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
8366 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8367 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8368 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8369 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8372 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8375 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8376 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8377 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8378 the ``current'' server for posting.
8380 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8381 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8383 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8384 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8387 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8388 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8389 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8394 @section Mail and Post
8396 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8400 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8401 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8402 @cindex mailing lists
8404 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8405 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8406 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8407 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8408 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8409 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8410 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8411 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8412 still a pain, though.
8416 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8417 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8418 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8421 @findex ispell-message
8423 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8427 @node Archived Messages
8428 @section Archived Messages
8429 @cindex archived messages
8430 @cindex sent messages
8432 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8433 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8434 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8435 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8438 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8439 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
8440 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8444 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8445 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8446 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8447 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8450 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8451 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8452 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8453 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8456 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8457 '(nnfolder "archive"
8458 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8459 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8460 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8463 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8465 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8466 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8467 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8469 This variable can be used to do the following:
8473 Messages will be saved in that group.
8474 @item a list of strings
8475 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8476 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8477 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8479 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8484 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8486 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8489 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8491 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8494 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8496 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8497 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8498 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8499 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8504 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8505 '((if (message-news-p)
8510 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8511 messages in one file per month:
8514 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8515 '((if (message-news-p)
8517 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8518 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8521 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8522 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8524 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8525 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8526 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8527 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8528 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8529 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8530 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8531 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8532 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8533 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8535 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8536 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8537 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8538 this will disable archiving.
8541 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8542 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8543 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8544 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8545 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8548 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8549 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8550 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8553 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8554 but the latter is the preferred method.
8558 @node Posting Styles
8559 @section Posting Styles
8560 @cindex posting styles
8563 All them variables, they make my head swim.
8565 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8566 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8567 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8570 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8571 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8572 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8573 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8574 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8579 (signature "Peace and happiness")
8580 (organization "What me?"))
8582 (signature "Death to everybody"))
8583 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8584 (organization "Emacs is it")))
8587 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8588 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8589 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8590 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8591 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8592 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8593 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8594 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8596 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8597 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8598 If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8599 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8600 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8601 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8604 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8605 attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8606 can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
8607 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
8608 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8609 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8612 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8613 return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8614 list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8616 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
8617 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
8618 of the two dynamically bound variables @code{message-this-is-news} and
8619 @code{message-this-is-mail}.
8621 @vindex message-this-is-mail
8622 @vindex message-this-is-news
8624 So here's a new example:
8627 (setq gnus-posting-styles
8629 (signature-file "~/.signature")
8631 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8632 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
8634 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8635 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8636 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
8637 (message-this-is-news
8638 (signature my-news-signature))
8639 (posting-from-work-p
8640 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
8641 (address "user@@bar.foo")
8642 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
8643 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
8645 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
8653 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8654 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8655 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8656 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8657 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8659 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8660 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8661 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8662 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8663 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8667 @vindex nndraft-directory
8668 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8669 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8670 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8671 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8672 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8673 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8675 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8676 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8679 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8680 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8681 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8682 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8683 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8684 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8685 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8686 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8687 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8688 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8689 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8690 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8691 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8692 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8694 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8695 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8696 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8698 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8700 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8701 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8702 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8704 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8707 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8708 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8709 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8710 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8711 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8712 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8713 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8716 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8717 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8718 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8721 @node Rejected Articles
8722 @section Rejected Articles
8723 @cindex rejected articles
8725 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8726 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8727 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8728 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8730 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
8731 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8732 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8733 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
8734 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8736 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8737 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8738 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8741 @node Select Methods
8742 @chapter Select Methods
8743 @cindex foreign groups
8744 @cindex select methods
8746 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8747 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8748 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8749 personal mail group.
8751 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8752 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8753 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8754 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8755 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8756 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8758 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8759 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8761 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8764 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8765 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8766 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8767 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8768 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8770 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8773 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8774 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8775 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8776 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8777 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8778 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8782 @node The Server Buffer
8783 @section The Server Buffer
8785 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8786 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8787 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8788 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8789 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8790 backend represents a virtual server.
8792 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8793 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8794 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8795 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8797 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8798 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8799 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8800 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8801 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8802 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8803 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8805 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8806 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8809 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8810 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8811 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8812 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8813 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8814 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8815 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8818 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8819 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8822 @node Server Buffer Format
8823 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8824 @cindex server buffer format
8826 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8827 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8828 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8829 variable, with some simple extensions:
8834 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8837 The name of this server.
8840 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8843 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8846 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8847 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8848 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
8849 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
8859 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8862 @node Server Commands
8863 @subsection Server Commands
8864 @cindex server commands
8870 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8871 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8875 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8876 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8879 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8880 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8881 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8885 @findex gnus-server-exit
8886 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8890 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8891 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8895 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8896 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8900 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8901 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8905 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8906 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8910 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8911 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8912 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8917 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8918 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8919 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8920 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8925 @node Example Methods
8926 @subsection Example Methods
8928 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8931 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8934 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8940 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8941 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8944 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8945 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8947 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8948 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8952 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8955 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8956 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8958 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8959 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8960 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8964 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8967 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8970 Here's the method for a public spool:
8974 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8975 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8978 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8979 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8980 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8981 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8982 should probably look something like this:
8986 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8987 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8988 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8989 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8990 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8993 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
8994 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
8995 server that would look something like this:
8999 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
9000 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
9001 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
9002 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
9003 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
9004 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
9007 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
9008 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
9009 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
9010 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
9013 @node Creating a Virtual Server
9014 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
9016 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
9017 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
9019 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
9020 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
9021 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
9023 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
9025 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
9026 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
9027 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
9028 will contain the following:
9038 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
9039 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
9040 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
9043 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
9044 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
9045 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
9048 @node Server Variables
9049 @subsection Server Variables
9051 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
9052 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
9053 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
9054 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
9055 won't change the "derived" variables.
9057 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
9058 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
9059 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
9060 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
9061 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
9062 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
9063 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
9064 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
9065 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
9069 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
9070 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
9071 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
9075 @node Servers and Methods
9076 @subsection Servers and Methods
9078 Wherever you would normally use a select method
9079 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
9080 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
9081 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
9085 @node Unavailable Servers
9086 @subsection Unavailable Servers
9088 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
9089 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
9090 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
9091 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
9092 actually the case or not.
9094 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
9095 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
9096 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
9097 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
9098 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
9099 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
9100 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
9101 it will regard that server as ``down''.
9103 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
9104 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
9106 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
9107 with the following commands:
9113 @findex gnus-server-open-server
9114 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
9115 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
9119 @findex gnus-server-close-server
9120 Close the connection (if any) to the server
9121 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
9125 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
9126 Mark the current server as unreachable
9127 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
9130 @kindex M-o (Server)
9131 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
9132 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
9133 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
9136 @kindex M-c (Server)
9137 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
9138 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
9139 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
9143 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
9144 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
9145 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
9151 @section Getting News
9152 @cindex reading news
9153 @cindex news backends
9155 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
9156 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
9157 or it can read from a local spool.
9160 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
9161 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
9166 @subsection @sc{nntp}
9169 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
9170 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
9171 server as the, uhm, address.
9173 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
9174 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
9175 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
9176 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9178 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
9179 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
9180 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
9182 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
9187 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
9188 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
9189 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
9191 @cindex authentification
9192 @cindex nntp authentification
9193 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9194 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
9195 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
9196 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
9197 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
9198 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
9199 present in this hook.
9201 @item nntp-authinfo-function
9202 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
9203 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9204 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
9205 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
9206 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
9207 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
9208 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
9209 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
9210 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
9211 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
9212 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
9216 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
9219 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
9220 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
9221 @samp{default} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid
9222 @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is the only way the
9223 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
9228 Here's an example file:
9231 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
9232 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
9235 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
9236 have to be first, for instance.
9238 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
9239 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
9240 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
9241 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
9242 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
9243 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
9244 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
9246 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
9247 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
9253 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
9254 previously mentioned.
9256 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
9258 @item nntp-server-action-alist
9259 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
9260 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
9261 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
9262 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
9265 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
9269 You probably don't want to do that, though.
9271 The default value is
9274 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
9275 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
9278 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
9279 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
9281 @item nntp-maximum-request
9282 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
9283 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
9284 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
9285 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
9286 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
9287 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
9288 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
9290 @item nntp-connection-timeout
9291 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
9292 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
9293 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9294 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9295 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9296 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9297 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9298 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9299 no timeouts are done.
9301 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9302 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9303 @c @cindex PPP connections
9304 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9305 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9306 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9307 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9308 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9309 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9310 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9311 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9312 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9313 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9315 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9316 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9317 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9318 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9321 @item nntp-server-hook
9322 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9323 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9326 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9327 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9328 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9329 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9330 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9331 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
9332 functions are supplied:
9335 @item nntp-open-network-stream
9336 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
9339 @item nntp-open-rlogin
9340 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9341 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9344 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9348 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9349 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9350 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9351 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9353 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9354 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9355 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9357 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9358 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9359 User name on the remote system.
9363 @item nntp-open-telnet
9364 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
9365 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
9367 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9370 @item nntp-telnet-command
9371 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9372 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9374 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9375 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9376 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9378 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9379 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9380 User name for log in on the remote system.
9382 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9383 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9384 Password to use when logging in.
9386 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9387 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9388 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9391 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9392 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9393 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9394 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9396 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9397 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9398 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9399 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9400 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9404 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
9405 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
9406 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
9407 you must have SSLay installed
9408 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
9409 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
9410 define a server as follows:
9413 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
9415 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
9417 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
9418 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
9419 (nntp-port-number "snews")
9420 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
9425 @item nntp-end-of-line
9426 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9427 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9428 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9429 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9431 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9432 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9433 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9437 @vindex nntp-address
9438 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9440 @item nntp-port-number
9441 @vindex nntp-port-number
9442 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9445 @item nntp-buggy-select
9446 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9447 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9449 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9450 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9451 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9452 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9455 @item nntp-xover-commands
9456 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9459 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9460 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9464 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9465 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9466 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9467 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9468 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9469 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9470 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9471 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9472 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9473 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9474 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9476 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9477 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9478 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9480 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9481 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9482 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9483 server closes connection.
9485 @item nntp-record-commands
9486 @vindex nntp-record-commands
9487 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
9488 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
9489 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
9490 that doesn't seem to work.
9496 @subsection News Spool
9500 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9501 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9502 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9505 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9506 anything else) as the address.
9508 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9509 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9510 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9511 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9515 @item nnspool-inews-program
9516 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9517 Program used to post an article.
9519 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9520 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9521 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9523 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9524 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9525 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9526 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9528 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9529 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9530 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9531 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9533 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9534 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9535 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9537 @item nnspool-active-file
9538 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9539 The path to the active file.
9541 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9542 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9543 The path to the group descriptions file.
9545 @item nnspool-history-file
9546 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9547 The path to the news history file.
9549 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9550 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9551 The path to the active date file.
9553 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9554 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9555 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9558 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9559 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9561 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9562 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9563 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9569 @section Getting Mail
9570 @cindex reading mail
9573 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9577 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9578 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9579 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9580 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9581 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9582 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9583 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9584 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9585 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9586 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9587 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9591 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9592 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9594 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9595 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9596 and things will happen automatically.
9598 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9599 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9602 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9603 '((nnml "private")))
9606 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9607 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9608 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9609 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9610 like any other group.
9612 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9615 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9616 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9617 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9621 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9622 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9623 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9626 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9627 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9628 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9631 @node Splitting Mail
9632 @subsection Splitting Mail
9633 @cindex splitting mail
9634 @cindex mail splitting
9636 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9637 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9638 to be split into groups.
9641 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9642 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9643 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9647 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9648 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9649 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9650 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9651 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9652 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9653 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9656 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9659 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9660 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9661 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9662 mail belongs in that group.
9664 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9665 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9666 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9667 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9668 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9669 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9671 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9672 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9673 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9674 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9675 thinks should carry this mail message.
9677 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9678 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9679 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9680 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9682 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9683 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9684 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9685 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9686 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9688 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9691 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9692 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9693 links. If that's the case for you, set
9694 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9695 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9697 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9698 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9699 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9700 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9702 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9703 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9704 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9705 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9706 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9707 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9708 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9709 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9713 @node Mail Backend Variables
9714 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9716 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9720 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9721 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9722 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9723 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9725 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9726 @item nnmail-spool-file
9730 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9731 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9732 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9733 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9734 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9735 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9736 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9737 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9738 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9739 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9740 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9741 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9742 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9743 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9744 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9746 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9748 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9749 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9752 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9753 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9754 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9755 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9756 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9757 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9759 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9760 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9761 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9762 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9763 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9764 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9765 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9768 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9769 @item nnmail-crash-box
9770 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9771 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9772 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9775 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9776 @item nnmail-split-hook
9777 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
9778 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9779 @findex RFC2047 decoding
9780 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9781 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9782 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9783 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9784 in the buffer will show up in any files.
9785 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
9788 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9789 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9790 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9791 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9792 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9793 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9794 starting to handle the new mail) and
9795 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9796 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9797 default file modes the new mail files get:
9800 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9801 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9803 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9804 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9807 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9808 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9809 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9810 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9811 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9812 it will be used instead.
9814 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9815 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9816 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9817 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9819 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9820 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9823 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9824 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9825 @cindex incoming mail files
9826 @cindex deleting incoming files
9827 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9828 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9831 @c This is @code{nil} by
9832 @c default for reasons of security.
9834 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9835 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9836 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9837 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9838 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9841 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9843 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9844 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9845 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9846 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9847 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9848 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9849 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9851 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9852 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9854 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9856 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9857 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9858 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9859 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9860 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9865 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9866 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9867 @cindex mail splitting
9868 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9870 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9871 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9872 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9873 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9874 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9875 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9877 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9880 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9881 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9882 ;; from real errors.
9883 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9885 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9886 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9887 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9888 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9889 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9890 ;; Other mailing lists...
9891 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9892 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9894 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9895 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9899 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9900 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9901 the five possible split syntaxes:
9906 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
9907 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
9911 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9912 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9913 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9916 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9917 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9918 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9919 be stored in one or more groups.
9922 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9923 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9926 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9927 this message. Use with extreme caution.
9930 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9931 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9932 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9936 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
9940 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9941 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9942 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9943 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9944 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9946 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9947 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9948 are expanded as specified by the variable
9949 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9950 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9953 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9954 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9955 when all this splitting is performed.
9957 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9958 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9959 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
9962 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9965 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
9966 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
9967 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
9968 groupings 1 through 9.
9971 @node Mail and Procmail
9972 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9977 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9978 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9979 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9980 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9981 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9983 If you have a combined @code{procmail}/POP/mailbox setup, you can do
9984 something like the following:
9986 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9988 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
9989 (setq nnmail-spool-file
9990 '("/usr/spool/mail/my-name" "po:my-name"))
9993 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9994 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9997 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9998 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9999 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
10000 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
10001 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
10002 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
10004 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
10007 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
10009 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
10010 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
10012 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
10013 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
10014 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
10015 to include all your mail groups.
10017 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
10018 method will be created automatically.
10020 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
10021 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
10022 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
10023 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
10024 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
10025 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
10026 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
10027 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
10029 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
10030 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
10031 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
10032 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
10033 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
10035 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
10036 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
10037 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
10038 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
10039 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
10040 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
10042 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
10043 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
10044 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
10045 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
10046 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
10049 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
10050 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
10051 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
10052 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
10053 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
10057 @node Incorporating Old Mail
10058 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
10060 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
10061 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
10062 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
10065 Doing so can be quite easy.
10067 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
10068 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
10069 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
10070 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
10071 your @code{nnml} groups.
10077 Go to the group buffer.
10080 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
10081 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10084 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
10087 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
10088 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
10091 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
10092 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
10095 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
10096 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
10097 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
10098 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
10099 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
10101 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
10102 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
10103 using the new mail backend.
10106 @node Expiring Mail
10107 @subsection Expiring Mail
10108 @cindex article expiry
10110 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
10111 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
10112 different approach to mail reading.
10114 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
10115 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
10116 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
10117 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
10118 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
10119 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
10122 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
10123 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
10124 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
10125 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
10126 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
10127 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
10128 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
10129 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
10131 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10132 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
10133 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
10134 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
10135 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
10136 column in the summary buffer.
10138 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
10139 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
10140 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
10141 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
10144 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
10146 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
10147 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
10148 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
10151 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
10152 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
10153 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
10154 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
10155 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
10157 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
10158 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
10161 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10162 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
10165 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
10166 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
10168 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
10169 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
10170 don't really mix very well.
10172 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
10173 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
10174 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
10175 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
10178 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
10179 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
10180 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
10181 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
10184 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10186 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10188 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
10190 ((string= group "mail.junk")
10192 ((string= group "important")
10198 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
10199 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
10201 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
10202 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
10203 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
10206 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
10207 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
10209 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
10210 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
10211 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
10212 easier for procmail users.
10214 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
10215 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
10216 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
10217 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
10218 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
10219 caution. Even more dangerous is the
10220 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
10221 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
10222 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
10223 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
10224 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
10225 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
10226 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
10229 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
10233 @subsection Washing Mail
10234 @cindex mail washing
10235 @cindex list server brain damage
10236 @cindex incoming mail treatment
10238 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
10239 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
10240 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
10241 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
10242 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
10243 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
10245 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
10246 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
10247 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
10250 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
10251 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
10252 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
10253 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
10256 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10257 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10258 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
10259 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
10260 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
10263 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10264 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10265 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
10266 Emacs running on MS machines.
10270 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10271 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10272 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
10273 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
10276 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10277 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10278 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
10279 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
10281 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10282 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10283 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
10284 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
10285 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
10286 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
10287 also be a list of regexp.
10289 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
10290 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
10293 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
10294 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
10297 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
10298 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
10299 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
10303 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10304 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10305 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
10309 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
10310 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
10311 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
10318 @subsection Duplicates
10320 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
10321 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
10322 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
10323 @cindex duplicate mails
10324 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
10325 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
10326 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
10327 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
10328 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
10329 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
10330 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
10331 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
10332 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
10333 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
10334 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
10335 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
10336 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
10338 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
10339 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
10340 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
10341 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
10343 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
10346 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
10347 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
10351 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
10352 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
10353 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
10354 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
10355 (any mail "mail.misc")
10362 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10363 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
10368 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
10369 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
10370 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
10371 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
10372 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
10375 @node Not Reading Mail
10376 @subsection Not Reading Mail
10378 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
10379 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
10380 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
10382 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
10383 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
10385 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10386 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10387 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10388 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10389 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10390 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
10391 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
10392 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
10393 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
10394 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
10395 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
10397 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
10398 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
10402 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
10403 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
10405 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
10406 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
10407 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
10410 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
10411 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
10412 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
10413 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
10414 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
10418 @node Unix Mail Box
10419 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
10421 @cindex unix mail box
10423 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10424 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10425 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
10426 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
10427 which group it belongs in.
10429 Virtual server settings:
10432 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
10433 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10434 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
10436 @item nnmbox-active-file
10437 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10438 The name of the active file for the mail box.
10440 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
10441 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10442 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
10448 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
10452 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10453 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10454 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10455 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10456 article to say which group it belongs in.
10458 Virtual server settings:
10461 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10462 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10463 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10465 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10466 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10467 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10469 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10470 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10471 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10476 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10478 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10480 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10481 format. It should be used with some caution.
10483 @vindex nnml-directory
10484 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10485 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10486 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10487 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10489 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10492 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10493 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10494 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10495 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10496 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10497 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10498 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10499 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10501 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10502 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10503 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10504 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10506 Virtual server settings:
10509 @item nnml-directory
10510 @vindex nnml-directory
10511 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10513 @item nnml-active-file
10514 @vindex nnml-active-file
10515 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10517 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10518 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10519 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10522 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10523 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10524 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10526 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10527 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10528 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10530 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10531 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10532 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10534 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10535 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10536 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10540 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10541 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10542 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10543 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10544 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10545 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10546 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10551 @subsubsection MH Spool
10553 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10555 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10556 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10557 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10558 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10560 Virtual server settings:
10563 @item nnmh-directory
10564 @vindex nnmh-directory
10565 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10567 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10568 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10569 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10572 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10573 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10574 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10575 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10576 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10577 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10578 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10583 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10585 @cindex mbox folders
10586 @cindex mail folders
10588 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10589 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10590 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10593 Virtual server settings:
10596 @item nnfolder-directory
10597 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10598 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10600 @item nnfolder-active-file
10601 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10602 The name of the active file.
10604 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10605 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10606 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10608 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10609 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10610 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10612 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
10613 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
10614 @cindex backup files
10615 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
10616 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
10617 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
10618 your @file{.emacs} file:
10621 (defun turn-off-backup ()
10622 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
10624 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
10627 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
10628 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
10629 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
10630 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
10631 extract some information from it before removing it.
10636 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10637 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10638 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10639 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10640 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10641 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10644 @node Other Sources
10645 @section Other Sources
10647 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10648 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10652 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10653 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10654 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10655 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10656 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10657 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10661 @node Directory Groups
10662 @subsection Directory Groups
10664 @cindex directory groups
10666 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10667 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10670 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10671 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10672 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10673 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10675 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10676 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10677 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10678 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10679 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10681 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10683 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10684 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10685 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10686 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10689 @node Anything Groups
10690 @subsection Anything Groups
10693 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10694 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10695 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10698 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10699 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10700 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10701 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10702 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10703 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10704 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10705 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10706 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10707 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10710 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10711 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10712 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10713 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10715 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10716 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10717 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10718 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10720 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10721 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10722 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10723 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10724 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10725 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10726 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10727 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10732 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10733 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10734 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10735 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10737 @item nneething-exclude-files
10738 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10739 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10740 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10742 @item nneething-map-file
10743 @vindex nneething-map-file
10744 Name of the map files.
10748 @node Document Groups
10749 @subsection Document Groups
10751 @cindex documentation group
10754 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10755 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10762 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10767 The standard Unix mbox file.
10769 @cindex MMDF mail box
10771 The MMDF mail box format.
10774 Several news articles appended into a file.
10777 @cindex rnews batch files
10778 The rnews batch transport format.
10779 @cindex forwarded messages
10782 Forwarded articles.
10785 MIME multipart messages, besides digests.
10789 @cindex MIME digest
10790 @cindex 1153 digest
10791 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10792 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10793 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10795 @item standard-digest
10796 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10799 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10802 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10803 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10804 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10807 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10808 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10809 group. And that's it.
10811 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10812 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10813 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10814 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10815 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10816 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10817 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10818 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10819 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10820 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10822 Virtual server variables:
10825 @item nndoc-article-type
10826 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10827 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10828 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10829 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{mime-digest},
10830 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or
10833 @item nndoc-post-type
10834 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10835 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10836 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10841 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10845 @node Document Server Internals
10846 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10848 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10849 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10850 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10851 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10853 First, here's an example document type definition:
10857 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10858 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10861 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10862 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10863 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10864 types can be defined with very few settings:
10867 @item first-article
10868 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10869 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10872 @item article-begin
10873 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10874 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10876 @item head-begin-function
10877 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10880 @item nndoc-head-begin
10881 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10884 @item nndoc-head-end
10885 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10886 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10888 @item body-begin-function
10889 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10893 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10896 @item body-end-function
10897 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10901 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10904 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10905 regexp will be totally ignored.
10909 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10910 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10911 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10912 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10913 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10916 @item prepare-body-function
10917 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10918 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10919 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10921 @item article-transform-function
10922 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10923 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10924 body of the article.
10926 @item generate-head-function
10927 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10928 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10929 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10930 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10934 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10939 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10940 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10941 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10942 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10943 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10944 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10945 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10946 (subtype digest guess))
10949 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10950 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10951 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10952 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10953 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10955 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10956 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10957 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10958 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10959 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
10960 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10961 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10962 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10963 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10964 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10972 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10973 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10974 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10976 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10977 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10978 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10981 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10982 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10983 that interested in doing things properly.
10985 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10986 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10989 First some terminology:
10994 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10995 get news and/or mail from.
10998 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10999 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
11002 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
11006 @item message packets
11007 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
11008 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
11009 default, where @var{X} is a number.
11011 @item response packets
11012 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
11013 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
11014 default, where @var{X} is a number.
11024 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
11025 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
11026 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
11027 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
11030 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
11033 You put the packet in your home directory.
11036 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
11037 the native or secondary server.
11040 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
11041 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
11044 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
11048 You transfer this packet to the server.
11051 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
11054 You then repeat until you die.
11058 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
11059 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
11062 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
11063 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
11064 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
11068 @node SOUP Commands
11069 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
11071 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
11075 @kindex G s b (Group)
11076 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
11077 Pack all unread articles in the current group
11078 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
11079 process/prefix convention.
11082 @kindex G s w (Group)
11083 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
11084 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
11087 @kindex G s s (Group)
11088 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
11089 Send all replies from the replies packet
11090 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
11093 @kindex G s p (Group)
11094 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
11095 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
11098 @kindex G s r (Group)
11099 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
11100 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
11103 @kindex O s (Summary)
11104 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
11105 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
11106 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
11107 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11112 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
11117 @item gnus-soup-directory
11118 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
11119 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
11120 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
11122 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
11123 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
11124 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
11125 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
11127 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
11128 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
11129 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
11130 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
11132 @item gnus-soup-packer
11133 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
11134 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
11135 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
11137 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
11138 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
11139 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
11140 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
11142 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
11143 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
11144 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
11146 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
11147 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
11148 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
11149 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
11155 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
11158 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
11159 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
11160 you can read them at leisure.
11162 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
11166 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
11167 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
11168 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
11169 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
11171 @item nnsoup-directory
11172 @vindex nnsoup-directory
11173 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
11174 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
11176 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
11177 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
11178 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
11179 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
11181 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
11182 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
11183 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
11184 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
11185 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
11187 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
11188 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
11189 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
11190 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
11192 @item nnsoup-active-file
11193 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
11194 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
11195 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
11196 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
11197 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
11199 @item nnsoup-packer
11200 @vindex nnsoup-packer
11201 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
11202 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
11204 @item nnsoup-unpacker
11205 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
11206 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
11207 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
11209 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
11210 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
11211 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
11214 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
11215 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
11216 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
11219 @item nnsoup-always-save
11220 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
11221 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
11227 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
11229 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
11230 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
11231 more for that to happen.
11233 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
11234 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
11235 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
11238 In specific, this is what it does:
11241 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
11242 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
11245 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
11246 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
11247 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
11251 @subsection Web Searches
11255 @cindex InReference
11256 @cindex Usenet searches
11257 @cindex searching the Usenet
11259 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
11260 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
11261 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
11262 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
11263 searches without having to use a browser.
11265 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
11266 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
11267 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
11268 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
11269 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
11271 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
11272 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
11273 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
11274 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
11275 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
11276 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
11277 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
11278 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
11279 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
11280 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
11283 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
11284 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
11285 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
11286 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
11287 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
11288 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
11290 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
11291 to use @code{nnweb}.
11293 Virtual server variables:
11298 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
11299 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
11303 @vindex nnweb-search
11304 The search string to feed to the search engine.
11306 @item nnweb-max-hits
11307 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
11308 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
11311 @item nnweb-type-definition
11312 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
11313 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
11314 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
11319 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
11323 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
11326 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
11329 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
11333 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
11340 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
11341 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
11342 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
11345 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
11346 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
11347 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
11349 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
11355 @item nngateway-address
11356 @vindex nngateway-address
11357 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
11359 @item nngateway-header-transformation
11360 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
11361 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
11362 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
11363 transformation should be called, and defaults to
11364 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
11365 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
11368 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
11369 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
11370 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
11373 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
11376 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
11379 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
11382 The following pre-defined functions exist:
11384 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11387 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11388 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11389 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
11391 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11393 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11394 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11395 @code{nngateway-address}.
11400 (setq gnus-post-method
11401 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
11402 (nngateway-header-transformation
11403 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
11411 So, to use this, simply say something like:
11414 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
11418 @node Combined Groups
11419 @section Combined Groups
11421 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
11425 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
11426 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
11430 @node Virtual Groups
11431 @subsection Virtual Groups
11433 @cindex virtual groups
11434 @cindex merging groups
11436 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
11439 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
11440 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
11441 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
11443 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
11444 regexp to match component groups.
11446 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
11447 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
11448 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
11449 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
11450 the virtual group.)
11452 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
11453 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
11456 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
11459 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
11460 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
11462 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
11463 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
11464 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
11465 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
11468 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
11471 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
11472 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
11473 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
11475 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
11476 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
11477 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
11478 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
11479 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
11481 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
11482 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
11483 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
11485 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
11486 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
11487 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
11488 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
11489 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
11490 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
11491 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
11492 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
11493 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
11494 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
11495 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
11497 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
11498 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
11499 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
11500 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
11501 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
11502 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
11503 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
11505 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
11506 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
11510 @node Kibozed Groups
11511 @subsection Kibozed Groups
11515 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
11516 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
11517 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
11518 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
11520 @kindex G k (Group)
11521 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
11524 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
11525 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11526 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11527 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11529 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11530 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11531 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11533 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11534 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11535 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11536 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11537 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11538 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11539 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11540 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11542 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11543 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11544 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11545 Stranger things have happened.
11547 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11548 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11550 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11551 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11552 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11553 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11554 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11555 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11557 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11558 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11561 @node Gnus Unplugged
11562 @section Gnus Unplugged
11567 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11569 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11570 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11571 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11572 read news. Believe it or not.
11574 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11575 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11576 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11577 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11578 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11580 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11581 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11582 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11583 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11584 reading news on a machine.
11586 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11590 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11591 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11595 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11596 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11603 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11605 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11608 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11609 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11610 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11611 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
11612 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11613 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11614 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11615 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11616 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
11621 @subsection Agent Basics
11623 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11625 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11626 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11627 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11628 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11630 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11631 connected to the net continuously.
11633 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11634 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11636 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11641 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11642 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11643 already fetched while in this mode.
11646 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11647 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11648 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11651 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11652 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11653 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11654 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11657 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11658 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11659 then you read the news offline.
11662 And then you go to step 2.
11665 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11671 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11672 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11673 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11674 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11675 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11676 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11679 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
11686 @node Agent Categories
11687 @subsection Agent Categories
11689 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11690 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11691 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11692 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11693 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11694 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11695 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11697 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11698 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11699 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11702 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11703 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11704 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11708 @node Category Syntax
11709 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11711 A category consists of two things.
11715 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11716 are eligible for downloading; and
11719 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11720 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11721 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
11724 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
11725 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
11726 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
11727 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
11729 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
11730 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
11731 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
11733 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
11734 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
11735 operators sprinkled in between.
11737 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11739 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11740 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11746 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11747 short (for some value of ``short'').
11749 Here's a more complex predicate:
11758 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11759 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11762 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11763 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11764 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11766 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11767 you want to do, you can write your own.
11771 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11772 lines; default 100.
11775 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11776 lines; default 200.
11779 True iff the article has a download score less than
11780 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11783 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11784 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11787 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11788 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11789 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11798 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11799 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11800 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11803 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
11804 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
11805 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
11806 something along the lines of the following:
11809 (defun my-article-old-p ()
11810 "Say whether an article is old."
11811 (< (time-to-day (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
11812 (- (time-to-day (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
11815 with the predicate then defined as:
11818 (not my-article-old-p)
11821 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
11822 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
11823 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
11824 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
11827 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
11828 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
11829 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
11832 and simply specify your predicate as:
11838 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
11839 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
11840 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
11841 just don't give a damm.
11844 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
11845 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
11846 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
11847 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
11848 parameters like so:
11851 (agent-predicate . short)
11854 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category
11855 default. Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this,
11856 the @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair
11859 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
11862 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
11865 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
11866 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
11867 predicate is assumed to be a list.
11870 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11871 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11872 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11873 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
11874 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
11875 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
11877 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
11878 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
11879 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
11880 if it's to be specific to that group.
11882 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
11889 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
11890 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
11896 Category specification
11900 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
11906 Group Parameter specification
11909 (agent-score ("from"
11910 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
11915 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
11921 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
11928 Category specification
11931 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
11937 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
11941 Group Parameter specification
11944 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
11947 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
11952 Use @code{normal} score files
11954 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
11955 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
11956 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
11957 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
11959 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
11960 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
11961 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
11962 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
11966 Category Specification
11973 Group Parameter specification
11976 (agent-score . file)
11981 @node The Category Buffer
11982 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11984 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11985 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11986 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11988 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11992 @kindex q (Category)
11993 @findex gnus-category-exit
11994 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11997 @kindex k (Category)
11998 @findex gnus-category-kill
11999 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
12002 @kindex c (Category)
12003 @findex gnus-category-copy
12004 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
12007 @kindex a (Category)
12008 @findex gnus-category-add
12009 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
12012 @kindex p (Category)
12013 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
12014 Edit the predicate of the current category
12015 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
12018 @kindex g (Category)
12019 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
12020 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
12021 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
12024 @kindex s (Category)
12025 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
12026 Edit the download score rule of the current category
12027 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
12030 @kindex l (Category)
12031 @findex gnus-category-list
12032 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
12036 @node Category Variables
12037 @subsubsection Category Variables
12040 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
12041 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
12042 Hook run in category buffers.
12044 @item gnus-category-line-format
12045 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
12046 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
12047 Variables}). Valid elements are:
12051 The name of the category.
12054 The number of groups in the category.
12057 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
12058 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
12059 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
12061 @item gnus-agent-short-article
12062 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
12063 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
12065 @item gnus-agent-long-article
12066 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
12067 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
12069 @item gnus-agent-low-score
12070 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
12071 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
12074 @item gnus-agent-high-score
12075 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
12076 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
12082 @node Agent Commands
12083 @subsection Agent Commands
12085 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
12086 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
12087 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
12091 * Group Agent Commands::
12092 * Summary Agent Commands::
12093 * Server Agent Commands::
12096 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
12097 following incantation:
12099 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
12101 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
12106 @node Group Agent Commands
12107 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
12111 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
12112 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
12113 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
12114 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
12117 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
12118 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
12119 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
12122 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
12123 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
12124 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
12125 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
12128 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
12129 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
12130 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
12131 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}.
12134 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
12135 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
12136 Add the current group to an Agent category
12137 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
12142 @node Summary Agent Commands
12143 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
12147 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
12148 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
12149 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
12152 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
12153 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
12154 Remove the downloading mark from the article
12155 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
12158 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
12159 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
12160 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
12163 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
12164 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
12165 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
12170 @node Server Agent Commands
12171 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
12175 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
12176 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
12177 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
12178 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
12181 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
12182 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
12183 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
12184 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
12190 @subsection Agent Expiry
12192 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
12193 @findex gnus-agent-expire
12194 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
12195 @cindex Agent expiry
12196 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
12199 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
12200 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
12201 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
12202 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
12203 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
12204 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
12206 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
12207 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
12208 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
12209 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
12210 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
12213 @node Outgoing Messages
12214 @subsection Outgoing Messages
12216 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
12217 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
12218 after posting, and edit them at will.
12220 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
12221 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
12222 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
12223 messages in the draft group.
12227 @node Agent Variables
12228 @subsection Agent Variables
12231 @item gnus-agent-directory
12232 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
12233 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
12234 @file{~/News/agent/}.
12236 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
12237 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
12238 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
12239 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
12240 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
12243 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
12244 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
12245 Hook run when connecting to the network.
12247 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
12248 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
12249 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
12254 @node Example Setup
12255 @subsection Example Setup
12257 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
12258 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
12259 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
12262 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
12263 ;;; from your ISP's server.
12264 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
12266 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
12267 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
12268 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
12269 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
12271 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
12272 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12274 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
12278 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
12279 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
12282 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
12283 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
12284 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
12285 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
12286 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
12289 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
12290 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
12291 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
12292 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
12293 back all the killed groups.)
12295 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
12296 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
12297 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
12300 @node Batching Agents
12301 @subsection Batching Agents
12303 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
12304 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
12305 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
12309 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
12313 @node Agent Caveats
12314 @subsection Agent Caveats
12316 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
12317 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
12321 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
12326 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
12327 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
12333 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
12334 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
12341 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
12342 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
12343 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
12346 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
12347 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
12348 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
12349 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
12350 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
12352 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
12353 before generating the summary buffer.
12355 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
12356 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
12357 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
12359 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
12360 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
12361 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
12362 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
12365 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
12366 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
12367 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
12368 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
12369 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
12370 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
12371 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
12372 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
12373 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
12374 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
12375 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
12376 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
12377 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
12378 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
12379 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
12380 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
12384 @node Summary Score Commands
12385 @section Summary Score Commands
12386 @cindex score commands
12388 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
12389 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
12390 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
12391 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
12392 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
12394 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
12395 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
12396 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
12397 score file the current one.
12399 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
12404 @kindex V s (Summary)
12405 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
12406 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
12409 @kindex V S (Summary)
12410 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
12411 Display the score of the current article
12412 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
12415 @kindex V t (Summary)
12416 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
12417 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
12418 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
12421 @kindex V R (Summary)
12422 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
12423 Run the current summary through the scoring process
12424 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
12425 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
12426 effect you're having.
12429 @kindex V c (Summary)
12430 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
12431 Make a different score file the current
12432 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
12435 @kindex V e (Summary)
12436 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
12437 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
12438 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
12442 @kindex V f (Summary)
12443 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
12444 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
12445 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
12448 @kindex V F (Summary)
12449 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12450 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
12451 after editing score files.
12454 @kindex V C (Summary)
12455 @findex gnus-score-customize
12456 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
12457 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
12461 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
12466 @kindex V m (Summary)
12467 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
12468 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
12469 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
12472 @kindex V x (Summary)
12473 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
12474 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
12475 expunge all articles below this score
12476 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
12479 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
12480 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
12483 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
12484 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
12488 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
12489 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
12491 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
12492 keys are available:
12496 Score on the author name.
12499 Score on the subject line.
12502 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
12505 Score on the References line.
12511 Score on the number of lines.
12514 Score on the Message-ID.
12517 Score on followups.
12531 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
12532 what headers you are scoring on.
12544 Substring matching.
12547 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
12576 Greater than number.
12581 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
12582 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
12583 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
12587 Temporary score entry.
12590 Permanent score entry.
12593 Immediately scoring.
12598 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
12599 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
12600 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
12601 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
12603 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
12604 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
12605 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
12606 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
12607 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
12609 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
12610 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
12611 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
12612 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
12613 current score file.
12615 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
12616 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
12617 pretend they are keymaps or not.
12620 @node Group Score Commands
12621 @section Group Score Commands
12622 @cindex group score commands
12624 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
12629 @kindex W f (Group)
12630 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12631 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
12632 all the time. This command will flush the cache
12633 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
12637 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
12639 @findex gnus-batch-score
12640 @cindex batch scoring
12642 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
12646 @node Score Variables
12647 @section Score Variables
12648 @cindex score variables
12652 @item gnus-use-scoring
12653 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
12654 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
12655 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
12657 @item gnus-kill-killed
12658 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
12659 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
12660 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
12661 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
12662 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
12663 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
12664 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
12666 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
12667 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
12668 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
12669 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
12670 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
12672 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
12673 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
12674 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
12675 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
12677 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12678 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12679 @cindex score cache
12680 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
12681 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
12682 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
12683 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
12684 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
12685 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
12688 @item gnus-save-score
12689 @vindex gnus-save-score
12690 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
12691 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
12692 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
12694 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12695 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12696 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
12697 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
12698 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
12699 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
12700 manually entered data.
12702 @item gnus-summary-default-score
12703 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
12704 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
12706 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
12707 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
12708 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
12709 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
12710 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
12711 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
12713 @item gnus-score-over-mark
12714 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
12715 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
12716 default. Default is @samp{+}.
12718 @item gnus-score-below-mark
12719 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
12720 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
12721 default. Default is @samp{-}.
12723 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12724 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12725 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
12726 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
12728 Predefined functions available are:
12731 @item gnus-score-find-single
12732 @findex gnus-score-find-single
12733 Only apply the group's own score file.
12735 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
12736 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
12737 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
12738 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
12739 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
12740 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
12741 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
12742 then a regexp match is done.
12744 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
12745 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
12747 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
12748 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
12749 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
12750 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
12752 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12753 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12754 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12755 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12756 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12759 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12760 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12761 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12762 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12763 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12764 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12767 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12768 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12769 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12770 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12771 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12773 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12774 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12775 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12776 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12777 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12778 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12779 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12782 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12783 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12784 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12786 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
12787 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
12788 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
12789 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
12790 threading---according to the current value of
12791 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
12792 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
12793 simplified in this manner.
12798 @node Score File Format
12799 @section Score File Format
12800 @cindex score file format
12802 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12803 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12804 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12806 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12810 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12812 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12814 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12816 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12821 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12825 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12826 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12827 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12828 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12832 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12833 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12835 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12836 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12837 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12839 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12844 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12845 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12846 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12847 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12848 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12849 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12850 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12851 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12852 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12853 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12854 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12855 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12856 to articles that matches these score entries.
12858 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12859 score entry has one to four elements.
12863 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12864 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12868 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12869 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12870 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12871 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12872 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12873 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12876 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12877 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12878 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12879 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12880 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12883 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12884 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12885 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12886 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12889 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12890 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12891 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12892 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12893 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12894 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12895 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12896 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12897 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12898 instead, if you feel like.
12901 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12902 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
12904 These predicates are true if
12907 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
12910 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
12911 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
12918 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
12919 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
12920 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
12921 it's not. I think.)
12923 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
12924 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
12925 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
12926 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
12929 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12930 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12931 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12932 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12933 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12934 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12935 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12939 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12940 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12941 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12942 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12943 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12944 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12945 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12946 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12949 @item Head, Body, All
12950 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12954 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12955 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12956 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12957 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12958 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12959 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12960 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12964 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12965 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
12966 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12967 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12968 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12969 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12970 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12971 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12972 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12973 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12977 @cindex Score File Atoms
12979 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12980 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12983 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12984 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12986 @item mark-and-expunge
12987 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12988 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12991 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12992 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12993 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12994 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12995 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12998 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12999 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
13002 @item exclude-files
13003 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
13004 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
13008 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
13009 ignored when handling global score files.
13012 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
13013 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
13014 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
13015 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
13018 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
13019 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
13020 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
13021 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
13023 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
13027 (mark-and-expunge -100)
13030 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
13031 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
13032 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
13033 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
13034 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
13036 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
13037 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
13038 ordinary scoring rules.
13041 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
13042 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
13043 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
13044 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
13045 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
13046 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
13047 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
13048 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
13049 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
13050 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
13051 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
13055 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
13056 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
13057 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
13058 file for a number of groups.
13061 @cindex local variables
13062 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
13063 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
13064 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
13065 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
13066 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
13070 @node Score File Editing
13071 @section Score File Editing
13073 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
13074 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
13075 with a mode for that.
13077 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
13078 additional commands:
13083 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
13084 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
13085 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
13086 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
13089 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
13090 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
13091 Insert the current date in numerical format
13092 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
13093 you were wondering.
13096 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
13097 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
13098 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
13099 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
13100 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
13105 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
13107 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
13108 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
13110 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
13111 e} to begin editing score files.
13114 @node Adaptive Scoring
13115 @section Adaptive Scoring
13116 @cindex adaptive scoring
13118 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
13119 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
13120 stupidity, to be precise.
13122 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
13123 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
13124 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
13125 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
13126 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
13127 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
13128 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
13129 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
13130 variable to @code{(word line)}.
13132 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
13133 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
13134 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
13135 might look something like this:
13138 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
13139 '((gnus-unread-mark)
13140 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
13141 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
13142 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
13143 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
13144 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
13145 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
13146 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
13147 (gnus-ancient-mark)
13148 (gnus-low-score-mark)
13149 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
13152 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
13153 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
13154 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
13155 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
13156 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
13157 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
13160 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
13161 will be applied to each article.
13163 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
13164 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
13165 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
13166 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
13168 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
13169 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
13170 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
13171 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
13173 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
13174 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
13175 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
13176 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
13178 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
13179 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
13180 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
13181 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
13182 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
13183 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
13185 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
13186 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
13187 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
13188 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
13189 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
13190 aspirins afterwards.)
13192 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
13193 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
13194 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
13196 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
13197 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
13198 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
13200 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
13201 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
13202 let you use different rules in different groups.
13204 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
13205 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
13206 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
13209 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
13210 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
13211 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
13212 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
13213 the length of the match is less than
13214 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
13215 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
13218 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
13219 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
13220 headers. If you adapt on words, the
13221 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
13222 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
13225 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
13226 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
13227 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
13228 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
13229 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
13232 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
13233 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
13234 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
13235 score with 30 points.
13237 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
13238 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
13239 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
13240 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
13241 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
13243 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
13244 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
13245 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
13246 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
13248 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
13249 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
13250 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
13251 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
13253 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
13254 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
13255 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
13256 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
13257 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
13259 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
13260 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
13261 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
13263 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
13264 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
13265 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
13266 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
13269 @node Home Score File
13270 @section Home Score File
13272 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
13273 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
13274 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
13275 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
13277 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
13278 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
13279 could perhaps use the same home score file.
13281 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
13282 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
13287 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
13291 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
13292 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
13296 A list. The elements in this list can be:
13300 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
13301 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
13304 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
13305 the home score file.
13308 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
13311 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
13316 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
13319 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13320 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
13323 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
13324 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
13326 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
13328 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13329 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
13332 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
13333 Other functions include
13336 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
13337 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
13338 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
13339 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
13343 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
13344 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
13345 their own home score files:
13348 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13349 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
13350 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
13351 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
13352 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
13355 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
13356 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
13357 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
13358 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
13359 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
13361 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
13362 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
13363 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
13364 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
13365 precedence over this variable.
13368 @node Followups To Yourself
13369 @section Followups To Yourself
13371 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
13372 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
13373 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
13374 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
13375 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
13376 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
13380 @item gnus-score-followup-article
13381 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
13382 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
13385 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
13386 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
13387 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
13391 @vindex message-sent-hook
13392 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
13393 @code{message-sent-hook}.
13395 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
13396 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
13400 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
13401 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
13404 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
13405 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
13410 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
13414 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
13415 is system-dependent.
13419 @section Scoring Tips
13420 @cindex scoring tips
13426 @cindex scoring crossposts
13427 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
13428 the @code{Xref} header.
13430 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
13433 @item Multiple crossposts
13434 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
13435 more than, say, 3 groups:
13437 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
13440 @item Matching on the body
13441 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
13442 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
13443 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
13444 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
13445 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
13446 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
13447 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
13450 @item Marking as read
13451 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
13452 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
13453 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
13457 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
13459 @item Negated character classes
13460 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
13461 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
13462 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
13466 @node Reverse Scoring
13467 @section Reverse Scoring
13468 @cindex reverse scoring
13470 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
13471 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
13472 like this in your score file:
13476 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
13481 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
13482 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
13485 @node Global Score Files
13486 @section Global Score Files
13487 @cindex global score files
13489 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
13490 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
13491 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
13493 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
13494 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
13495 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
13497 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
13498 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
13499 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
13500 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
13501 files are applicable to which group.
13503 Say you want to use the score file
13504 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
13505 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
13508 (setq gnus-global-score-files
13509 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
13510 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
13513 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
13514 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
13515 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
13516 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
13517 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
13519 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
13520 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
13522 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
13523 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
13524 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
13525 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
13526 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
13527 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
13529 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
13535 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
13537 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
13539 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
13541 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
13542 lowered out of existence.
13544 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
13545 articles completely.
13548 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
13549 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
13550 old articles for a long time.
13553 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
13554 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
13555 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
13556 holding our breath yet?
13560 @section Kill Files
13563 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
13564 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
13565 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
13567 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
13568 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
13569 files into score files.
13571 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
13572 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
13573 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
13574 that isn't a very good idea.
13576 Normal kill files look like this:
13579 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13580 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
13584 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
13585 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
13587 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
13588 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
13591 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
13596 @kindex M-k (Summary)
13597 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
13598 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
13601 @kindex M-K (Summary)
13602 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
13603 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
13606 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
13611 @kindex M-k (Group)
13612 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
13613 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
13616 @kindex M-K (Group)
13617 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
13618 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
13621 Kill file variables:
13624 @item gnus-kill-file-name
13625 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
13626 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
13627 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
13628 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
13629 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
13630 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
13632 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13633 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13634 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
13635 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
13638 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
13639 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
13640 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
13641 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
13642 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
13643 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
13644 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
13645 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
13646 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
13648 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13649 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13650 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
13655 @node Converting Kill Files
13656 @section Converting Kill Files
13658 @cindex converting kill files
13660 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
13661 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
13662 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
13665 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
13666 You can fetch it from
13667 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
13669 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
13670 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
13671 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
13679 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
13680 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
13681 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
13683 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
13684 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
13685 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
13686 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
13687 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
13688 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
13689 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
13690 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
13694 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
13695 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
13696 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
13697 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
13701 @node Using GroupLens
13702 @subsection Using GroupLens
13704 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
13706 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
13707 better bit in town at the moment.
13709 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
13713 @item gnus-use-grouplens
13714 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
13715 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
13716 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
13718 @item grouplens-pseudonym
13719 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
13720 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
13721 with the Better Bit Bureau.
13723 @item grouplens-newsgroups
13724 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
13725 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
13729 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
13730 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
13731 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
13732 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
13733 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
13734 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
13737 @node Rating Articles
13738 @subsection Rating Articles
13740 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
13741 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
13742 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
13743 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
13746 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
13751 @kindex r (GroupLens)
13752 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
13753 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
13756 @kindex k (GroupLens)
13757 @findex grouplens-score-thread
13758 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
13759 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
13760 threads in rec.humor.
13764 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
13765 the score of the article you're reading.
13770 @kindex n (GroupLens)
13771 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
13772 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
13775 @kindex , (GroupLens)
13776 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
13777 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
13781 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
13782 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
13785 @node Displaying Predictions
13786 @subsection Displaying Predictions
13788 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
13789 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
13790 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
13791 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
13792 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
13794 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
13795 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
13796 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
13797 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
13798 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
13799 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13800 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13801 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13802 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13803 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13804 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13805 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13806 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13808 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13809 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13810 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13811 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13813 The following are valid values for that variable.
13816 @item prediction-spot
13817 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13820 @item confidence-interval
13821 A numeric confidence interval.
13823 @item prediction-bar
13824 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13826 @item confidence-bar
13827 Numerical confidence.
13829 @item confidence-spot
13830 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13832 @item prediction-num
13833 Plain-old numeric value.
13835 @item confidence-plus-minus
13836 Prediction +/- confidence.
13841 @node GroupLens Variables
13842 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13846 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13847 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13848 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13849 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13852 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13853 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13856 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13857 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13859 @item grouplens-score-offset
13860 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13861 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13864 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13865 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13866 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13871 @node Advanced Scoring
13872 @section Advanced Scoring
13874 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13875 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13876 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13877 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13878 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13880 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13884 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13885 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13886 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13890 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13891 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13893 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13894 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13895 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13896 non-@code{nil} value.
13898 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13899 operator, and various match operators.
13906 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13907 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13908 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13913 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13914 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13915 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13920 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13921 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13925 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13926 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13927 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13928 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13929 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13930 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13931 the ancestry you want to go.
13933 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13934 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13935 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13936 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13937 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13940 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13941 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13943 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13944 when he's talking about Gnus:
13948 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13949 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13955 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13959 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13966 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13967 really don't want to read what he's written:
13971 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13972 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13976 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13977 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13978 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13985 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13986 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13987 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13988 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13992 The possibilities are endless.
13995 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13996 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13998 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13999 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
14000 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
14001 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
14002 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
14003 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
14004 @samp{subject}) first.
14006 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
14007 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
14018 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
14019 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
14025 ("subject" "Gnus")))
14032 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
14033 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
14038 @section Score Decays
14039 @cindex score decays
14042 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
14043 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
14044 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
14045 use them in any sensible way.
14047 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
14048 @findex gnus-decay-score
14049 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
14050 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
14051 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
14052 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
14053 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
14054 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
14055 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
14056 definition of that function:
14059 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
14061 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
14062 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
14065 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
14067 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
14069 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
14072 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
14073 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
14074 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
14075 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
14079 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
14082 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
14085 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
14089 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
14090 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
14091 the new score, which should be an integer.
14093 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
14094 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
14101 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
14102 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
14103 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
14104 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
14105 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
14106 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
14107 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
14108 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
14109 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
14110 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
14111 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
14112 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
14113 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
14114 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
14115 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
14116 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
14117 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
14118 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
14122 @node Process/Prefix
14123 @section Process/Prefix
14124 @cindex process/prefix convention
14126 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
14127 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
14129 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
14130 command to be performed on.
14134 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
14135 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
14136 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
14137 with the current one.
14139 @vindex transient-mark-mode
14140 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
14141 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
14143 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
14144 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
14147 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
14148 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
14150 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
14153 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
14154 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
14155 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
14156 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14158 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
14159 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
14160 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
14161 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
14162 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
14163 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
14164 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
14165 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
14169 @section Interactive
14170 @cindex interaction
14174 @item gnus-novice-user
14175 @vindex gnus-novice-user
14176 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
14177 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
14178 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
14179 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
14182 @item gnus-expert-user
14183 @vindex gnus-expert-user
14184 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
14185 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
14186 matter how strange.
14188 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
14189 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
14190 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
14191 is @code{t} by default.
14193 @item gnus-interactive-exit
14194 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
14195 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14200 @node Symbolic Prefixes
14201 @section Symbolic Prefixes
14202 @cindex symbolic prefixes
14204 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
14205 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
14206 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
14207 rule of 900 to the current article.
14209 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
14210 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
14211 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
14212 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
14213 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
14214 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
14215 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
14217 @kindex M-i (Summary)
14218 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
14219 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
14220 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
14221 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
14222 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
14223 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
14224 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
14225 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
14227 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
14228 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
14229 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
14231 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
14235 @node Formatting Variables
14236 @section Formatting Variables
14237 @cindex formatting variables
14239 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
14240 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
14241 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
14242 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
14243 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
14246 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
14247 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
14248 lots of percentages everywhere.
14251 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
14252 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
14253 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
14254 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
14255 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
14258 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
14259 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
14260 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
14261 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
14262 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
14263 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
14264 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
14265 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
14267 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
14268 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
14270 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
14271 @findex gnus-update-format
14272 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
14273 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
14274 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
14275 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
14279 @node Formatting Basics
14280 @subsection Formatting Basics
14282 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
14283 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
14284 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
14286 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
14287 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
14288 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
14289 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
14290 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
14293 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
14294 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
14295 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
14296 less than 4 characters wide.
14299 @node Mode Line Formatting
14300 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
14302 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
14303 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
14304 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
14305 with the following two differences:
14310 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
14313 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
14314 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
14315 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
14316 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
14317 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
14318 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
14319 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
14324 @node Advanced Formatting
14325 @subsection Advanced Formatting
14327 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
14328 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
14329 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
14330 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
14332 These are the valid modifiers:
14337 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
14341 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
14346 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
14349 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
14354 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
14357 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
14360 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
14363 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
14367 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
14368 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
14369 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
14370 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
14371 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
14372 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
14373 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
14375 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
14376 last operation, padding.
14378 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
14379 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
14380 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
14381 @xref{Compilation}.
14384 @node User-Defined Specs
14385 @subsection User-Defined Specs
14387 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
14388 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
14389 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
14390 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
14391 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
14392 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
14393 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
14394 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
14395 should protect against that.
14397 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
14398 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
14399 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
14400 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
14404 @node Formatting Fonts
14405 @subsection Formatting Fonts
14407 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
14408 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
14409 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
14410 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
14413 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
14414 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
14415 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
14416 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
14417 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
14418 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
14420 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
14421 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say
14422 @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
14423 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
14424 symbols naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
14425 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
14426 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
14427 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
14429 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
14432 ;; Create three face types.
14433 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
14434 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
14436 ;; We want the article count to be in
14437 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
14438 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
14439 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
14441 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
14442 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
14444 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
14445 (setq gnus-group-line-format
14446 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
14449 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
14450 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
14452 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
14453 mode-line variables.
14456 @node Windows Configuration
14457 @section Windows Configuration
14458 @cindex windows configuration
14460 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
14462 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
14463 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
14464 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
14465 @code{t} by default.
14467 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
14468 glitches. Use at your own peril.
14470 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
14471 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
14472 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
14475 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
14476 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
14477 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14481 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
14482 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
14483 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
14484 possible names is listed below.
14486 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
14487 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
14490 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14494 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
14495 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
14496 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
14497 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
14498 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
14499 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
14500 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
14501 size spec per split.
14503 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
14504 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
14505 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
14506 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
14507 present) gets focus.
14509 Here's a more complicated example:
14512 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
14513 (summary 0.25 point)
14514 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
14518 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
14519 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
14520 occupy, not a percentage.
14522 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
14523 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
14524 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
14525 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
14526 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
14529 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
14532 (article (horizontal 1.0
14537 (summary 0.25 point)
14542 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
14543 @code{horizontal} thingie?
14545 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
14546 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
14547 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
14548 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
14549 the screen is to be given to this strip.
14551 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
14552 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
14553 lines from the splits.
14555 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
14559 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
14560 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
14561 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
14562 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
14563 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
14564 size = number | frame-params
14565 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
14568 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
14569 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
14570 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
14571 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
14573 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
14574 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
14575 @cindex window height
14576 @cindex window width
14577 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
14578 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
14579 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
14580 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
14581 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
14582 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
14584 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
14585 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
14586 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
14587 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
14589 @findex gnus-configure-frame
14590 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
14591 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
14592 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
14593 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
14594 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
14595 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
14596 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
14597 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
14598 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
14599 configuration list.
14602 (gnus-configure-frame
14606 (article 0.3 point))
14614 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
14615 @code{frame} split:
14618 (gnus-configure-frame
14621 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
14623 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
14624 (user-position . t)
14625 (left . -1) (top . 1))
14630 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
14631 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
14632 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
14633 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
14634 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
14635 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
14636 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
14637 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
14640 Here's a list of all possible keys for
14641 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
14643 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
14644 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
14645 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
14646 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
14647 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
14648 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
14650 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
14651 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
14652 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
14656 (message (horizontal 1.0
14657 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
14659 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
14664 @findex gnus-add-configuration
14665 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
14666 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
14667 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
14668 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
14671 (gnus-add-configuration
14672 '(article (vertical 1.0
14674 (summary .25 point)
14678 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
14679 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
14680 Gnus has been loaded.
14682 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
14683 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
14684 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
14685 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
14686 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
14688 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
14689 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
14690 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
14694 @node Faces and Fonts
14695 @section Faces and Fonts
14700 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
14701 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
14702 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
14707 @section Compilation
14708 @cindex compilation
14709 @cindex byte-compilation
14711 @findex gnus-compile
14713 Remember all those line format specification variables?
14714 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
14715 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
14716 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
14717 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
14718 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
14721 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
14722 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
14723 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
14724 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
14725 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
14726 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
14727 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
14731 @section Mode Lines
14734 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
14735 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
14736 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
14737 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
14738 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
14739 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
14740 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
14743 @cindex display-time
14745 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
14746 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
14747 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
14748 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
14749 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
14750 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
14751 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
14752 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
14755 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
14757 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
14758 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
14760 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
14761 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
14762 (length display-time-string)))))
14765 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
14766 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
14767 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
14768 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
14769 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
14772 @node Highlighting and Menus
14773 @section Highlighting and Menus
14775 @cindex highlighting
14778 @vindex gnus-visual
14779 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
14780 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
14781 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
14784 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
14785 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
14788 @item group-highlight
14789 Do highlights in the group buffer.
14790 @item summary-highlight
14791 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
14792 @item article-highlight
14793 Do highlights according to @code{gnus-article-display-hook} in the
14796 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
14798 Create menus in the group buffer.
14800 Create menus in the summary buffers.
14802 Create menus in the article buffer.
14804 Create menus in the browse buffer.
14806 Create menus in the server buffer.
14808 Create menus in the score buffers.
14810 Create menus in all buffers.
14813 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
14814 buffers, you could say something like:
14817 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
14820 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
14823 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
14826 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
14827 in all Gnus buffers.
14829 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
14832 @item gnus-mouse-face
14833 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
14834 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
14835 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
14839 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
14843 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
14844 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
14845 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
14847 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
14848 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
14849 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14851 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14852 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14853 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14855 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14856 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14857 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14859 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14860 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14861 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14863 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14864 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14865 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14876 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14877 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14878 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14879 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14880 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14884 @vindex gnus-carpal
14885 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14886 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14887 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14892 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14893 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14894 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14896 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14897 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14898 Face used on buttons.
14900 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14901 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14902 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14904 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14905 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14906 Buttons in the group buffer.
14908 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14909 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14910 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14912 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14913 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14914 Buttons in the server buffer.
14916 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14917 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14918 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14921 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14922 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14923 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14931 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14932 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14933 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14934 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14935 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14937 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14938 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14939 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14941 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14942 been idle for thirty minutes:
14945 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14948 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14952 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14955 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14956 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14957 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14959 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14960 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14961 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14962 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14964 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14965 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14966 @var{idle} minutes.
14968 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14969 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14972 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14973 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14974 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14976 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14977 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14978 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14979 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14981 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14982 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14983 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14985 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14986 your @file{.gnus} file:
14988 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14990 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14993 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14994 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14995 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14996 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14997 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14998 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14999 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
15000 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
15001 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
15002 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
15003 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
15005 @findex gnus-demon-init
15006 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
15007 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
15008 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
15009 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
15010 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
15012 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
15013 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
15014 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
15023 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
15024 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
15026 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
15027 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
15028 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
15029 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
15032 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
15033 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
15034 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
15035 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
15037 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
15038 this will make spam disappear.
15040 There are some variables to customize, of course:
15043 @item gnus-use-nocem
15044 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
15045 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
15048 @item gnus-nocem-groups
15049 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
15050 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
15051 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
15052 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
15054 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
15055 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
15056 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
15057 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
15058 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
15059 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
15060 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
15062 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
15065 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
15066 @cindex Chris Lewis
15067 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
15068 usenet abuse than anybody else.
15071 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
15072 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
15073 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
15075 @item jem@@xpat.com;
15077 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
15080 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
15081 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
15082 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
15085 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
15086 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
15087 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
15088 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
15089 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
15090 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
15091 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
15092 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
15093 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
15094 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
15096 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
15097 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
15100 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
15103 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
15104 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
15107 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
15110 The specs are applied left-to-right.
15113 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
15114 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
15116 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
15117 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
15118 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
15119 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
15121 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
15122 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
15125 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
15127 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
15135 This might be dangerous, though.
15137 @item gnus-nocem-directory
15138 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
15139 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
15140 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
15142 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
15143 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
15144 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
15145 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
15146 might then see old spam.
15150 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
15151 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
15152 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
15153 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
15160 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
15161 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
15162 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
15164 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
15165 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
15166 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
15167 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
15168 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
15169 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
15170 @code{undo} function.
15172 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
15173 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
15174 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
15175 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
15176 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
15177 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
15178 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
15179 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
15180 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
15181 never be totally undoable.
15183 @findex gnus-undo-mode
15184 @vindex gnus-use-undo
15186 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
15187 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
15188 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
15189 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
15194 @section Moderation
15197 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
15198 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
15199 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
15202 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
15206 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
15209 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
15211 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
15216 You split your incoming mail by matching on
15217 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
15218 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
15221 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
15222 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
15225 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
15226 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
15230 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
15233 (setq gnus-moderated-list
15234 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
15238 @node XEmacs Enhancements
15239 @section XEmacs Enhancements
15242 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
15246 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
15247 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
15248 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
15249 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
15262 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
15263 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
15264 over your shoulder as you read news.
15267 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
15268 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
15269 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
15270 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
15271 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
15276 @subsubsection Picon Basics
15278 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
15287 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
15288 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
15289 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
15290 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
15291 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
15292 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
15293 @code{GIF} formats.
15296 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15297 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
15298 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
15299 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
15300 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
15302 @vindex gnus-picons-database
15303 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
15304 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
15305 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
15306 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
15307 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
15310 @node Picon Requirements
15311 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
15313 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
15314 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
15317 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
15318 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
15319 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
15321 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15322 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
15323 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
15324 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
15325 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
15329 @subsubsection Easy Picons
15331 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
15332 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
15335 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
15336 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15337 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
15338 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15339 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
15342 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
15343 containing the Picons databases.
15345 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
15348 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15349 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
15354 @subsubsection Hard Picons
15362 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
15363 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
15364 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
15365 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
15366 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
15371 @item gnus-picons-database
15372 @vindex gnus-picons-database
15373 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
15374 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
15375 subdirectories. This is only useful if
15376 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
15377 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
15379 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15380 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15381 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
15382 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
15383 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
15384 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
15385 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
15387 @item gnus-picons-display-where
15388 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
15389 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
15390 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
15391 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
15392 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
15393 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
15394 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
15396 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
15397 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
15398 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
15403 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
15404 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
15406 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
15407 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
15410 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
15411 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
15413 @item gnus-article-display-picons
15414 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
15415 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
15416 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
15417 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
15419 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
15420 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
15421 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
15422 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
15426 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
15427 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
15430 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
15434 @node Picon Useless Configuration
15435 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
15443 The following variables offer further control over how things are
15444 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
15445 don't need to worry about.
15449 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
15450 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
15451 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
15452 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
15454 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
15455 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
15456 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
15457 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
15459 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
15460 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
15461 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
15462 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
15463 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
15465 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15466 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15467 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
15468 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
15469 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
15470 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
15471 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
15473 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
15474 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
15475 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
15476 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
15478 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
15479 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
15480 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
15481 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
15482 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
15483 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
15484 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
15486 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
15487 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
15488 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
15489 Defaults to @code{nil}.
15491 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
15492 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
15493 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
15494 Defaults to @code{t}.
15496 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15497 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15498 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
15499 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
15501 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15502 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15503 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
15504 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
15506 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15507 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15508 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
15509 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
15510 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
15511 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
15512 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
15513 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
15524 @subsection Smileys
15529 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
15534 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
15535 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
15537 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
15538 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15541 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
15544 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
15545 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
15546 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
15547 text and maps that to file names.
15549 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
15550 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
15551 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
15552 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
15553 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
15554 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
15556 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
15557 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
15559 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
15560 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
15561 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
15563 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
15564 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
15568 @item smiley-data-directory
15569 @vindex smiley-data-directory
15570 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
15572 @item smiley-flesh-color
15573 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
15574 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
15576 @item smiley-features-color
15577 @vindex smiley-features-color
15578 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15580 @item smiley-tongue-color
15581 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
15582 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
15584 @item smiley-circle-color
15585 @vindex smiley-circle-color
15586 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15588 @item smiley-mouse-face
15589 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
15590 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
15596 @subsection Toolbar
15606 @item gnus-use-toolbar
15607 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
15608 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
15609 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
15610 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
15612 @item gnus-group-toolbar
15613 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
15614 The toolbar in the group buffer.
15616 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
15617 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
15618 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
15620 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15621 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15622 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
15628 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
15631 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15632 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15633 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
15634 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
15635 unusual directory structure.
15637 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15638 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15639 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
15640 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
15642 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15643 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15644 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
15645 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
15646 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
15647 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
15649 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15650 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15651 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
15665 @node Fuzzy Matching
15666 @section Fuzzy Matching
15667 @cindex fuzzy matching
15669 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
15670 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
15672 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
15673 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
15674 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
15676 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
15677 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
15678 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
15679 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
15680 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
15683 @node Thwarting Email Spam
15684 @section Thwarting Email Spam
15688 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
15690 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
15691 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
15692 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
15693 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
15694 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
15695 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
15696 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
15697 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
15700 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
15701 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
15702 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
15703 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
15704 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
15705 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
15709 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
15710 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
15712 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
15713 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
15714 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
15715 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
15716 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
15717 part of the mail address.)
15720 (setq message-default-news-headers
15721 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
15724 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15725 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
15730 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
15731 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
15732 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
15738 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
15739 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
15740 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
15741 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
15743 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
15744 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
15745 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
15746 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
15747 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
15748 your fancy split rule in this way:
15753 (to "larsi" "misc")
15757 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
15758 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
15759 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
15760 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
15761 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
15763 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
15764 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
15765 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
15766 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
15767 cosmic balance somewhat.
15769 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
15770 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
15771 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
15772 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
15775 @node Various Various
15776 @section Various Various
15782 @item gnus-home-directory
15783 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
15784 defaults to @file{~/}.
15786 @item gnus-directory
15787 @vindex gnus-directory
15788 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
15789 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
15790 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
15792 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
15793 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
15794 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
15795 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
15797 @item gnus-default-directory
15798 @vindex gnus-default-directory
15799 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
15800 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
15801 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
15802 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15803 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
15804 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
15807 @vindex gnus-verbose
15808 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
15809 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
15810 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
15811 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
15812 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
15814 @item gnus-verbose-backends
15815 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
15816 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
15817 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
15819 @item nnheader-max-head-length
15820 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
15821 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
15822 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
15823 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
15824 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
15825 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
15826 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
15827 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
15828 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
15830 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
15831 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
15832 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
15833 read when doing the operation described above.
15835 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15836 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15838 @cindex invalid characters in file names
15839 @cindex characters in file names
15840 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
15841 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
15842 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
15845 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15849 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
15850 Windows (phooey) systems.
15852 @item gnus-hidden-properties
15853 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
15854 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
15855 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
15856 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
15858 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
15859 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
15860 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
15861 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
15862 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
15864 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
15865 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
15866 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
15875 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
15876 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
15878 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
15880 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
15886 Not because of victories @*
15889 but for the common sunshine,@*
15891 the largess of the spring.
15895 but for the day's work done@*
15896 as well as I was able;@*
15897 not for a seat upon the dais@*
15898 but at the common table.@*
15903 @chapter Appendices
15906 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
15907 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
15908 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
15909 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
15910 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
15911 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15912 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15920 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15921 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15923 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15924 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15925 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15926 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15927 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15929 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15930 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15931 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15932 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15933 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15934 appropriate name, don't you think?)
15936 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
15937 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
15938 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
15939 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
15941 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
15942 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
15943 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
15945 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
15946 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
15948 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
15949 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
15951 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37
15952 releases. If was released as ``Gnus 5.6 on March 8th 1998.
15954 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
15955 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
15956 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
15957 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
15958 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
15962 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
15963 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
15964 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
15965 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
15966 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
15967 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
15968 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15975 What's the point of Gnus?
15977 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15978 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15979 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15980 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15981 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15982 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15983 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15984 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15985 keep track of millions of people who post?
15987 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15988 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15989 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15990 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15991 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15992 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15993 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15994 every one of you to explore and invent.
15996 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15997 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
16000 @node Compatibility
16001 @subsection Compatibility
16003 @cindex compatibility
16004 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
16005 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
16006 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
16011 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
16015 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
16018 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
16021 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
16022 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
16023 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
16024 important variables have their values copied into their global
16025 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
16026 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
16028 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
16029 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
16030 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
16031 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
16032 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
16036 @cindex highlighting
16037 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
16038 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
16039 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
16040 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
16041 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
16042 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
16045 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
16046 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
16047 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
16048 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
16050 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
16051 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
16052 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
16053 to stop doing it the old way.
16055 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
16057 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
16059 @cindex reporting bugs
16061 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
16062 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
16063 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
16065 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
16066 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
16067 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
16068 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
16073 @subsection Conformity
16075 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
16076 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
16083 There are no known breaches of this standard.
16087 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
16089 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
16090 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
16091 We do have some breaches to this one.
16096 Gnus does not yet fully handle MIME, and this standard-to-be seems to
16097 think that MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
16100 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
16101 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
16102 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
16103 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
16104 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
16109 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
16110 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
16111 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
16112 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
16116 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
16117 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
16122 @subsection Emacsen
16128 Gnus should work on :
16136 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
16140 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
16141 reliably, at least.
16143 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
16144 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
16145 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
16150 @subsection Contributors
16151 @cindex contributors
16153 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
16154 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
16155 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
16156 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
16157 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
16158 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
16159 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
16160 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
16161 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
16162 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
16164 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
16170 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
16173 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
16174 well as numerous other things).
16177 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
16180 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
16183 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el and many other things
16184 connected with @sc{mime} and other types of en/decoding.
16187 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
16188 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
16191 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
16194 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
16195 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16198 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
16201 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
16204 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
16207 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
16210 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
16211 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
16214 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
16217 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
16220 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
16223 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
16227 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
16230 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
16233 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
16236 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
16237 well as autoconf support.
16241 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
16242 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
16244 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
16253 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
16257 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
16279 Massimo Campostrini,
16287 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
16293 Michael Welsh Duggan,
16296 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
16300 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
16307 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
16309 Michelangelo Grigni,
16312 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
16314 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
16316 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
16321 François Felix Ingrand,
16322 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
16324 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
16333 Peter Skov Knudsen,
16334 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
16335 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
16336 Thor Kristoffersen,
16339 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
16356 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
16357 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
16364 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
16368 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
16371 John McClary Prevost,
16377 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
16382 Christian von Roques,
16384 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
16391 Philippe Schnoebelen,
16393 Randal L. Schwartz,
16423 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka.
16425 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
16426 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
16427 (550kB and counting).
16429 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
16432 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
16433 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
16437 @subsection New Features
16438 @cindex new features
16441 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
16442 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
16443 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
16444 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
16447 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
16448 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
16449 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
16453 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
16455 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
16460 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
16461 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
16464 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
16465 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
16468 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
16471 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
16472 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
16473 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
16476 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
16477 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
16478 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
16479 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16482 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
16483 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16486 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
16487 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
16488 (@pxref{The Active File}).
16491 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
16492 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
16495 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
16496 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
16497 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16500 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
16501 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
16502 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
16505 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
16506 the @file{.emacs} file.
16509 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
16510 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16513 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
16514 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
16517 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
16518 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16521 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
16522 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
16525 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
16526 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16529 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
16532 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
16533 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
16536 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
16537 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
16540 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
16541 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
16544 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
16547 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
16548 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16551 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
16555 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
16559 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
16560 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
16563 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
16569 @node September Gnus
16570 @subsubsection September Gnus
16574 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
16578 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
16583 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
16584 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
16588 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
16589 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
16593 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
16597 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
16598 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
16601 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
16605 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16608 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
16611 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
16614 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
16618 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
16619 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
16622 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
16626 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
16630 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
16634 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
16638 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
16641 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
16642 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
16645 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
16649 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
16650 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
16653 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
16656 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
16657 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
16658 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16661 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
16665 The Gnus cache is much faster.
16668 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
16672 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
16673 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16676 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
16677 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
16680 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
16681 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16684 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
16685 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
16686 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
16689 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
16690 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
16693 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
16696 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16699 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16700 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
16704 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
16707 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
16710 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
16711 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
16714 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
16718 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
16721 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
16726 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
16729 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
16733 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16736 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
16740 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
16743 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
16746 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
16747 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16750 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
16751 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
16755 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
16756 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
16759 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
16763 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
16764 buffer to allow easier treatment.
16767 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
16770 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
16774 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
16778 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
16779 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
16782 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
16786 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
16787 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16790 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
16791 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16794 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
16798 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16801 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16802 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
16806 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
16809 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
16815 @subsubsection Red Gnus
16817 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
16821 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
16828 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
16831 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
16832 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16835 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
16836 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
16840 Article washing status can be displayed in the
16841 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
16844 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
16847 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
16848 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
16851 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
16855 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
16856 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
16860 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
16861 Server Internals}).
16864 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
16868 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
16871 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
16872 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
16875 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
16876 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
16877 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
16880 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
16881 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16884 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
16885 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
16888 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
16892 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
16893 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16896 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
16897 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16900 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
16904 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
16907 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
16911 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
16912 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16915 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
16916 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16919 A new command for reading collections of documents
16920 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
16921 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
16924 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
16928 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
16929 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
16932 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
16933 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
16934 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
16937 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
16938 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
16942 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
16946 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
16950 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
16955 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
16959 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
16963 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
16964 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
16967 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
16970 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16971 'gnus-article-emphasize)
16978 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
16980 New features in Gnus 5.6:
16985 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
16986 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
16987 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
16990 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
16991 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
16992 group, which is created automatically.
16995 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
16999 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
17002 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
17003 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
17006 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
17010 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
17013 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
17014 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
17017 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
17020 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
17021 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
17024 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
17025 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
17028 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
17029 control over simplification.
17032 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
17035 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
17039 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
17042 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
17045 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
17046 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
17047 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
17050 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
17051 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
17054 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
17058 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
17059 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
17062 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
17063 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
17066 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
17070 A history of where mails have been split is available.
17073 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
17076 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
17077 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
17080 A new function for citing in Message has been
17081 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
17084 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
17087 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
17091 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
17092 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
17095 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
17096 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
17099 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
17102 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
17107 @node Newest Features
17108 @subsection Newest Features
17111 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
17114 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
17116 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
17117 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
17120 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
17125 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
17128 Really do unbinhexing.
17131 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
17132 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
17135 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
17138 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
17141 facep is not declared.
17144 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
17145 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
17148 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
17153 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
17154 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
17155 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
17156 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
17157 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
17158 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
17159 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
17164 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
17167 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
17170 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
17172 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
17173 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
17175 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
17177 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
17179 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
17180 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
17182 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
17184 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
17185 be marked as unread.
17187 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
17189 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
17191 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
17192 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
17194 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
17196 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
17198 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
17199 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
17201 topics that contain just groups with ticked
17202 articles aren't displayed.
17204 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
17206 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
17207 make the mail groups killed.
17209 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
17211 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
17212 and articles have to be removed.
17214 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
17217 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
17219 finding short score file names takes forever.
17221 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17223 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
17225 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
17227 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
17229 nnweb doesn't work properly.
17231 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
17233 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
17234 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
17238 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
17240 really unbinhex binhex files.
17242 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
17243 bar and the Gnus bar.
17246 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
17247 `(canonize-message-id id)'
17248 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
17249 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
17250 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
17251 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
17256 nnml .overview directory with splits.
17260 postponed commands.
17262 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
17264 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
17267 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
17268 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
17270 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
17271 inherit copy prompts and save files.
17273 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
17275 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
17276 for backends that support that.
17278 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
17280 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
17281 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
17283 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
17284 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
17286 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
17288 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
17290 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
17292 server mode command: close/open all connections
17294 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
17295 has been changed before using it.
17297 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
17299 hide (sub)threads with low score.
17301 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
17303 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
17305 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
17306 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
17308 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
17309 contain groups that match a regexp.
17311 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
17314 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
17317 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
17318 from subject lines.
17320 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
17322 nntp-ping-before-connect
17324 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
17326 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
17327 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
17329 message annotations.
17331 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
17333 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
17334 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
17336 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
17341 support qmail maildir spools
17343 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
17345 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
17347 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
17349 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
17350 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
17352 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
17354 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
17356 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
17357 finds and generate proper active ranges.
17359 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
17360 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
17362 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
17364 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
17366 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
17367 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
17369 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
17371 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
17373 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
17374 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
17377 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
17379 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
17381 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
17382 `C-c C-c' when posting.
17384 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
17387 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
17388 should be marker as expirable.
17390 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
17392 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
17393 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
17395 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
17396 Also consult Date headers.
17398 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
17400 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
17402 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
17403 Message-ID, delete the "original".
17405 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
17406 into a See-Also header.
17408 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
17410 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
17412 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
17413 should be listed as such and not as "K".
17415 generate font names dynamically.
17417 score file mode auto-alist.
17419 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
17420 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
17422 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
17423 absolutely all headers there is.
17425 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
17426 and pipe them to the process.
17428 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
17429 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
17430 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
17432 function for starting to edit a file to put into
17433 the current mail group.
17435 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
17437 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
17438 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
17440 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
17441 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
17443 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
17445 when replying to several process-marked articles,
17446 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
17448 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
17449 groups it has been mailed to.
17451 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
17453 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
17455 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
17457 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
17458 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
17460 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
17461 newlines) should be ignored.
17463 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
17464 groups in subtopics as well.
17466 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
17468 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
17471 add edit and forward secondary marks.
17473 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
17475 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
17477 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
17479 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
17481 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
17483 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
17484 or the formatted article.
17486 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
17488 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
17489 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
17491 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
17493 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
17495 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
17497 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
17498 even unread articles.
17500 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
17502 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
17504 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
17506 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
17508 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17510 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
17513 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
17514 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
17516 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
17517 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
17519 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
17521 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
17523 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
17524 from a particular server? Hm.
17526 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
17527 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
17529 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
17531 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
17532 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
17534 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
17535 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
17537 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
17538 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
17539 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
17542 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
17543 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
17545 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
17547 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
17549 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
17551 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
17554 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
17557 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
17558 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
17560 command to show and edit group scores
17562 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
17565 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
17567 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
17569 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
17570 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
17573 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
17574 that are of that length.
17576 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
17578 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
17580 asynchronous posting under nntp.
17582 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
17584 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
17586 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
17588 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
17589 a score lower than this number.
17591 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
17593 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
17595 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
17596 so that each copy can be edited separately.
17598 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
17600 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
17601 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
17603 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
17606 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
17607 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
17608 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
17609 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
17611 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
17614 command to remove all topic stuff.
17616 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
17617 and splitting the resulting digests.
17619 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
17621 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
17623 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
17624 matches an alist -- before saving.
17626 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
17628 variable to activate each group before entering them
17629 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
17631 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
17632 starting Gnus first if necessary.
17634 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
17635 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
17637 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
17639 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
17640 of several groups at once.
17642 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
17643 matches some regexp(s).
17645 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
17647 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
17649 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
17651 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
17653 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
17655 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
17657 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
17659 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
17660 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
17661 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
17662 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
17664 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
17665 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
17667 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
17669 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
17670 recently cited text.
17672 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
17674 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
17677 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
17678 server and just read the articles in the server
17680 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
17681 value of nnoo variables.
17683 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
17685 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
17686 listed in each group info.
17688 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
17691 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
17692 should only be applied to some groups.
17694 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
17695 mail-copies-to: never.
17697 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
17698 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
17700 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
17702 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
17705 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
17708 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
17710 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
17713 group user-defined meta-parameters.
17717 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
17719 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
17720 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
17721 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
17722 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
17723 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
17725 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
17726 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
17733 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
17734 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
17736 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
17737 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
17739 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
17740 "Return the date the group was last read."
17741 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
17746 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
17747 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
17748 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
17749 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
17753 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
17754 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
17756 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
17759 They could be used like this:
17763 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
17764 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
17765 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
17767 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
17769 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
17772 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
17775 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
17776 affect the summary line format.
17780 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
17782 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
17783 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
17785 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
17788 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
17790 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
17792 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
17794 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
17796 - For other files, just find them normally.
17798 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
17799 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
17802 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
17803 tell him what you are doing.
17806 Currently, I get prompted:
17810 decend into sci.something ?
17814 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
17815 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
17816 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
17817 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
17820 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
17821 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
17822 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
17823 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
17826 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
17827 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
17833 more than n blank lines
17835 more than m identical lines
17836 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
17838 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
17842 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
17843 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
17844 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
17845 "same" subject for threading purposes.
17848 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
17849 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
17850 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
17851 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
17854 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
17857 soup - bowl of soup
17858 score below - dim light bulb
17859 score over - bright light bulb
17862 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
17867 show-list-of-articles-in-group
17868 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17869 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
17870 if (articles-selected)
17871 start-reading-selected-articles;
17872 junk-unread-articles;
17877 else if (key-pressed = '.')
17878 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
17879 select-thread-under-cursor;
17881 select-article-under-cursor;
17885 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17886 if (more-pages-in-article)
17888 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
17895 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
17896 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
17897 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
17900 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
17901 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
17902 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
17903 the wildcard expression).
17906 It would be nice if it also handled
17908 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
17910 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
17915 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
17916 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
17917 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
17918 article versions) variable.
17920 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
17922 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
17923 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
17927 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
17930 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
17931 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
17932 (message-sent-hook).
17934 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
17937 * Enhancements to Gnus:
17941 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
17942 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
17945 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
17946 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
17947 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
17950 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
17951 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
17955 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
17958 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
17962 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
17963 the nnmail duplicate checking.
17966 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
17967 value of the signature file.
17970 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
17971 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
17974 (setq message-tab-alist
17975 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
17976 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
17978 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
17982 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
17985 a command to import a buffer into a group.
17988 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
17991 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
17992 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
17995 a command to process mark all unread articles.
17998 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
17999 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
18000 do more gathering by subject.
18003 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
18004 article numerical order.
18007 (gnus-thread-total-score
18008 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
18012 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
18015 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
18016 in the summary buffer.
18019 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
18020 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
18023 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
18024 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
18025 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
18026 and/or newsgroup name.
18029 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
18032 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
18035 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
18038 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
18039 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
18040 will automatically get the process mark.
18043 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
18044 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
18045 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
18048 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
18052 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
18053 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
18056 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
18057 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
18061 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
18062 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
18065 be able to post via DejaNews.
18068 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
18071 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
18072 allow them to be displayed separately.
18075 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
18076 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
18079 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
18080 articles that match a certain From header.
18083 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
18084 saving living summary buffers.
18087 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
18088 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
18091 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
18092 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
18095 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
18096 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
18099 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
18100 (goto-char (point-min))
18101 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
18102 (replace-match "`" t t))
18103 (goto-char (point-min))
18104 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
18105 (replace-match "'" t t))
18106 (goto-char (point-min))
18107 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
18108 (replace-match "\"" t t))
18109 (goto-char (point-min))
18110 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
18111 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
18116 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
18118 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
18119 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
18120 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
18121 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
18125 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
18128 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
18129 numbers and match on the age of the article.
18133 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
18134 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
18135 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
18137 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
18138 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
18140 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
18141 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
18146 all commands that react to the process mark should push
18147 the current process mark set onto the stack.
18150 gnus-article-hide-pgp
18151 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
18153 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
18155 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
18156 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
18159 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
18160 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
18163 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
18167 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
18168 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
18171 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
18174 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
18177 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
18180 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
18184 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
18190 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
18193 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
18197 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
18198 X characters in the body.
18201 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
18204 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
18207 format spec to "tab" to a position.
18210 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
18213 command to display all dormant articles.
18216 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
18219 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
18220 to something someone else has said.
18223 Read Netscape discussion groups:
18224 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
18227 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
18228 the displayed version.
18231 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
18235 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
18238 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
18239 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
18240 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
18244 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
18245 in the head or body.
18248 Allow breaking lengthy NNTP commands.
18251 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
18254 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
18255 in a special, unique buffer.
18258 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
18261 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
18262 is less than a certain number of days old.
18265 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
18268 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
18271 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
18272 file, for instance.
18275 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
18276 in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
18277 dummy root instead of the first article.
18280 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
18281 topics for displaying.
18284 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
18285 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
18288 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
18291 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
18292 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
18293 summary buffer for each article.
18296 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
18299 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
18303 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
18306 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
18310 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
18313 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
18316 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
18317 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
18320 `S D r' should allow expansion of aliases.
18323 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
18324 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
18327 The documentation should mention pop3.el, fetchmail, smtpmail and why
18328 po:username often fails.
18331 Fetch by Message-ID from dejanews.
18333 <URL:http://search.dejanews.com/msgid.xp?MID=%3C62h9l9$hm4@@basement.replay.com%3E&fmt=raw>
18336 Solve the halting problem.
18345 @section The Manual
18349 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
18350 either @code{texi2dvi}
18352 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
18353 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
18355 to get what you hold in your hands now.
18357 The following conventions have been used:
18362 This is a @samp{string}
18365 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
18368 This is a @file{file}
18371 This is a @code{symbol}
18375 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
18379 (setq flargnoze "yes")
18382 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
18385 (setq flumphel 'yes)
18388 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
18389 ever get them confused.
18393 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
18394 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
18395 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
18396 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
18397 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
18398 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
18399 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
18407 @section Terminology
18409 @cindex terminology
18414 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
18415 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
18416 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
18417 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
18418 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
18422 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
18423 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
18424 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
18425 not posting, and replying is not following up.
18429 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
18433 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
18438 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
18439 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
18440 is all done by the backends.
18444 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
18445 default, way of getting news.
18449 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
18450 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
18455 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
18456 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
18460 A message that has been posted as news.
18463 @cindex mail message
18464 A message that has been mailed.
18468 A mail message or news article
18472 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
18477 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
18482 A line from the head of an article.
18486 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
18487 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
18491 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
18492 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
18493 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
18494 normal @sc{head} format.
18498 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
18499 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
18500 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
18501 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
18502 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
18503 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
18505 @item killed groups
18506 @cindex killed groups
18507 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
18508 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
18510 @item zombie groups
18511 @cindex zombie groups
18512 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
18515 @cindex active file
18516 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
18517 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
18518 is rather large, as you might surmise.
18521 @cindex bogus groups
18522 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
18523 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
18524 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
18527 @cindex activating groups
18528 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
18529 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
18530 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
18534 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
18536 @item select method
18537 @cindex select method
18538 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
18541 @item virtual server
18542 @cindex virtual server
18543 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
18544 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
18545 whole is a virtual server.
18549 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
18550 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
18553 @item ephemeral groups
18554 @cindex ephemeral groups
18555 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
18556 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
18557 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
18560 @cindex solid groups
18561 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
18562 group buffer are solid groups.
18564 @item sparse articles
18565 @cindex sparse articles
18566 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
18567 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
18571 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
18572 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
18576 @cindex thread root
18577 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
18578 articles in the thread.
18582 An article that has responses.
18586 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
18590 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
18591 specified by RFC1153.
18597 @node Customization
18598 @section Customization
18599 @cindex general customization
18601 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
18602 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
18603 for some quite common situations.
18606 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
18607 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
18608 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
18609 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
18613 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
18614 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
18616 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
18617 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
18618 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
18622 @item gnus-read-active-file
18623 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
18624 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
18625 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18626 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
18627 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
18629 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
18630 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
18631 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
18632 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
18636 @node Slow Terminal Connection
18637 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
18639 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
18640 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
18641 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
18645 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
18646 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
18647 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
18648 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
18649 horizontal and vertical recentering.
18651 @item gnus-visible-headers
18652 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
18653 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
18654 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
18655 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
18657 @item gnus-article-display-hook
18658 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
18660 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
18661 '(gnus-article-hide-headers
18662 gnus-article-hide-signature
18663 gnus-article-hide-citation))
18666 @item gnus-use-full-window
18667 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
18668 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
18669 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
18670 want to read them anyway.
18672 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
18673 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
18676 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
18677 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
18678 lines, which might save some time.
18682 @node Little Disk Space
18683 @subsection Little Disk Space
18686 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
18687 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
18691 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
18692 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
18693 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
18694 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18697 @item gnus-save-killed-list
18698 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
18699 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
18700 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
18701 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
18707 @subsection Slow Machine
18708 @cindex slow machine
18710 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
18711 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
18713 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18714 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
18716 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
18717 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
18718 summary buffer faster.
18720 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
18721 processing a bit faster.
18725 @node Troubleshooting
18726 @section Troubleshooting
18727 @cindex troubleshooting
18729 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
18737 Make sure your computer is switched on.
18740 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
18741 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
18745 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
18746 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
18747 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
18748 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
18751 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
18755 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
18756 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
18757 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
18758 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
18759 something like that.
18762 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
18765 @cindex reporting bugs
18767 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18769 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
18770 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
18771 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
18772 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
18774 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
18775 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
18776 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
18777 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
18780 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
18781 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
18782 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
18783 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
18784 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
18785 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
18787 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
18788 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
18789 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
18792 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
18793 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
18795 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
18796 @cindex ding mailing list
18797 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
18798 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
18802 @node Gnus Reference Guide
18803 @section Gnus Reference Guide
18805 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
18806 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
18807 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
18808 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
18811 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
18812 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
18813 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
18814 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
18815 and general methods of operation.
18818 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
18819 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
18820 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
18821 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
18822 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
18823 * Group Info:: The group info format.
18824 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
18825 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
18826 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
18830 @node Gnus Utility Functions
18831 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
18832 @cindex Gnus utility functions
18833 @cindex utility functions
18835 @cindex internal variables
18837 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
18838 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
18839 Below is a list of the most common ones.
18843 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
18844 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
18845 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
18847 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
18848 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
18849 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
18851 @item gnus-group-real-name
18852 @findex gnus-group-real-name
18853 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
18856 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
18857 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
18858 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
18859 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
18861 @item gnus-get-info
18862 @findex gnus-get-info
18863 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
18865 @item gnus-group-unread
18866 @findex gnus-group-unread
18867 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
18871 @findex gnus-active
18872 The active entry for @var{group}.
18874 @item gnus-set-active
18875 @findex gnus-set-active
18876 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
18878 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18879 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18880 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
18883 @item gnus-continuum-version
18884 @findex gnus-continuum-version
18885 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
18886 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
18889 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
18890 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
18891 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
18893 @item gnus-news-group-p
18894 @findex gnus-news-group-p
18895 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
18897 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18898 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18899 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
18901 @item gnus-server-to-method
18902 @findex gnus-server-to-method
18903 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
18905 @item gnus-server-equal
18906 @findex gnus-server-equal
18907 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
18909 @item gnus-group-native-p
18910 @findex gnus-group-native-p
18911 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
18913 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
18914 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
18915 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
18917 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
18918 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
18919 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
18921 @item group-group-find-parameter
18922 @findex group-group-find-parameter
18923 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
18924 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
18926 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
18927 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
18928 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
18930 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
18931 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
18932 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
18934 @item gnus-check-backend-function
18935 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
18936 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
18937 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
18940 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
18944 @item gnus-read-method
18945 @findex gnus-read-method
18946 Prompts the user for a select method.
18951 @node Backend Interface
18952 @subsection Backend Interface
18954 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
18955 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
18956 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
18957 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
18958 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
18959 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
18961 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
18962 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
18963 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
18964 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
18965 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
18966 been opened, the function should fail.
18968 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
18969 name. Take this example:
18973 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
18974 (nntp-port-number 4324))
18977 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
18978 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
18980 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
18981 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
18982 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
18984 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
18985 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
18986 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
18988 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
18989 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
18990 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
18991 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
18992 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
18993 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
18996 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
18997 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
18998 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
18999 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
19002 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
19005 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
19008 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
19009 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
19010 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
19011 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
19012 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
19013 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
19017 @node Required Backend Functions
19018 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
19022 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
19024 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
19025 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
19026 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
19027 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
19029 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
19030 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
19031 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
19032 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
19034 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
19035 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
19036 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
19037 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
19038 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
19039 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
19040 number, do maximum fetches.
19042 Here's an example HEAD:
19045 221 1056 Article retrieved.
19046 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
19047 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
19048 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
19049 Subject: Re: Something very droll
19050 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
19051 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
19053 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
19054 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
19055 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
19059 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
19060 these in the data buffer.
19062 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
19066 head = error / valid-head
19067 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
19068 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
19069 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
19070 header = <text> eol
19073 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
19074 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
19078 nov-buffer = *nov-line
19079 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
19080 field = <text except TAB>
19083 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
19087 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
19089 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
19090 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
19092 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
19093 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
19094 server. In fact, it should do so.
19096 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
19097 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
19100 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
19102 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
19103 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
19106 There should be no data returned.
19109 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
19111 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
19112 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
19113 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
19114 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
19116 There should be no data returned.
19119 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
19121 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
19122 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
19123 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
19124 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
19126 There should be no data returned.
19129 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
19131 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
19133 There should be no data returned.
19136 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
19138 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
19139 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
19140 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
19141 it would be nice if that were possible.
19143 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
19144 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
19145 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
19146 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
19147 into its article buffer.
19149 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
19150 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
19151 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
19152 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
19153 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
19154 on successful article retrieval.
19157 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
19159 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
19160 making @var{group} the current group.
19162 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
19165 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
19168 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
19171 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
19172 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
19173 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
19174 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
19175 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
19176 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
19177 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
19178 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
19181 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
19182 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
19183 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
19187 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
19189 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
19190 a no-op on most backends.
19192 There should be no data returned.
19195 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
19197 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
19200 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
19203 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
19204 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
19207 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
19208 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
19211 active-file = *active-line
19212 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
19214 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
19217 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
19218 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
19219 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
19222 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
19224 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
19225 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
19226 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
19227 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
19228 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
19229 clear if the posting could not be completed.
19231 There should be no result data from this function.
19236 @node Optional Backend Functions
19237 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
19241 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
19243 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
19244 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
19245 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
19247 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
19248 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
19249 former is in the same format as the data from
19250 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
19251 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
19254 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
19258 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
19260 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
19261 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
19262 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
19263 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
19264 should return the (altered) group info.
19266 There should be no result data from this function.
19269 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
19271 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
19272 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
19273 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
19274 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
19275 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
19276 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
19277 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
19278 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
19280 There should be no result data from this function.
19283 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
19285 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
19286 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
19287 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as IMAP) however carry all
19288 information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to propagate
19289 the mark information to the server.
19291 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
19294 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
19297 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
19298 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
19299 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
19300 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
19301 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a
19302 symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
19303 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
19304 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
19305 not limit itself to theese.
19307 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
19308 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
19309 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
19310 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
19312 An example action list:
19315 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
19316 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
19317 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
19320 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
19321 mark on (currently not used for anything).
19323 There should be no result data from this function.
19325 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
19327 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
19328 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
19329 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
19330 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
19331 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
19333 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
19334 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
19335 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
19338 There should be no result data from this function.
19341 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
19343 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
19344 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
19345 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
19346 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
19347 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
19348 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
19349 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
19351 There should be no result data from this function.
19354 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
19356 The result data from this function should be a description of
19360 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
19362 description = <text>
19365 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
19367 The result data from this function should be the description of all
19368 groups available on the server.
19371 description-buffer = *description-line
19375 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
19377 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
19378 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
19379 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
19382 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
19384 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
19386 There should be no return data.
19389 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
19391 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
19392 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
19393 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
19394 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
19395 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
19398 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
19401 There should be no result data returned.
19404 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
19407 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
19408 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
19410 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
19411 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
19412 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
19413 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
19414 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
19415 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
19417 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
19418 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
19421 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
19422 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
19424 There should be no data returned.
19427 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
19429 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
19430 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
19431 this function in short order.
19433 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
19434 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
19436 There should be no data returned.
19439 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
19441 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
19442 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
19444 There should be no data returned.
19447 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
19449 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
19450 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
19451 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
19453 There should be no data returned.
19456 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
19458 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
19459 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
19461 There should be no data returned.
19466 @node Error Messaging
19467 @subsubsection Error Messaging
19469 @findex nnheader-report
19470 @findex nnheader-get-report
19471 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
19472 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
19473 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
19474 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
19475 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
19476 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
19479 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
19481 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
19484 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
19485 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
19486 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
19487 takes one argument---the server symbol.
19489 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
19490 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
19491 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
19494 @node Writing New Backends
19495 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
19497 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
19498 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
19499 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
19500 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
19501 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
19504 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
19505 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
19506 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
19508 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
19509 package called @code{nnoo}.
19511 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
19512 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
19518 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
19519 parameters. For instance:
19522 (nnoo-declare nndir
19526 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
19527 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
19530 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
19531 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
19532 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
19534 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
19535 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
19536 a function in those backends.
19539 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19540 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19541 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19544 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
19545 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
19546 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
19548 @item nnoo-define-basics
19549 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
19553 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19557 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
19558 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
19559 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
19561 @item nnoo-map-functions
19562 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
19563 functions from the parent backends.
19566 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19567 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19568 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
19571 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
19572 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
19573 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
19574 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
19577 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
19578 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
19579 haven't already been defined.
19585 nnmh-request-newgroups)
19589 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
19590 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
19591 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
19596 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
19599 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
19600 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
19604 (require 'nnheader)
19608 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
19610 (nnoo-declare nndir
19613 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19614 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19615 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19617 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
19618 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
19621 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
19622 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
19623 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
19625 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
19626 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
19628 ;;; Interface functions.
19630 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19632 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
19633 (setq nndir-directory
19634 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
19636 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
19637 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
19638 (push `(nndir-current-group
19639 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19641 (push `(nndir-top-directory
19642 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19644 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
19646 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19647 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19648 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19649 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
19650 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
19654 nnmh-status-message
19656 nnmh-request-newgroups))
19662 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19663 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19665 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
19666 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
19667 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
19668 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
19670 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
19671 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
19676 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
19679 The abilities can be:
19683 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
19685 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
19687 This backend supports both mail and news.
19689 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
19692 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
19693 articles and groups.
19695 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
19696 true for almost all backends.
19697 @item prompt-address
19698 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
19699 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
19700 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
19704 @node Mail-like Backends
19705 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
19707 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
19708 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
19709 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
19710 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
19713 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
19714 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
19715 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
19718 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
19719 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
19722 This function takes four parameters.
19726 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
19729 @item exit-function
19730 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
19732 @item temp-directory
19733 Where the temporary files should be stored.
19736 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
19737 performed for one group only.
19740 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
19741 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
19742 find the article number assigned to this article.
19744 The function also uses the following variables:
19745 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
19746 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
19747 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
19748 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
19752 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
19753 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
19757 @node Score File Syntax
19758 @subsection Score File Syntax
19760 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
19761 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
19762 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
19764 Here's a typical score file:
19768 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
19775 BNF definition of a score file:
19778 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
19779 element = rule / atom
19780 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
19781 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
19782 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
19783 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
19785 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
19786 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
19787 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
19788 date-header = "date"
19789 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19790 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19791 score = "nil" / <integer>
19792 date = "nil" / <natural number>
19793 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
19794 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
19795 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
19796 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
19797 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19798 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19799 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
19800 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19801 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
19802 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
19803 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
19804 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
19805 exclude-files / read-only / touched
19806 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
19807 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
19808 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
19809 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
19810 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
19811 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
19812 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
19813 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
19814 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
19815 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
19816 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
19817 eval = "eval" space <form>
19818 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
19821 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
19824 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
19825 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
19826 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
19827 one looong line, then that's ok.
19829 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
19830 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19834 @subsection Headers
19836 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
19837 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
19838 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
19839 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
19841 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
19842 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
19843 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
19844 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
19845 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
19846 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
19847 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
19849 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
19850 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
19851 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
19852 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
19853 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
19855 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
19856 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
19862 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
19863 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
19865 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
19866 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
19867 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
19868 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
19870 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
19874 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
19877 is transformed into
19880 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
19883 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
19884 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
19887 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
19890 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
19891 is slightly tricky:
19894 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
19900 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
19903 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
19909 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
19916 and is equal to the previous range.
19918 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
19919 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
19920 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
19924 range = simple-range / normal-range
19925 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
19926 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
19927 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
19928 number *[ " " contents ]
19931 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
19932 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
19933 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
19934 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
19935 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
19940 @subsection Group Info
19942 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
19943 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
19944 describes the group.
19946 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
19947 second is a more complex one:
19950 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
19952 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
19953 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
19955 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
19958 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
19959 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
19960 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
19961 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
19962 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
19963 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
19964 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
19965 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
19966 this section is about.
19968 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
19969 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
19970 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
19972 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
19975 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
19976 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
19977 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19978 group = quote <string> quote
19979 ralevel = rank / level
19980 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19981 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
19982 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19984 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
19985 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
19986 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
19987 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
19990 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
19991 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
19994 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
19995 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
19998 @item gnus-info-group
19999 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
20000 @findex gnus-info-group
20001 @findex gnus-info-set-group
20002 Get/set the group name.
20004 @item gnus-info-rank
20005 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
20006 @findex gnus-info-rank
20007 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
20008 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
20010 @item gnus-info-level
20011 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
20012 @findex gnus-info-level
20013 @findex gnus-info-set-level
20014 Get/set the group level.
20016 @item gnus-info-score
20017 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
20018 @findex gnus-info-score
20019 @findex gnus-info-set-score
20020 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
20022 @item gnus-info-read
20023 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
20024 @findex gnus-info-read
20025 @findex gnus-info-set-read
20026 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
20028 @item gnus-info-marks
20029 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
20030 @findex gnus-info-marks
20031 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
20032 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
20034 @item gnus-info-method
20035 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
20036 @findex gnus-info-method
20037 @findex gnus-info-set-method
20038 Get/set the group select method.
20040 @item gnus-info-params
20041 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
20042 @findex gnus-info-params
20043 @findex gnus-info-set-params
20044 Get/set the group parameters.
20047 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
20048 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
20050 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
20051 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
20052 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
20053 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
20056 @node Extended Interactive
20057 @subsection Extended Interactive
20058 @cindex interactive
20059 @findex gnus-interactive
20061 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
20062 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
20063 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
20066 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
20067 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
20072 The best thing to do would have been to implement
20073 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
20074 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
20075 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
20076 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
20077 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
20078 @code{interactive}.
20080 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
20085 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
20086 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
20090 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
20091 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
20092 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
20095 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
20099 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
20103 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
20109 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
20110 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
20114 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
20115 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
20116 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
20118 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
20119 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
20120 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
20121 Gnus, that's very useful.
20123 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
20124 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
20125 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
20126 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
20127 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
20128 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
20129 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
20130 following function:
20133 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
20137 (,function ,@@args))
20141 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
20142 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
20143 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
20146 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
20147 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
20148 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
20150 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
20151 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
20152 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
20155 @node Various File Formats
20156 @subsection Various File Formats
20159 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
20160 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
20164 @node Active File Format
20165 @subsubsection Active File Format
20167 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
20168 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
20171 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
20174 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
20175 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
20176 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
20177 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
20178 no.general 1000 900 y
20181 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
20184 active = *group-line
20185 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
20186 group = <non-white-space string>
20188 high-number = <non-negative integer>
20189 low-number = <positive integer>
20190 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
20193 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
20194 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
20197 @node Newsgroups File Format
20198 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
20200 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
20201 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
20202 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
20205 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
20206 Here's the definition:
20210 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
20211 group = <non-white-space string>
20213 description = <string>
20218 @node Emacs for Heathens
20219 @section Emacs for Heathens
20221 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
20222 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
20223 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
20224 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
20225 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
20226 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
20227 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
20231 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
20232 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
20237 @subsection Keystrokes
20241 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
20244 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
20247 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
20248 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
20249 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
20250 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
20251 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
20252 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
20254 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
20255 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
20256 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
20257 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
20258 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
20259 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
20260 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
20262 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
20263 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
20264 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
20265 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
20266 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
20267 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
20268 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
20270 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
20271 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
20272 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
20273 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
20274 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
20280 @subsection Emacs Lisp
20282 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
20283 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
20284 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
20285 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
20287 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
20288 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
20289 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
20290 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
20291 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
20292 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
20293 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
20296 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
20297 write the following:
20300 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
20303 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
20304 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
20305 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
20308 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
20309 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
20310 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
20311 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
20312 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
20314 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
20315 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
20316 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
20320 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
20324 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
20327 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
20328 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
20331 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
20334 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
20335 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
20338 @include gnus-faq.texi