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4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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268 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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277 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
278 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
281 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
282 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
283 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
284 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
285 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
286 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
287 License'' in the Emacs manual.
289 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
290 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
291 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
293 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
294 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
295 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
296 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
304 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
306 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
308 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
309 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
310 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
311 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
312 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
313 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
314 License'' in the Emacs manual.
316 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
317 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
318 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
320 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
321 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
322 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
323 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
329 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
331 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
334 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
335 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
337 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
338 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
339 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
340 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
341 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
342 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
343 License'' in the Emacs manual.
345 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
346 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
347 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
349 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
350 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
351 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
352 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
361 @top The gnus Newsreader
365 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
366 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
367 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
370 T-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So T-gnus supports
371 your right to read strange messages including big images or other
372 various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
373 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
374 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
375 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
377 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
388 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
389 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
391 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
392 being accused of plagiarism:
394 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
395 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
396 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
397 can even read news with it!
399 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
400 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
401 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
402 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
403 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
409 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
410 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
411 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
412 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
413 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
414 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
415 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
416 * Various:: General purpose settings.
417 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
418 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
419 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
420 * Key Index:: Key Index.
423 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
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 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
442 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
443 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
447 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
448 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
449 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
450 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
451 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
452 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
453 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
454 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
455 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
456 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
457 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
458 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
459 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
460 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
461 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
462 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
463 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
467 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
468 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
469 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
473 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
474 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
475 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
476 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
477 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
481 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
482 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
483 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
484 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
488 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
489 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
490 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
491 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
492 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
493 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
494 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
495 * Threading:: How threads are made.
496 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
497 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
498 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
499 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
500 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
501 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
502 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
503 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
504 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
505 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
506 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
507 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
508 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
509 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
510 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
511 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
512 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
513 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
514 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
515 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
516 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
518 Summary Buffer Format
520 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
521 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
522 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
523 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
527 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
528 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
530 Reply, Followup and Post
532 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
533 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
534 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
535 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
539 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
540 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
541 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
542 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
543 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
544 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
548 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
549 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
551 Customizing Threading
553 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
554 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
555 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
556 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
560 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
561 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
562 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
563 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
564 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
565 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
569 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
570 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
571 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
575 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
576 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
577 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
578 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
579 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
580 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
581 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
582 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
584 Alternative Approaches
586 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
587 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
589 Various Summary Stuff
591 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
592 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
593 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
594 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
598 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
599 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
600 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
601 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
602 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
606 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
607 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
608 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
609 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
610 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
611 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
612 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
613 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
617 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
618 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
619 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
620 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
621 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
622 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
623 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
627 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
628 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
629 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
630 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
631 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
632 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
633 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
637 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
638 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
642 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
643 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
644 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
645 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
646 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
647 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
648 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
649 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
650 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
651 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
652 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
653 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
654 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
658 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
659 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
660 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
662 Choosing a Mail Backend
664 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
665 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
666 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
667 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
668 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
669 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
673 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
674 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
675 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
676 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
677 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
678 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
682 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
683 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
684 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
685 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
686 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
687 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
691 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
695 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
696 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
697 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
701 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
702 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
703 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
707 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
708 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
712 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
713 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
714 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
715 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
716 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
717 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
718 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
719 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
720 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
721 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
725 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
726 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
727 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
731 * Group Agent Commands::
732 * Summary Agent Commands::
733 * Server Agent Commands::
737 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
738 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
739 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
740 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
741 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
742 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
743 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
744 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
745 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
746 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
747 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
748 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
749 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
750 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
751 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
752 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
756 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
757 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
758 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
759 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
763 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
764 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
765 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
769 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
770 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
771 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
772 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
773 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
774 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
775 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
776 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
777 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
778 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
779 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
780 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
781 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
782 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
783 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
784 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
785 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
786 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
790 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
791 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
792 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
793 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
794 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
798 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
799 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
800 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
801 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
805 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
806 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
807 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
808 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
809 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
813 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
814 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
815 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
816 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
817 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
818 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
819 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
820 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
824 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
825 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
826 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
827 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
828 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
829 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
830 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
831 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
832 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
836 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
837 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
838 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
839 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
840 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
844 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
845 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
846 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
847 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
851 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
852 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
853 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
854 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
855 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
856 * Group Info:: The group info format.
857 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
858 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
859 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
863 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
864 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
865 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
866 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
867 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
868 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
872 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
873 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
877 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
878 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
884 @chapter Starting gnus
889 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
890 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
893 @findex gnus-other-frame
894 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
895 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
896 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
898 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
899 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
900 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
902 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
903 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
906 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
907 * The First Time:: What does gnus do the first time you start it?
908 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
909 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one gnus active at a time.
910 * Fetching a Group:: Starting gnus just to read a group.
911 * New Groups:: What is gnus supposed to do with new groups?
912 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
913 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
914 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
915 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
916 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
920 @node Finding the News
921 @section Finding the News
924 @vindex gnus-select-method
926 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
927 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
928 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
929 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
932 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
933 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
936 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
939 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
942 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
945 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
946 certainly be much faster.
948 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
950 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
951 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
952 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
953 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
954 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
955 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
957 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
958 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
959 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
960 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
962 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
963 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
964 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
965 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
966 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
967 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
968 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
969 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
970 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
973 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
975 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
976 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
977 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
978 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
979 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
980 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
982 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
984 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
985 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
986 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
987 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
988 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
989 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
992 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
993 would typically set this variable to
996 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1000 @node The First Time
1001 @section The First Time
1002 @cindex first time usage
1004 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1005 be subscribed by default.
1007 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1008 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1009 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1010 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1013 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1014 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1015 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1017 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1018 help you with most common problems.
1020 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1021 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1025 @node The Server is Down
1026 @section The Server is Down
1027 @cindex server errors
1029 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1030 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1031 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1033 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1034 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1035 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1036 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1037 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1038 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1039 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1041 @findex gnus-no-server
1042 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1044 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1045 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1046 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1047 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1048 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1049 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1050 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1054 @section Slave Gnusae
1057 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1058 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1059 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1060 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1062 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1063 @code{.newsrc} file.
1065 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1066 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1067 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1068 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1069 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1070 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1071 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1073 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1074 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1075 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1076 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1077 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1078 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1079 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1080 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1082 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1083 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1086 @node Fetching a Group
1087 @section Fetching a Group
1088 @cindex fetching a group
1090 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1091 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1092 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1093 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1094 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1095 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1101 @cindex subscription
1103 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1104 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1105 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1106 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1107 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1108 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1109 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1110 @code{always}, then gnus will query the backends for new groups even
1111 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1114 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1115 * Subscription Methods:: What gnus should do with new groups.
1116 * Filtering New Groups:: Making gnus ignore certain new groups.
1120 @node Checking New Groups
1121 @subsection Checking New Groups
1123 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1124 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1125 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1126 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1127 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1128 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1129 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1130 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1131 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1132 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1134 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1135 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1136 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1137 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1138 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1139 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1140 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1141 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1142 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1143 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1144 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1146 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1147 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1148 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1149 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1150 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1151 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1154 @node Subscription Methods
1155 @subsection Subscription Methods
1157 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1158 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1159 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1161 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1162 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1164 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1168 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1169 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1170 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1171 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1172 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1174 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1175 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1176 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1177 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1179 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1180 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1181 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1183 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1184 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1185 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1186 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1187 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1188 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1189 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1190 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1191 up. Or something like that.
1193 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1194 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1195 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1196 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1197 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1199 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1200 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1201 Kill all new groups.
1203 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1204 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1205 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1206 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1207 topic parameter that looks like
1213 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1216 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1221 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1222 A closely related variable is
1223 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1224 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1225 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1226 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1229 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1230 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1231 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1232 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1235 @node Filtering New Groups
1236 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1238 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1239 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1240 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1243 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1246 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1247 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1248 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1249 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1250 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1251 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1252 subscribing these groups.
1253 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1254 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1256 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1257 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1258 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1259 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1260 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1261 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1262 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1263 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1265 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1266 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1267 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1268 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1269 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1270 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1271 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1272 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1273 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1274 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1276 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1277 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1280 @node Changing Servers
1281 @section Changing Servers
1282 @cindex changing servers
1284 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1285 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1286 very flaky and you want to use another.
1288 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1289 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1293 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1294 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1295 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1296 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1299 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1300 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1301 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1302 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1304 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1305 @findex gnus-change-server
1306 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1307 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1308 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1309 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1310 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1312 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1313 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1314 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1315 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1316 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1318 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1319 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1320 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1321 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1322 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1323 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1325 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1326 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1327 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1331 @section Startup Files
1332 @cindex startup files
1337 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1338 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1340 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1341 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1342 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1343 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1344 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1345 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1346 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1348 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1349 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1350 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1351 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1352 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1353 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1355 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1356 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1357 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1358 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1359 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1360 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1361 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1362 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1363 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1364 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1366 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1367 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1368 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1369 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1370 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1371 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1372 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1373 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1374 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1375 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1376 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1377 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1379 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1380 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1381 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1382 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1384 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1385 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1386 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1387 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1388 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1389 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1390 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1391 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1392 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1393 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1396 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1397 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1399 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1400 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1403 @vindex gnus-init-file
1404 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1405 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1406 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1407 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1408 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1409 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1410 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1411 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1412 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1418 @cindex dribble file
1421 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1422 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1423 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1424 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1425 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1428 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1429 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1432 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1433 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1434 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1436 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1437 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1438 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1439 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1440 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1441 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1443 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1444 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1445 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1448 @node The Active File
1449 @section The Active File
1451 @cindex ignored groups
1453 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1454 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1455 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1457 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1458 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1459 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1460 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1461 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1462 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1463 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1466 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1467 @c if you set it to anything else.
1469 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1471 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1472 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1473 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1475 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1476 you actually subscribe to.
1478 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1479 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1480 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1481 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1483 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1484 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1485 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1486 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1487 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1488 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1490 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1491 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1492 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1495 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1496 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1497 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1498 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1499 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1500 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1502 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1503 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1505 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1506 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1508 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1509 secondary select methods.
1512 @node Startup Variables
1513 @section Startup Variables
1517 @item gnus-load-hook
1518 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1519 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1520 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1521 times you start gnus.
1523 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1524 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1525 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1527 @item gnus-startup-hook
1528 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1529 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1531 @item gnus-started-hook
1532 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1533 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1536 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1537 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1538 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1539 generating the group buffer.
1541 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1542 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1543 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1544 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1545 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1546 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1547 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1548 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1550 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1551 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1552 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1553 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1554 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1555 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1557 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1558 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1559 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1561 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1562 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1563 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1565 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1566 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1567 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1568 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1574 @chapter Group Buffer
1575 @cindex group buffer
1577 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1578 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1579 long as gnus is active.
1583 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1584 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1585 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1586 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1587 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1588 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1589 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1590 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1596 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1597 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1598 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1599 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1600 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1601 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1602 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1603 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1604 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1605 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1606 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1607 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1608 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1609 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1610 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1611 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1612 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1616 @node Group Buffer Format
1617 @section Group Buffer Format
1620 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1621 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1622 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1626 @node Group Line Specification
1627 @subsection Group Line Specification
1628 @cindex group buffer format
1630 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1631 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1633 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1636 25: news.announce.newusers
1637 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1642 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1643 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1644 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1645 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1647 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1648 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1649 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1650 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1651 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1652 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1654 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1656 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1657 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1658 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1659 never examined by gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1662 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1663 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1664 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1666 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1671 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1674 Whether the group is subscribed.
1677 Level of subscribedness.
1680 Number of unread articles.
1683 Number of dormant articles.
1686 Number of ticked articles.
1689 Number of read articles.
1692 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1693 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1696 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1699 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1708 Newsgroup description.
1711 @samp{m} if moderated.
1714 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1723 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1727 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1730 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1731 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1732 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1733 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1734 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1737 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1739 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1743 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1746 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1750 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1751 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1752 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1753 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1754 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1755 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1760 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1761 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1762 group, or a bogus native group.
1765 @node Group Modeline Specification
1766 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1767 @cindex group modeline
1769 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1770 The mode line can be changed by setting
1771 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1772 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1776 The native news server.
1778 The native select method.
1782 @node Group Highlighting
1783 @subsection Group Highlighting
1784 @cindex highlighting
1785 @cindex group highlighting
1787 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1788 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1789 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1790 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1791 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1793 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1797 (cond (window-system
1798 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1799 (defface my-group-face-1
1800 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1801 (defface my-group-face-2
1802 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1803 (defface my-group-face-3
1804 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1805 (defface my-group-face-4
1806 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1807 (defface my-group-face-5
1808 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1810 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1811 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1812 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1813 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1814 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1815 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1818 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1820 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1827 The number of unread articles in the group.
1831 Whether the group is a mail group.
1833 The level of the group.
1835 The score of the group.
1837 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1839 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1840 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1842 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1843 topic being inserted.
1846 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1847 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1848 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1850 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1851 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1852 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1853 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1854 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1857 @node Group Maneuvering
1858 @section Group Maneuvering
1859 @cindex group movement
1861 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1862 expected, hopefully.
1868 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1869 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1870 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1876 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1877 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1878 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1882 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1883 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1887 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1888 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1892 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1893 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1894 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1898 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1899 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1900 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1903 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1909 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1910 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1911 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1916 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1917 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1918 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1922 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1923 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1924 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1927 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1928 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1929 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1930 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1934 @node Selecting a Group
1935 @section Selecting a Group
1936 @cindex group selection
1941 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1942 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1943 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1944 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1945 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1946 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1947 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1948 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1949 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1950 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1952 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
1953 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
1954 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
1956 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
1957 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
1962 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1963 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1964 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1965 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1966 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1970 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1971 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1972 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1973 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1974 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1975 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1976 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1977 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1978 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1979 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1982 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1983 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1984 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1985 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1986 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1989 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1990 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1991 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1992 doing any processing of its contents
1993 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1994 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1995 manner will have no permanent effects.
1999 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2000 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2001 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2002 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2003 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2004 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2005 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2006 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2009 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2010 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2011 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
2012 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2017 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2018 full summary buffer.
2021 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2024 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2029 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2030 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2031 Useful functions include:
2034 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2035 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2036 don't select the article.
2038 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2039 Select the first unread article.
2041 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2042 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2046 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2047 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2048 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2052 @node Subscription Commands
2053 @section Subscription Commands
2054 @cindex subscription
2062 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2063 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2064 Toggle subscription to the current group
2065 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2071 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2072 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2073 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2074 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2080 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2081 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2082 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2088 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2089 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2092 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2093 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2094 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2095 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2096 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2102 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2103 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2107 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2108 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2111 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2112 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2113 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2114 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2115 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2116 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2117 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2118 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2119 @file{.newsrc} file.
2123 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2133 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2134 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2135 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2136 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2137 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2138 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2143 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2144 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2145 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2149 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2150 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2151 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2153 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2154 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2155 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2156 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2157 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2158 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2165 @section Group Levels
2169 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2170 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2171 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2172 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2173 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2175 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2181 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2182 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2183 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2184 prompted for a level.
2187 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2188 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2189 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2190 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2191 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2192 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2193 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2194 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2195 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2196 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2197 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2198 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2199 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2200 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2201 reasons of efficiency.
2203 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2204 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2206 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2207 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2208 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2209 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2210 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2211 groups are hidden, in a way.
2213 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2214 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2215 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2216 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2217 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2218 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2220 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2221 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2222 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2223 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2224 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2225 list of killed groups.)
2227 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2228 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2229 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2231 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2232 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2233 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2234 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2235 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2236 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2237 relevant valid ranges.
2239 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2240 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2241 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2242 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2243 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2244 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2247 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2248 one with the best level.
2250 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2251 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2252 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2255 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2256 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2257 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2258 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2261 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2262 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2263 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2264 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2266 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2267 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2268 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2269 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2270 to 5. The default is 6.
2274 @section Group Score
2279 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2280 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2281 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2284 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2285 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2286 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2287 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2288 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2289 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2290 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2291 least significant part.))
2293 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2294 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2295 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2296 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2297 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2298 action after each summary exit, you can add
2299 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2300 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2301 slow things down somewhat.
2304 @node Marking Groups
2305 @section Marking Groups
2306 @cindex marking groups
2308 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2309 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2310 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2311 bidding on those groups.
2313 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2314 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2315 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2323 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2324 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2330 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2331 Remove the mark from the current group
2332 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2336 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2337 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2341 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2342 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2346 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2347 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2351 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2352 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2353 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2356 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2358 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2359 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2360 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2361 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2362 the command to be executed.
2365 @node Foreign Groups
2366 @section Foreign Groups
2367 @cindex foreign groups
2369 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2370 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2371 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2372 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2379 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2380 @cindex making groups
2381 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2382 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2383 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2387 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2388 @cindex renaming groups
2389 Rename the current group to something else
2390 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2391 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2397 @findex gnus-group-customize
2398 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2402 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2403 @cindex renaming groups
2404 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2405 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2409 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2410 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2411 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2415 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2416 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2417 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2421 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2423 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2424 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2429 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2430 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2434 @cindex (ding) archive
2435 @cindex archive group
2436 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2437 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2438 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2439 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2440 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2441 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2442 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2446 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2448 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2449 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2450 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2451 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2455 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2457 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2458 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2459 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2463 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2464 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2466 Make a group based on some file or other
2467 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2468 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2469 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2470 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2471 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2472 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2473 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2477 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2478 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2479 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2480 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2484 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2489 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2490 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2491 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2492 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2493 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2494 @xref{Web Searches}.
2496 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2497 to a particular group by using a match string like
2498 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2501 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2502 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2503 This function will delete the current group
2504 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2505 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2506 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2507 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2508 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2512 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2513 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2514 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2518 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2519 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2520 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2523 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2526 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2527 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2528 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2529 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2530 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2531 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2535 @node Group Parameters
2536 @section Group Parameters
2537 @cindex group parameters
2539 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2540 Here's an example group parameter list:
2543 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2547 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2548 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2549 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2550 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2552 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2553 is an alist of regexps and values.
2555 The following group parameters can be used:
2560 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2563 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2566 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2567 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2568 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2569 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2570 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2572 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2573 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2574 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2575 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2576 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2577 list address instead.
2579 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2583 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2586 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2589 It is totally ignored
2590 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2591 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2593 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2594 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2595 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2596 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2597 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2599 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2600 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2601 sending the message.
2603 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2607 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2608 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2609 of whether it has any unread articles.
2611 @item broken-reply-to
2612 @cindex broken-reply-to
2613 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2614 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2615 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2616 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2617 broken behavior. So there!
2621 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2622 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2626 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2627 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2628 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2633 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2634 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2635 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2636 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2637 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2638 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2639 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2643 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2644 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2645 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2647 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2650 @cindex total-expire
2651 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2652 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2653 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2654 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2657 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2661 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2662 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2663 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2664 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2665 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2666 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2669 @cindex score file group parameter
2670 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2671 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2672 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2675 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2676 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2677 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2678 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2681 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2682 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2683 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2684 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2687 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2688 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2692 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2695 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2700 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2701 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2702 gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2706 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2707 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2708 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2710 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2712 @item ignored-charsets
2713 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-known iso-8859-1)}
2714 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2715 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2717 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2720 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2721 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2722 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2723 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2724 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2726 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2727 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2728 like this in the group parameters:
2733 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2737 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2738 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2739 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2740 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2741 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2743 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2744 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2745 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2746 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2747 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2748 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2749 @code{eval}ed there.
2751 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2752 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2753 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2754 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2755 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2759 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2760 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2761 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2762 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2763 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2766 @node Listing Groups
2767 @section Listing Groups
2768 @cindex group listing
2770 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2778 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2779 List all groups that have unread articles
2780 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2781 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2782 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2783 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2790 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2791 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2792 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2793 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2794 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2795 unsubscribed groups).
2799 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2800 List all unread groups on a specific level
2801 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2802 with no unread articles.
2806 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2807 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2808 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2809 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2814 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2815 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2819 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2820 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2821 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2825 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2826 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2830 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2831 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2832 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2833 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2834 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2835 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2836 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2837 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2841 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2842 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2843 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2847 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2848 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2849 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2853 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2854 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2858 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2859 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2863 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
2864 List groups limited within the current selection
2865 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
2869 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
2870 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
2874 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
2875 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
2879 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2880 @cindex visible group parameter
2881 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2882 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2883 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2884 get the same effect.
2886 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2887 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2888 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2889 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2890 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2893 @node Sorting Groups
2894 @section Sorting Groups
2895 @cindex sorting groups
2897 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2898 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2899 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2900 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2901 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2902 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2907 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2908 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2909 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2911 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2912 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2913 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2915 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2916 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2917 Sort by group level.
2919 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2920 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2921 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2923 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2924 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2925 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2926 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2928 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2929 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2930 Sort by number of unread articles.
2932 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2933 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2934 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2936 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
2937 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
2938 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
2943 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2944 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2948 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2949 some sorting criteria:
2953 @kindex G S a (Group)
2954 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2955 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2956 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2959 @kindex G S u (Group)
2960 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2961 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2962 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2965 @kindex G S l (Group)
2966 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2967 Sort the group buffer by group level
2968 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2971 @kindex G S v (Group)
2972 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2973 Sort the group buffer by group score
2974 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2977 @kindex G S r (Group)
2978 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2979 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2980 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2983 @kindex G S m (Group)
2984 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2985 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2986 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2990 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2991 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2993 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2994 commands will sort in reverse order.
2996 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3000 @kindex G P a (Group)
3001 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3002 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3003 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3006 @kindex G P u (Group)
3007 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3008 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3009 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3012 @kindex G P l (Group)
3013 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3014 Sort the groups by group level
3015 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3018 @kindex G P v (Group)
3019 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3020 Sort the groups by group score
3021 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3024 @kindex G P r (Group)
3025 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3026 Sort the groups by group rank
3027 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3030 @kindex G P m (Group)
3031 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3032 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
3033 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3037 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3041 @node Group Maintenance
3042 @section Group Maintenance
3043 @cindex bogus groups
3048 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3049 Find bogus groups and delete them
3050 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3054 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3055 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3056 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3057 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3058 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3062 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3063 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3064 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3065 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3066 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3067 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3070 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
3071 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3072 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3073 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3078 @node Browse Foreign Server
3079 @section Browse Foreign Server
3080 @cindex foreign servers
3081 @cindex browsing servers
3086 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3087 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3088 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3089 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3092 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3093 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3094 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3095 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3097 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3102 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3103 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3107 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3108 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3111 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3112 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3113 Enter the current group and display the first article
3114 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3117 @kindex RET (Browse)
3118 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3119 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3123 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3124 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3125 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3131 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3132 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3136 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3137 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3138 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3143 @section Exiting gnus
3144 @cindex exiting gnus
3146 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3151 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3152 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3153 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3154 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3158 @findex gnus-group-exit
3159 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3160 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3164 @findex gnus-group-quit
3165 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3166 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3169 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3170 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3171 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3172 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3173 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3178 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3179 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3180 trying to customize meta-variables.
3185 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3186 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3187 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3193 @section Group Topics
3196 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3197 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3198 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3199 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3200 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3201 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3205 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3206 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3217 2: alt.religion.emacs
3220 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3222 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3223 13: comp.sources.unix
3226 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3228 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3229 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3230 is a toggling command.)
3232 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3233 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
3234 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3235 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3238 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3239 the hook for the group mode:
3242 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3246 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3247 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3248 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3249 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3250 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3254 @node Topic Variables
3255 @subsection Topic Variables
3256 @cindex topic variables
3258 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
3259 really neat, I think.
3261 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3262 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3263 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3276 Number of groups in the topic.
3278 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3280 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3283 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3284 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3285 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3288 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3289 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3291 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3292 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3293 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3296 @node Topic Commands
3297 @subsection Topic Commands
3298 @cindex topic commands
3300 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3301 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3302 definitions slightly.
3308 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3309 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3310 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3314 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3315 Move the current group to some other topic
3316 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3317 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3321 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3322 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3326 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3327 Copy the current group to some other topic
3328 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3329 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3333 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3334 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3335 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3339 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3340 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3341 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3345 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3346 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3347 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3348 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3349 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3350 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3351 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3354 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3355 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3359 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3360 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3361 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3365 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3366 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3367 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3371 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3372 Toggle hiding empty topics
3373 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3377 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3378 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3379 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3382 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3383 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3384 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3385 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3389 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3391 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3392 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3393 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3394 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3397 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3398 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3399 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3400 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3404 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3406 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3407 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3408 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3409 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3410 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3411 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3414 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3415 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3416 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3417 expiry process (if any)
3418 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3422 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3423 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3424 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3428 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3429 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3430 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3435 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3436 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3439 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3440 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3441 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3445 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3446 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3447 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3451 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3452 @cindex group parameters
3453 @cindex topic parameters
3455 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3456 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3462 @subsection Topic Sorting
3463 @cindex topic sorting
3465 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3471 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3472 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3473 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3474 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3477 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3478 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3479 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3480 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3483 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3484 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3485 Sort the current topic by group level
3486 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3489 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3490 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3491 Sort the current topic by group score
3492 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3495 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3496 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3497 Sort the current topic by group rank
3498 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3501 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3502 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3503 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
3504 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3508 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3511 @node Topic Topology
3512 @subsection Topic Topology
3513 @cindex topic topology
3516 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3522 2: alt.religion.emacs
3525 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3527 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3528 13: comp.sources.unix
3531 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3532 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3533 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3538 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3539 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3543 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3544 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3545 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3546 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3547 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3548 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3550 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3551 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3552 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3555 @node Topic Parameters
3556 @subsection Topic Parameters
3557 @cindex topic parameters
3559 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3560 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3561 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3563 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3568 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3569 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3570 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3575 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3576 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3577 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3578 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3584 2: alt.religion.emacs
3588 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3590 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3591 13: comp.sources.unix
3595 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3596 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3597 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3598 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3599 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3600 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3602 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3603 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3604 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3605 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3606 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3608 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3609 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3610 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3611 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3612 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3613 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3614 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3615 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3618 @node Misc Group Stuff
3619 @section Misc Group Stuff
3622 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3623 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and gnus.
3624 * Group Timestamp:: Making gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3625 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the gnus files.
3632 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3633 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3634 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3638 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3639 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3640 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3644 @findex gnus-group-mail
3645 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3649 Variables for the group buffer:
3653 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3654 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3655 is called after the group buffer has been
3658 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3659 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3660 is called after the group buffer is
3661 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3664 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3665 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3666 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3667 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3669 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3670 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3671 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3672 whether they are empty or not.
3674 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3675 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3676 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3677 non-ASCII group names.
3681 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3682 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3685 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3686 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3687 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3688 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3692 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3693 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3698 @node Scanning New Messages
3699 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3700 @cindex new messages
3701 @cindex scanning new news
3707 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3708 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3709 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3710 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3711 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3712 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3717 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3718 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3719 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3720 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3721 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3722 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3723 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3725 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3726 @cindex activating groups
3728 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3729 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3734 @findex gnus-group-restart
3735 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3736 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3737 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
3741 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3742 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3744 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3745 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3749 @node Group Information
3750 @subsection Group Information
3751 @cindex group information
3752 @cindex information on groups
3759 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3760 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3763 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3764 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3765 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3766 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3767 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3768 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3769 for fetching the file.
3771 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
3772 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3776 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3778 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3779 @cindex describing groups
3780 @cindex group description
3781 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3782 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3783 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3787 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3788 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3789 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3796 @findex gnus-version
3797 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3801 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3802 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3805 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3808 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3809 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3813 @node Group Timestamp
3814 @subsection Group Timestamp
3816 @cindex group timestamps
3818 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
3819 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3820 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3823 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3826 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3828 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3829 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3832 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3833 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3836 This will result in lines looking like:
3839 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3840 0: custom 19961002T012713
3843 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3844 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3848 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3849 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3854 @subsection File Commands
3855 @cindex file commands
3861 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3862 @vindex gnus-init-file
3863 @cindex reading init file
3864 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3865 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3869 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3870 @cindex saving .newsrc
3871 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3872 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3873 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3876 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3877 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3878 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3883 @node Summary Buffer
3884 @chapter Summary Buffer
3885 @cindex summary buffer
3887 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3888 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3890 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3891 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3893 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3896 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3897 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3898 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3899 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3900 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3901 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3902 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3903 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3904 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3905 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3906 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3907 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3908 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3909 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3910 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3911 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3912 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3913 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3914 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3915 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3916 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3917 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3918 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3919 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3920 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3921 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
3922 or reselecting the current group.
3923 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3924 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3925 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
3929 @node Summary Buffer Format
3930 @section Summary Buffer Format
3931 @cindex summary buffer format
3935 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3936 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3937 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3943 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3944 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3945 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3946 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3949 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3950 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3951 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3952 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3953 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3954 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
3955 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3956 fast, and too simplistic solution;
3957 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
3958 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
3959 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
3960 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
3961 other function instead:
3964 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3965 'mail-extract-address-components)
3968 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3969 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3970 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3971 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3974 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3975 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3977 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3978 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3979 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3980 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3981 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3983 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
3984 the colon after performing an operation.
3986 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3988 The following format specification characters are understood:
3994 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
3995 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3997 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3998 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3999 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4001 Full @code{From} header.
4003 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4005 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4006 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4008 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4009 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4010 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4011 may be more thorough.
4013 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4016 Number of lines in the article.
4018 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
4019 methods (like nnfolder).
4021 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4023 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4024 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4026 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4027 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4029 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4030 for adopted articles.
4032 One space for each thread level.
4034 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4039 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4040 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4044 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4046 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4047 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4048 default level. If the difference between
4049 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4050 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4058 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4060 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4066 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4067 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4069 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4070 article has any children.
4076 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4077 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4078 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4079 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4080 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4081 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4084 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4085 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4086 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4087 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4088 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4089 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4091 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4092 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4094 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4097 @node To From Newsgroups
4098 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4102 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4103 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4104 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4105 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4106 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4110 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4111 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4112 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4116 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4117 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4120 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4121 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4124 @findex gnus-extra-header
4125 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4126 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4127 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4130 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4134 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4135 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4136 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4137 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4138 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4139 headers are used instead.
4143 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4144 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4145 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4146 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4149 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4150 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4151 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4152 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4154 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4158 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4160 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4161 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4162 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
4163 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4167 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4168 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4175 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4176 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4179 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4180 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4182 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4183 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4184 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4185 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4187 Here are the elements you can play with:
4193 Unprefixed group name.
4195 Current article number.
4197 Current article score.
4201 Number of unread articles in this group.
4203 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4206 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4207 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4208 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4209 and no unselected ones.
4211 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4212 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4214 Subject of the current article.
4216 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4218 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4220 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4222 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4224 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4226 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4230 @node Summary Highlighting
4231 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4235 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4236 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4237 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4238 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4239 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4241 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4242 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4243 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4244 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4246 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4247 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4248 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4249 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4251 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4252 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4253 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4254 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4255 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4256 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4259 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4260 ((> score default) . bold))
4262 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4263 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4267 @node Summary Maneuvering
4268 @section Summary Maneuvering
4269 @cindex summary movement
4271 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4272 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4274 None of these commands select articles.
4279 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4280 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4281 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4282 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4283 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4287 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4288 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4289 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4290 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4291 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4294 @kindex G g (Summary)
4295 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4296 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4297 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4300 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4301 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4302 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4303 to the group buffer.
4305 Variables related to summary movement:
4309 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4310 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4311 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4312 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4313 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4314 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4315 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4316 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4317 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
4318 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4319 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4320 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4321 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4322 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4324 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4325 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4326 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4327 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4328 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4329 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4330 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4332 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4334 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4335 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4336 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4337 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4338 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4340 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4341 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4342 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4343 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4344 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4345 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4346 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4347 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4350 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4351 the given number of lines from the top.
4356 @node Choosing Articles
4357 @section Choosing Articles
4358 @cindex selecting articles
4361 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4362 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4366 @node Choosing Commands
4367 @subsection Choosing Commands
4369 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4370 and they all select and display an article.
4372 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4373 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4377 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4378 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4379 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4380 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4385 @kindex G n (Summary)
4386 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4387 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4388 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4393 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4394 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4395 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4400 @kindex G N (Summary)
4401 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4402 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4407 @kindex G P (Summary)
4408 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4409 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4412 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4413 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4414 Go to the next article with the same subject
4415 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4418 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4419 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4420 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4421 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4425 @kindex G f (Summary)
4427 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4428 Go to the first unread article
4429 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4433 @kindex G b (Summary)
4435 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4436 Go to the article with the highest score
4437 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4442 @kindex G l (Summary)
4443 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4444 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4447 @kindex G o (Summary)
4448 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4450 @cindex article history
4451 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4452 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4453 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4454 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4455 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4456 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4461 @kindex G j (Summary)
4462 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4463 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4464 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4469 @node Choosing Variables
4470 @subsection Choosing Variables
4472 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4475 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4476 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4477 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4478 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4479 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4480 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4482 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4483 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4484 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4485 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4487 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4488 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4489 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4490 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4491 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4492 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4493 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4494 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4495 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4496 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4497 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4498 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4499 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4500 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4505 @node Paging the Article
4506 @section Scrolling the Article
4507 @cindex article scrolling
4512 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4513 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4514 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4515 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4516 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4519 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4520 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4521 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4524 @kindex RET (Summary)
4525 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4526 Scroll the current article one line forward
4527 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4530 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4531 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4532 Scroll the current article one line backward
4533 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4537 @kindex A g (Summary)
4539 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4540 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4541 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4542 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4543 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4544 the way it came from the server.
4546 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4547 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4548 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4551 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4556 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4561 @kindex A < (Summary)
4562 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4563 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4564 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4569 @kindex A > (Summary)
4570 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4571 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4575 @kindex A s (Summary)
4577 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4578 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4579 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4583 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4584 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4589 @node Reply Followup and Post
4590 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4593 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4594 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4595 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4596 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
4600 @node Summary Mail Commands
4601 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4603 @cindex composing mail
4605 Commands for composing a mail message:
4611 @kindex S r (Summary)
4613 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4614 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4615 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4616 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4617 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4622 @kindex S R (Summary)
4623 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4624 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4625 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4626 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4627 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4630 @kindex S w (Summary)
4631 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4632 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4633 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4634 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4635 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4638 @kindex S W (Summary)
4639 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4640 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4641 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4642 the process/prefix convention.
4645 @kindex S v (Summary)
4646 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
4647 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
4648 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
4649 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4650 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
4651 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
4654 @kindex S W (Summary)
4655 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4656 Mail a very wide reply to the current article and include the original
4657 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4658 the process/prefix convention.
4662 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4663 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4664 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4665 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4666 Forward the current article to some other person
4667 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4668 headers of the forwarded article.
4673 @kindex S m (Summary)
4674 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4675 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4676 Send a mail to some other person
4677 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4680 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4681 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4682 @cindex bouncing mail
4683 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4684 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4685 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4686 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4687 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4688 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
4689 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4690 very well fail, though.
4693 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4694 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4695 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4696 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4697 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4698 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4699 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4700 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4701 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4702 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4704 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4705 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4706 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4707 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4708 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4710 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4711 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4714 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4715 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
4716 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4717 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
4718 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4721 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4722 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4723 @cindex crossposting
4724 @cindex excessive crossposting
4725 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4726 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4728 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4729 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4730 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4731 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4732 command understands the process/prefix convention
4733 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4737 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4740 @node Summary Post Commands
4741 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4743 @cindex composing news
4745 Commands for posting a news article:
4751 @kindex S p (Summary)
4752 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4753 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4754 Post an article to the current group
4755 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4760 @kindex S f (Summary)
4761 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4762 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4763 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4767 @kindex S F (Summary)
4769 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4770 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4771 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4772 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4773 process/prefix convention.
4776 @kindex S n (Summary)
4777 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4778 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4779 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4782 @kindex S N (Summary)
4783 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4784 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4785 message through mail and include the original message
4786 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4787 the process/prefix convention.
4790 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4791 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4792 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4793 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4794 headers of the forwarded article.
4797 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4798 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
4800 @cindex making digests
4801 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4802 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
4803 process/prefix convention.
4806 @kindex S u (Summary)
4807 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4808 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4809 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4810 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4813 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4816 @node Summary Message Commands
4817 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4821 @kindex S y (Summary)
4822 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4823 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4824 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4825 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4826 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4831 @node Canceling and Superseding
4832 @subsection Canceling Articles
4833 @cindex canceling articles
4834 @cindex superseding articles
4836 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4837 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4839 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4841 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4843 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4844 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4845 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4846 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4847 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4848 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4850 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4851 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4854 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4855 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4856 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4858 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4859 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4860 your original article.
4862 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4864 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4865 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4866 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4869 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4870 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4871 have posted almost the same article twice.
4873 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4874 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4875 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4876 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4877 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4878 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4879 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4880 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4881 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4882 canceled/superseded.
4884 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4887 @node Marking Articles
4888 @section Marking Articles
4889 @cindex article marking
4890 @cindex article ticking
4893 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4895 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4896 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4897 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4899 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4902 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4903 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4904 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4908 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4912 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4913 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4914 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4918 @node Unread Articles
4919 @subsection Unread Articles
4921 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4926 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4927 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4929 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4930 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4931 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4932 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
4933 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
4934 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
4935 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
4938 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4939 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4941 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4942 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4943 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4944 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
4948 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4949 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4951 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4956 @subsection Read Articles
4957 @cindex expirable mark
4959 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4964 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4965 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4966 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4969 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4970 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4973 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4974 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4975 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4978 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4979 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4982 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4983 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4986 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4987 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4990 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4991 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4994 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4995 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4998 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4999 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5002 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5003 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5007 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5008 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5009 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5013 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5014 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5016 One more special mark, though:
5020 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5021 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5023 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5024 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5025 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5026 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5032 @subsection Other Marks
5033 @cindex process mark
5036 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5042 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5043 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5044 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5045 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5046 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5049 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5050 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5051 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5052 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5054 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5055 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{O} in
5056 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5059 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5060 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5061 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5064 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5065 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5066 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5067 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5070 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5071 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5072 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5073 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5074 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5077 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5078 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5079 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5080 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5081 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5082 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5086 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5087 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5088 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5090 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5091 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5092 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5096 @subsection Setting Marks
5097 @cindex setting marks
5099 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5104 @kindex M c (Summary)
5105 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5106 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5107 @cindex mark as unread
5108 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5109 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5115 @kindex M t (Summary)
5116 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5117 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5118 @xref{Article Caching}.
5123 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5124 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5125 Mark the current article as dormant
5126 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5130 @kindex M d (Summary)
5132 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5133 Mark the current article as read
5134 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5138 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5139 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5140 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5145 @kindex M k (Summary)
5146 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5147 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5148 and then select the next unread article
5149 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5153 @kindex M K (Summary)
5154 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5155 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5156 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5157 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5160 @kindex M C (Summary)
5161 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5162 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5163 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5166 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5167 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5168 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5169 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5172 @kindex M H (Summary)
5173 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5174 Catchup the current group to point
5175 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5178 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5179 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5180 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5181 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5184 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5185 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5186 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5187 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5191 @kindex M e (Summary)
5193 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5194 Mark the current article as expirable
5195 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5198 @kindex M b (Summary)
5199 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5200 Set a bookmark in the current article
5201 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5204 @kindex M B (Summary)
5205 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5206 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5207 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5210 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5211 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5212 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5213 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5216 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5217 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5218 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5219 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5222 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5223 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5224 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5225 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5226 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5229 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5230 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5231 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5232 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5233 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5234 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5235 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5236 The default is @code{t}.
5239 @node Generic Marking Commands
5240 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5242 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5243 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5244 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5245 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5246 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5249 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5250 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5253 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5254 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5255 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5256 to list in this manual.
5258 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5259 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5260 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5261 article, you could say something like:
5264 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5265 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5266 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5272 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5273 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5277 @node Setting Process Marks
5278 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5279 @cindex setting process marks
5286 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5287 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5288 Mark the current article with the process mark
5289 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5290 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5294 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5295 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5296 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5297 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5300 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5301 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5302 Remove the process mark from all articles
5303 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5306 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5307 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5308 Invert the list of process marked articles
5309 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5312 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5313 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5314 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5315 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5318 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5319 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5320 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5321 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5324 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5325 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5326 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5329 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5330 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5331 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5332 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5335 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5336 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5337 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5338 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5341 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5342 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5343 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5344 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5347 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5348 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5349 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5352 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5353 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5354 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5355 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5358 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5359 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5360 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5363 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5364 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5365 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5366 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5369 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5370 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5371 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5372 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5375 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5376 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5377 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5378 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5381 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5382 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5383 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5384 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5388 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5389 set process marks based on article body contents.
5396 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5397 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5398 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5401 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5402 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5403 additional articles.
5409 @kindex / / (Summary)
5410 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5411 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5412 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5415 @kindex / a (Summary)
5416 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5417 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5418 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5421 @kindex / x (Summary)
5422 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5423 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5424 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5425 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5429 @kindex / u (Summary)
5431 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5432 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5433 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5434 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5435 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5438 @kindex / m (Summary)
5439 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5440 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5441 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5444 @kindex / t (Summary)
5445 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5446 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5447 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5448 articles younger than that number of days.
5451 @kindex / n (Summary)
5452 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5453 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5454 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5455 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5458 @kindex / w (Summary)
5459 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5460 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5461 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5465 @kindex / v (Summary)
5466 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5467 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5468 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5472 @kindex M S (Summary)
5473 @kindex / E (Summary)
5474 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5475 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5476 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5479 @kindex / D (Summary)
5480 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5481 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5482 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5485 @kindex / * (Summary)
5486 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5487 Include all cached articles in the limit
5488 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5491 @kindex / d (Summary)
5492 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5493 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5494 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5497 @kindex / M (Summary)
5498 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5499 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5502 @kindex / T (Summary)
5503 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5504 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5507 @kindex / c (Summary)
5508 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5509 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5510 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5513 @kindex / C (Summary)
5514 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5515 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5516 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5517 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5525 @cindex article threading
5527 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5528 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5529 hierarchical fashion.
5531 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5532 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5533 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5534 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
5535 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5536 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5537 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5539 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5543 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5546 A tree-like article structure.
5549 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5552 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5553 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5554 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5555 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5556 called loose threads.
5558 @item thread gathering
5559 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5561 @item sparse threads
5562 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5563 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5569 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5570 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5574 @node Customizing Threading
5575 @subsection Customizing Threading
5576 @cindex customizing threading
5579 * Loose Threads:: How gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5580 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5581 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5582 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5587 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5590 @cindex loose threads
5593 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5594 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5595 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5596 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5597 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5598 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5600 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
5601 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
5602 There are four possible values:
5606 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5607 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5608 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5609 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5610 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5615 @cindex adopting articles
5620 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5621 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5622 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5623 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5626 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5627 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5628 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5629 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5630 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5631 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5632 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5635 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5636 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5637 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5641 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5642 display them after one another.
5645 Don't gather loose threads.
5648 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5649 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5650 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5651 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
5652 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5653 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5654 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5655 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5656 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5657 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
5658 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5660 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5661 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
5662 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5665 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5666 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5667 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5668 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5669 simplification is used.
5671 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5672 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5673 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5674 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5676 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5678 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5684 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5685 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5686 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5687 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5692 (mapconcat 'identity
5693 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5695 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5698 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5701 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5702 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5703 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5704 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5705 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5706 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5708 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5711 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5712 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5713 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5715 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5716 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5719 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5720 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5721 Remove excessive whitespace.
5724 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5727 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5728 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5729 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5730 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5731 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5732 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5733 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5734 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5736 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5737 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5738 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5739 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5740 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5741 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5742 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5743 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5744 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5748 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5749 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5750 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5751 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5753 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5754 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5755 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5758 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5762 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5763 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5769 @node Filling In Threads
5770 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5773 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5774 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5775 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5776 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5777 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5778 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5779 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5780 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5781 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5782 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5783 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5784 expired by the server, there's not much gnus can do about that.
5786 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5787 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5788 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5790 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5791 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5792 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5793 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5794 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5795 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5796 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
5797 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5798 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
5799 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
5800 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5801 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
5802 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5803 @code{nil} by default.
5805 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
5806 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
5807 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
5808 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the backend has to fetch
5809 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
5810 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
5811 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
5813 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
5814 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
5815 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
5820 @node More Threading
5821 @subsubsection More Threading
5824 @item gnus-show-threads
5825 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5826 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5827 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5828 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5829 slower and more awkward.
5831 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5832 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5833 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5836 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5837 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5838 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5839 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5840 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5841 threads are expunged.
5843 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5844 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5845 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5848 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5849 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5850 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5851 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
5852 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
5853 result in a new thread.
5855 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5856 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5857 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5860 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5861 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5862 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5863 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5864 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5865 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5866 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
5867 Setting this variable to an alternate value
5868 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5869 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5870 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5875 @node Low-Level Threading
5876 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5880 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5881 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5882 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
5883 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
5884 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
5885 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
5887 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5888 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5889 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5890 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5891 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5892 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5893 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5894 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5895 meaningful. Here's one example:
5898 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5900 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5901 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5903 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5905 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5912 @node Thread Commands
5913 @subsection Thread Commands
5914 @cindex thread commands
5920 @kindex T k (Summary)
5921 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5922 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5923 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5924 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5925 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5930 @kindex T l (Summary)
5931 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5932 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5933 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5934 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5937 @kindex T i (Summary)
5938 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5939 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5940 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5943 @kindex T # (Summary)
5944 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5945 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5946 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5949 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5950 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5951 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5952 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5955 @kindex T T (Summary)
5956 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5957 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5960 @kindex T s (Summary)
5961 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5962 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5963 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5966 @kindex T h (Summary)
5967 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5968 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5971 @kindex T S (Summary)
5972 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5973 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5976 @kindex T H (Summary)
5977 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5978 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5981 @kindex T t (Summary)
5982 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5983 Re-thread the current article's thread
5984 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5985 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5988 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5989 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5990 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5991 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5995 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5996 understand the numeric prefix.
6001 @kindex T n (Summary)
6003 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
6005 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6006 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6007 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6010 @kindex T p (Summary)
6012 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
6014 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6015 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6016 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6019 @kindex T d (Summary)
6020 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6021 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6024 @kindex T u (Summary)
6025 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6026 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6029 @kindex T o (Summary)
6030 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6031 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6034 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6035 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6036 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6037 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6038 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6039 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6040 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6041 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6042 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6043 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6044 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6045 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6049 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6050 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6052 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6053 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6054 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6055 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6056 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6057 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6058 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6059 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6060 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6061 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6062 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6064 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6065 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6066 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6067 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
6068 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6070 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6071 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6072 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6074 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6075 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6076 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6077 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6078 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6079 ascending article order.
6081 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6082 by number, you could do something like:
6085 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6086 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6087 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6088 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6091 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6092 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6093 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6094 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6095 which the articles arrived.
6097 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6101 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6103 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6104 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6107 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6108 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6109 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6110 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6113 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6114 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6115 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6116 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6117 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6118 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6119 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6120 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6121 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6122 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6123 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6124 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6125 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6127 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6131 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6132 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6133 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6138 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6139 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6140 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6141 @cindex article pre-fetch
6144 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6145 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6146 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6147 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6148 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6150 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6151 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6153 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6154 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6155 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6156 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6157 connection is blocked.
6159 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6160 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6161 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6162 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6164 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6165 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6166 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6167 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6170 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6173 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6174 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6175 happen automatically.
6177 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6178 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6179 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6180 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
6181 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
6182 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6183 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6185 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6186 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6187 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6188 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6189 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6190 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6191 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6192 data structure as the only parameter.
6194 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6197 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6198 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6199 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6200 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6203 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6206 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6207 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
6208 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6210 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6211 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6212 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6213 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6217 Remove articles when they are read.
6220 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6223 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6225 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6226 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6227 @c from the next group.
6230 @node Article Caching
6231 @section Article Caching
6232 @cindex article caching
6235 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6236 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6237 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6238 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6239 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6241 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6243 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6244 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6245 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6246 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6247 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6248 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6249 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6250 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6252 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6253 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6254 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6255 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6256 as dormant, and don't worry.
6258 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6260 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6261 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6262 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6263 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6264 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6265 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6266 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6267 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6268 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6269 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6271 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6272 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6273 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6274 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6275 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6276 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6277 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6278 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6279 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6280 not then be downloaded by this command.
6282 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6283 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6284 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6285 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6286 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6287 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6289 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6290 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6291 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6292 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6293 variables, the group is not cached.
6295 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6296 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6297 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6298 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6299 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6300 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
6301 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6302 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6303 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6307 @node Persistent Articles
6308 @section Persistent Articles
6309 @cindex persistent articles
6311 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6312 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6313 useful in my opinion.
6315 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6316 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6317 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6318 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6319 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6320 the expiry going on at the news server.
6322 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6323 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6324 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6330 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6331 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6334 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6335 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6336 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6337 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6341 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6343 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6344 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6345 interested in persistent articles:
6348 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6352 @node Article Backlog
6353 @section Article Backlog
6355 @cindex article backlog
6357 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6358 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6359 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
6360 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6361 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6362 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6363 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
6364 increase memory usage some.
6366 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6367 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
6368 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6369 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
6370 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6371 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6372 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6374 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6377 @node Saving Articles
6378 @section Saving Articles
6379 @cindex saving articles
6381 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6382 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6383 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6384 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6385 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6387 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6388 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
6389 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6391 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6392 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6393 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6394 deleted before saving.
6400 @kindex O o (Summary)
6402 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6403 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6404 Save the current article using the default article saver
6405 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6408 @kindex O m (Summary)
6409 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6410 Save the current article in mail format
6411 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6414 @kindex O r (Summary)
6415 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6416 Save the current article in rmail format
6417 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6420 @kindex O f (Summary)
6421 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6422 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6423 Save the current article in plain file format
6424 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6427 @kindex O F (Summary)
6428 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6429 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6430 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6433 @kindex O b (Summary)
6434 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6435 Save the current article body in plain file format
6436 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6439 @kindex O h (Summary)
6440 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6441 Save the current article in mh folder format
6442 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6445 @kindex O v (Summary)
6446 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6447 Save the current article in a VM folder
6448 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6451 @kindex O p (Summary)
6452 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6453 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6454 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6457 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6458 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6459 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6460 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6461 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6462 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6463 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6464 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6465 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6466 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6467 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6468 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6472 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6473 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6474 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6475 functions below, or you can create your own.
6479 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6480 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6481 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6482 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6483 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6484 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6485 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6487 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6488 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6489 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6490 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6491 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6492 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6494 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6495 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6496 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6497 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6498 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6499 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6500 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6502 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6503 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6504 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6505 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6506 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6508 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6509 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6510 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6511 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6512 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6515 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6516 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6517 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6518 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6519 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6521 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6522 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6523 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6524 reader to use this setting.
6527 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6528 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6529 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6530 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6533 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6534 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6535 available functions that generate names:
6539 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6540 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6541 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6543 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6544 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6545 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6547 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6548 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6549 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6551 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6552 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6553 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6555 @item gnus-sender-save-name
6556 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
6557 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
6560 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6561 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6562 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6563 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6564 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6568 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6569 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6570 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6571 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6574 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6575 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6576 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6577 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6578 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6579 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6580 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6581 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6582 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6584 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6585 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6586 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6587 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6589 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6590 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6591 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6594 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6595 lots of mail groups called things like
6596 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6597 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6598 following will do just that:
6601 (defun my-save-name (group)
6602 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6603 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6605 (setq gnus-split-methods
6606 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6611 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6612 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6613 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6614 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6615 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6616 all the files in the top level directory
6617 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6618 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6619 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6620 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6622 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6623 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6624 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6625 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6626 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6629 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6633 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6634 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6637 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6638 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6639 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6640 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6643 @node Decoding Articles
6644 @section Decoding Articles
6645 @cindex decoding articles
6647 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6648 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6651 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6652 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6653 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6654 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6655 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6656 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6660 @cindex article series
6661 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6662 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6663 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6664 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6665 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6667 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6668 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6669 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6671 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
6672 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6673 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6675 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6676 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6677 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6680 @node Uuencoded Articles
6681 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6683 @cindex uuencoded articles
6688 @kindex X u (Summary)
6689 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6690 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6691 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6694 @kindex X U (Summary)
6695 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6696 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6697 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6700 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6701 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6702 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6705 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6706 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6707 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6708 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6712 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6713 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6714 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6715 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6716 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6718 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6719 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6720 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6721 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6724 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6725 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6726 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6727 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6728 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6729 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6733 @node Shell Archives
6734 @subsection Shell Archives
6736 @cindex shell archives
6737 @cindex shared articles
6739 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6740 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6741 some commands to deal with these:
6746 @kindex X s (Summary)
6747 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6748 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6751 @kindex X S (Summary)
6752 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6753 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6756 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6757 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6758 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6761 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6762 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6763 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6764 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6768 @node PostScript Files
6769 @subsection PostScript Files
6775 @kindex X p (Summary)
6776 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6777 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6780 @kindex X P (Summary)
6781 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6782 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6783 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6786 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6787 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6788 View the current PostScript series
6789 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6792 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6793 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6794 View and save the current PostScript series
6795 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6800 @subsection Other Files
6804 @kindex X o (Summary)
6805 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6806 Save the current series
6807 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6810 @kindex X b (Summary)
6811 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6812 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6813 doesn't really work yet.
6817 @node Decoding Variables
6818 @subsection Decoding Variables
6820 Adjective, not verb.
6823 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6824 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6825 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6829 @node Rule Variables
6830 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6831 @cindex rule variables
6833 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6834 variables are of the form
6837 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6844 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6845 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6847 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6848 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6851 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6852 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6855 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6856 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6857 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6858 user and default view rules.
6860 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6861 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6862 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6867 @node Other Decode Variables
6868 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6871 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6873 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6874 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6875 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6876 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6877 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6881 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6882 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6885 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6886 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6887 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6890 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6891 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6892 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6893 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6894 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6897 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6898 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6899 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6901 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6902 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6903 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6904 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6905 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6908 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6909 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6910 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6912 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6913 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6914 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6915 looking for files to display.
6917 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6918 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6919 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6922 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6923 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6924 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6927 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6928 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6929 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6932 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6933 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6934 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6937 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6938 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6939 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6940 decoded articles as unread.
6942 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6943 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6944 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6945 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6947 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6948 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6949 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6951 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6952 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6954 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6955 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6956 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6957 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6959 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6960 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6961 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6962 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6963 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6964 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
6965 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6966 simply dropped them.
6971 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6972 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6976 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6977 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6978 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6979 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6980 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6981 for you when you post the article.
6983 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6984 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6985 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6986 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6988 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6989 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6990 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6991 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6992 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6993 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6994 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6996 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6997 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6998 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6999 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7000 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7001 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7002 Default is @code{t}.
7008 @subsection Viewing Files
7009 @cindex viewing files
7010 @cindex pseudo-articles
7012 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7013 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7014 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7015 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7016 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7017 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7018 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7020 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7021 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7022 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7023 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7025 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7026 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7027 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7029 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7030 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7031 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7032 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7033 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7035 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7036 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7037 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7038 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7039 a list of parameters to that command.
7041 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7042 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7043 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7045 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7046 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7047 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7050 @node Article Treatment
7051 @section Article Treatment
7053 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7054 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7055 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7056 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7057 these articles easier.
7060 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7061 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7062 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7063 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7064 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7065 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7066 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7067 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7071 @node Article Highlighting
7072 @subsection Article Highlighting
7073 @cindex highlighting
7075 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7076 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7081 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7082 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7083 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7084 Do much highlighting of the current article
7085 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7086 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7089 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7090 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7091 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7092 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7093 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7094 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7095 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7096 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7097 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7098 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7099 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7100 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7103 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7104 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7105 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7107 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7110 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7112 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7113 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7114 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7116 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7117 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7118 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7120 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7121 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7122 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7123 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7124 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7125 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7127 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7128 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7129 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7131 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7132 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7133 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7135 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7136 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7137 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7138 that it's a citation.
7140 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7141 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7142 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7144 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7145 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7146 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7148 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7149 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7150 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7151 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7157 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7158 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7159 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7160 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7161 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7162 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7163 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7164 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7169 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7172 @node Article Fontisizing
7173 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7175 @cindex article emphasis
7177 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7178 @kindex W e (Summary)
7179 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7180 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7181 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7182 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7184 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7185 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7186 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7187 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7188 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7189 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7190 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7191 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7195 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7196 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7197 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7206 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7207 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7208 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7209 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7210 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7211 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7212 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7213 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7214 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7215 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7216 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7217 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7218 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7220 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7221 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7222 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7226 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7229 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7231 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7232 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7233 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7234 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7236 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7239 @node Article Hiding
7240 @subsection Article Hiding
7241 @cindex article hiding
7243 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7244 too much cruft in most articles.
7249 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7250 @findex gnus-article-hide
7251 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7252 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7253 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7256 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7257 @findex gnus-article-toggle-headers
7258 Toggle hiding of headers (@code{gnus-article-toggle-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7262 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7263 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7264 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7265 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7268 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7269 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7270 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7274 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7275 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7276 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7277 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7278 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7279 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7280 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7281 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7285 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7286 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7287 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7288 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7293 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7294 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7295 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7296 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7297 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7298 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7299 articles that have signatures in them do:
7301 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7303 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7305 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7306 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7308 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7311 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7316 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7317 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7318 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7319 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7322 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7323 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7326 @cindex stripping advertisements
7327 @cindex advertisements
7328 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7329 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7330 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7331 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7332 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7333 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7334 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7335 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7336 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7337 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7341 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7342 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7343 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7344 customizing the hiding:
7348 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7349 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7350 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7351 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7352 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7353 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7354 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7359 Starting point of the hidden text.
7361 Ending point of the hidden text.
7363 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7365 Number of lines of hidden text.
7368 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7369 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7370 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7371 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7372 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7377 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7378 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7380 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7381 following two variables:
7384 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7385 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7386 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7387 50), hide the cited text.
7389 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7390 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7391 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7396 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7397 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7398 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7399 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7400 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7401 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7405 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7406 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7407 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7409 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7410 citation customization.
7412 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7416 @node Article Washing
7417 @subsection Article Washing
7419 @cindex article washing
7421 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7422 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7424 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7425 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7428 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7429 articles by default.
7434 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7435 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7439 @kindex W l (Summary)
7440 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7441 Remove page breaks from the current article
7442 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7446 @kindex W r (Summary)
7447 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7448 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7449 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7450 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7451 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7452 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7454 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7455 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7456 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7457 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7461 @kindex W t (Summary)
7463 @findex gnus-article-toggle-headers
7464 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7465 (@code{gnus-article-toggle-headers}).
7468 @kindex W v (Summary)
7469 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7470 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7471 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7474 @kindex W m (Summary)
7475 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
7476 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
7477 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
7480 @kindex W o (Summary)
7481 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7482 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7485 @kindex W d (Summary)
7486 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7487 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7489 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7491 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7492 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7493 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7494 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7497 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7498 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7499 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7500 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7503 @kindex W w (Summary)
7504 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7505 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7507 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7511 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7512 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7513 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7516 @kindex W C (Summary)
7517 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7518 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7519 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7522 @kindex W c (Summary)
7523 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7524 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7525 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7526 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7527 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7530 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7531 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7532 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7533 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7534 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7535 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7536 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7540 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7541 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7542 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7543 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7544 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7547 @kindex W h (Summary)
7548 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7549 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7550 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7551 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7555 @kindex W f (Summary)
7557 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7558 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7559 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7560 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7567 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7568 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7569 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7570 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7571 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7572 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7573 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7574 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7575 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7576 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7577 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7578 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7579 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7580 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7581 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7582 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7583 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7584 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7585 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7586 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7590 @kindex W b (Summary)
7591 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7592 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7593 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7596 @kindex W B (Summary)
7597 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7598 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7599 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7602 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7603 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7604 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7605 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7608 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7609 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7610 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7611 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7614 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7615 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7616 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7617 lines with a single empty line.
7618 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7621 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7622 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7623 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7624 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7627 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7628 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7629 Do all the three commands above
7630 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7633 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7634 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7635 Remove all blank lines
7636 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7639 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7640 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7641 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7642 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7645 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7646 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7647 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7648 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7652 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7655 @node Article Buttons
7656 @subsection Article Buttons
7659 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7660 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7661 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7662 button on these references.
7664 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7665 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7666 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7671 @item gnus-button-alist
7672 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7673 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7676 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7682 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
7683 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
7684 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
7687 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
7688 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
7689 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
7692 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
7693 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
7694 avoid false matches.
7697 This function will be called when you click on this button.
7700 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
7701 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
7705 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
7708 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
7711 @item gnus-header-button-alist
7712 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
7713 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7714 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7715 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7718 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7721 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7723 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7724 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7725 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7726 default values of the variables above.
7728 @item gnus-article-button-face
7729 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7730 Face used on buttons.
7732 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7733 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7734 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7738 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7742 @subsection Article Date
7744 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7745 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7746 when the article was sent.
7751 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7752 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7753 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7754 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7757 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7758 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7760 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7761 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7764 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7765 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7766 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7769 @kindex W T p (Summary)
7770 @findex gnus-article-date-english
7771 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
7772 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
7775 @kindex W T s (Summary)
7776 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
7777 @findex gnus-article-date-user
7778 @findex format-time-string
7779 Display the date using a user-defined format
7780 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
7781 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
7782 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
7783 for a list of possible format specs.
7786 @kindex W T e (Summary)
7787 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
7788 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
7789 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
7790 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
7791 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
7794 X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
7797 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
7798 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7801 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7802 into wonderful absurdities.
7804 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7807 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7810 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7811 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7815 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7816 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7817 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7818 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7819 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7820 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7821 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7825 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7826 preferred format automatically.
7829 @node Article Signature
7830 @subsection Article Signature
7832 @cindex article signature
7834 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7835 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7836 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7837 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7838 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7839 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7840 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7841 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7842 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7845 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7846 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7847 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7848 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7849 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7850 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7851 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7852 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7855 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7858 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7859 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7860 signature when displaying articles.
7864 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7867 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7870 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7871 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7873 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7874 in question is not a signature.
7877 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7878 listed above. Here's an example:
7881 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7882 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7885 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7886 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7887 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7888 signature after all.
7891 @node Article Miscellania
7892 @subsection Article Miscellania
7896 @kindex A t (Summary)
7897 @findex gnus-article-babel
7898 Translate the article from one language to another
7899 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7905 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7906 @cindex MIME decoding
7908 @cindex viewing attachments
7910 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
7911 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
7917 @kindex K v (Summary)
7918 View the @sc{mime} part.
7921 @kindex K o (Summary)
7922 Save the @sc{mime} part.
7925 @kindex K c (Summary)
7926 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
7929 @kindex K e (Summary)
7930 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
7933 @kindex K i (Summary)
7934 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
7937 @kindex K | (Summary)
7938 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
7941 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
7946 @kindex K b (Summary)
7947 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
7948 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
7952 @kindex K m (Summary)
7953 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
7954 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
7955 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
7956 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
7957 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
7960 @kindex X m (Summary)
7961 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7962 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
7963 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
7964 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7967 @kindex M-t (Summary)
7968 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
7969 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
7970 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
7973 @kindex W M w (Summary)
7974 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
7975 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
7978 @kindex W M c (Summary)
7979 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
7980 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
7982 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
7983 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
7984 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
7985 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
7986 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
7987 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
7990 @kindex W M v (Summary)
7991 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
7992 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
7999 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8000 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8001 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8002 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8005 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8008 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8012 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8013 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8014 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8015 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8016 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
8018 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8019 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8020 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8021 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8022 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8023 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8024 save all jpegs into some directory).
8026 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8029 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8030 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8032 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8033 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8034 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8035 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8036 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8039 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8040 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8041 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8050 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8051 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8052 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8053 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8054 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8055 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8056 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8058 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8059 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8060 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match full group names) and
8061 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8063 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8064 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
8065 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8066 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8067 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
8068 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8069 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
8070 something some agents insist on having in there.
8072 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8073 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8074 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8075 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8076 quoted-printable header encoding.
8078 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8079 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8080 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8084 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8087 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8088 means encode all charsets),
8090 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8091 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8092 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8099 @cindex coding system aliases
8100 @cindex preferred charset
8102 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8104 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8105 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8108 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8109 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8112 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8113 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8115 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8118 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8121 This will almost do the right thing.
8123 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8127 (codepage-setup 1251)
8128 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8132 @node Article Commands
8133 @section Article Commands
8140 @kindex A P (Summary)
8141 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8142 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8143 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8144 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8145 run just before printing the buffer.
8150 @node Summary Sorting
8151 @section Summary Sorting
8152 @cindex summary sorting
8154 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8155 can't really see why you'd want that.
8160 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8161 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8162 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8165 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8166 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8167 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8170 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8171 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8172 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8175 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8176 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8177 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8180 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8181 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8182 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8185 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8186 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8187 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8190 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8191 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8192 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8195 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8196 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8197 Sort using the default sorting method
8198 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8201 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8202 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8203 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8204 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8205 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8209 @node Finding the Parent
8210 @section Finding the Parent
8211 @cindex parent articles
8212 @cindex referring articles
8217 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8218 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8219 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8220 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8221 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8222 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8223 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8224 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8225 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8227 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8228 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8229 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
8230 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8231 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8235 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8236 @kindex A R (Summary)
8237 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8238 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8241 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8242 @kindex A T (Summary)
8243 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8244 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8245 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8246 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8247 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8248 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8249 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8251 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8252 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8253 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8254 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8255 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8256 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8259 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8260 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8262 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8263 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8264 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8265 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8266 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8267 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8268 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8271 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8272 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8273 by giving this command a prefix.
8275 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8276 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
8277 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8278 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8279 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8280 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8283 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8284 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8285 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8288 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8289 then ask Deja if that fails:
8292 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8294 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8297 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
8298 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
8299 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8300 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
8301 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
8302 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
8305 @node Alternative Approaches
8306 @section Alternative Approaches
8308 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8309 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8312 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8313 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8318 @subsection Pick and Read
8319 @cindex pick and read
8321 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8322 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8323 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8324 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8326 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8327 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8328 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8329 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8330 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8331 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8333 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8338 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8339 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8340 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8341 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8342 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8343 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8344 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8345 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8348 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8349 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8350 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8351 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8355 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8356 Unpick the thread or article
8357 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8358 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8359 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8360 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8361 the thread or article at that line.
8365 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8366 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8367 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8368 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8369 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8370 will still be visible when you are reading.
8374 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8375 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8376 which is mapped to the same function
8377 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8379 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8382 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8385 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8386 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8388 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8389 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8390 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8392 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8393 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8394 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8395 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8396 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8397 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8398 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8402 @subsection Binary Groups
8403 @cindex binary groups
8405 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8406 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8407 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8408 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8409 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8410 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8411 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8414 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8415 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8416 command, when you have turned on this mode
8417 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8419 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8420 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8424 @section Tree Display
8427 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8428 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
8429 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8430 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8433 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8436 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8437 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8438 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8440 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8441 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8442 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8443 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8444 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8446 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8447 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8448 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8449 default is @code{modeline}.
8451 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8452 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8453 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8454 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8455 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8456 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8457 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8463 The name of the poster.
8465 The @code{From} header.
8467 The number of the article.
8469 The opening bracket.
8471 The closing bracket.
8476 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8478 Variables related to the display are:
8481 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8482 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8483 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8484 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8485 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8486 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8488 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8489 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8490 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8491 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8495 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8496 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8497 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
8498 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
8499 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8500 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8501 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8502 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8503 other windows displayed next to it.
8505 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8506 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8507 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8508 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8509 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8510 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8511 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8515 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8518 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8528 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8532 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8533 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8535 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8537 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8542 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8543 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8544 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8547 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8548 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8549 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8550 (gnus-add-configuration
8554 (summary 0.75 point)
8559 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
8562 @node Mail Group Commands
8563 @section Mail Group Commands
8564 @cindex mail group commands
8566 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8567 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8569 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8570 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8575 @kindex B e (Summary)
8576 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8577 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
8578 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
8579 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
8580 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
8583 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8584 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8585 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8586 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8587 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8588 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8591 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8592 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8593 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8594 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8595 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8596 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8599 @kindex B m (Summary)
8601 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8602 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8603 Move the article from one mail group to another
8604 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8605 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8608 @kindex B c (Summary)
8610 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8611 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8612 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8613 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8614 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8617 @kindex B B (Summary)
8618 @cindex crosspost mail
8619 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8620 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8621 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8622 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8623 be properly updated.
8626 @kindex B i (Summary)
8627 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8628 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8629 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8630 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
8633 @kindex B r (Summary)
8634 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
8635 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
8636 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
8637 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
8638 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
8639 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
8640 (which is the default).
8644 @kindex B w (Summary)
8646 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
8647 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
8648 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
8649 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
8650 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
8651 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
8654 @kindex B q (Summary)
8655 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
8656 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
8657 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
8658 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
8661 @kindex B t (Summary)
8662 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
8663 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
8664 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
8667 @kindex B p (Summary)
8668 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
8669 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
8670 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
8671 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
8672 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
8673 article from your news server (or rather, from
8674 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
8675 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
8676 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
8677 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
8678 just not have arrived yet.
8682 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
8683 @cindex moving articles
8684 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
8685 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
8686 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
8687 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
8688 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
8689 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
8690 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
8693 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
8694 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
8695 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
8696 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
8700 @node Various Summary Stuff
8701 @section Various Summary Stuff
8704 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
8705 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
8706 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
8707 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
8711 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
8712 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
8713 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
8715 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
8716 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
8717 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
8718 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
8719 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
8720 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
8723 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8724 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8725 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
8726 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
8727 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
8729 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8730 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8731 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
8734 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8735 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8736 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
8737 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
8738 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
8739 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
8740 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
8741 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
8742 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
8743 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
8745 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8746 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8747 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
8748 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
8749 list of articles to be selected.
8751 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
8752 the list in one particular group:
8755 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
8756 (if (string= group "some.group")
8757 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
8764 @node Summary Group Information
8765 @subsection Summary Group Information
8770 @kindex H f (Summary)
8771 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
8772 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
8773 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
8774 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
8775 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
8776 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
8777 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
8778 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
8779 be used for fetching the file.
8782 @kindex H d (Summary)
8783 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
8784 Give a brief description of the current group
8785 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
8786 rereading the description from the server.
8789 @kindex H h (Summary)
8790 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
8791 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
8792 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
8795 @kindex H i (Summary)
8796 @findex gnus-info-find-node
8797 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
8801 @node Searching for Articles
8802 @subsection Searching for Articles
8807 @kindex M-s (Summary)
8808 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
8809 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
8810 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
8813 @kindex M-r (Summary)
8814 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
8815 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
8816 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
8820 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
8821 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
8822 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
8823 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
8824 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
8825 search backward instead.
8827 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
8828 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
8831 @kindex M-& (Summary)
8832 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
8833 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
8834 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
8837 @node Summary Generation Commands
8838 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
8843 @kindex Y g (Summary)
8844 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
8845 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
8848 @kindex Y c (Summary)
8849 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
8850 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
8851 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
8856 @node Really Various Summary Commands
8857 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
8863 @kindex C-d (Summary)
8864 @kindex A D (Summary)
8865 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
8866 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
8867 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
8868 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
8869 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
8870 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
8871 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
8872 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
8876 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
8877 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
8878 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
8879 several documents into one biiig group
8880 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
8881 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
8882 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
8883 command understands the process/prefix convention
8884 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8887 @kindex C-t (Summary)
8888 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
8889 Toggle truncation of summary lines
8890 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
8891 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
8892 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
8896 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
8897 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
8898 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
8901 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
8902 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
8903 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8904 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
8907 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
8908 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
8909 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8910 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
8915 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
8916 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
8917 @cindex summary exit
8918 @cindex exiting groups
8920 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
8921 group and return you to the group buffer.
8927 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
8929 @findex gnus-summary-exit
8930 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
8931 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
8932 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
8933 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
8934 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
8935 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
8936 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
8937 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
8938 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
8939 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
8943 @kindex Z E (Summary)
8945 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
8946 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
8947 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
8951 @kindex Z c (Summary)
8953 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
8954 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
8955 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
8956 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
8959 @kindex Z C (Summary)
8960 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
8961 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
8962 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
8965 @kindex Z n (Summary)
8966 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
8967 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
8968 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
8971 @kindex Z R (Summary)
8972 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
8973 Exit this group, and then enter it again
8974 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
8975 all articles, both read and unread.
8979 @kindex Z G (Summary)
8980 @kindex M-g (Summary)
8981 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
8982 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
8983 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
8984 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
8985 articles, both read and unread.
8988 @kindex Z N (Summary)
8989 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
8990 Exit the group and go to the next group
8991 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
8994 @kindex Z P (Summary)
8995 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
8996 Exit the group and go to the previous group
8997 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9000 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9001 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9002 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9003 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9004 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9005 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9008 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9009 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9010 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9011 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9013 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9014 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9015 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9016 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9017 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9018 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9019 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9020 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9021 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9022 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9023 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9024 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9026 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9028 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9029 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9030 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9031 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9032 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9033 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9034 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9035 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9036 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9039 @node Crosspost Handling
9040 @section Crosspost Handling
9044 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9045 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9046 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9047 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9048 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9049 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9052 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9053 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9054 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9055 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9056 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9058 @cindex cross-posting
9061 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9062 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9063 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9064 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9065 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9066 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9067 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9068 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9069 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9070 the cross reference mechanism.
9072 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9073 @cindex overview.fmt
9074 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9075 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9076 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9077 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9078 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9079 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9082 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9083 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9084 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9089 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9092 @node Duplicate Suppression
9093 @section Duplicate Suppression
9095 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9096 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9097 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9098 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9103 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9104 is evil and not very common.
9107 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9108 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9111 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9112 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9115 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9118 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9119 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9121 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9122 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9123 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9124 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9125 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9126 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9127 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9130 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9131 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9132 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9133 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9134 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9138 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9139 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9140 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9142 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9143 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9144 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9145 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9146 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
9147 session are suppressed.
9149 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9150 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9151 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9152 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9154 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9155 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9156 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9157 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9160 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
9161 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9162 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9163 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9164 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
9165 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9166 to you to figure out, I think.
9171 Gnus is able to verify PGP or S/MIME signed messages or decrypt PGP
9176 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9182 @item mm-verify-option
9183 @vindex mm-verify-option
9184 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9185 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9186 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9188 @item mm-decrypt-option
9189 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9190 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9191 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9192 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9196 @node Article Buffer
9197 @chapter Article Buffer
9198 @cindex article buffer
9200 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9201 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9202 tell gnus otherwise.
9205 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9206 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9207 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9208 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9209 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9213 @node Hiding Headers
9214 @section Hiding Headers
9215 @cindex hiding headers
9216 @cindex deleting headers
9218 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9219 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9221 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9222 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9223 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9224 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9225 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9226 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9227 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9228 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9229 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9231 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9235 @item gnus-visible-headers
9236 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9237 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9238 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9239 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9241 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9242 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9245 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9248 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9251 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9252 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9253 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9254 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9255 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9256 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9258 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
9259 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
9262 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9265 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9268 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9269 variable will have no effect.
9273 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9274 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9275 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9276 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9277 the headers are to be displayed.
9279 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9280 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9283 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9286 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9287 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9289 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9290 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9291 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9292 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9293 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9294 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9295 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9298 These conditions are:
9301 Remove all empty headers.
9303 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9304 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9306 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9309 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9312 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
9313 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
9315 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9318 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9320 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9323 To include these three elements, you could say something like;
9326 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9327 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9330 This is also the default value for this variable.
9334 @section Using @sc{mime}
9337 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9338 while people stand around yawning.
9340 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9341 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9343 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9344 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9345 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9347 @vindex gnus-show-mime
9348 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
9349 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
9350 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
9351 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
9352 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
9353 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
9354 calls the SEMI MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
9355 information on SEMI MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is not
9356 existed yet, sorry).
9358 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
9359 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
9360 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
9361 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
9362 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
9363 buffer. These can't be avoided.
9365 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
9366 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
9367 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
9368 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
9369 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
9370 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
9371 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
9372 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
9373 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
9376 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9378 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
9379 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
9380 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
9381 buffer when there are nobody else.
9383 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9386 @node Customizing Articles
9387 @section Customizing Articles
9388 @cindex article customization
9390 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9391 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9392 called automatically when you select the articles.
9394 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9395 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9396 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9397 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9399 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9400 for sensible values.
9404 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9407 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9410 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9413 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9416 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9420 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9421 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9422 regexps in the list.
9425 A list where the first element is not a string:
9427 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9428 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9429 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9433 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9437 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
9442 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9443 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9444 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9445 considered to contain just a single part.
9447 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9448 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9449 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9450 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9451 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9452 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9453 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9455 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9456 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9457 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9458 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9461 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9462 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9463 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9464 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9465 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9466 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9467 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9468 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9469 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9470 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9471 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
9472 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9473 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9474 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9475 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9476 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9477 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9478 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9479 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
9480 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9481 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9482 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
9483 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
9484 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9485 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9486 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9487 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9488 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9489 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9490 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9491 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9492 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9493 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9494 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9495 @item gnus-treat-translate
9496 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset
9499 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9500 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9501 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9502 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9503 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9507 @node Article Keymap
9508 @section Article Keymap
9510 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9511 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9512 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9513 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9516 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9521 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9522 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9523 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9526 @kindex DEL (Article)
9527 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9528 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9531 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9532 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9533 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9534 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9535 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9538 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9539 @findex gnus-article-mail
9540 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9541 given a prefix, include the mail.
9545 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9546 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9547 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9551 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9552 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9553 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9556 @kindex TAB (Article)
9557 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9558 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9559 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9562 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9563 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9564 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
9570 @section Misc Article
9574 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
9575 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
9576 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
9577 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
9580 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
9581 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
9583 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
9584 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
9586 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
9587 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
9588 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
9589 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
9590 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
9591 the contents of the article buffer.
9593 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
9594 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
9595 Hook called in article mode buffers.
9597 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9598 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9599 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
9600 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
9602 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
9603 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
9604 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
9605 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
9606 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
9611 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
9612 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
9615 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
9618 @vindex gnus-break-pages
9620 @item gnus-break-pages
9621 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
9622 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
9623 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
9624 paging will not be done.
9626 @item gnus-page-delimiter
9627 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
9628 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
9633 @node Composing Messages
9634 @chapter Composing Messages
9635 @cindex composing messages
9638 @cindex sending mail
9644 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
9645 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
9646 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
9647 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
9648 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
9649 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
9652 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
9653 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
9654 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
9655 * Archived Messages:: Where gnus stores the messages you've sent.
9656 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
9657 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
9658 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
9659 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
9662 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
9663 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
9669 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
9672 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
9673 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
9674 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
9675 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
9677 @item gnus-add-to-list
9678 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
9679 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
9680 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
9685 @node Posting Server
9686 @section Posting Server
9688 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
9689 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
9691 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
9693 @vindex gnus-post-method
9695 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
9696 select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
9697 you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
9698 However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
9699 just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
9700 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
9701 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
9704 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
9707 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
9708 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
9709 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
9710 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behaviour, for posting.
9712 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
9713 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
9715 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
9716 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
9719 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
9720 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
9724 @section Mail and Post
9726 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
9730 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
9731 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
9732 @cindex mailing lists
9734 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
9735 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
9736 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
9737 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
9738 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
9739 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
9740 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
9741 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
9742 still a pain, though.
9746 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
9747 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
9748 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
9751 @findex ispell-message
9753 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
9756 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
9757 you're in, you could say something like the following:
9760 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
9764 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
9765 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
9767 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
9770 Modify to suit your needs.
9773 @node Archived Messages
9774 @section Archived Messages
9775 @cindex archived messages
9776 @cindex sent messages
9778 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
9779 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
9780 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
9781 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
9784 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
9785 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
9786 use to store sent messages. The default is:
9790 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
9791 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
9792 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
9793 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
9796 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
9797 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
9798 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
9799 directory chosen, you could say something like:
9802 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
9803 '(nnfolder "archive"
9804 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
9805 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
9806 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
9809 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
9811 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
9812 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
9813 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
9815 This variable can be used to do the following:
9819 Messages will be saved in that group.
9821 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
9822 message will not be stored in the select method given by
9823 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
9824 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
9825 has the default value shown above. Then setting
9826 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
9827 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
9828 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
9830 @item a list of strings
9831 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
9832 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
9833 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
9835 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
9840 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
9842 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
9845 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
9847 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
9850 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
9852 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9853 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
9854 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
9855 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
9860 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9861 '((if (message-news-p)
9866 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
9867 messages in one file per month:
9870 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9871 '((if (message-news-p)
9873 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
9876 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
9877 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
9879 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
9880 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
9881 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
9882 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
9883 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
9884 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
9885 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
9886 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
9887 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
9888 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
9890 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
9891 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
9892 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
9893 this will disable archiving.
9896 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
9897 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
9898 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
9899 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
9900 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
9903 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
9904 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
9905 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
9908 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
9909 but the latter is the preferred method.
9911 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
9912 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
9913 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
9918 @node Posting Styles
9919 @section Posting Styles
9920 @cindex posting styles
9923 All them variables, they make my head swim.
9925 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
9926 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
9927 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
9930 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
9931 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
9932 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
9933 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
9934 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
9939 (signature "Peace and happiness")
9940 (organization "What me?"))
9942 (signature "Death to everybody"))
9943 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
9944 (organization "Emacs is it")))
9947 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
9948 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
9949 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
9950 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
9951 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
9952 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
9953 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
9954 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
9956 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
9957 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
9958 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
9959 next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
9960 the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
9961 will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
9962 variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
9963 @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
9964 then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
9966 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
9967 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
9968 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
9969 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
9970 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
9971 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
9972 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
9973 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
9974 result is thrown away.
9976 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
9977 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
9978 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
9979 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
9980 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
9981 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
9983 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
9984 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
9985 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
9987 @findex message-mail-p
9988 @findex message-news-p
9990 So here's a new example:
9993 (setq gnus-posting-styles
9995 (signature-file "~/.signature")
9997 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
9998 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
10000 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
10001 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
10002 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
10004 (signature my-news-signature))
10005 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
10006 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
10007 ((posting-from-work-p)
10008 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
10009 (address "user@@bar.foo")
10010 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
10011 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
10013 (From (save-excursion
10014 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
10015 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
10017 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
10020 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
10021 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
10022 if you fill many roles.
10029 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
10030 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
10031 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
10032 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
10033 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
10035 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
10036 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
10037 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
10038 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
10039 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
10043 @vindex nndraft-directory
10044 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10045 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10046 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10047 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10048 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10049 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10051 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10052 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10055 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10056 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10057 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10058 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10059 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10060 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10061 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10062 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10063 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10064 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10065 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10066 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10067 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10068 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10070 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10071 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10072 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10074 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10075 @kindex D e (Draft)
10076 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10077 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10078 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10080 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10083 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10084 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10085 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10086 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10087 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10088 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10089 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10092 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10093 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10094 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10097 @node Rejected Articles
10098 @section Rejected Articles
10099 @cindex rejected articles
10101 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10102 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10103 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10104 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10106 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
10107 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10108 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10109 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
10110 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10112 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10113 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10114 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10120 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
10121 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
10122 verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
10124 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10125 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10129 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10130 (setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
10133 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10134 to 700, for your own safety.
10136 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10137 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10141 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10144 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10145 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10148 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10151 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security
10152 menu or @kbd{C-c C-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME, @kbd{C-c
10153 C-m s s} to sign your message using S/MIME. There's also @kbd{C-c C-m c
10154 p} to encrypt your message with PGP/MIME and @kbd{C-c C-m c s} to
10155 encrypt using S/MIME.
10157 Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
10158 you've typed it correctly.
10160 @node Select Methods
10161 @chapter Select Methods
10162 @cindex foreign groups
10163 @cindex select methods
10165 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10166 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10167 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10168 personal mail group.
10170 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10171 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10172 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10173 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10174 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10175 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
10177 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10178 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
10180 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
10183 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10184 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10185 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10186 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10187 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10189 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10192 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10193 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10194 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10195 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10196 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10197 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10198 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10202 @node Server Buffer
10203 @section Server Buffer
10205 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10206 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10207 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10208 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10209 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10210 backend represents a virtual server.
10212 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
10213 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10214 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
10215 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10217 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10218 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10219 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10220 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10221 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10222 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10223 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10225 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10226 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10229 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10230 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10231 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10232 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10233 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10234 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10235 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10238 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10239 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10242 @node Server Buffer Format
10243 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10244 @cindex server buffer format
10246 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10247 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10248 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10249 variable, with some simple extensions:
10254 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
10257 The name of this server.
10260 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10263 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10266 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10267 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10268 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10269 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10279 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10282 @node Server Commands
10283 @subsection Server Commands
10284 @cindex server commands
10290 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10291 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10295 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10296 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10299 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10300 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10301 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10305 @findex gnus-server-exit
10306 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10310 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10311 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10315 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10316 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10320 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10321 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10325 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10326 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10330 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10331 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10332 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10337 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10338 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10339 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10340 a mail backend that has gotten out of sync.
10345 @node Example Methods
10346 @subsection Example Methods
10348 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10351 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10354 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10360 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10361 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10364 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10365 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10367 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10368 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10372 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10375 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
10376 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10378 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10379 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10380 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10384 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10387 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10390 Here's the method for a public spool:
10394 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10395 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10401 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10402 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10403 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10404 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10405 should probably look something like this:
10409 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
10410 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10411 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10412 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10413 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
10416 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10417 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
10418 server that would look something like this:
10422 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
10423 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
10424 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10425 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10426 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10427 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
10430 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10431 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10432 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10433 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10436 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10437 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10439 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10440 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10442 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10443 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10444 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10446 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10448 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10449 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10450 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10451 will contain the following:
10461 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10462 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10463 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10466 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10467 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10468 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10471 @node Server Variables
10472 @subsection Server Variables
10474 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
10475 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10476 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10477 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10478 won't change the "derived" variables.
10480 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10481 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10482 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10483 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10484 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10485 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10486 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10487 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
10488 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10492 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10493 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10494 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10498 @node Servers and Methods
10499 @subsection Servers and Methods
10501 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10502 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10503 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10504 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10508 @node Unavailable Servers
10509 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10511 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10512 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10513 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10514 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10515 actually the case or not.
10517 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10518 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10519 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10520 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10521 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10522 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10523 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10524 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10526 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10527 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10529 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
10530 with the following commands:
10536 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10537 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10538 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10542 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10543 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10544 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10548 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10549 Mark the current server as unreachable
10550 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10553 @kindex M-o (Server)
10554 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10555 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10556 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
10559 @kindex M-c (Server)
10560 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
10561 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
10562 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
10566 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
10567 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
10568 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
10574 @section Getting News
10575 @cindex reading news
10576 @cindex news backends
10578 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
10579 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
10580 or it can read from a local spool.
10583 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
10584 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
10589 @subsection @sc{nntp}
10592 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
10593 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
10594 server as the, uhm, address.
10596 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
10597 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
10598 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
10599 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10601 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
10602 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
10603 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
10605 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
10610 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
10611 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
10612 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
10614 @cindex authentification
10615 @cindex nntp authentification
10616 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10617 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
10618 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
10619 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
10620 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
10621 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
10622 present in this hook.
10624 @item nntp-authinfo-function
10625 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
10626 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10627 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
10628 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
10629 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
10630 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
10631 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
10632 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
10633 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
10634 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
10635 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
10639 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
10642 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
10644 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
10645 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
10646 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
10647 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
10648 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
10649 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
10650 @samp{force} is explained below.
10654 Here's an example file:
10657 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
10658 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
10661 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
10662 have to be first, for instance.
10664 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
10665 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
10666 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
10667 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
10668 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
10669 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
10670 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
10672 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
10673 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
10679 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
10680 previously mentioned.
10682 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
10684 @item nntp-server-action-alist
10685 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
10686 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
10687 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
10688 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
10691 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
10692 '(("innd" (ding))))
10695 You probably don't want to do that, though.
10697 The default value is
10700 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
10701 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
10704 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
10705 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
10707 @item nntp-maximum-request
10708 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
10709 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
10710 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
10711 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
10712 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
10713 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
10714 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
10716 @item nntp-connection-timeout
10717 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
10718 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
10719 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
10720 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
10721 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
10722 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
10723 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
10724 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
10725 no timeouts are done.
10727 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
10728 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
10729 @c @cindex PPP connections
10730 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
10731 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
10732 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
10733 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
10734 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
10735 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
10736 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
10737 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
10738 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
10739 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
10741 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
10742 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
10743 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
10744 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
10745 @c described above.
10747 @item nntp-server-hook
10748 @vindex nntp-server-hook
10749 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
10752 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
10753 @findex nntp-open-telnet
10754 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
10755 @item nntp-open-connection-function
10756 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
10757 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
10758 functions are supplied:
10761 @item nntp-open-network-stream
10762 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
10765 @item nntp-open-rlogin
10766 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
10767 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
10770 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
10774 @item nntp-rlogin-program
10775 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
10776 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
10777 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
10779 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
10780 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
10781 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
10783 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10784 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10785 User name on the remote system.
10789 @item nntp-open-telnet
10790 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
10791 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
10793 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
10796 @item nntp-telnet-command
10797 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
10798 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
10800 @item nntp-telnet-switches
10801 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
10802 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
10804 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
10805 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
10806 User name for log in on the remote system.
10808 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
10809 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
10810 Password to use when logging in.
10812 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
10813 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
10814 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
10817 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10818 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10819 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
10820 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
10822 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10823 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10824 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
10825 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
10826 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
10830 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
10831 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
10832 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
10833 you must have SSLay installed
10834 (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
10835 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
10836 define a server as follows:
10839 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
10841 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
10843 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
10844 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
10845 (nntp-port-number "snews")
10846 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
10851 @item nntp-end-of-line
10852 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
10853 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
10854 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
10855 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
10857 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10858 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10859 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
10863 @vindex nntp-address
10864 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
10866 @item nntp-port-number
10867 @vindex nntp-port-number
10868 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
10871 @item nntp-list-options
10872 @vindex nntp-list-options
10873 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
10874 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
10875 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
10876 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
10877 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
10881 (setq gnus-select-method
10882 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
10883 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
10886 @item nntp-options-subscribe
10887 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
10888 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
10889 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
10890 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
10891 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
10892 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
10895 (setq gnus-select-method
10896 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
10897 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
10900 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
10901 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
10902 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
10903 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
10904 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
10905 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
10906 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
10909 (setq gnus-select-method
10910 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
10911 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
10914 @item nntp-buggy-select
10915 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
10916 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
10918 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
10919 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
10920 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
10921 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
10924 @item nntp-xover-commands
10925 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
10928 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
10929 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
10933 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
10934 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
10935 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
10936 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
10937 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
10938 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
10939 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
10940 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
10941 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
10942 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
10943 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
10945 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
10946 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
10947 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
10949 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10950 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10951 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
10952 server closes connection.
10954 @item nntp-record-commands
10955 @vindex nntp-record-commands
10956 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
10957 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
10958 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
10959 that doesn't seem to work.
10965 @subsection News Spool
10969 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
10970 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
10971 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
10974 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
10975 anything else) as the address.
10977 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
10978 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
10979 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
10980 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
10984 @item nnspool-inews-program
10985 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
10986 Program used to post an article.
10988 @item nnspool-inews-switches
10989 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
10990 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
10992 @item nnspool-spool-directory
10993 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
10994 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
10995 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
10997 @item nnspool-nov-directory
10998 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
10999 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
11000 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
11002 @item nnspool-lib-dir
11003 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
11004 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
11006 @item nnspool-active-file
11007 @vindex nnspool-active-file
11008 The path to the active file.
11010 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
11011 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
11012 The path to the group descriptions file.
11014 @item nnspool-history-file
11015 @vindex nnspool-history-file
11016 The path to the news history file.
11018 @item nnspool-active-times-file
11019 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
11020 The path to the active date file.
11022 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
11023 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
11024 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
11027 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11028 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11030 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
11031 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
11032 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
11038 @section Getting Mail
11039 @cindex reading mail
11042 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
11046 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
11047 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
11048 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
11049 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
11050 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
11051 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
11052 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
11053 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
11054 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
11055 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
11056 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
11057 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
11058 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
11062 @node Mail in a Newsreader
11063 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
11065 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
11066 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
11067 of a culture shock.
11069 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
11070 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
11072 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
11073 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
11074 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
11075 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
11077 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
11079 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
11080 deleted? How awful!
11082 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
11083 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
11084 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
11085 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
11088 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
11089 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
11090 they want to treat a message.
11092 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11093 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11094 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11095 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11096 archived somewhere else.
11098 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11099 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11100 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11101 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11102 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11104 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11105 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11106 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11108 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11109 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11112 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11113 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11114 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11115 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11116 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11118 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11119 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11120 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11121 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11122 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11123 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11127 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11128 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11130 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11131 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11132 and things will happen automatically.
11134 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11135 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11138 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
11139 '((nnml "private")))
11142 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
11143 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11144 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11145 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11146 like any other group.
11148 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11151 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11152 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11153 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11157 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11158 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11159 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11162 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11163 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11164 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11167 @node Splitting Mail
11168 @subsection Splitting Mail
11169 @cindex splitting mail
11170 @cindex mail splitting
11172 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11173 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11174 to be split into groups.
11177 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11178 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11179 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11180 ("mail.other" "")))
11183 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11184 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11185 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11186 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11187 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11188 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11189 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11192 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11195 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11196 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11197 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11198 mail belongs in that group.
11200 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11201 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11202 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11203 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11204 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11205 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11207 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11208 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11209 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11210 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11211 thinks should carry this mail message.
11213 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11214 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11215 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11216 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11218 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11219 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11220 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11221 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11222 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11224 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11227 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11228 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11229 links. If that's the case for you, set
11230 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11231 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11233 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11234 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11235 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11236 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11237 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11238 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11241 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11242 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11243 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11244 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11245 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11246 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11247 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11248 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11249 month's rent money.
11253 @subsection Mail Sources
11255 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11256 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11260 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11261 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11262 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11266 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11267 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11269 @cindex mail server
11272 @cindex mail source
11274 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11275 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11280 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11283 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11284 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11285 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11288 The following mail source types are available:
11292 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11298 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11299 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11302 An example file mail source:
11305 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11308 Or using the default path:
11314 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11315 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11316 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11319 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11323 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11326 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11330 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11333 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11335 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11338 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11342 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11343 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11344 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
11345 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
11346 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
11352 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11356 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11360 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11361 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11362 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11363 predicate are considered.
11367 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11371 An example directory mail source:
11374 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11379 Get mail from a POP server.
11385 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11386 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11389 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11390 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11391 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11392 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
11393 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
11396 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11400 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11404 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
11405 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11408 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11411 The valid format specifier characters are:
11415 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11416 included in this string.
11419 The name of the server.
11422 The port number of the server.
11425 The user name to use.
11428 The password to use.
11431 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11432 corresponding keywords.
11435 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11436 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11439 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11440 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11443 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11444 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11447 @item :authentication
11448 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11449 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11454 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11455 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11457 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11458 default user name, and default fetcher:
11464 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11467 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11468 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11471 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11474 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11478 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11479 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11480 contains exactly one mail.
11486 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
11487 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
11490 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
11491 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
11493 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
11494 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
11495 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
11498 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
11499 from locking problems).
11503 Two example maildir mail sources:
11506 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/" :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
11510 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/" :subdirs ("new"))
11514 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
11515 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
11516 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
11517 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
11524 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
11525 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11528 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
11529 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
11532 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
11536 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
11540 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
11541 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
11542 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
11544 @item :authentication
11545 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
11546 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
11547 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
11551 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
11552 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
11553 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
11559 The valid format specifier characters are:
11563 The name of the server.
11566 User name from `imap-default-user'.
11569 The port number of the server.
11572 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11573 corresponding keywords.
11576 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
11577 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
11580 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
11581 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
11582 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
11583 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
11584 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
11585 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
11588 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
11589 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
11590 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
11591 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
11594 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
11595 after finishing the fetch.
11599 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
11602 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" :stream kerberos4 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
11606 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
11607 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
11609 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
11612 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
11613 required for url "4.0pre.46".
11615 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
11621 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
11622 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
11625 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
11629 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
11633 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
11634 folder after finishing the fetch.
11638 An example webmail source:
11641 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11646 @item Common Keywords
11647 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
11653 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
11654 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
11658 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
11663 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
11664 useful when you use local mail and news.
11669 @subsubsection Function Interface
11671 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
11672 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
11673 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
11674 consider the following mail-source setting:
11677 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
11678 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
11681 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
11682 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
11683 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
11684 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
11685 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
11687 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
11690 @node Mail Source Customization
11691 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
11693 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
11694 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
11698 @item mail-source-crash-box
11699 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
11700 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
11701 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
11703 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
11704 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
11705 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
11707 @item mail-source-directory
11708 @vindex mail-source-directory
11709 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
11710 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
11711 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
11714 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11715 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11716 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
11717 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
11718 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
11719 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
11721 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
11722 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
11723 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
11728 @node Fetching Mail
11729 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
11731 @vindex mail-sources
11732 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
11733 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
11734 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
11735 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
11737 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
11738 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
11741 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
11742 mail server, you'd say something like:
11747 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11748 :password "secret")))
11751 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
11755 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
11756 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11759 :password "secret")))
11763 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
11764 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
11765 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
11766 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
11767 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
11768 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
11772 @node Mail Backend Variables
11773 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
11775 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
11779 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11780 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11781 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
11782 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
11784 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
11785 @item nnmail-split-hook
11786 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
11787 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
11788 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
11789 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
11790 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
11791 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
11792 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
11793 in the buffer will show up in any files.
11794 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
11797 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11798 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11799 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11800 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11801 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
11802 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
11803 starting to handle the new mail) and
11804 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
11805 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
11806 default file modes the new mail files get:
11809 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11810 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
11812 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
11813 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
11816 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
11817 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
11818 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
11819 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
11820 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
11821 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
11822 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
11824 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
11825 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
11826 @findex delete-file
11827 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
11829 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11830 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11831 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
11832 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
11833 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
11838 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
11839 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
11840 @cindex mail splitting
11841 @cindex fancy mail splitting
11843 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
11844 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
11845 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
11846 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
11847 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
11848 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
11850 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
11853 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
11854 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
11855 ;; from real errors.
11856 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
11858 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
11859 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
11860 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
11861 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
11862 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
11863 ;; Other mailing lists...
11864 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
11865 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
11866 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
11867 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
11868 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
11869 ;; message was really cross-posted.
11870 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
11871 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
11873 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
11874 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
11878 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
11879 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
11880 the five possible split syntaxes:
11885 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
11886 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
11890 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
11891 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
11892 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
11893 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
11894 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
11895 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
11896 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
11897 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
11900 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11901 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
11902 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
11903 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
11906 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11907 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
11910 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
11911 this message. Use with extreme caution.
11914 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
11915 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
11916 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
11917 function should return a @var{split}.
11920 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
11921 body of the messages:
11924 (defun split-on-body ()
11926 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
11927 (goto-char (point-min))
11928 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
11932 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
11933 when the @code{:} function is run.
11936 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11937 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
11938 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
11942 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
11946 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
11947 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
11948 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
11949 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
11950 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
11952 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
11953 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
11954 are expanded as specified by the variable
11955 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
11956 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
11959 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
11960 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
11961 when all this splitting is performed.
11963 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
11964 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
11965 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
11968 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
11971 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
11972 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
11974 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
11975 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
11976 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
11977 groupings 1 through 9.
11979 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
11980 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
11981 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
11982 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
11983 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
11984 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
11985 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
11986 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
11987 it once per thread.
11989 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to a
11990 non-nil value. And then you can include
11991 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon feature, like so:
11993 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
11994 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
11995 ;; other splits go here
11999 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
12000 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
12001 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
12002 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
12003 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
12004 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
12005 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
12006 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
12007 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name. It
12008 is recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
12009 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
12010 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300
12012 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12013 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
12014 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
12015 messages goes into the new group.
12018 @node Group Mail Splitting
12019 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
12020 @cindex mail splitting
12021 @cindex group mail splitting
12023 @findex gnus-group-split
12024 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
12025 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
12026 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
12027 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
12028 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
12029 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
12030 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
12031 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
12033 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
12034 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
12035 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
12036 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
12038 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
12039 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
12040 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
12041 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
12042 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
12043 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
12044 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
12046 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
12047 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
12048 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
12049 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
12050 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
12051 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
12052 @code{gnus-group-split}.
12054 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
12055 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
12056 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
12057 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
12058 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
12059 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
12060 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
12061 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
12062 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
12063 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
12064 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
12065 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
12066 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
12068 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
12073 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
12074 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
12076 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
12077 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
12078 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
12079 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
12081 ((split-spec . catch-all))
12084 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
12085 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
12086 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
12089 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
12090 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
12091 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
12095 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
12096 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
12097 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
12101 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
12104 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
12105 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
12106 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
12107 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
12108 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
12109 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
12110 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
12111 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
12112 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
12114 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
12115 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
12116 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
12117 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
12118 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
12119 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
12120 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
12121 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
12122 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12124 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12125 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12126 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12127 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12128 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12129 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12132 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12135 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12136 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12137 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12138 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12139 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12142 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12143 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12144 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12145 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12147 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12148 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12150 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12151 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12152 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12155 Doing so can be quite easy.
12157 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12158 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12159 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12160 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12161 your @code{nnml} groups.
12167 Go to the group buffer.
12170 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12171 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12174 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12177 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12178 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12181 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12182 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12185 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12186 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12187 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12188 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
12189 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
12191 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
12192 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
12193 using the new mail backend.
12196 @node Expiring Mail
12197 @subsection Expiring Mail
12198 @cindex article expiry
12200 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
12201 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
12202 different approach to mail reading.
12204 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
12205 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
12206 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
12207 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
12208 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
12209 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
12212 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
12213 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
12214 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
12215 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
12216 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
12217 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
12218 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
12219 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
12221 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12222 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
12223 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
12224 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
12225 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
12226 column in the summary buffer.
12228 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
12229 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
12230 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
12231 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
12234 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
12236 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
12237 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
12238 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12241 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
12242 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
12243 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
12244 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
12245 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
12247 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
12248 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
12251 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12252 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
12255 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
12256 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
12258 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
12259 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
12260 don't really mix very well.
12262 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
12263 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
12264 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
12265 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
12268 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
12269 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
12270 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
12271 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
12274 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12276 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12278 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
12280 ((string= group "mail.junk")
12282 ((string= group "important")
12288 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
12289 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
12291 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
12292 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
12293 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
12296 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
12297 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
12299 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
12300 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
12301 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
12302 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
12303 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
12304 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
12305 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
12306 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
12307 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
12308 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
12309 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
12310 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
12313 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
12315 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
12319 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
12320 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
12321 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
12322 easier for procmail users.
12324 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
12325 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
12326 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
12327 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
12328 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
12329 caution. Even more dangerous is the
12330 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
12331 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12332 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12333 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12334 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12335 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12336 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12339 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12341 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12342 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12343 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12344 auto-expire turned on.
12348 @subsection Washing Mail
12349 @cindex mail washing
12350 @cindex list server brain damage
12351 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12353 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12354 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12355 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12356 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12357 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12358 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12360 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12361 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12362 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12365 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12366 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12367 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12368 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12371 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12372 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12373 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12374 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12375 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12378 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12379 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12380 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12381 Emacs running on MS machines.
12385 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12386 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12387 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12388 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12391 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12392 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12393 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12394 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12396 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12397 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12398 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12399 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12400 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12401 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12402 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12405 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12406 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12409 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12410 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12413 This can also be done non-destructively with
12414 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12416 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12417 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12418 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12420 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12421 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12423 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12424 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12425 @code{References} headers.
12429 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12430 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12431 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12435 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12436 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12437 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12444 @subsection Duplicates
12446 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12447 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12448 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12449 @cindex duplicate mails
12450 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12451 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12452 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12453 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12454 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12455 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12456 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12457 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12458 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12459 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12460 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12461 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12462 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12464 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
12465 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
12466 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
12467 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
12469 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
12472 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
12473 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
12477 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12478 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
12479 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
12480 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
12481 (any mail "mail.misc")
12488 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12489 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
12494 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
12495 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
12496 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
12497 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
12498 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
12501 @node Not Reading Mail
12502 @subsection Not Reading Mail
12504 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
12505 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
12506 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
12508 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
12509 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
12510 mail, which should help.
12512 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12513 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12514 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12515 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12516 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12517 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
12518 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
12519 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
12520 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
12521 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
12522 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
12524 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
12525 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
12529 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
12530 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
12532 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
12533 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
12534 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
12536 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
12537 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
12538 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
12539 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
12542 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
12543 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
12544 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
12545 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
12546 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
12547 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
12551 @node Unix Mail Box
12552 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
12554 @cindex unix mail box
12556 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12557 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12558 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
12559 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
12560 which group it belongs in.
12562 Virtual server settings:
12565 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
12566 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12567 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
12570 @item nnmbox-active-file
12571 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12572 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
12573 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
12575 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
12576 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12577 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
12578 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
12583 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
12587 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12588 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12589 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
12590 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
12591 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
12593 Virtual server settings:
12596 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
12597 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12598 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
12600 @item nnbabyl-active-file
12601 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12602 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
12603 @file{~/.rmail-active}
12605 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12606 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12607 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
12613 @subsubsection Mail Spool
12615 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
12617 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
12618 format. It should be used with some caution.
12620 @vindex nnml-directory
12621 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
12622 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
12623 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
12624 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
12626 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
12629 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
12630 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
12631 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
12632 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
12633 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
12634 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
12635 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
12636 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
12638 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
12639 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
12640 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
12641 backend when it comes to reading mail.
12643 Virtual server settings:
12646 @item nnml-directory
12647 @vindex nnml-directory
12648 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
12649 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
12652 @item nnml-active-file
12653 @vindex nnml-active-file
12654 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
12655 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
12657 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
12658 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
12659 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12660 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
12662 @item nnml-get-new-mail
12663 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12664 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
12667 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
12668 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
12669 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
12670 default is @code{nil}
12672 @item nnml-nov-file-name
12673 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
12674 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
12676 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12677 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12678 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
12682 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
12683 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
12684 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
12685 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
12686 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
12687 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
12688 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
12693 @subsubsection MH Spool
12695 @cindex mh-e mail spool
12697 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
12698 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
12699 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
12700 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
12702 Virtual server settings:
12705 @item nnmh-directory
12706 @vindex nnmh-directory
12707 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
12708 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
12711 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
12712 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12713 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
12717 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
12718 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
12719 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
12720 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
12721 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
12722 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
12723 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
12728 @subsubsection Mail Folders
12730 @cindex mbox folders
12731 @cindex mail folders
12733 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
12734 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
12735 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
12738 Virtual server settings:
12741 @item nnfolder-directory
12742 @vindex nnfolder-directory
12743 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
12744 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
12747 @item nnfolder-active-file
12748 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
12749 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
12751 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12752 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12753 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12754 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
12756 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
12757 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12758 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
12761 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12762 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12763 @cindex backup files
12764 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
12765 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
12766 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
12767 your @file{.emacs} file:
12770 (defun turn-off-backup ()
12771 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
12773 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
12776 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12777 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12778 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
12779 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
12780 extract some information from it before removing it.
12782 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
12783 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
12784 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
12785 default is @code{nil}.
12790 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
12791 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
12792 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
12793 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
12794 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
12795 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
12798 @node Comparing Mail Backends
12799 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
12801 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
12802 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
12803 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
12804 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
12805 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
12807 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
12808 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
12809 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
12810 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
12811 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
12812 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
12813 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
12814 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
12817 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
12818 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
12819 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
12820 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
12825 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
12826 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
12827 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
12828 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
12829 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
12830 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
12831 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
12832 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
12833 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
12834 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
12835 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
12836 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
12837 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
12842 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
12843 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
12844 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
12845 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
12846 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
12847 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
12848 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
12849 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
12850 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
12851 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
12852 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
12853 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
12854 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
12855 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
12857 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
12858 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
12863 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
12864 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
12865 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
12866 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
12867 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
12868 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
12869 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
12870 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
12871 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
12872 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
12873 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
12874 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
12875 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
12876 provided by the active file and overviews.
12878 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
12879 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
12880 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
12881 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
12882 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
12885 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
12886 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
12891 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
12892 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
12893 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
12894 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
12895 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
12896 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
12897 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
12901 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
12902 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
12903 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
12904 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
12905 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
12906 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
12907 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
12908 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
12909 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
12911 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
12912 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
12913 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
12914 friendly mail backend all over.
12919 @node Browsing the Web
12920 @section Browsing the Web
12922 @cindex browsing the web
12926 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
12927 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
12928 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
12929 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
12930 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
12931 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
12932 even know what a news group is.
12934 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
12935 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
12936 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
12937 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
12938 you mad in the end.
12940 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
12943 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
12944 interfaces to these sources.
12947 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
12948 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
12949 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
12950 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
12951 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
12952 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
12955 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
12957 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
12958 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
12959 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
12960 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
12961 though, you should be ok.
12963 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
12964 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
12965 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
12966 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
12967 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
12971 @subsection Web Searches
12975 @cindex InReference
12976 @cindex Usenet searches
12977 @cindex searching the Usenet
12979 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
12980 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
12981 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
12982 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
12983 searches without having to use a browser.
12985 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
12986 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
12987 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
12988 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
12989 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
12991 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
12992 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
12993 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
12994 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
12995 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
12996 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
12997 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
12998 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
12999 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
13000 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
13003 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
13004 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
13005 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
13006 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
13007 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
13008 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
13010 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
13011 to use @code{nnweb}.
13013 Virtual server variables:
13018 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
13019 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
13023 @vindex nnweb-search
13024 The search string to feed to the search engine.
13026 @item nnweb-max-hits
13027 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
13028 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
13031 @item nnweb-type-definition
13032 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
13033 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
13034 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
13039 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
13043 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
13046 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
13049 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
13053 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
13060 @subsection Slashdot
13064 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
13065 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
13066 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
13068 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
13069 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
13072 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13073 '((nnslashdot "")))
13076 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
13077 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
13078 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
13079 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
13080 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
13083 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
13084 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13086 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
13087 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
13088 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
13089 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
13090 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
13091 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
13094 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
13097 @item nnslashdot-threaded
13098 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
13099 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
13100 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
13101 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
13102 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
13103 but much, much slower than untreaded.
13105 @item nnslashdot-login-name
13106 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
13107 The login name to use when posting.
13109 @item nnslashdot-password
13110 @vindex nnslashdot-password
13111 The password to use when posting.
13113 @item nnslashdot-directory
13114 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
13115 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default value is
13116 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
13118 @item nnslashdot-active-url
13119 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
13120 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
13121 news articles and comments. The default is
13122 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
13124 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
13125 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
13126 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
13128 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
13130 @item nnslashdot-article-url
13131 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
13132 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
13134 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
13136 @item nnslashdot-threshold
13137 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
13138 The score threshold. The default is -1.
13140 @item nnslashdot-group-number
13141 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
13142 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
13143 updated. The default is 0.
13150 @subsection Ultimate
13152 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
13154 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
13155 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
13156 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
13157 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
13159 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
13160 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
13161 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
13162 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
13163 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
13164 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
13165 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
13167 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
13170 @item nnultimate-directory
13171 @vindex nnultimate-directory
13172 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
13173 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
13178 @subsection Web Archive
13180 @cindex Web Archive
13182 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
13183 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
13184 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
13185 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13188 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
13189 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
13190 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
13191 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
13192 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
13193 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
13194 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
13196 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
13199 @item nnwarchive-directory
13200 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
13201 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
13202 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
13204 @item nnwarchive-login
13205 @vindex nnwarchive-login
13206 The account name on the web server.
13208 @item nnwarchive-passwd
13209 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
13210 The password for your account on the web server.
13218 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
13219 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
13220 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13223 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
13224 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
13227 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
13230 @item nnrss-directory
13231 @vindex nnrss-directory
13232 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
13233 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
13237 @node Customizing w3
13238 @subsection Customizing w3
13244 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
13245 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
13246 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
13248 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
13249 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
13250 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
13253 (eval-after-load "w3"
13255 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
13256 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
13257 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
13258 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
13260 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
13263 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
13264 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
13268 @node Other Sources
13269 @section Other Sources
13271 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
13272 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
13276 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
13277 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
13278 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
13279 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
13280 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
13281 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
13285 @node Directory Groups
13286 @subsection Directory Groups
13288 @cindex directory groups
13290 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
13291 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
13294 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
13295 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
13296 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
13297 backend to read directories. Big deal.
13299 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
13300 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
13301 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
13302 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
13303 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
13305 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
13307 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
13308 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
13309 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
13310 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
13313 @node Anything Groups
13314 @subsection Anything Groups
13317 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
13318 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
13319 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
13322 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
13323 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
13324 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
13325 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
13326 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
13327 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
13328 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
13329 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
13330 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
13331 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
13334 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
13335 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
13336 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
13337 in the article buffer, just as usual.
13339 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
13340 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
13341 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
13342 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
13344 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
13345 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
13346 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
13347 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
13348 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
13349 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
13350 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
13351 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
13356 @item nneething-map-file-directory
13357 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
13358 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
13359 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
13361 @item nneething-exclude-files
13362 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
13363 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
13364 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
13366 @item nneething-include-files
13367 @vindex nneething-include-files
13368 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
13369 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
13371 @item nneething-map-file
13372 @vindex nneething-map-file
13373 Name of the map files.
13377 @node Document Groups
13378 @subsection Document Groups
13380 @cindex documentation group
13383 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
13384 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
13391 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
13396 The standard Unix mbox file.
13398 @cindex MMDF mail box
13400 The MMDF mail box format.
13403 Several news articles appended into a file.
13406 @cindex rnews batch files
13407 The rnews batch transport format.
13408 @cindex forwarded messages
13411 Forwarded articles.
13414 Netscape mail boxes.
13417 MIME multipart messages.
13419 @item standard-digest
13420 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
13423 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
13426 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
13427 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
13428 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
13431 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
13432 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
13433 group. And that's it.
13435 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
13436 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
13437 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
13438 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
13439 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
13440 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
13441 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
13442 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
13443 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
13444 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
13446 Virtual server variables:
13449 @item nndoc-article-type
13450 @vindex nndoc-article-type
13451 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
13452 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
13453 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
13454 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
13456 @item nndoc-post-type
13457 @vindex nndoc-post-type
13458 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
13459 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
13464 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
13468 @node Document Server Internals
13469 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
13471 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
13472 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
13473 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
13474 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
13476 First, here's an example document type definition:
13480 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
13481 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
13484 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
13485 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
13486 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
13487 types can be defined with very few settings:
13490 @item first-article
13491 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
13492 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
13495 @item article-begin
13496 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
13497 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
13499 @item head-begin-function
13500 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
13503 @item nndoc-head-begin
13504 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
13507 @item nndoc-head-end
13508 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
13509 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
13511 @item body-begin-function
13512 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
13516 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
13519 @item body-end-function
13520 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
13524 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
13527 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
13528 regexp will be totally ignored.
13532 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
13533 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
13534 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
13535 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
13536 something that's palatable for Gnus:
13539 @item prepare-body-function
13540 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
13541 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
13542 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
13544 @item article-transform-function
13545 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
13546 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
13547 body of the article.
13549 @item generate-head-function
13550 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
13551 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
13552 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
13553 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
13557 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
13562 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13563 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13564 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
13565 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
13566 (head-end . "^ ?$")
13567 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
13568 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
13569 (subtype digest guess))
13572 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
13573 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
13574 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
13575 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
13576 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
13578 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
13579 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
13580 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
13581 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
13582 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
13583 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
13584 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
13585 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
13586 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
13587 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
13595 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
13596 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
13597 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
13599 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
13600 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
13601 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
13604 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
13605 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
13606 that interested in doing things properly.
13608 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
13609 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
13612 First some terminology:
13617 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
13618 get news and/or mail from.
13621 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
13622 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
13625 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
13629 @item message packets
13630 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
13631 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
13632 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13634 @item response packets
13635 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
13636 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
13637 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13647 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
13648 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
13649 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
13650 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
13653 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
13656 You put the packet in your home directory.
13659 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
13660 the native or secondary server.
13663 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
13664 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
13667 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
13671 You transfer this packet to the server.
13674 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
13677 You then repeat until you die.
13681 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
13682 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
13685 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
13686 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
13687 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
13691 @node SOUP Commands
13692 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
13694 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
13698 @kindex G s b (Group)
13699 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
13700 Pack all unread articles in the current group
13701 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
13702 process/prefix convention.
13705 @kindex G s w (Group)
13706 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
13707 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
13710 @kindex G s s (Group)
13711 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
13712 Send all replies from the replies packet
13713 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
13716 @kindex G s p (Group)
13717 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
13718 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
13721 @kindex G s r (Group)
13722 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
13723 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
13726 @kindex O s (Summary)
13727 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
13728 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
13729 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
13730 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13735 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
13740 @item gnus-soup-directory
13741 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
13742 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
13743 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
13745 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
13746 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
13747 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
13748 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
13750 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
13751 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
13752 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
13753 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
13755 @item gnus-soup-packer
13756 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
13757 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13758 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
13760 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
13761 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
13762 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13763 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13765 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
13766 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
13767 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
13769 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13770 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13771 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
13772 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
13778 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
13781 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
13782 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
13783 you can read them at leisure.
13785 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
13789 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
13790 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
13791 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
13792 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
13794 @item nnsoup-directory
13795 @vindex nnsoup-directory
13796 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
13797 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
13799 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
13800 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
13801 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
13802 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
13804 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
13805 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
13806 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
13807 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
13808 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
13810 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
13811 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
13812 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
13813 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
13815 @item nnsoup-active-file
13816 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
13817 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
13818 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
13819 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
13820 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
13822 @item nnsoup-packer
13823 @vindex nnsoup-packer
13824 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
13825 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
13827 @item nnsoup-unpacker
13828 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
13829 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
13830 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13832 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
13833 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
13834 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
13837 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
13838 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
13839 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
13842 @item nnsoup-always-save
13843 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
13844 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
13850 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
13852 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
13853 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
13854 more for that to happen.
13856 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
13857 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
13858 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
13861 In specific, this is what it does:
13864 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
13865 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
13868 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
13869 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
13870 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
13873 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
13874 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
13875 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
13878 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
13879 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
13880 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
13882 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
13888 @item nngateway-address
13889 @vindex nngateway-address
13890 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
13892 @item nngateway-header-transformation
13893 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
13894 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
13895 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
13896 transformation should be called, and defaults to
13897 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
13898 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
13901 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
13902 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
13903 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
13906 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
13909 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
13912 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
13915 The following pre-defined functions exist:
13917 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13920 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13921 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13922 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
13924 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13926 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13927 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13928 @code{nngateway-address}.
13933 (setq gnus-post-method
13934 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
13935 (nngateway-header-transformation
13936 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
13944 So, to use this, simply say something like:
13947 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
13953 @subsection @sc{imap}
13957 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13958 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
13959 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
13960 specify the network address of the server.
13962 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
13963 POP can, it can hence be viewed as POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
13964 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
13965 protocol. (@sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp} because news
13966 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.)
13968 If you want to use @sc{imap} as POP++, use an imap entry in
13969 mail-sources. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the @sc{imap}
13970 server and store them on the local disk. This is not the usage
13971 described in this section. @xref{Mail Sources}.
13973 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
13974 entry in gnus-secondary-select-methods. With this, Gnus will
13975 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
13976 usage explained in this section.
13978 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
13979 might look something like this:
13982 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13983 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
13984 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
13986 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13987 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
13988 ; a UW server running on localhost
13990 (nnimap-server-port 143)
13991 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13992 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
13993 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
13994 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
13995 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
13996 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
13997 (nnimap-stream network))
13998 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14000 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14001 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14002 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14005 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14010 @item nnimap-address
14011 @vindex nnimap-address
14013 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14014 server name if not specified.
14016 @item nnimap-server-port
14017 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14018 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14020 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
14023 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14024 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14027 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14028 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14029 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14030 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14031 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14032 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14033 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14035 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14036 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14037 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14040 Example server specification:
14043 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14044 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14045 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14048 @item nnimap-stream
14049 @vindex nnimap-stream
14050 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14051 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14052 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
14053 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
14055 Example server specification:
14058 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14059 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14062 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14066 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Require the
14067 @samp{imtest} program.
14069 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Require the @samp{imtest} program.
14071 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14072 SSL). Require the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14075 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Require OpenSSL (the
14076 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
14078 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14080 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14083 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14084 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD, nnimap support
14085 both @samp{imtest} version 1.5.x and version 1.6.x. The variable
14086 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14089 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14090 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14091 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14092 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
14093 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14094 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14095 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14098 @vindex imap-shell-program
14099 @vindex imap-shell-host
14100 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14101 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14103 @item nnimap-authenticator
14104 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14106 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14107 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14109 Example server specification:
14112 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14113 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14116 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
14120 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
14121 external program @code{imtest}.
14123 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
14126 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
14127 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
14129 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
14131 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
14133 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
14136 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
14138 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
14139 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
14140 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
14141 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
14142 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
14143 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
14146 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
14147 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
14148 running in circles yet?
14150 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
14151 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
14154 The possible options are:
14159 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
14162 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
14163 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
14164 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
14165 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
14167 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
14172 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
14173 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14175 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14176 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14177 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14183 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14184 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14185 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14190 @node Splitting in IMAP
14191 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14192 @cindex splitting imap mail
14194 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14195 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14196 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14197 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14198 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14202 Here are the variables of interest:
14206 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14207 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14209 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14211 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14212 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14214 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14216 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14217 @cindex splitting, inbox
14219 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14221 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14222 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14226 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14227 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14230 No nnmail equivalent.
14232 @item nnimap-split-rule
14233 @cindex Splitting, rules
14234 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14236 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14239 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14240 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14241 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14242 Neither did I, we need examples.
14245 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14246 '(("INBOX.nnimap" "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14247 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14248 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14251 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14252 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14253 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
14255 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14256 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14260 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14263 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14264 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14265 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14266 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14268 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14269 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14270 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14271 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
14272 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14273 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14275 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14276 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14277 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14279 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14280 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14281 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14283 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
14285 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14286 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14287 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14290 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14291 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14292 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14293 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14294 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14295 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14298 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14299 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14300 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14301 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14302 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14303 group/function elements.
14305 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14307 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14309 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14311 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14312 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14314 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14315 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14316 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14319 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14320 @cindex splitting, fancy
14321 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14322 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14324 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14325 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14326 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14328 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14329 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14330 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14331 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14336 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14337 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14340 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14344 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14345 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14346 @cindex editing imap acls
14347 @cindex Access Control Lists
14348 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14350 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14352 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14353 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14354 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14357 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14358 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14359 editing window with detailed instructions.
14361 Some possible uses:
14365 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14366 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14367 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14369 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14370 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14371 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14375 @node Expunging mailboxes
14376 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
14380 @cindex Manual expunging
14382 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14384 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
14385 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14386 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14388 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14393 @node Combined Groups
14394 @section Combined Groups
14396 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
14400 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
14401 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
14405 @node Virtual Groups
14406 @subsection Virtual Groups
14408 @cindex virtual groups
14409 @cindex merging groups
14411 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
14414 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
14415 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
14416 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
14418 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
14419 regexp to match component groups.
14421 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
14422 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
14423 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
14424 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
14425 the virtual group.)
14427 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
14428 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
14431 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
14434 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
14435 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
14437 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
14438 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
14439 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
14440 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
14443 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
14446 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
14447 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
14448 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
14450 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
14451 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
14452 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
14453 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
14454 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
14456 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
14457 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
14458 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
14460 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
14461 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
14462 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
14463 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14464 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
14465 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
14466 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
14467 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
14468 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
14469 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
14470 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
14472 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
14473 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
14474 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
14475 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
14476 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
14477 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
14478 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
14480 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
14481 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
14485 @node Kibozed Groups
14486 @subsection Kibozed Groups
14490 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
14491 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
14492 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
14493 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
14495 @kindex G k (Group)
14496 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
14499 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
14500 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
14501 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
14502 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
14504 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
14505 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
14506 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
14508 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
14509 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
14510 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
14511 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
14512 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
14513 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
14514 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
14515 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
14517 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
14518 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
14519 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
14520 Stranger things have happened.
14522 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
14523 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
14525 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
14526 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
14527 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
14528 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
14529 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
14530 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
14532 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
14533 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
14536 @node Gnus Unplugged
14537 @section Gnus Unplugged
14542 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
14544 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
14545 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
14546 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
14547 read news. Believe it or not.
14549 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
14550 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
14551 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
14552 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
14553 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
14555 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
14556 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
14557 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
14558 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
14559 reading news on a machine.
14561 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
14565 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
14566 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
14570 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
14571 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14578 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
14580 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
14583 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
14584 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
14585 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
14586 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
14587 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
14588 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
14589 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
14590 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
14591 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
14592 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
14597 @subsection Agent Basics
14599 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
14601 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
14602 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
14603 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
14604 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
14606 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
14607 connected to the net continuously.
14609 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
14610 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
14612 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
14617 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
14618 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
14619 already fetched while in this mode.
14622 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
14623 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
14624 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
14625 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
14626 Source Specifiers}).
14629 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
14630 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
14631 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
14632 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
14633 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
14636 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
14637 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
14638 then you read the news offline.
14641 And then you go to step 2.
14644 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
14650 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
14651 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
14652 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
14653 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
14654 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
14655 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
14658 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
14665 @node Agent Categories
14666 @subsection Agent Categories
14668 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
14669 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
14670 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
14671 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
14672 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
14673 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
14674 you're interested in the articles anyway.
14676 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
14677 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
14678 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
14679 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
14680 managing categories.
14683 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
14684 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
14685 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
14689 @node Category Syntax
14690 @subsubsection Category Syntax
14692 A category consists of two things.
14696 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
14697 are eligible for downloading; and
14700 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
14701 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
14702 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
14705 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
14706 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
14707 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
14708 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
14710 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
14711 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
14712 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
14714 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
14715 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
14716 operators sprinkled in between.
14718 Perhaps some examples are in order.
14720 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
14721 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
14727 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
14728 short (for some value of ``short'').
14730 Here's a more complex predicate:
14739 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
14740 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
14743 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
14744 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
14745 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
14747 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
14748 you want to do, you can write your own.
14752 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
14753 lines; default 100.
14756 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
14757 lines; default 200.
14760 True iff the article has a download score less than
14761 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
14764 True iff the article has a download score greater than
14765 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
14768 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
14769 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
14770 checksum and sees whether articles match.
14779 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
14780 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
14781 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
14784 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
14785 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
14786 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
14787 something along the lines of the following:
14790 (defun my-article-old-p ()
14791 "Say whether an article is old."
14792 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
14793 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
14796 with the predicate then defined as:
14799 (not my-article-old-p)
14802 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
14803 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
14804 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
14805 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
14808 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
14809 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
14810 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
14813 and simply specify your predicate as:
14819 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
14820 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
14821 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
14822 just don't give a damn.
14824 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
14825 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
14826 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
14827 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
14828 parameters like so:
14831 (agent-predicate . short)
14834 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
14835 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
14836 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
14838 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
14841 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
14844 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
14845 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
14846 predicate is assumed to be a list.
14849 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
14850 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
14851 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
14852 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
14853 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
14854 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
14856 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
14857 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
14858 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
14859 if it's to be specific to that group.
14861 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
14868 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
14869 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
14875 Category specification
14879 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14885 Group Parameter specification
14888 (agent-score ("from"
14889 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14894 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
14900 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
14907 Category specification
14910 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
14916 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
14920 Group Parameter specification
14923 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
14926 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
14931 Use @code{normal} score files
14933 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
14934 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
14935 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
14936 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
14938 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
14939 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
14940 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
14941 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
14945 Category Specification
14952 Group Parameter specification
14955 (agent-score . file)
14960 @node Category Buffer
14961 @subsubsection Category Buffer
14963 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
14964 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
14965 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
14967 The following commands are available in this buffer:
14971 @kindex q (Category)
14972 @findex gnus-category-exit
14973 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
14976 @kindex k (Category)
14977 @findex gnus-category-kill
14978 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
14981 @kindex c (Category)
14982 @findex gnus-category-copy
14983 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
14986 @kindex a (Category)
14987 @findex gnus-category-add
14988 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
14991 @kindex p (Category)
14992 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
14993 Edit the predicate of the current category
14994 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
14997 @kindex g (Category)
14998 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
14999 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
15000 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
15003 @kindex s (Category)
15004 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
15005 Edit the download score rule of the current category
15006 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
15009 @kindex l (Category)
15010 @findex gnus-category-list
15011 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
15015 @node Category Variables
15016 @subsubsection Category Variables
15019 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
15020 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
15021 Hook run in category buffers.
15023 @item gnus-category-line-format
15024 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
15025 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
15026 Variables}). Valid elements are:
15030 The name of the category.
15033 The number of groups in the category.
15036 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
15037 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
15038 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
15040 @item gnus-agent-short-article
15041 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
15042 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
15044 @item gnus-agent-long-article
15045 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
15046 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
15048 @item gnus-agent-low-score
15049 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
15050 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
15053 @item gnus-agent-high-score
15054 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
15055 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
15061 @node Agent Commands
15062 @subsection Agent Commands
15064 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
15065 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
15066 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
15070 * Group Agent Commands::
15071 * Summary Agent Commands::
15072 * Server Agent Commands::
15075 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
15076 following incantation:
15078 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15080 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15085 @node Group Agent Commands
15086 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
15090 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
15091 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
15092 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
15093 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
15096 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
15097 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
15098 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
15101 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
15102 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
15103 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
15104 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
15107 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
15108 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
15109 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
15110 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
15113 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
15114 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
15115 Add the current group to an Agent category
15116 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
15117 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15120 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
15121 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
15122 Remove the current group from its category, if any
15123 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
15124 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15127 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
15128 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15129 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
15135 @node Summary Agent Commands
15136 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
15140 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
15141 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
15142 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
15145 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
15146 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
15147 Remove the downloading mark from the article
15148 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
15151 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
15152 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
15153 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
15156 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
15157 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
15158 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
15163 @node Server Agent Commands
15164 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
15168 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
15169 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
15170 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
15171 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
15174 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
15175 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
15176 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
15177 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
15183 @subsection Agent Expiry
15185 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
15186 @findex gnus-agent-expire
15187 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
15188 @cindex Agent expiry
15189 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
15192 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
15193 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
15194 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
15195 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
15196 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
15197 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
15199 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
15200 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
15201 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
15202 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
15203 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
15206 @node Agent and IMAP
15207 @subsection Agent and IMAP
15209 The Agent work with any Gnus backend, including nnimap. However,
15210 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
15211 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
15212 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
15214 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
15215 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
15216 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
15217 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
15219 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
15220 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
15221 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
15222 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
15223 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
15225 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15226 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
15227 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
15228 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
15229 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
15230 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
15232 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
15233 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
15234 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
15235 in the group buffer by default.
15237 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
15238 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
15243 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
15246 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
15250 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
15251 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
15252 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
15253 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
15254 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
15255 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
15256 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
15257 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
15260 @node Outgoing Messages
15261 @subsection Outgoing Messages
15263 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
15264 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
15265 after posting, and edit them at will.
15267 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
15268 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
15269 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
15270 messages in the draft group.
15274 @node Agent Variables
15275 @subsection Agent Variables
15278 @item gnus-agent-directory
15279 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
15280 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
15281 @file{~/News/agent/}.
15283 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
15284 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
15285 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
15286 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
15287 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
15290 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15291 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15292 Hook run when connecting to the network.
15294 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15295 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15296 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
15301 @node Example Setup
15302 @subsection Example Setup
15304 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
15305 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
15306 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
15309 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
15310 ;;; from your ISP's server.
15311 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
15313 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
15314 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
15315 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
15317 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
15318 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
15320 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
15324 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
15325 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
15328 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
15329 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
15330 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
15331 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
15332 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
15335 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
15336 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
15337 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
15338 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
15339 back all the killed groups.)
15341 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
15342 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
15343 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
15346 @node Batching Agents
15347 @subsection Batching Agents
15349 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
15350 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
15351 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
15355 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
15359 @node Agent Caveats
15360 @subsection Agent Caveats
15362 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
15363 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
15367 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
15372 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
15373 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
15379 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
15380 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
15387 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
15388 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
15389 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
15392 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
15393 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
15394 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
15395 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
15396 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
15398 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
15399 before generating the summary buffer.
15401 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
15402 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
15403 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
15405 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
15406 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
15407 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
15408 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
15411 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
15412 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
15413 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
15414 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
15415 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
15416 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
15417 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
15418 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
15419 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
15420 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
15421 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
15422 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
15423 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
15424 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
15425 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
15426 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
15430 @node Summary Score Commands
15431 @section Summary Score Commands
15432 @cindex score commands
15434 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
15435 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
15436 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
15437 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
15438 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
15440 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
15441 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
15442 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
15443 score file the current one.
15445 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
15450 @kindex V s (Summary)
15451 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
15452 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
15455 @kindex V S (Summary)
15456 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
15457 Display the score of the current article
15458 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
15461 @kindex V t (Summary)
15462 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
15463 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
15464 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
15467 @kindex V R (Summary)
15468 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
15469 Run the current summary through the scoring process
15470 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
15471 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
15472 effect you're having.
15475 @kindex V c (Summary)
15476 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
15477 Make a different score file the current
15478 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
15481 @kindex V e (Summary)
15482 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
15483 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
15484 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
15488 @kindex V f (Summary)
15489 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
15490 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
15491 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
15494 @kindex V F (Summary)
15495 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15496 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
15497 after editing score files.
15500 @kindex V C (Summary)
15501 @findex gnus-score-customize
15502 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
15503 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
15507 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
15512 @kindex V m (Summary)
15513 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
15514 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
15515 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
15518 @kindex V x (Summary)
15519 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
15520 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
15521 expunge all articles below this score
15522 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
15525 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
15526 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
15529 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
15530 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
15534 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
15535 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
15537 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
15538 keys are available:
15542 Score on the author name.
15545 Score on the subject line.
15548 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
15551 Score on the @code{References} line.
15557 Score on the number of lines.
15560 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
15563 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
15564 the followups to this author.
15578 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
15579 what headers you are scoring on.
15591 Substring matching.
15594 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
15623 Greater than number.
15628 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
15629 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
15630 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
15634 Temporary score entry.
15637 Permanent score entry.
15640 Immediately scoring.
15645 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
15646 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
15647 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
15648 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
15650 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
15651 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
15652 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
15653 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
15654 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
15656 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
15657 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
15658 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
15659 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
15660 current score file.
15662 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
15663 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
15664 pretend they are keymaps or not.
15667 @node Group Score Commands
15668 @section Group Score Commands
15669 @cindex group score commands
15671 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
15676 @kindex W f (Group)
15677 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15678 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
15679 all the time. This command will flush the cache
15680 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
15684 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
15686 @findex gnus-batch-score
15687 @cindex batch scoring
15689 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
15693 @node Score Variables
15694 @section Score Variables
15695 @cindex score variables
15699 @item gnus-use-scoring
15700 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
15701 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
15702 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
15704 @item gnus-kill-killed
15705 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
15706 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
15707 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
15708 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
15709 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
15710 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
15711 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
15713 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
15714 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
15715 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
15716 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
15717 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
15719 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
15720 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
15721 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
15722 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
15724 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15725 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15726 @cindex score cache
15727 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
15728 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
15729 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
15730 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
15731 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
15732 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
15735 @item gnus-save-score
15736 @vindex gnus-save-score
15737 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
15738 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
15739 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
15741 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
15742 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
15743 across group visits.
15745 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15746 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15747 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
15748 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
15749 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
15750 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
15751 manually entered data.
15753 @item gnus-summary-default-score
15754 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
15755 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
15757 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
15758 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
15759 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
15760 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
15761 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
15762 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
15764 @item gnus-score-over-mark
15765 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
15766 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
15767 default. Default is @samp{+}.
15769 @item gnus-score-below-mark
15770 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
15771 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
15772 default. Default is @samp{-}.
15774 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15775 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15776 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
15777 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
15779 Predefined functions available are:
15782 @item gnus-score-find-single
15783 @findex gnus-score-find-single
15784 Only apply the group's own score file.
15786 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
15787 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
15788 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
15789 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
15790 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
15791 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
15792 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
15793 then a regexp match is done.
15795 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
15796 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
15798 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
15799 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
15800 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
15801 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
15803 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15804 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15805 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
15806 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
15807 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
15811 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
15812 functions will be called with the group name as argument, and all the
15813 returned lists of score files will be applied. These functions can also
15814 return lists of score alists directly. In that case, the functions that
15815 return these non-file score alists should probably be placed before the
15816 ``real'' score file functions, to ensure that the last score file
15817 returned is the local score file. Phu.
15819 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
15820 overall score file, you could use the value
15822 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE")) 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
15825 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
15826 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
15827 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
15828 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
15829 are expired. It's 7 by default.
15831 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15832 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15833 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
15834 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
15835 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
15836 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
15837 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
15840 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15841 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15842 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
15844 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
15845 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
15846 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
15847 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
15848 threading---according to the current value of
15849 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
15850 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
15851 simplified in this manner.
15856 @node Score File Format
15857 @section Score File Format
15858 @cindex score file format
15860 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
15861 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
15862 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
15864 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
15868 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
15870 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
15872 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
15874 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
15879 (mark-and-expunge -10)
15883 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
15884 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
15885 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
15886 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
15890 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
15891 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
15893 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
15894 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
15895 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
15897 Six keys are supported by this alist:
15902 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
15903 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
15904 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
15905 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
15906 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
15907 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
15908 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
15909 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
15910 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
15911 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
15912 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
15913 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
15914 to articles that matches these score entries.
15916 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
15917 score entry has one to four elements.
15921 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
15922 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
15926 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
15927 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
15928 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
15929 is successful. If this element is not present, the
15930 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
15931 instead. This is 1000 by default.
15934 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
15935 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
15936 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
15937 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
15938 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
15941 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
15942 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
15943 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
15944 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
15947 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
15948 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
15949 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
15950 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
15951 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
15952 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
15953 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
15954 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
15955 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
15956 instead, if you feel like.
15959 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
15960 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
15962 These predicates are true if
15965 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
15968 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
15969 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
15976 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
15977 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
15978 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
15979 it's not. I think.)
15981 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
15982 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
15983 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
15984 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
15987 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
15988 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
15989 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
15990 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
15991 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
15992 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
15993 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
15997 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
15998 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
15999 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
16000 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
16001 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
16002 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
16003 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
16004 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
16007 @item Head, Body, All
16008 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
16012 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
16013 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
16014 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
16015 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
16016 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
16017 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
16018 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
16022 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
16023 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
16024 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
16025 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
16026 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
16027 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
16028 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
16029 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
16030 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
16031 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
16032 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
16036 @cindex Score File Atoms
16038 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16039 lower than this number will be marked as read.
16042 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16043 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
16045 @item mark-and-expunge
16046 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16047 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
16050 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
16051 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
16052 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
16053 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
16054 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
16057 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
16058 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
16061 @item exclude-files
16062 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
16063 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
16067 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
16068 ignored when handling global score files.
16071 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
16072 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
16073 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
16074 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
16077 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
16078 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
16079 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
16080 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
16082 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
16086 (mark-and-expunge -100)
16089 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
16090 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
16091 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
16092 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
16093 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
16095 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
16096 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
16097 scoring rules exist.
16100 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
16101 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
16102 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
16103 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
16104 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
16105 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
16106 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16107 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
16108 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
16109 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
16110 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
16114 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
16115 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
16116 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
16117 file for a number of groups.
16120 @cindex local variables
16121 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
16122 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
16123 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
16124 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
16125 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
16129 @node Score File Editing
16130 @section Score File Editing
16132 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
16133 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
16134 with a mode for that.
16136 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
16137 additional commands:
16142 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
16143 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
16144 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
16145 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
16148 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
16149 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
16150 Insert the current date in numerical format
16151 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
16152 you were wondering.
16155 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
16156 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
16157 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
16158 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
16159 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
16164 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
16166 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
16167 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
16169 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
16170 e} to begin editing score files.
16173 @node Adaptive Scoring
16174 @section Adaptive Scoring
16175 @cindex adaptive scoring
16177 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
16178 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
16179 stupidity, to be precise.
16181 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
16182 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
16183 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
16184 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
16185 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16186 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
16187 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
16188 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
16189 variable to @code{(word line)}.
16191 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16192 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
16193 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
16194 might look something like this:
16197 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16198 '((gnus-unread-mark)
16199 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
16200 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
16201 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
16202 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
16203 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
16204 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
16205 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
16206 (gnus-ancient-mark)
16207 (gnus-low-score-mark)
16208 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
16211 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
16212 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
16213 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
16214 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
16215 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
16216 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
16219 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
16220 will be applied to each article.
16222 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
16223 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
16224 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
16225 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
16227 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
16228 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
16229 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
16230 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
16232 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
16233 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
16234 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
16235 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
16237 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
16238 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
16239 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
16240 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
16241 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
16242 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
16244 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
16245 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
16246 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
16247 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
16248 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
16249 aspirins afterwards.)
16251 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
16252 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
16253 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
16255 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
16256 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
16257 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
16259 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
16260 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
16261 let you use different rules in different groups.
16263 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
16264 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
16265 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
16268 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
16269 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
16270 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
16271 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
16272 the length of the match is less than
16273 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
16274 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
16277 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16278 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
16279 headers. If you adapt on words, the
16280 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
16281 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
16284 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16285 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
16286 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
16287 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
16288 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
16291 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
16292 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
16293 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
16294 score with 30 points.
16296 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
16297 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
16298 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
16299 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
16300 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
16302 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
16303 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
16304 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
16305 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
16306 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
16308 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
16309 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
16310 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
16311 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
16313 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
16314 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
16315 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
16316 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
16318 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
16319 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
16320 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
16321 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
16322 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
16324 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
16325 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
16326 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
16328 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
16329 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
16330 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
16331 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
16334 @node Home Score File
16335 @section Home Score File
16337 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
16338 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
16339 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
16340 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
16342 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
16343 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
16344 could perhaps use the same home score file.
16346 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
16347 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
16352 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
16356 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
16357 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
16361 A list. The elements in this list can be:
16365 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
16366 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
16369 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
16370 the home score file.
16373 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
16376 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
16381 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
16384 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16385 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
16388 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
16389 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
16391 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
16393 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16394 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
16397 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
16398 Other functions include
16401 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
16402 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
16403 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
16404 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
16408 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
16409 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
16410 their own home score files:
16413 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16414 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
16415 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
16416 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
16417 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
16420 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
16421 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
16422 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
16423 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
16424 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
16426 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
16427 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
16428 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
16429 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
16430 precedence over this variable.
16433 @node Followups To Yourself
16434 @section Followups To Yourself
16436 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
16437 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
16438 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
16439 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
16440 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
16441 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
16445 @item gnus-score-followup-article
16446 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
16447 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
16450 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
16451 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
16452 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
16456 @vindex message-sent-hook
16457 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
16458 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
16460 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
16464 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
16465 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
16469 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16470 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16473 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
16474 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
16479 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
16483 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
16484 is system-dependent.
16488 @section Scoring Tips
16489 @cindex scoring tips
16495 @cindex scoring crossposts
16496 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
16497 the @code{Xref} header.
16499 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
16502 @item Multiple crossposts
16503 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
16504 more than, say, 3 groups:
16506 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
16509 @item Matching on the body
16510 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
16511 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
16512 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
16513 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
16514 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
16515 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
16516 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
16519 @item Marking as read
16520 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
16521 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
16522 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
16526 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
16528 @item Negated character classes
16529 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
16530 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
16531 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
16535 @node Reverse Scoring
16536 @section Reverse Scoring
16537 @cindex reverse scoring
16539 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
16540 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
16541 like this in your score file:
16545 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
16550 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
16551 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
16554 @node Global Score Files
16555 @section Global Score Files
16556 @cindex global score files
16558 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
16559 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
16560 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
16562 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
16563 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
16564 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
16566 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
16567 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
16568 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
16569 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
16570 files are applicable to which group.
16572 Say you want to use the score file
16573 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
16574 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
16577 (setq gnus-global-score-files
16578 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
16579 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
16582 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
16583 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
16584 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
16585 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
16586 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
16588 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
16589 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
16591 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
16592 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
16593 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
16594 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
16595 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
16596 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
16598 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
16604 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
16606 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
16608 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
16610 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
16611 lowered out of existence.
16613 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
16614 articles completely.
16617 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
16618 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
16619 old articles for a long time.
16622 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
16623 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
16624 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
16625 holding our breath yet?
16629 @section Kill Files
16632 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
16633 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
16634 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
16636 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
16637 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
16638 files into score files.
16640 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
16641 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
16642 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
16643 that isn't a very good idea.
16645 Normal kill files look like this:
16648 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16649 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
16653 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
16654 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
16656 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
16657 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
16660 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
16665 @kindex M-k (Summary)
16666 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
16667 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
16670 @kindex M-K (Summary)
16671 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
16672 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
16675 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
16680 @kindex M-k (Group)
16681 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
16682 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
16685 @kindex M-K (Group)
16686 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
16687 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
16690 Kill file variables:
16693 @item gnus-kill-file-name
16694 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
16695 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
16696 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
16697 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
16698 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
16699 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
16701 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16702 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16703 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
16704 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
16707 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
16708 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
16709 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
16710 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
16711 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
16712 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
16713 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
16714 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
16715 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
16717 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16718 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16719 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
16724 @node Converting Kill Files
16725 @section Converting Kill Files
16727 @cindex converting kill files
16729 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
16730 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
16731 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
16734 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
16735 You can fetch it from
16736 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
16738 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
16739 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
16740 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
16748 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
16749 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
16750 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
16752 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
16753 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
16754 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
16755 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
16756 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
16757 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
16758 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
16759 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
16763 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
16764 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
16765 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
16766 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
16770 @node Using GroupLens
16771 @subsection Using GroupLens
16773 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
16775 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
16776 better bit in town at the moment.
16778 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
16782 @item gnus-use-grouplens
16783 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
16784 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
16785 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
16787 @item grouplens-pseudonym
16788 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
16789 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
16790 with the Better Bit Bureau.
16792 @item grouplens-newsgroups
16793 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
16794 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
16798 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
16799 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
16800 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
16801 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
16802 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
16803 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
16806 @node Rating Articles
16807 @subsection Rating Articles
16809 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
16810 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
16811 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
16812 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
16815 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
16820 @kindex r (GroupLens)
16821 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
16822 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
16825 @kindex k (GroupLens)
16826 @findex grouplens-score-thread
16827 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
16828 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
16829 threads in rec.humor.
16833 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
16834 the score of the article you're reading.
16839 @kindex n (GroupLens)
16840 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
16841 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
16844 @kindex , (GroupLens)
16845 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
16846 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
16850 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
16851 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
16854 @node Displaying Predictions
16855 @subsection Displaying Predictions
16857 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
16858 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
16859 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
16860 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
16861 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
16863 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
16864 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
16865 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
16866 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
16867 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
16868 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
16869 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
16870 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
16871 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
16872 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
16873 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
16874 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
16875 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
16877 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
16878 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
16879 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
16880 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
16882 The following are valid values for that variable.
16885 @item prediction-spot
16886 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
16889 @item confidence-interval
16890 A numeric confidence interval.
16892 @item prediction-bar
16893 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
16895 @item confidence-bar
16896 Numerical confidence.
16898 @item confidence-spot
16899 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
16901 @item prediction-num
16902 Plain-old numeric value.
16904 @item confidence-plus-minus
16905 Prediction +/- confidence.
16910 @node GroupLens Variables
16911 @subsection GroupLens Variables
16915 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
16916 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
16917 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
16918 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
16921 @item grouplens-bbb-host
16922 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
16925 @item grouplens-bbb-port
16926 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
16928 @item grouplens-score-offset
16929 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
16930 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
16933 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
16934 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
16935 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
16940 @node Advanced Scoring
16941 @section Advanced Scoring
16943 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
16944 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
16945 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
16946 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
16947 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
16949 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
16953 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
16954 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
16955 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
16959 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
16960 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
16962 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
16963 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
16964 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
16965 non-@code{nil} value.
16967 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
16968 operator, and various match operators.
16975 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16976 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
16977 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
16982 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16983 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
16984 then this operator will return @code{false}.
16989 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
16990 logical negation of the value of its argument.
16994 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
16995 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
16996 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
16997 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
16998 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
16999 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
17000 the ancestry you want to go.
17002 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
17003 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
17004 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
17005 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
17006 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
17009 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
17010 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
17012 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
17013 when he's talking about Gnus:
17017 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17018 ("subject" "Gnus"))
17024 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
17028 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17035 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
17036 really don't want to read what he's written:
17040 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17041 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
17045 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
17046 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
17047 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
17054 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
17055 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
17056 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
17057 ("body" "white.*socks"))
17061 The possibilities are endless.
17064 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
17065 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
17067 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
17068 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
17069 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
17070 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
17071 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
17072 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
17073 @samp{subject}) first.
17075 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
17076 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
17087 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
17088 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
17094 ("subject" "Gnus")))
17101 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
17102 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
17107 @section Score Decays
17108 @cindex score decays
17111 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
17112 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
17113 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
17114 use them in any sensible way.
17116 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
17117 @findex gnus-decay-score
17118 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
17119 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
17120 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
17121 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
17122 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
17123 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
17124 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
17125 definition of that function:
17128 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
17130 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
17131 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
17134 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
17136 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
17138 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
17141 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
17142 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
17143 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
17144 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
17148 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
17151 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
17154 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
17158 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
17159 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
17160 the new score, which should be an integer.
17162 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
17163 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
17170 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
17171 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
17172 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
17173 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
17174 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
17175 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
17176 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
17177 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
17178 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
17179 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
17180 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
17181 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
17182 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
17183 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
17184 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
17185 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
17186 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
17187 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
17191 @node Process/Prefix
17192 @section Process/Prefix
17193 @cindex process/prefix convention
17195 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
17196 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
17198 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
17199 command to be performed on.
17203 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
17204 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
17205 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
17206 with the current one.
17208 @vindex transient-mark-mode
17209 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
17210 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
17212 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
17213 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
17216 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
17217 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
17219 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
17222 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
17223 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
17224 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
17225 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
17227 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
17228 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
17229 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
17230 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
17231 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
17232 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
17233 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
17234 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
17236 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
17237 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
17238 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
17239 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
17240 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
17244 @section Interactive
17245 @cindex interaction
17249 @item gnus-novice-user
17250 @vindex gnus-novice-user
17251 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
17252 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
17253 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
17254 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
17257 @item gnus-expert-user
17258 @vindex gnus-expert-user
17259 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
17260 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
17261 matter how strange.
17263 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
17264 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
17265 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
17266 is @code{t} by default.
17268 @item gnus-interactive-exit
17269 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
17270 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
17275 @node Symbolic Prefixes
17276 @section Symbolic Prefixes
17277 @cindex symbolic prefixes
17279 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
17280 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
17281 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
17282 rule of 900 to the current article.
17284 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
17285 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
17286 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
17287 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
17288 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
17289 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
17290 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
17292 @kindex M-i (Summary)
17293 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
17294 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
17295 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
17296 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
17297 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
17298 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
17299 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
17300 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
17302 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
17303 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
17304 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
17306 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
17310 @node Formatting Variables
17311 @section Formatting Variables
17312 @cindex formatting variables
17314 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
17315 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
17316 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
17317 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
17318 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
17321 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
17322 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
17323 lots of percentages everywhere.
17326 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
17327 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
17328 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
17329 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
17330 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
17333 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
17334 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
17335 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
17336 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
17337 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
17338 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
17339 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
17340 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
17342 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
17343 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
17345 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
17346 @findex gnus-update-format
17347 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
17348 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
17349 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
17350 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
17354 @node Formatting Basics
17355 @subsection Formatting Basics
17357 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
17358 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
17359 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
17361 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
17362 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
17363 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
17364 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
17365 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
17368 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
17369 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
17370 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
17371 less than 4 characters wide.
17374 @node Mode Line Formatting
17375 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
17377 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
17378 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
17379 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
17380 with the following two differences:
17385 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
17388 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
17389 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
17390 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
17391 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
17392 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
17393 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
17394 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
17399 @node Advanced Formatting
17400 @subsection Advanced Formatting
17402 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
17403 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
17404 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
17405 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
17407 These are the valid modifiers:
17412 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
17416 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
17421 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
17424 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
17429 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
17432 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
17435 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
17438 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
17442 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
17443 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
17444 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
17445 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
17446 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
17447 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
17448 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
17450 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
17451 last operation, padding.
17453 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
17454 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
17455 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
17456 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
17457 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
17458 the look of your lines.
17459 @xref{Compilation}.
17462 @node User-Defined Specs
17463 @subsection User-Defined Specs
17465 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
17466 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
17467 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
17468 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
17469 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
17470 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
17471 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
17472 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
17473 should protect against that.
17475 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
17476 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
17477 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
17478 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
17482 @node Formatting Fonts
17483 @subsection Formatting Fonts
17485 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
17486 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
17487 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
17488 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
17491 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
17492 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
17493 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
17494 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
17495 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
17496 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
17498 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
17499 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
17500 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
17501 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
17502 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
17503 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
17504 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
17505 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
17507 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
17510 ;; Create three face types.
17511 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
17512 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
17514 ;; We want the article count to be in
17515 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
17516 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
17517 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
17519 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
17520 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
17522 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
17523 (setq gnus-group-line-format
17524 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
17527 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
17528 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
17530 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
17531 mode-line variables.
17534 @node Windows Configuration
17535 @section Windows Configuration
17536 @cindex windows configuration
17538 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
17540 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
17541 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
17542 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
17543 @code{t} by default.
17545 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
17546 glitches. Use at your own peril.
17548 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
17549 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
17550 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
17553 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
17554 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
17555 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17559 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
17560 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
17561 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
17562 possible names is listed below.
17564 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
17565 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
17568 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17572 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
17573 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
17574 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
17575 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
17576 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
17577 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
17578 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
17579 size spec per split.
17581 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
17582 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
17583 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
17584 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
17585 present) gets focus.
17587 Here's a more complicated example:
17590 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
17591 (summary 0.25 point)
17592 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
17596 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
17597 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
17598 occupy, not a percentage.
17600 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
17601 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
17602 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
17603 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
17604 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
17607 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
17610 (article (horizontal 1.0
17615 (summary 0.25 point)
17620 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
17621 @code{horizontal} thingie?
17623 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
17624 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
17625 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
17626 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
17627 the screen is to be given to this strip.
17629 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
17630 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
17631 lines from the splits.
17633 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
17637 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
17638 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
17639 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
17640 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
17641 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
17642 size = number | frame-params
17643 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
17646 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
17647 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
17648 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
17649 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
17651 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
17652 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
17653 @cindex window height
17654 @cindex window width
17655 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
17656 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
17657 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
17658 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
17659 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
17660 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
17662 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
17663 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
17664 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
17665 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
17667 @findex gnus-configure-frame
17668 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
17669 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
17670 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
17671 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
17672 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
17673 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
17674 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
17675 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
17676 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
17677 configuration list.
17680 (gnus-configure-frame
17684 (article 0.3 point))
17692 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
17693 @code{frame} split:
17696 (gnus-configure-frame
17699 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
17701 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
17702 (user-position . t)
17703 (left . -1) (top . 1))
17708 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
17709 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
17710 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
17711 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
17712 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
17713 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
17714 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
17715 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
17717 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
17718 be found in its default value.
17720 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
17721 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
17722 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
17726 (message (horizontal 1.0
17727 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
17729 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
17734 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
17735 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
17736 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
17739 (message (frame 1.0
17740 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
17741 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
17742 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
17743 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
17744 (name . "Message"))
17745 (message 1.0 point))))
17748 @findex gnus-add-configuration
17749 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
17750 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
17751 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
17752 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
17755 (gnus-add-configuration
17756 '(article (vertical 1.0
17758 (summary .25 point)
17762 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
17763 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
17764 Gnus has been loaded.
17766 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
17767 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
17768 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
17769 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
17770 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
17772 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
17773 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
17774 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
17777 @subsection Example Window Configurations
17781 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
17782 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
17797 (gnus-add-configuration
17800 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
17802 (summary 0.16 point)
17805 (gnus-add-configuration
17808 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
17809 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
17815 @node Faces and Fonts
17816 @section Faces and Fonts
17821 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
17822 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
17823 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
17828 @section Compilation
17829 @cindex compilation
17830 @cindex byte-compilation
17832 @findex gnus-compile
17834 Remember all those line format specification variables?
17835 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
17836 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
17837 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
17838 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
17839 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
17840 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
17841 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
17844 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
17845 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
17846 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
17847 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
17848 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17851 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
17852 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
17853 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
17854 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
17855 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
17860 @section Mode Lines
17863 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
17864 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
17865 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
17866 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
17867 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
17868 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
17869 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
17872 @cindex display-time
17874 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
17875 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
17876 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
17877 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
17878 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
17879 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
17880 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
17881 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
17884 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
17886 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
17887 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
17889 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
17890 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
17891 (length display-time-string)))))
17894 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
17895 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
17896 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
17897 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
17898 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
17901 @node Highlighting and Menus
17902 @section Highlighting and Menus
17904 @cindex highlighting
17907 @vindex gnus-visual
17908 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
17909 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
17910 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
17913 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
17914 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
17917 @item group-highlight
17918 Do highlights in the group buffer.
17919 @item summary-highlight
17920 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
17921 @item article-highlight
17922 Do highlights in the article buffer.
17924 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
17926 Create menus in the group buffer.
17928 Create menus in the summary buffers.
17930 Create menus in the article buffer.
17932 Create menus in the browse buffer.
17934 Create menus in the server buffer.
17936 Create menus in the score buffers.
17938 Create menus in all buffers.
17941 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
17942 buffers, you could say something like:
17945 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
17948 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
17951 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
17954 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
17955 in all Gnus buffers.
17957 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
17960 @item gnus-mouse-face
17961 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
17962 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
17963 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
17967 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
17971 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
17972 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
17973 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
17975 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
17976 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
17977 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
17979 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
17980 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
17981 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
17983 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
17984 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
17985 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
17987 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
17988 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
17989 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
17991 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
17992 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
17993 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
18004 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
18005 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
18006 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
18007 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
18008 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
18012 @vindex gnus-carpal
18013 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
18014 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
18015 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
18020 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18021 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18022 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
18024 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
18025 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
18026 Face used on buttons.
18028 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
18029 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
18030 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
18032 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18033 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18034 Buttons in the group buffer.
18036 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18037 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18038 Buttons in the summary buffer.
18040 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18041 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18042 Buttons in the server buffer.
18044 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18045 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18046 Buttons in the browse buffer.
18049 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
18050 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
18051 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
18059 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
18060 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
18061 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
18062 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
18063 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
18065 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
18066 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
18067 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
18069 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
18070 been idle for thirty minutes:
18073 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
18076 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
18080 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
18083 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
18084 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
18085 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18087 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
18088 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
18089 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
18090 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18092 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
18093 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
18094 @var{idle} minutes.
18096 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
18097 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
18100 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
18101 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
18102 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
18104 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
18105 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
18106 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
18107 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
18109 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
18110 your @file{.gnus} file:
18112 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
18114 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
18117 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
18118 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
18119 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
18120 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
18121 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
18122 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
18123 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
18124 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
18125 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
18126 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
18127 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
18129 @findex gnus-demon-init
18130 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
18131 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
18132 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
18133 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
18134 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
18136 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
18137 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
18138 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
18147 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
18148 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
18150 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
18151 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
18152 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
18153 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
18156 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
18157 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
18158 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
18159 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
18161 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
18162 this will make spam disappear.
18164 There are some variables to customize, of course:
18167 @item gnus-use-nocem
18168 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
18169 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
18172 @item gnus-nocem-groups
18173 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
18174 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
18175 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
18176 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
18178 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
18179 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
18180 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
18181 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
18182 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
18183 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
18185 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
18186 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
18188 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
18189 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
18190 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
18191 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
18192 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
18193 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
18194 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
18195 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
18196 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
18197 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
18199 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
18200 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
18203 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
18206 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
18207 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
18210 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
18213 The specs are applied left-to-right.
18216 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
18217 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
18219 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
18220 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
18221 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
18222 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
18224 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
18225 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
18228 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
18230 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
18238 This might be dangerous, though.
18240 @item gnus-nocem-directory
18241 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
18242 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
18243 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
18245 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
18246 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
18247 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
18248 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
18249 might then see old spam.
18251 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
18252 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
18253 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
18254 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
18255 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
18258 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
18259 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
18260 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
18261 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
18265 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
18266 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
18267 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
18268 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
18275 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
18276 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
18277 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
18279 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
18280 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
18281 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
18282 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
18283 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
18284 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
18285 @code{undo} function.
18287 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
18288 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
18289 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
18290 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
18291 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
18292 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
18293 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
18294 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
18295 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
18296 never be totally undoable.
18298 @findex gnus-undo-mode
18299 @vindex gnus-use-undo
18301 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
18302 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
18303 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
18304 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
18309 @section Moderation
18312 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
18313 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
18314 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
18317 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
18321 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
18324 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18326 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
18331 You split your incoming mail by matching on
18332 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
18333 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
18336 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
18337 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
18340 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
18341 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
18345 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
18348 (setq gnus-moderated-list
18349 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
18353 @node XEmacs Enhancements
18354 @section XEmacs Enhancements
18357 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
18361 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
18362 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
18363 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
18364 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
18377 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
18378 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
18379 over your shoulder as you read news.
18382 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
18383 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
18384 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
18385 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
18386 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
18391 @subsubsection Picon Basics
18393 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
18402 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
18403 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
18404 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
18405 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
18406 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
18407 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
18408 @code{GIF} formats.
18411 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18412 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
18413 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
18414 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
18415 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
18417 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18418 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
18419 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
18420 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
18421 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
18422 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18425 @node Picon Requirements
18426 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
18428 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
18429 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
18432 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
18433 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
18434 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
18436 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18437 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
18438 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
18439 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
18440 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
18444 @subsubsection Easy Picons
18446 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
18447 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
18450 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
18451 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
18454 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
18455 containing the Picons databases.
18457 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
18460 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18461 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
18466 @subsubsection Hard Picons
18474 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
18475 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
18476 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
18477 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
18478 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
18483 @item gnus-picons-database
18484 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18485 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
18486 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
18487 subdirectories. This is only useful if
18488 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
18489 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
18491 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18492 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18493 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
18494 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
18495 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
18496 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
18497 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18499 @item gnus-picons-display-where
18500 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18501 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
18502 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
18503 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
18504 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
18505 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
18506 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
18508 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18509 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18510 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
18515 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
18516 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
18518 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
18519 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
18522 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18524 @item gnus-article-display-picons
18525 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18526 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
18527 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
18529 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
18530 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18531 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
18537 @node Picon Useless Configuration
18538 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
18546 The following variables offer further control over how things are
18547 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
18548 don't need to worry about.
18552 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
18553 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
18554 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18555 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
18557 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
18558 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
18559 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
18560 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
18562 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
18563 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
18564 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18565 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
18566 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
18568 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18569 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18570 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
18571 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
18572 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
18573 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
18574 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
18576 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18577 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18578 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
18579 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
18581 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18582 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18583 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
18584 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
18585 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
18586 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
18587 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
18589 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18590 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18591 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
18592 Defaults to @code{nil}.
18594 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
18595 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
18596 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
18597 Defaults to @code{t}.
18599 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18600 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18601 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
18602 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
18604 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
18605 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
18606 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
18608 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18609 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18610 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
18611 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
18613 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
18614 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
18616 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18617 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18618 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
18619 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
18620 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
18621 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
18622 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
18623 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
18634 @subsection Smileys
18639 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
18644 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
18645 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
18647 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
18648 @file{.gnus.el} file:
18651 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
18654 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
18655 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
18656 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
18657 text and maps that to file names.
18659 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
18660 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
18661 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
18662 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
18663 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
18664 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
18666 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
18667 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
18669 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
18670 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
18671 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
18673 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
18674 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
18678 @item smiley-data-directory
18679 @vindex smiley-data-directory
18680 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
18682 @item smiley-flesh-color
18683 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
18684 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
18686 @item smiley-features-color
18687 @vindex smiley-features-color
18688 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18690 @item smiley-tongue-color
18691 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
18692 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
18694 @item smiley-circle-color
18695 @vindex smiley-circle-color
18696 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18698 @item smiley-mouse-face
18699 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
18700 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
18706 @subsection Toolbar
18716 @item gnus-use-toolbar
18717 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
18718 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
18719 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
18720 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
18722 @item gnus-group-toolbar
18723 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
18724 The toolbar in the group buffer.
18726 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
18727 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
18728 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
18730 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18731 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18732 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
18738 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
18741 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18742 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18743 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
18744 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
18745 unusual directory structure.
18747 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18748 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18749 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
18750 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
18752 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18753 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18754 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
18755 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
18756 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
18757 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
18759 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18760 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18761 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
18775 @node Fuzzy Matching
18776 @section Fuzzy Matching
18777 @cindex fuzzy matching
18779 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
18780 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
18782 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
18783 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
18784 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
18786 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
18787 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
18788 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
18789 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
18790 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
18793 @node Thwarting Email Spam
18794 @section Thwarting Email Spam
18798 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
18800 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
18801 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
18802 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
18803 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
18804 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
18805 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
18806 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
18807 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
18810 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
18811 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
18812 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
18813 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
18814 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
18815 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
18819 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
18820 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
18822 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
18823 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
18824 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
18825 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
18826 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
18827 part of the mail address.)
18830 (setq message-default-news-headers
18831 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
18834 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
18835 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
18840 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
18841 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
18842 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
18848 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
18849 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
18850 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
18851 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
18853 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
18854 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
18855 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
18856 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
18857 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
18858 your fancy split rule in this way:
18863 (to "larsi" "misc")
18867 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
18868 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
18869 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
18870 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
18871 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
18873 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
18874 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
18875 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
18876 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
18877 cosmic balance somewhat.
18879 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
18880 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
18881 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
18882 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
18885 @node Various Various
18886 @section Various Various
18892 @item gnus-home-directory
18893 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
18894 defaults to @file{~/}.
18896 @item gnus-directory
18897 @vindex gnus-directory
18898 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
18899 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
18900 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
18902 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
18903 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
18904 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
18905 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
18907 @item gnus-default-directory
18908 @vindex gnus-default-directory
18909 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
18910 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
18911 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
18912 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
18913 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
18914 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
18917 @vindex gnus-verbose
18918 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
18919 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
18920 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
18921 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
18922 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
18924 @item gnus-verbose-backends
18925 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
18926 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
18927 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
18929 @item nnheader-max-head-length
18930 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
18931 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
18932 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
18933 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
18934 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
18935 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
18936 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
18937 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
18938 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
18940 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
18941 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
18942 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
18943 read when doing the operation described above.
18945 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18946 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18948 @cindex invalid characters in file names
18949 @cindex characters in file names
18950 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
18951 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
18952 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
18955 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18959 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
18960 Windows (phooey) systems.
18962 @item gnus-hidden-properties
18963 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
18964 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
18965 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
18966 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
18968 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
18969 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
18970 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
18971 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
18972 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
18974 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
18975 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
18976 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
18978 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18979 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18981 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
18982 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
18983 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
18984 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
18987 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
18996 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
18997 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
18999 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
19001 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
19007 Not because of victories @*
19010 but for the common sunshine,@*
19012 the largess of the spring.
19016 but for the day's work done@*
19017 as well as I was able;@*
19018 not for a seat upon the dais@*
19019 but at the common table.@*
19024 @chapter Appendices
19027 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
19028 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
19029 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
19030 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
19031 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
19032 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
19033 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
19034 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
19042 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
19043 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
19045 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
19046 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
19047 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
19048 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
19049 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
19051 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
19052 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
19053 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
19054 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
19055 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
19056 appropriate name, don't you think?)
19058 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
19059 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
19060 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
19061 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
19064 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
19065 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
19066 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
19067 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
19068 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
19069 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
19070 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
19071 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
19072 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
19076 @node Gnus Versions
19077 @subsection Gnus Versions
19078 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
19080 @cindex September Gnus
19081 @cindex Quassia Gnus
19083 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
19084 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
19085 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
19087 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
19088 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
19090 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
19091 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
19093 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
19094 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
19096 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
19097 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
19100 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
19102 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
19103 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
19104 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
19105 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
19106 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
19107 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
19110 @node Other Gnus Versions
19111 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
19114 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
19115 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
19116 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
19117 @sc{mime} capabilities.
19119 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
19120 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
19121 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
19122 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
19129 What's the point of Gnus?
19131 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
19132 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
19133 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
19134 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
19135 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
19136 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
19137 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
19138 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
19139 keep track of millions of people who post?
19141 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
19142 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
19143 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
19144 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
19145 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
19146 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
19147 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
19148 every one of you to explore and invent.
19150 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
19151 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
19154 @node Compatibility
19155 @subsection Compatibility
19157 @cindex compatibility
19158 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
19159 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
19160 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
19165 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
19169 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
19172 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
19175 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
19176 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
19177 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
19178 important variables have their values copied into their global
19179 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
19180 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
19182 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
19183 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
19184 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
19185 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
19186 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
19190 @cindex highlighting
19191 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
19192 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
19193 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
19194 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
19195 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
19196 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
19199 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
19200 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
19201 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
19202 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
19204 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
19205 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
19206 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
19207 to stop doing it the old way.
19209 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
19211 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
19213 @cindex reporting bugs
19215 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
19216 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
19217 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
19219 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
19220 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
19221 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
19222 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
19227 @subsection Conformity
19229 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
19230 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
19237 There are no known breaches of this standard.
19241 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
19243 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
19244 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
19245 We do have some breaches to this one.
19251 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
19252 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
19253 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
19254 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
19255 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
19260 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
19261 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
19262 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
19263 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
19267 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
19268 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
19273 @subsection Emacsen
19279 Gnus should work on :
19287 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
19291 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
19292 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
19293 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
19294 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
19295 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
19297 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
19298 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
19299 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
19303 @node Gnus Development
19304 @subsection Gnus Development
19306 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
19307 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
19308 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
19309 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
19310 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
19311 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
19312 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
19313 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
19315 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
19316 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
19317 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
19318 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
19319 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
19322 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
19323 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
19324 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
19325 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
19326 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
19328 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
19329 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
19330 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
19331 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
19332 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
19333 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
19334 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
19335 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
19336 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
19337 can't be assumed to do so.
19342 @subsection Contributors
19343 @cindex contributors
19345 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
19346 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
19347 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
19348 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
19349 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
19350 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
19351 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
19352 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
19353 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
19354 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
19356 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
19362 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
19365 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
19366 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
19367 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
19368 functionality and stuff.
19371 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
19372 well as numerous other things).
19375 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
19378 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
19381 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
19384 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
19385 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
19388 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
19391 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
19392 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19395 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
19398 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
19401 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
19404 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
19407 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
19408 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
19411 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
19414 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
19417 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
19420 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
19424 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
19427 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
19430 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
19433 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
19434 well as autoconf support.
19438 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
19439 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
19441 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
19450 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
19454 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
19464 Alexei V. Barantsev,
19479 Massimo Campostrini,
19484 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
19485 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
19489 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
19492 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
19498 Michael Welsh Duggan,
19503 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
19507 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
19515 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
19517 Michelangelo Grigni,
19521 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
19523 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
19525 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
19532 François Felix Ingrand,
19533 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
19534 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
19536 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
19547 Peter Skov Knudsen,
19548 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
19550 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
19551 Thor Kristoffersen,
19554 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
19572 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
19573 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
19580 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
19585 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
19589 John McClary Prevost,
19595 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
19600 Christian von Roques,
19603 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
19610 Philippe Schnoebelen,
19612 Randal L. Schwartz,
19626 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
19631 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
19647 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
19652 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
19653 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
19654 (550kB and counting).
19656 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
19659 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
19660 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
19664 @subsection New Features
19665 @cindex new features
19668 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
19669 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
19670 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
19671 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
19672 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
19675 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
19676 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
19677 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
19680 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
19682 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
19687 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
19688 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
19691 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
19692 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
19695 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
19698 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
19699 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
19700 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
19703 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
19704 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
19705 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
19706 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19709 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
19710 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19713 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
19714 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
19715 (@pxref{The Active File}).
19718 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
19719 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
19722 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
19723 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
19724 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19727 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
19728 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
19729 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
19732 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
19733 the @file{.emacs} file.
19736 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
19737 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19740 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
19741 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
19744 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
19745 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19748 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
19749 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
19752 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
19753 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19756 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
19759 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
19760 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
19763 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
19764 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
19767 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
19768 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
19771 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
19774 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
19775 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19778 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
19782 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
19786 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
19787 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
19790 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
19796 @node September Gnus
19797 @subsubsection September Gnus
19801 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
19805 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
19810 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
19811 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
19815 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
19816 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
19820 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
19824 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
19825 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
19828 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
19832 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19835 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
19838 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
19841 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
19845 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
19846 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
19849 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
19853 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
19857 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
19861 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
19865 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
19868 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
19869 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
19872 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
19876 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
19877 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
19880 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
19883 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
19884 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
19885 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19888 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
19892 The Gnus cache is much faster.
19895 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
19899 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
19900 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19903 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
19904 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
19907 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
19908 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19911 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
19912 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
19913 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
19916 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
19917 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
19920 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
19923 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19926 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
19929 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
19932 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
19933 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
19936 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
19940 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
19943 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
19948 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
19951 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
19955 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19958 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
19962 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
19965 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
19968 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
19969 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19972 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
19973 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
19977 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
19978 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
19981 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
19985 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
19986 buffer to allow easier treatment.
19989 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
19992 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
19996 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
20000 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
20001 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
20004 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
20008 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
20009 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20012 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
20013 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20016 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
20020 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20023 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
20026 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
20032 @subsubsection Red Gnus
20034 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
20038 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
20045 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
20048 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
20049 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20052 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
20053 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
20057 Article washing status can be displayed in the
20058 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
20061 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
20064 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
20065 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
20068 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
20072 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
20073 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
20077 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
20078 Server Internals}).
20081 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
20085 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
20088 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
20089 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
20092 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
20093 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
20094 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
20097 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
20098 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20101 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
20102 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
20105 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
20109 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
20110 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20113 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
20114 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20117 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
20121 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
20124 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
20128 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
20129 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20132 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
20133 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20136 A new command for reading collections of documents
20137 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
20138 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
20141 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
20145 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
20146 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
20149 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
20150 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
20151 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
20154 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
20155 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
20159 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
20163 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
20167 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
20172 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
20176 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
20180 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
20181 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
20184 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
20190 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
20192 New features in Gnus 5.6:
20197 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
20198 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
20199 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
20202 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
20203 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
20204 group, which is created automatically.
20207 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
20211 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
20214 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
20215 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
20218 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
20222 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
20225 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
20226 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
20229 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
20232 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
20233 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
20236 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
20237 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
20240 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
20241 control over simplification.
20244 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
20247 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
20251 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
20254 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
20257 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
20258 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
20259 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
20262 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
20263 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
20266 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
20270 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
20271 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
20274 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
20275 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
20278 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
20282 A history of where mails have been split is available.
20285 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
20288 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
20289 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
20292 A new function for citing in Message has been
20293 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
20296 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
20299 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
20303 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
20304 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
20307 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
20308 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
20311 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
20314 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
20318 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
20319 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
20321 New features in Gnus 5.8:
20325 @item The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
20326 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
20328 If you used procmail like in
20331 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
20332 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
20333 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
20334 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
20337 this now has changed to
20341 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
20345 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
20346 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
20348 @item Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
20349 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
20351 @item Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
20352 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
20354 @item @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
20355 called to position point.
20357 @item The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
20358 summary buffers and NOV files.
20360 @item @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
20361 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
20363 @item The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
20364 subtly different manner.
20366 @item New web-based backends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
20367 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
20368 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
20370 @item Gnus can now read IMAP mail via @code{nnimap}.
20378 @section The Manual
20382 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
20383 either @code{texi2dvi}
20385 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
20386 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
20388 to get what you hold in your hands now.
20390 The following conventions have been used:
20395 This is a @samp{string}
20398 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
20401 This is a @file{file}
20404 This is a @code{symbol}
20408 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
20412 (setq flargnoze "yes")
20415 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
20418 (setq flumphel 'yes)
20421 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
20422 ever get them confused.
20426 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
20427 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
20428 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
20429 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
20430 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
20431 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
20432 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
20438 @node On Writing Manuals
20439 @section On Writing Manuals
20441 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
20442 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
20443 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
20444 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
20445 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
20446 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
20449 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
20450 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
20451 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
20454 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
20455 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
20460 @section Terminology
20462 @cindex terminology
20467 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
20468 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
20469 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
20470 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
20471 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
20475 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
20476 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
20477 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
20478 not posting, and replying is not following up.
20482 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
20486 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
20491 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
20492 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
20493 is all done by the backends.
20497 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
20498 default, way of getting news.
20502 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
20503 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
20508 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
20509 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
20513 A message that has been posted as news.
20516 @cindex mail message
20517 A message that has been mailed.
20521 A mail message or news article
20525 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
20530 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
20535 A line from the head of an article.
20539 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
20540 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
20544 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
20545 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
20546 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
20547 normal @sc{head} format.
20551 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
20552 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
20553 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
20554 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
20555 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
20556 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
20558 @item killed groups
20559 @cindex killed groups
20560 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
20561 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
20563 @item zombie groups
20564 @cindex zombie groups
20565 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
20568 @cindex active file
20569 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
20570 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
20571 is rather large, as you might surmise.
20574 @cindex bogus groups
20575 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
20576 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
20577 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
20580 @cindex activating groups
20581 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
20582 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
20583 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
20587 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
20589 @item select method
20590 @cindex select method
20591 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
20594 @item virtual server
20595 @cindex virtual server
20596 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
20597 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
20598 whole is a virtual server.
20602 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
20603 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
20606 @item ephemeral groups
20607 @cindex ephemeral groups
20608 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
20609 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
20610 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
20613 @cindex solid groups
20614 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
20615 group buffer are solid groups.
20617 @item sparse articles
20618 @cindex sparse articles
20619 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
20620 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
20624 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
20625 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
20629 @cindex thread root
20630 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
20631 articles in the thread.
20635 An article that has responses.
20639 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
20643 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
20644 specified by RFC 1153.
20650 @node Customization
20651 @section Customization
20652 @cindex general customization
20654 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
20655 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
20656 for some quite common situations.
20659 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
20660 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
20661 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
20662 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
20666 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
20667 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
20669 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
20670 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
20671 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
20675 @item gnus-read-active-file
20676 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
20677 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
20678 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
20679 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
20680 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
20682 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
20683 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
20684 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
20685 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
20689 @node Slow Terminal Connection
20690 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
20692 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
20693 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
20694 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
20698 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
20699 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
20700 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
20701 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
20702 horizontal and vertical recentering.
20704 @item gnus-visible-headers
20705 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
20706 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
20707 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
20708 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
20710 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
20712 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
20713 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
20714 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
20717 @item gnus-use-full-window
20718 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
20719 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
20720 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
20721 want to read them anyway.
20723 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
20724 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
20727 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
20728 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
20729 lines, which might save some time.
20733 @node Little Disk Space
20734 @subsection Little Disk Space
20737 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
20738 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
20742 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
20743 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
20744 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
20745 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20748 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
20749 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
20750 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
20751 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20754 @item gnus-save-killed-list
20755 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
20756 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
20757 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
20758 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
20764 @subsection Slow Machine
20765 @cindex slow machine
20767 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
20768 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
20770 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
20771 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
20773 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
20774 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
20775 summary buffer faster.
20779 @node Troubleshooting
20780 @section Troubleshooting
20781 @cindex troubleshooting
20783 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
20791 Make sure your computer is switched on.
20794 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
20795 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
20799 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
20800 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
20801 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
20802 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
20803 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
20806 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
20810 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
20811 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
20812 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
20813 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
20814 something like that.
20817 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
20820 @cindex reporting bugs
20822 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
20824 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
20825 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
20826 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
20827 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
20829 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
20830 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
20831 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
20832 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
20835 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
20836 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
20837 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
20838 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
20839 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
20840 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
20842 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
20843 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
20844 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
20847 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
20848 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
20850 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
20851 @cindex ding mailing list
20852 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
20853 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
20857 @node Gnus Reference Guide
20858 @section Gnus Reference Guide
20860 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
20861 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
20862 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
20863 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
20866 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
20867 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
20868 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
20869 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
20870 and general methods of operation.
20873 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
20874 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
20875 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
20876 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
20877 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
20878 * Group Info:: The group info format.
20879 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
20880 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
20881 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
20885 @node Gnus Utility Functions
20886 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
20887 @cindex Gnus utility functions
20888 @cindex utility functions
20890 @cindex internal variables
20892 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
20893 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
20894 Below is a list of the most common ones.
20898 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
20899 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
20900 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
20902 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
20903 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
20904 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
20906 @item gnus-group-real-name
20907 @findex gnus-group-real-name
20908 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
20911 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
20912 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
20913 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
20914 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
20916 @item gnus-get-info
20917 @findex gnus-get-info
20918 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
20920 @item gnus-group-unread
20921 @findex gnus-group-unread
20922 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
20926 @findex gnus-active
20927 The active entry for @var{group}.
20929 @item gnus-set-active
20930 @findex gnus-set-active
20931 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
20933 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
20934 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
20935 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
20938 @item gnus-continuum-version
20939 @findex gnus-continuum-version
20940 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
20941 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
20944 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
20945 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
20946 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
20948 @item gnus-news-group-p
20949 @findex gnus-news-group-p
20950 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
20952 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
20953 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
20954 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
20956 @item gnus-server-to-method
20957 @findex gnus-server-to-method
20958 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
20960 @item gnus-server-equal
20961 @findex gnus-server-equal
20962 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
20964 @item gnus-group-native-p
20965 @findex gnus-group-native-p
20966 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
20968 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
20969 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
20970 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
20972 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
20973 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
20974 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
20976 @item group-group-find-parameter
20977 @findex group-group-find-parameter
20978 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
20979 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
20981 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
20982 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
20983 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
20985 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
20986 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
20987 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
20989 @item gnus-check-backend-function
20990 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
20991 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
20992 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
20995 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
20999 @item gnus-read-method
21000 @findex gnus-read-method
21001 Prompts the user for a select method.
21006 @node Backend Interface
21007 @subsection Backend Interface
21009 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21010 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21011 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
21012 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21013 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21014 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21016 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
21017 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21018 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
21019 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21020 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21021 been opened, the function should fail.
21023 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21024 name. Take this example:
21028 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21029 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21032 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21033 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21035 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21036 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21037 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21039 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21040 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21041 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21043 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21044 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21045 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21046 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21047 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21048 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21051 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
21052 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
21053 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21054 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21057 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
21060 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21063 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21064 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21065 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21066 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
21067 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21068 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
21072 @node Required Backend Functions
21073 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
21077 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21079 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21080 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
21081 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
21082 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21084 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21085 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21086 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21087 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21089 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21090 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21091 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21092 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21093 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
21094 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21095 number, do maximum fetches.
21097 Here's an example HEAD:
21100 221 1056 Article retrieved.
21101 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
21102 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
21103 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
21104 Subject: Re: Something very droll
21105 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
21106 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
21108 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
21109 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
21110 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
21114 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
21115 these in the data buffer.
21117 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
21121 head = error / valid-head
21122 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
21123 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
21124 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
21125 header = <text> eol
21128 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
21129 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
21133 nov-buffer = *nov-line
21134 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
21135 field = <text except TAB>
21138 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
21142 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
21144 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
21145 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
21147 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
21148 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
21149 server. In fact, it should do so.
21151 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
21152 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
21155 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
21157 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
21158 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
21161 There should be no data returned.
21164 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
21166 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
21167 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
21168 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
21169 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
21171 There should be no data returned.
21174 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
21176 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
21177 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
21178 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
21179 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
21181 There should be no data returned.
21184 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
21186 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
21188 There should be no data returned.
21191 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
21193 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
21194 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
21195 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
21196 it would be nice if that were possible.
21198 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
21199 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
21200 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
21201 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
21202 into its article buffer.
21204 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
21205 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
21206 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
21207 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
21208 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
21209 on successful article retrieval.
21212 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
21214 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
21215 making @var{group} the current group.
21217 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
21220 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
21223 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
21226 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
21227 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
21228 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
21229 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
21230 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
21231 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
21232 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
21233 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
21236 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
21237 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
21238 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
21242 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21244 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
21245 a no-op on most backends.
21247 There should be no data returned.
21250 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
21252 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
21255 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
21258 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
21259 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
21262 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
21263 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
21266 active-file = *active-line
21267 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
21269 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
21272 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
21273 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
21274 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
21277 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
21279 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
21280 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
21281 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
21282 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
21283 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
21284 clear if the posting could not be completed.
21286 There should be no result data from this function.
21291 @node Optional Backend Functions
21292 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
21296 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
21298 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
21299 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
21300 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
21302 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
21303 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
21304 former is in the same format as the data from
21305 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
21306 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
21309 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
21313 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
21315 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
21316 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
21317 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
21318 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
21319 should return the (altered) group info.
21321 There should be no result data from this function.
21324 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
21326 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
21327 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
21328 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
21329 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
21330 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
21331 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
21332 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
21333 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
21335 There should be no result data from this function.
21338 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
21340 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
21341 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
21342 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
21343 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
21344 propagate the mark information to the server.
21346 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
21349 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
21352 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
21353 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
21354 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
21355 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
21356 mentioned) marks. MARK is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
21357 Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
21358 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
21359 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
21360 not limit itself to these.
21362 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
21363 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
21364 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
21365 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
21367 An example action list:
21370 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
21371 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
21372 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
21375 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
21376 mark on (currently not used for anything).
21378 There should be no result data from this function.
21380 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
21382 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
21383 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
21384 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
21385 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
21386 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
21388 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
21389 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
21390 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
21393 There should be no result data from this function.
21396 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
21398 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
21399 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
21400 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
21401 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
21402 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
21403 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
21404 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
21406 There should be no result data from this function.
21409 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
21411 The result data from this function should be a description of
21415 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
21417 description = <text>
21420 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
21422 The result data from this function should be the description of all
21423 groups available on the server.
21426 description-buffer = *description-line
21430 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
21432 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
21433 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
21434 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
21437 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21439 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
21441 There should be no return data.
21444 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
21446 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
21447 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
21448 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
21449 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
21450 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
21453 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
21456 There should be no result data returned.
21459 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
21462 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
21463 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
21465 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
21466 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
21467 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
21468 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
21469 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
21470 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
21472 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
21473 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
21476 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
21477 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
21479 There should be no data returned.
21482 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
21484 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
21485 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
21486 this function in short order.
21488 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
21489 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
21491 There should be no data returned.
21494 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
21496 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
21497 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
21499 There should be no data returned.
21502 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
21504 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
21505 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
21506 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
21508 There should be no data returned.
21511 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
21513 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
21514 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
21516 There should be no data returned.
21521 @node Error Messaging
21522 @subsubsection Error Messaging
21524 @findex nnheader-report
21525 @findex nnheader-get-report
21526 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
21527 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
21528 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
21529 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
21530 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
21531 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
21534 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
21536 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
21539 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
21540 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
21541 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
21542 takes one argument---the server symbol.
21544 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
21545 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
21546 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
21549 @node Writing New Backends
21550 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
21552 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
21553 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
21554 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
21555 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
21556 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
21559 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
21560 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
21561 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
21563 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
21564 package called @code{nnoo}.
21566 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
21567 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
21573 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
21574 parameters. For instance:
21577 (nnoo-declare nndir
21581 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
21582 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
21585 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
21586 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
21587 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
21589 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
21590 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
21591 a function in those backends.
21594 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
21595 "Where nndir will look for groups."
21596 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
21599 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
21600 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
21601 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
21603 @item nnoo-define-basics
21604 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
21608 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
21612 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
21613 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
21614 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
21616 @item nnoo-map-functions
21617 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
21618 functions from the parent backends.
21621 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
21622 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
21623 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
21626 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
21627 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
21628 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
21629 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
21632 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
21633 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
21634 haven't already been defined.
21640 nnmh-request-newgroups)
21644 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
21645 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
21646 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
21651 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
21654 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
21655 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
21659 (require 'nnheader)
21663 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
21665 (nnoo-declare nndir
21668 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
21669 "Where nndir will look for groups."
21670 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
21672 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
21673 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
21676 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
21677 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
21678 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
21680 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
21681 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
21683 ;;; Interface functions.
21685 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
21687 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
21688 (setq nndir-directory
21689 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
21691 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
21692 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
21693 (push `(nndir-current-group
21694 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
21696 (push `(nndir-top-directory
21697 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
21699 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
21701 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
21702 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
21703 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
21704 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
21705 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
21709 nnmh-status-message
21711 nnmh-request-newgroups))
21717 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
21718 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
21720 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
21721 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
21722 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
21723 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
21725 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
21726 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
21731 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
21734 The abilities can be:
21738 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
21740 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
21742 This backend supports both mail and news.
21744 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
21747 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
21748 articles and groups.
21750 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
21751 true for almost all backends.
21752 @item prompt-address
21753 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
21754 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
21755 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
21759 @node Mail-like Backends
21760 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
21762 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
21763 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
21764 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
21765 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
21768 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
21769 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
21770 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
21773 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
21774 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
21777 This function takes four parameters.
21781 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
21784 @item exit-function
21785 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
21787 @item temp-directory
21788 Where the temporary files should be stored.
21791 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
21792 performed for one group only.
21795 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
21796 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
21797 find the article number assigned to this article.
21799 The function also uses the following variables:
21800 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
21801 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
21802 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
21803 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
21807 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
21808 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
21812 @node Score File Syntax
21813 @subsection Score File Syntax
21815 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
21816 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
21817 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
21819 Here's a typical score file:
21823 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
21830 BNF definition of a score file:
21833 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
21834 element = rule / atom
21835 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
21836 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
21837 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
21838 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
21840 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
21841 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
21842 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
21843 date-header = "date"
21844 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
21845 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
21846 score = "nil" / <integer>
21847 date = "nil" / <natural number>
21848 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
21849 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
21850 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
21851 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
21852 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
21853 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
21854 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
21855 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
21856 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
21857 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
21858 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
21859 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
21860 exclude-files / read-only / touched
21861 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
21862 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
21863 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
21864 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
21865 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
21866 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
21867 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
21868 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
21869 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
21870 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
21871 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
21872 eval = "eval" space <form>
21873 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
21876 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
21879 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
21880 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
21881 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
21882 one looong line, then that's ok.
21884 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
21885 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
21889 @subsection Headers
21891 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
21892 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
21893 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
21894 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
21896 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
21897 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
21898 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
21899 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
21900 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
21901 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
21902 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
21904 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
21905 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
21906 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
21907 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
21908 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
21910 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
21911 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
21917 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
21918 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
21920 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
21921 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
21922 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
21923 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
21925 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
21929 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
21932 is transformed into
21935 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
21938 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
21939 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
21942 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
21945 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
21946 is slightly tricky:
21949 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
21955 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
21958 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
21964 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
21971 and is equal to the previous range.
21973 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
21974 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
21975 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
21979 range = simple-range / normal-range
21980 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
21981 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
21982 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
21983 number *[ " " contents ]
21986 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
21987 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
21988 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
21989 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
21990 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
21995 @subsection Group Info
21997 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
21998 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
21999 describes the group.
22001 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22002 second is a more complex one:
22005 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22007 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22008 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22010 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22013 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22014 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22015 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22016 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22017 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22018 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22019 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22020 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22021 this section is about.
22023 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22024 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22025 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22027 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22030 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22031 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22032 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22033 group = quote <string> quote
22034 ralevel = rank / level
22035 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22036 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22037 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22039 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22040 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22041 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22042 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22045 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22046 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22049 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22050 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22053 @item gnus-info-group
22054 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22055 @findex gnus-info-group
22056 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22057 Get/set the group name.
22059 @item gnus-info-rank
22060 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22061 @findex gnus-info-rank
22062 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22063 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22065 @item gnus-info-level
22066 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22067 @findex gnus-info-level
22068 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22069 Get/set the group level.
22071 @item gnus-info-score
22072 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22073 @findex gnus-info-score
22074 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22075 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22077 @item gnus-info-read
22078 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22079 @findex gnus-info-read
22080 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22081 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22083 @item gnus-info-marks
22084 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
22085 @findex gnus-info-marks
22086 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
22087 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
22089 @item gnus-info-method
22090 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
22091 @findex gnus-info-method
22092 @findex gnus-info-set-method
22093 Get/set the group select method.
22095 @item gnus-info-params
22096 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
22097 @findex gnus-info-params
22098 @findex gnus-info-set-params
22099 Get/set the group parameters.
22102 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
22103 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
22105 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
22106 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
22107 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
22108 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
22111 @node Extended Interactive
22112 @subsection Extended Interactive
22113 @cindex interactive
22114 @findex gnus-interactive
22116 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
22117 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
22118 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
22121 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
22122 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
22127 The best thing to do would have been to implement
22128 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
22129 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
22130 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
22131 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
22132 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
22133 @code{interactive}.
22135 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
22140 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
22141 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
22145 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
22146 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
22147 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
22150 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
22154 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
22158 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
22164 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
22165 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
22169 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
22170 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
22171 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
22173 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
22174 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
22175 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
22176 Gnus, that's very useful.
22178 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
22179 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
22180 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
22181 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
22182 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
22183 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
22184 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
22185 following function:
22188 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
22192 (,function ,@@args))
22196 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
22197 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
22198 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
22201 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
22202 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
22203 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
22205 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
22206 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
22207 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
22210 @node Various File Formats
22211 @subsection Various File Formats
22214 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
22215 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
22219 @node Active File Format
22220 @subsubsection Active File Format
22222 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
22223 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
22226 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
22229 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
22230 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
22231 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
22232 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
22233 no.general 1000 900 y
22236 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
22239 active = *group-line
22240 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
22241 group = <non-white-space string>
22243 high-number = <non-negative integer>
22244 low-number = <positive integer>
22245 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
22248 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
22249 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
22252 @node Newsgroups File Format
22253 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
22255 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
22256 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
22257 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
22260 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
22261 Here's the definition:
22265 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
22266 group = <non-white-space string>
22268 description = <string>
22273 @node Emacs for Heathens
22274 @section Emacs for Heathens
22276 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
22277 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
22278 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
22279 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
22280 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
22281 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
22282 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
22286 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
22287 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
22292 @subsection Keystrokes
22296 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
22299 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
22302 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
22303 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
22304 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
22305 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
22306 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
22307 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
22309 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
22310 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
22311 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
22312 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
22313 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
22314 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
22315 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
22317 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
22318 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
22319 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
22320 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
22321 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
22322 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
22323 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
22325 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
22326 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
22327 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
22328 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
22329 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
22335 @subsection Emacs Lisp
22337 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
22338 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
22339 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
22340 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
22342 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
22343 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
22344 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
22345 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
22346 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
22347 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
22348 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
22351 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
22352 write the following:
22355 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
22358 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
22359 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
22360 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
22363 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
22364 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
22365 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
22366 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
22367 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
22369 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
22370 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
22371 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
22375 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
22379 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
22382 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
22383 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
22386 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
22389 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
22390 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
22393 @include gnus-faq.texi
22414 % LocalWords: Backend BNF mucho Backends backends detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
22415 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
22416 % LocalWords: nnmbox backend newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
22417 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
22418 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref