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4 @settitle T-gnus 6.14 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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266 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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275 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
278 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
279 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
280 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
281 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
282 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
283 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
286 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
287 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
288 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
296 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
298 Copyright (C) 1995,96,97,98,99,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
300 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
301 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
302 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
303 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
304 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
305 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
308 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
309 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
310 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
316 @title T-gnus 6.14 Manual
318 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
321 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
322 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
324 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
325 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
326 are preserved on all copies.
328 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
329 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
330 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
331 permission notice identical to this one.
333 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
334 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
343 @top The gnus Newsreader
347 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
348 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
349 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
352 T-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So T-gnus supports
353 your right to read strange messages including big images or other
354 various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
355 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
356 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
357 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
359 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.14.
370 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
371 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
373 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
374 being accused of plagiarism:
376 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
377 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
378 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
379 can even read news with it!
381 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
382 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
383 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
384 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
385 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
391 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
392 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
393 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
394 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
395 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
396 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
397 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
398 * Various:: General purpose settings.
399 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
400 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
401 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
402 * Key Index:: Key Index.
405 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
409 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
410 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
411 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
412 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
413 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
414 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
415 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
416 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
417 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
418 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
419 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
423 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
424 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
425 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
429 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
430 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
431 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
432 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
433 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
434 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
435 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
436 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
437 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
438 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
439 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
440 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
441 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
442 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
443 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
444 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
445 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
449 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
450 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
451 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
455 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
456 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
457 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
458 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
459 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
463 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
464 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
465 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
466 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
470 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
471 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
472 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
473 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
474 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
475 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
476 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
477 * Threading:: How threads are made.
478 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
479 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
480 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
481 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
482 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
483 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
484 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
485 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
486 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
487 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
488 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
489 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
490 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
491 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
492 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
493 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
494 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
495 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
496 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
497 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
499 Summary Buffer Format
501 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
502 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
503 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
504 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
508 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
509 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
511 Reply, Followup and Post
513 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
514 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
515 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
516 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
520 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
521 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
522 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
523 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
524 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
525 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
529 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
530 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
532 Customizing Threading
534 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
535 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
536 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
537 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
541 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
542 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
543 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
544 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
545 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
546 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
550 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
551 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
552 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
556 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
557 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
558 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
559 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
560 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
561 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
562 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
563 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
565 Alternative Approaches
567 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
568 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
570 Various Summary Stuff
572 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
573 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
574 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
575 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
579 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
580 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
581 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
582 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
583 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
587 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
588 * Post:: Posting and following up.
589 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
590 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
591 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
592 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
593 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
594 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
598 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
599 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
600 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
601 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
602 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
603 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
604 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
608 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
609 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
610 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
611 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
612 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
613 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
614 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
618 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
619 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
623 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
624 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
625 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
626 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
627 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
628 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
629 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
630 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
631 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
632 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
633 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
634 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
635 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
639 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
640 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
641 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
643 Choosing a Mail Backend
645 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
646 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
647 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
648 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
649 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
650 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
654 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
655 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
656 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
657 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
661 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
662 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
663 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
664 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
665 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
666 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
670 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
674 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
675 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
676 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
680 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
681 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
682 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
686 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
687 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
691 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
692 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
693 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
694 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
695 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
696 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
697 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
698 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
699 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
700 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
704 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
705 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
706 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
710 * Group Agent Commands::
711 * Summary Agent Commands::
712 * Server Agent Commands::
716 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
717 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
718 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
719 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
720 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
721 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
722 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
723 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
724 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
725 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
726 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
727 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
728 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
729 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
730 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
734 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
735 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
736 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
737 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
741 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
742 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
743 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
747 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
748 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
749 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
750 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
751 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
752 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
753 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
754 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
755 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
756 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
757 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
758 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
759 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
760 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
761 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
762 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
763 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
764 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
768 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
769 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
770 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
771 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
772 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
776 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
777 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
778 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
779 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
783 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
784 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
785 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
786 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
787 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
791 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
792 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
793 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
794 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
795 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
796 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
797 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
798 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
802 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
803 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
804 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
805 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
806 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
807 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
808 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
809 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
810 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
811 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
815 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
816 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
817 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
818 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
822 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
823 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
824 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
825 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
829 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
830 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
831 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
832 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
833 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
834 * Group Info:: The group info format.
835 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
836 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
837 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
841 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
842 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
843 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
844 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
845 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
846 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
850 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
851 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
855 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
856 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
862 @chapter Starting gnus
867 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
868 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
871 @findex gnus-other-frame
872 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
873 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
874 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
876 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
877 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
878 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
880 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
881 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
884 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
885 * The First Time:: What does gnus do the first time you start it?
886 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
887 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one gnus active at a time.
888 * Fetching a Group:: Starting gnus just to read a group.
889 * New Groups:: What is gnus supposed to do with new groups?
890 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
891 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
892 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
893 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
894 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
898 @node Finding the News
899 @section Finding the News
902 @vindex gnus-select-method
904 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
905 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
906 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
907 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
910 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
911 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
914 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
917 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
920 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
923 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
924 certainly be much faster.
926 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
928 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
929 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
930 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
931 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
932 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
933 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
935 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
936 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
937 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
938 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
940 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
941 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
942 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
943 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
944 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
945 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
946 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
947 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
948 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
951 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
953 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
954 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
955 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
956 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
957 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
958 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
960 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
962 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
963 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
964 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
965 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
966 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
967 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
970 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
971 would typically set this variable to
974 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
979 @section The First Time
980 @cindex first time usage
982 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
983 be subscribed by default.
985 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
986 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
987 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
988 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
991 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
992 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
993 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
995 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
996 help you with most common problems.
998 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
999 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1003 @node The Server is Down
1004 @section The Server is Down
1005 @cindex server errors
1007 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1008 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1009 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1011 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1012 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1013 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1014 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1015 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1016 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1017 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1019 @findex gnus-no-server
1020 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1022 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1023 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1024 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1025 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1026 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1027 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1032 @section Slave Gnusae
1035 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1036 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1037 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1038 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1040 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1041 @code{.newsrc} file.
1043 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1044 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1045 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1046 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1047 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1048 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1049 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1051 Anyways, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1052 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1053 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1054 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1055 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1056 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1057 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1058 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1060 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1061 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1064 @node Fetching a Group
1065 @section Fetching a Group
1066 @cindex fetching a group
1068 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1069 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1070 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1071 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1072 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1073 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1079 @cindex subscription
1081 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1082 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1083 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1084 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1085 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1086 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1087 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1088 @code{always}, then gnus will query the backends for new groups even
1089 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1092 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1093 * Subscription Methods:: What gnus should do with new groups.
1094 * Filtering New Groups:: Making gnus ignore certain new groups.
1098 @node Checking New Groups
1099 @subsection Checking New Groups
1101 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1102 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1103 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1104 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1105 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1106 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1107 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1108 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1109 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1110 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1112 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1113 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1114 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1115 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1116 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1117 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1118 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1119 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1120 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1121 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1122 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1124 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1125 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1126 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1127 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1128 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1129 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1132 @node Subscription Methods
1133 @subsection Subscription Methods
1135 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1136 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1137 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1139 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1140 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1142 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1146 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1147 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1148 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1149 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1150 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1152 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1153 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1154 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1155 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1157 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1158 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1159 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1161 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1162 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1163 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1164 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1165 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1166 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1167 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1168 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1169 up. Or something like that.
1171 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1172 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1173 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1174 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1175 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1177 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1178 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1179 Kill all new groups.
1181 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1182 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1183 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1184 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1185 topic parameter that looks like
1191 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1194 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1199 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1200 A closely related variable is
1201 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1202 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1203 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1204 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1207 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1208 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1209 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1210 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1213 @node Filtering New Groups
1214 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1216 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1217 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1218 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1221 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1224 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1225 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1226 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1227 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1228 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1229 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1230 subscribing these groups.
1231 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1232 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1234 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1235 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1236 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1237 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1238 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1239 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1240 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1241 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1243 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1244 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1245 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1246 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1247 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1248 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1249 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1250 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1251 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1252 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1254 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1255 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1258 @node Changing Servers
1259 @section Changing Servers
1260 @cindex changing servers
1262 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1263 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1264 very flaky and you want to use another.
1266 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1267 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1271 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1272 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1273 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1274 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1277 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1278 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1279 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1280 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1282 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1283 @findex gnus-change-server
1284 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1285 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1286 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1287 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1288 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1290 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1291 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1292 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1293 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1294 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1296 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1297 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1298 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1299 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1300 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1301 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1303 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1304 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1305 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1309 @section Startup Files
1310 @cindex startup files
1315 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1316 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1318 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1319 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1320 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1321 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1322 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1323 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1324 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1326 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1327 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1328 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1329 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1330 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1331 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1333 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1334 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1335 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1336 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1337 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1338 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1339 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1340 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1341 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1342 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1344 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1345 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1346 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1347 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1348 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1349 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1350 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1351 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1352 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1353 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1354 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1355 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1357 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1358 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1359 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1360 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1362 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1363 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1364 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1365 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1366 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1367 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1368 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1369 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1370 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1371 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1374 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1375 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1377 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1378 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1381 @vindex gnus-init-file
1382 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1383 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1384 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1385 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1386 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1387 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1388 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1389 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1390 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1396 @cindex dribble file
1399 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1400 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1401 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1402 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1403 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1406 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1407 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1410 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1411 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1412 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1414 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1415 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1416 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1417 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1418 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1419 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1421 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1422 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1423 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1426 @node The Active File
1427 @section The Active File
1429 @cindex ignored groups
1431 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1432 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1433 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1435 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1436 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1437 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1438 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1439 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1440 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1441 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1444 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1445 @c if you set it to anything else.
1447 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1449 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1450 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1451 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1453 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1454 you actually subscribe to.
1456 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1457 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1458 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1459 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1461 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1462 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1463 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1464 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1465 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1466 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1468 Some news servers (Leafnode and old versions of INN, for instance) do
1469 not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these servers, @code{nil}
1470 is probably the most efficient value for this variable.
1472 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1473 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1474 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1475 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1476 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1477 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1479 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1480 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1482 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1483 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1485 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1486 secondary select methods.
1489 @node Startup Variables
1490 @section Startup Variables
1494 @item gnus-load-hook
1495 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1496 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1497 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1498 times you start gnus.
1500 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1501 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1502 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1504 @item gnus-startup-hook
1505 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1506 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1508 @item gnus-started-hook
1509 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1510 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1513 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1514 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1515 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1516 generating the group buffer.
1518 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1519 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1520 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1521 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1522 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1523 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1524 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1525 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1527 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1528 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1529 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1530 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1531 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1532 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1534 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1535 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1536 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1538 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1539 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1540 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1542 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1543 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1544 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1545 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1550 @node The Group Buffer
1551 @chapter The Group Buffer
1552 @cindex group buffer
1554 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1555 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1556 long as gnus is active.
1560 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1561 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1562 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1563 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1564 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1565 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1566 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1567 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1573 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1574 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1575 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1576 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1577 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1578 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1579 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1580 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1581 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1582 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1583 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1584 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1585 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1586 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1587 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1588 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1589 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1593 @node Group Buffer Format
1594 @section Group Buffer Format
1597 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1598 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1599 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1603 @node Group Line Specification
1604 @subsection Group Line Specification
1605 @cindex group buffer format
1607 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1608 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1610 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1613 25: news.announce.newusers
1614 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1619 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1620 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1621 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1622 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1624 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1625 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1626 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1627 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1628 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1629 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1631 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1633 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1634 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1635 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1636 never examined by gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1639 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1640 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1641 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1643 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1648 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1651 Whether the group is subscribed.
1654 Level of subscribedness.
1657 Number of unread articles.
1660 Number of dormant articles.
1663 Number of ticked articles.
1666 Number of read articles.
1669 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1670 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1673 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1676 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1685 Newsgroup description.
1688 @samp{m} if moderated.
1691 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1700 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1704 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1707 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1708 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1709 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1710 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1711 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1714 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1716 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1720 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1724 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1725 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1726 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1727 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1728 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1729 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1734 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1735 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1736 group, or a bogus native group.
1739 @node Group Modeline Specification
1740 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1741 @cindex group modeline
1743 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1744 The mode line can be changed by setting
1745 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1746 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1750 The native news server.
1752 The native select method.
1756 @node Group Highlighting
1757 @subsection Group Highlighting
1758 @cindex highlighting
1759 @cindex group highlighting
1761 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1762 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1763 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1764 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1765 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1767 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1771 (cond (window-system
1772 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1773 (defface my-group-face-1
1774 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1775 (defface my-group-face-2
1776 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1777 (defface my-group-face-3
1778 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1779 (defface my-group-face-4
1780 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1781 (defface my-group-face-5
1782 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1784 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1785 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1786 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1787 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1788 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1789 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1792 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1794 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1801 The number of unread articles in the group.
1805 Whether the group is a mail group.
1807 The level of the group.
1809 The score of the group.
1811 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1813 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1814 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1816 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1817 topic being inserted.
1820 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1821 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1822 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1824 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1825 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1826 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1827 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1828 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1831 @node Group Maneuvering
1832 @section Group Maneuvering
1833 @cindex group movement
1835 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1836 expected, hopefully.
1842 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1843 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1844 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1850 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1851 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1852 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1856 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1857 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1861 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1862 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1866 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1867 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1868 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1872 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1873 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1874 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1877 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1883 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1884 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1885 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1890 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1891 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1892 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1896 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1897 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1898 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1901 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1902 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1903 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1904 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1908 @node Selecting a Group
1909 @section Selecting a Group
1910 @cindex group selection
1915 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1916 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1917 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1918 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1919 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1920 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1921 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1922 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1923 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1924 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1928 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1929 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1930 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1931 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1932 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1936 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1937 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1938 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1939 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1940 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1941 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1942 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1943 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1944 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1945 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1948 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1949 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1950 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1951 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1952 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1955 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1956 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1957 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1958 doing any processing of its contents
1959 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1960 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1961 manner will have no permanent effects.
1965 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1966 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
1967 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1968 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
1969 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1970 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1971 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1972 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1975 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1976 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1977 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1978 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1983 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1984 full summary buffer.
1987 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1990 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1995 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
1996 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
1997 Useful functions include:
2000 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2001 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2002 don't select the article.
2004 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2005 Select the first unread article.
2007 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2008 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2012 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2013 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2014 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2018 @node Subscription Commands
2019 @section Subscription Commands
2020 @cindex subscription
2028 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2029 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2030 Toggle subscription to the current group
2031 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2037 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2038 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2039 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2040 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2046 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2047 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2048 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2054 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2055 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2058 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2059 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2060 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2061 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2062 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2068 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2069 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2073 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2074 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2077 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2078 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2079 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2080 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2081 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2082 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2083 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2084 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2085 @file{.newsrc} file.
2089 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2099 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2100 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2101 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2102 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2103 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2104 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2109 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2110 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2111 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2115 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2116 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2117 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2119 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2120 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2121 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2122 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2123 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2124 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2131 @section Group Levels
2135 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2136 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2137 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2138 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2139 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2141 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2147 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2148 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2149 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2150 prompted for a level.
2153 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2154 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2155 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2156 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2157 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2158 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2159 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2160 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2161 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2162 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2163 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2164 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2165 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2166 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2167 reasons of efficiency.
2169 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2170 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2172 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2173 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2174 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2176 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2177 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2178 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2179 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2180 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2181 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2182 relevant valid ranges.
2184 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2185 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2186 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2187 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2188 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2189 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2192 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2193 one with the best level.
2195 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2196 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2197 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2200 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2201 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2202 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2203 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2206 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2207 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2208 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2209 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2211 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2212 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2213 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2214 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2215 to 5. The default is 6.
2219 @section Group Score
2224 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2225 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2226 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2229 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2230 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2231 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2232 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2233 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2234 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2235 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2236 least significant part.))
2238 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2239 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2240 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2241 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2242 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2243 action after each summary exit, you can add
2244 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2245 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2246 slow things down somewhat.
2249 @node Marking Groups
2250 @section Marking Groups
2251 @cindex marking groups
2253 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2254 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2255 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2256 bidding on those groups.
2258 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2259 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2260 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2268 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2269 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2275 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2276 Remove the mark from the current group
2277 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2281 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2282 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2286 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2287 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2291 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2292 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2296 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2297 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2298 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2301 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2303 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2304 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2305 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2306 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2307 the command to be executed.
2310 @node Foreign Groups
2311 @section Foreign Groups
2312 @cindex foreign groups
2314 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2315 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2316 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2317 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2324 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2325 @cindex making groups
2326 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2327 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2328 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2332 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2333 @cindex renaming groups
2334 Rename the current group to something else
2335 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2336 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2342 @findex gnus-group-customize
2343 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2347 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2348 @cindex renaming groups
2349 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2350 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2354 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2355 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2356 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2360 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2361 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2362 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2366 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2368 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2369 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2374 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2375 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2379 @cindex (ding) archive
2380 @cindex archive group
2381 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2382 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2383 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2384 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2385 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2386 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2387 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2391 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2393 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2394 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2395 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2396 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2400 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2402 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2403 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2404 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2408 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2409 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2411 Make a group based on some file or other
2412 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2413 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2414 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2415 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2416 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2417 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2418 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2422 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2423 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2424 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2425 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2429 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2434 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2435 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2436 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2437 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2438 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2439 @xref{Web Searches}.
2441 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2442 to a particular group by using a match string like
2443 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2446 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2447 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2448 This function will delete the current group
2449 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2450 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2451 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2452 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2453 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2457 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2458 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2459 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2463 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2464 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2465 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2468 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2471 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2472 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2473 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2474 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2475 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2476 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2480 @node Group Parameters
2481 @section Group Parameters
2482 @cindex group parameters
2484 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2485 Here's an example group parameter list:
2488 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2492 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2493 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2494 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2495 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2497 The following group parameters can be used:
2502 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2505 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2508 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2509 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2510 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2511 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2512 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2514 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2515 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2516 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2517 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2518 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2519 list address instead.
2523 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2526 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2529 It is totally ignored
2530 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2531 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2533 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2534 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2535 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2536 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2537 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2539 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2540 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2541 sending the message.
2545 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2546 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2547 of whether it has any unread articles.
2549 @item broken-reply-to
2550 @cindex broken-reply-to
2551 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2552 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2553 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2554 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2555 broken behavior. So there!
2559 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2560 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2564 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2565 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2566 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2571 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2572 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2573 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2574 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2575 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2576 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2577 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2581 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2582 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2583 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2586 @cindex total-expire
2587 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2588 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2589 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2590 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2595 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2596 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2597 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2598 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2599 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2600 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2603 @cindex score file group parameter
2604 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2605 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2606 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2609 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2610 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2611 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2612 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2615 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2616 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2617 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2618 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2621 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2622 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2626 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2629 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2634 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2635 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2636 gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2640 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2641 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2642 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2644 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2645 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2646 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2647 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2648 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2649 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2650 @code{eval}ed there.
2652 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2653 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2654 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2655 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2656 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2659 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2660 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2661 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2662 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2663 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2665 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2666 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2667 like this in the group parameters:
2672 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2677 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2678 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2682 @node Listing Groups
2683 @section Listing Groups
2684 @cindex group listing
2686 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2694 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2695 List all groups that have unread articles
2696 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2697 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2698 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2699 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2706 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2707 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2708 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2709 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2710 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2711 unsubscribed groups).
2715 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2716 List all unread groups on a specific level
2717 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2718 with no unread articles.
2722 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2723 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2724 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2725 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2730 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2731 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2735 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2736 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2737 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2741 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2742 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2746 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2747 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2748 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2749 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2750 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2751 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2752 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2753 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2757 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2758 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2759 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2763 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2764 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2765 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2769 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2770 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2774 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2775 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2779 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2780 @cindex visible group parameter
2781 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2782 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2783 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2784 get the same effect.
2786 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2787 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2788 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2789 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2790 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2793 @node Sorting Groups
2794 @section Sorting Groups
2795 @cindex sorting groups
2797 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2798 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2799 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2800 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2801 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2802 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2807 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2808 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2809 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2811 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2812 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2813 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2815 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2816 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2817 Sort by group level.
2819 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2820 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2821 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2823 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2824 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2825 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2826 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2828 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2829 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2830 Sort by number of unread articles.
2832 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2833 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2834 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2839 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2840 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2844 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2845 some sorting criteria:
2849 @kindex G S a (Group)
2850 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2851 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2852 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2855 @kindex G S u (Group)
2856 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2857 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2858 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2861 @kindex G S l (Group)
2862 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2863 Sort the group buffer by group level
2864 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2867 @kindex G S v (Group)
2868 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2869 Sort the group buffer by group score
2870 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2873 @kindex G S r (Group)
2874 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2875 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2876 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2879 @kindex G S m (Group)
2880 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2881 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2882 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2886 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2887 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2889 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2890 commands will sort in reverse order.
2892 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2896 @kindex G P a (Group)
2897 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2898 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2899 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2902 @kindex G P u (Group)
2903 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2904 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2905 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2908 @kindex G P l (Group)
2909 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2910 Sort the groups by group level
2911 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2914 @kindex G P v (Group)
2915 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2916 Sort the groups by group score
2917 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2920 @kindex G P r (Group)
2921 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2922 Sort the groups by group rank
2923 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2926 @kindex G P m (Group)
2927 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2928 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2929 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2935 @node Group Maintenance
2936 @section Group Maintenance
2937 @cindex bogus groups
2942 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2943 Find bogus groups and delete them
2944 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2948 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2949 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2950 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2951 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2952 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2956 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2957 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2958 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2959 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2962 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2963 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2964 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2965 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2970 @node Browse Foreign Server
2971 @section Browse Foreign Server
2972 @cindex foreign servers
2973 @cindex browsing servers
2978 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2979 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2980 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2981 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2984 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2985 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2986 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2987 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2989 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2994 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2995 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2999 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3000 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3003 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3004 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3005 Enter the current group and display the first article
3006 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3009 @kindex RET (Browse)
3010 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3011 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3015 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3016 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3017 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3023 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3024 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3028 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3029 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3030 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3035 @section Exiting gnus
3036 @cindex exiting gnus
3038 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3043 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3044 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3045 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3046 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3050 @findex gnus-group-exit
3051 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3052 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3056 @findex gnus-group-quit
3057 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3058 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3061 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3062 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3063 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3064 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3065 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3070 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3071 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3072 trying to customize meta-variables.
3077 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3078 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3079 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3085 @section Group Topics
3088 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3089 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3090 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3091 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3092 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3093 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3097 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3098 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3109 2: alt.religion.emacs
3112 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3114 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3115 13: comp.sources.unix
3118 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3120 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3121 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3122 is a toggling command.)
3124 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3125 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
3126 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3127 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3130 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3131 the hook for the group mode:
3134 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3138 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3139 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3140 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3141 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3142 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3146 @node Topic Variables
3147 @subsection Topic Variables
3148 @cindex topic variables
3150 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
3151 really neat, I think.
3153 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3154 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3155 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3168 Number of groups in the topic.
3170 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3172 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3175 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3176 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3177 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3180 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3181 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3183 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3184 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3185 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3188 @node Topic Commands
3189 @subsection Topic Commands
3190 @cindex topic commands
3192 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3193 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3194 definitions slightly.
3200 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3201 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3202 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3206 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3207 Move the current group to some other topic
3208 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3209 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3213 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3214 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3218 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3219 Copy the current group to some other topic
3220 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3221 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3225 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3226 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3227 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3231 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3232 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3233 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3237 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3238 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3239 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3240 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3241 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3242 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3243 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3246 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3247 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3251 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3252 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3253 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3257 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3258 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3259 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3263 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3264 Toggle hiding empty topics
3265 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3269 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3270 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3271 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3274 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3275 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3276 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3277 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3281 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3283 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3284 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3285 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3286 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3289 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3290 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3291 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3292 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3296 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3298 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3299 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3300 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3301 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3302 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3303 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3306 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3307 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3308 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
3309 process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
3313 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3314 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3315 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3319 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3320 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3321 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3326 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3327 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3330 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3331 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3332 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3336 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3337 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3338 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3342 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3343 @cindex group parameters
3344 @cindex topic parameters
3346 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3347 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3353 @subsection Topic Sorting
3354 @cindex topic sorting
3356 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3362 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3363 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3364 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3365 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3368 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3369 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3370 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3371 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3374 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3375 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3376 Sort the current topic by group level
3377 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3380 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3381 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3382 Sort the current topic by group score
3383 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3386 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3387 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3388 Sort the current topic by group rank
3389 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3392 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3393 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3394 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
3395 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3399 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3402 @node Topic Topology
3403 @subsection Topic Topology
3404 @cindex topic topology
3407 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3413 2: alt.religion.emacs
3416 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3418 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3419 13: comp.sources.unix
3422 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3423 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3424 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3429 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3430 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3434 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3435 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3436 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3437 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3438 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3439 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3441 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3442 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3443 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3446 @node Topic Parameters
3447 @subsection Topic Parameters
3448 @cindex topic parameters
3450 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3451 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3452 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3454 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3459 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3460 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3461 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3466 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3467 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3468 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3469 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3475 2: alt.religion.emacs
3479 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3481 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3482 13: comp.sources.unix
3486 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3487 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3488 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3489 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3490 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3491 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3493 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3494 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3495 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3496 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3497 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3499 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3500 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3501 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3502 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3503 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3504 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3505 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3506 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3509 @node Misc Group Stuff
3510 @section Misc Group Stuff
3513 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3514 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and gnus.
3515 * Group Timestamp:: Making gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3516 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the gnus files.
3523 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3524 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3525 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
3529 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3530 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3531 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3535 @findex gnus-group-mail
3536 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3540 Variables for the group buffer:
3544 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3545 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3546 is called after the group buffer has been
3549 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3550 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3551 is called after the group buffer is
3552 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3555 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3556 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3557 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3558 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3560 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3561 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3562 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3563 whether they are empty or not.
3565 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3566 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3567 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3568 non-ASCII group names.
3572 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3573 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3576 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3577 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3578 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3579 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3583 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3584 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3589 @node Scanning New Messages
3590 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3591 @cindex new messages
3592 @cindex scanning new news
3598 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3599 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3600 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3601 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3602 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3603 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3608 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3609 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3610 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3611 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3612 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3613 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3614 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3616 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3617 @cindex activating groups
3619 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3620 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3625 @findex gnus-group-restart
3626 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3627 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3628 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
3632 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3633 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3635 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3636 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3640 @node Group Information
3641 @subsection Group Information
3642 @cindex group information
3643 @cindex information on groups
3650 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3651 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3654 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3655 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3656 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3657 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3658 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3659 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3660 for fetching the file.
3662 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
3663 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3667 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3669 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3670 @cindex describing groups
3671 @cindex group description
3672 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3673 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3674 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3678 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3679 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3680 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3687 @findex gnus-version
3688 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3692 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3693 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3696 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3699 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3700 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3704 @node Group Timestamp
3705 @subsection Group Timestamp
3707 @cindex group timestamps
3709 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
3710 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3711 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3714 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3717 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3719 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3720 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3723 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3724 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3727 This will result in lines looking like:
3730 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3731 0: custom 19961002T012713
3734 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3735 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3739 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3740 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3745 @subsection File Commands
3746 @cindex file commands
3752 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3753 @vindex gnus-init-file
3754 @cindex reading init file
3755 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3756 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3760 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3761 @cindex saving .newsrc
3762 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3763 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3764 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3767 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3768 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3769 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3774 @node The Summary Buffer
3775 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3776 @cindex summary buffer
3778 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3779 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3781 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3782 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3784 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3787 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3788 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3789 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3790 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3791 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3792 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3793 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3794 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3795 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3796 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3797 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3798 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3799 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3800 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3801 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3802 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3803 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3804 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3805 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3806 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3807 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3808 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3809 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3810 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3811 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3812 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3813 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3814 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3818 @node Summary Buffer Format
3819 @section Summary Buffer Format
3820 @cindex summary buffer format
3824 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3825 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3826 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3832 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3833 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3834 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3835 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3838 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3839 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3840 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3841 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3842 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3843 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
3844 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3845 fast, and too simplistic solution;
3846 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
3847 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
3848 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
3849 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
3850 other function instead:
3853 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3854 'mail-extract-address-components)
3857 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3858 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3859 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3860 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3863 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3864 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3866 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3867 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3868 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3869 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3870 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3872 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3874 The following format specification characters are understood:
3880 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
3881 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3883 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3884 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3885 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3887 Full @code{From} header.
3889 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3891 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3892 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3894 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3895 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3896 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3897 may be more thorough.
3899 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3902 Number of lines in the article.
3904 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
3905 methods (like nnfolder).
3907 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3909 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3910 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3912 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3913 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3915 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3916 for adopted articles.
3918 One space for each thread level.
3920 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3925 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3926 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3930 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3932 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3933 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3934 default level. If the difference between
3935 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3936 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3944 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3946 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3952 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3953 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3955 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3956 article has any children.
3962 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3963 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3964 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3965 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3966 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3967 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3970 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3971 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
3972 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3973 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3974 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3975 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3977 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3978 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3980 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
3983 @node To From Newsgroups
3984 @subsection To From Newsgroups
3988 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
3989 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
3990 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
3991 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
3992 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
3996 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
3997 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
3998 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4002 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4003 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4006 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4007 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4010 @findex gnus-extra-header
4011 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4012 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4013 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4016 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4020 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4021 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4022 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4023 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4024 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4025 headers are used instead.
4029 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4030 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4031 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4032 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4035 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4036 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4037 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4038 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4040 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
4043 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4045 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4046 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4047 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
4048 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4052 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4053 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4060 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4061 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4064 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4065 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4067 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4068 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4069 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4070 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4072 Here are the elements you can play with:
4078 Unprefixed group name.
4080 Current article number.
4082 Current article score.
4086 Number of unread articles in this group.
4088 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4091 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4092 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4093 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4094 and no unselected ones.
4096 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4097 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4099 Subject of the current article.
4101 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4103 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4105 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4107 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4109 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4111 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4115 @node Summary Highlighting
4116 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4120 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4121 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4122 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4123 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4124 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4126 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4127 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4128 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4129 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4131 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4132 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4133 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4134 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4136 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4137 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4138 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4139 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4140 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4141 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4144 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4145 ((> score default) . bold))
4147 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4148 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4152 @node Summary Maneuvering
4153 @section Summary Maneuvering
4154 @cindex summary movement
4156 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4157 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4159 None of these commands select articles.
4164 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4165 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4166 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4167 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4168 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4172 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4173 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4174 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4175 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4176 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4181 @kindex G j (Summary)
4182 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4183 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4184 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4187 @kindex G g (Summary)
4188 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4189 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4190 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4193 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4194 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4195 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4196 to the group buffer.
4198 Variables related to summary movement:
4202 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4203 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4204 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4205 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4206 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4207 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4208 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4209 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4210 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
4211 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4212 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4213 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4214 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4215 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4217 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4218 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4219 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4220 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4221 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4222 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4223 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4225 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4227 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4228 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4229 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4230 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4231 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4233 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4234 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4235 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4236 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4237 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4238 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4239 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4240 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4243 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4244 the given number of lines from the top.
4249 @node Choosing Articles
4250 @section Choosing Articles
4251 @cindex selecting articles
4254 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4255 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4259 @node Choosing Commands
4260 @subsection Choosing Commands
4262 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4263 and they all select and display an article.
4267 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4268 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4269 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4270 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4275 @kindex G n (Summary)
4276 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4277 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4278 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4283 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4284 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4285 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4290 @kindex G N (Summary)
4291 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4292 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4297 @kindex G P (Summary)
4298 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4299 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4302 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4303 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4304 Go to the next article with the same subject
4305 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4308 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4309 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4310 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4311 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4315 @kindex G f (Summary)
4317 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4318 Go to the first unread article
4319 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4323 @kindex G b (Summary)
4325 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4326 Go to the article with the highest score
4327 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4332 @kindex G l (Summary)
4333 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4334 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4337 @kindex G o (Summary)
4338 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4340 @cindex article history
4341 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4342 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4343 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4344 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4345 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4346 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4350 @node Choosing Variables
4351 @subsection Choosing Variables
4353 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4356 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4357 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4358 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4359 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4360 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4361 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4363 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4364 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4365 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4366 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4368 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4369 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4370 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4371 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4372 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4373 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4374 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4375 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4376 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4377 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4378 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4379 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4380 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4381 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4386 @node Paging the Article
4387 @section Scrolling the Article
4388 @cindex article scrolling
4393 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4394 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4395 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4396 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4397 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4400 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4401 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4402 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4405 @kindex RET (Summary)
4406 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4407 Scroll the current article one line forward
4408 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4411 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4412 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4413 Scroll the current article one line backward
4414 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4418 @kindex A g (Summary)
4420 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4421 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4422 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4423 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4424 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4425 the way it came from the server.
4427 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4428 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4429 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4432 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4437 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4442 @kindex A < (Summary)
4443 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4444 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4445 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4450 @kindex A > (Summary)
4451 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4452 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4456 @kindex A s (Summary)
4458 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4459 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4460 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4464 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4465 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4470 @node Reply Followup and Post
4471 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4474 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4475 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4476 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4477 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
4481 @node Summary Mail Commands
4482 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4484 @cindex composing mail
4486 Commands for composing a mail message:
4492 @kindex S r (Summary)
4494 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4495 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4496 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4497 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4498 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4503 @kindex S R (Summary)
4504 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4505 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4506 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4507 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4508 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4511 @kindex S w (Summary)
4512 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4513 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4514 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4515 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4516 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4519 @kindex S W (Summary)
4520 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4521 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4522 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4523 the process/prefix convention.
4527 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4528 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4529 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4530 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4531 Forward the current article to some other person
4532 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4533 headers of the forwarded article.
4538 @kindex S m (Summary)
4539 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4540 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4541 Send a mail to some other person
4542 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4545 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4546 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4547 @cindex bouncing mail
4548 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4549 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4550 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4551 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4552 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4553 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
4554 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4555 very well fail, though.
4558 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4559 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4560 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4561 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4562 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4563 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4564 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4565 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4566 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4567 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4569 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4570 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4571 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4572 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4573 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4575 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4576 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4579 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4580 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4581 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4582 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4583 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4586 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4587 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4588 @cindex crossposting
4589 @cindex excessive crossposting
4590 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4591 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4593 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4594 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4595 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4596 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4597 command understands the process/prefix convention
4598 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4602 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4605 @node Summary Post Commands
4606 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4608 @cindex composing news
4610 Commands for posting a news article:
4616 @kindex S p (Summary)
4617 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4618 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4619 Post an article to the current group
4620 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4625 @kindex S f (Summary)
4626 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4627 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4628 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4632 @kindex S F (Summary)
4634 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4635 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4636 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4637 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4638 process/prefix convention.
4641 @kindex S n (Summary)
4642 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4643 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4644 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4647 @kindex S N (Summary)
4648 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4649 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4650 message through mail and include the original message
4651 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4652 the process/prefix convention.
4655 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4656 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4657 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4658 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4659 headers of the forwarded article.
4662 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4663 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4665 @cindex making digests
4666 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4667 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4668 process/prefix convention.
4671 @kindex S u (Summary)
4672 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4673 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4674 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4675 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4678 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4681 @node Summary Message Commands
4682 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4686 @kindex S y (Summary)
4687 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4688 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4689 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4690 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4691 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4696 @node Canceling and Superseding
4697 @subsection Canceling Articles
4698 @cindex canceling articles
4699 @cindex superseding articles
4701 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4702 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4704 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4706 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4708 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4709 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4710 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4711 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4712 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4713 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4715 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4716 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4719 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4720 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4721 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4723 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4724 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4725 your original article.
4727 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4729 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4730 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4731 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4734 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4735 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4736 have posted almost the same article twice.
4738 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4739 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4740 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4741 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4742 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4743 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4744 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4745 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4746 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4747 canceled/superseded.
4749 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4752 @node Marking Articles
4753 @section Marking Articles
4754 @cindex article marking
4755 @cindex article ticking
4758 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4760 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4761 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4762 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4764 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4767 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4768 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4769 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4773 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4777 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4778 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4779 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4783 @node Unread Articles
4784 @subsection Unread Articles
4786 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4791 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4792 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4794 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4795 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4796 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4797 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4798 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4802 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4803 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4805 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4806 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4807 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4810 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4811 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4813 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4818 @subsection Read Articles
4819 @cindex expirable mark
4821 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4826 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4827 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4828 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4831 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4832 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4835 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4836 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4837 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4840 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4841 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4844 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4845 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4848 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4849 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4852 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4853 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4856 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4857 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4860 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4861 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4864 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4865 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4869 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4870 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4871 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4875 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4876 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4878 One more special mark, though:
4882 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4883 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4885 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4886 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4887 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4888 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
4894 @subsection Other Marks
4895 @cindex process mark
4898 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4904 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4905 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4906 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4907 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4908 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4911 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4912 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4913 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4914 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4917 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4918 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4919 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4922 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4923 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4924 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4925 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4928 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4929 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4930 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4931 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4932 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4935 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4936 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4937 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4938 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4939 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4940 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4944 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4945 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4946 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4948 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4949 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4950 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4954 @subsection Setting Marks
4955 @cindex setting marks
4957 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4962 @kindex M c (Summary)
4963 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4964 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4965 @cindex mark as unread
4966 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4967 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4973 @kindex M t (Summary)
4974 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4975 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4976 @xref{Article Caching}.
4981 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4982 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4983 Mark the current article as dormant
4984 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4988 @kindex M d (Summary)
4990 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4991 Mark the current article as read
4992 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4996 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4997 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4998 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5003 @kindex M k (Summary)
5004 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5005 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5006 and then select the next unread article
5007 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5011 @kindex M K (Summary)
5012 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5013 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5014 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5015 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5018 @kindex M C (Summary)
5019 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5020 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5021 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5024 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5025 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5026 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5027 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5030 @kindex M H (Summary)
5031 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5032 Catchup the current group to point
5033 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5036 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5037 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5038 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5039 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5042 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5043 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5044 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5045 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5049 @kindex M e (Summary)
5051 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5052 Mark the current article as expirable
5053 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5056 @kindex M b (Summary)
5057 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5058 Set a bookmark in the current article
5059 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5062 @kindex M B (Summary)
5063 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5064 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5065 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5068 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5069 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5070 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5071 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5074 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5075 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5076 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5077 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5080 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5081 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5082 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5083 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5084 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5087 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5088 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5089 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5090 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5091 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5092 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5093 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5094 The default is @code{t}.
5097 @node Generic Marking Commands
5098 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5100 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5101 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5102 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5103 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5104 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5107 Multiply these five behaviours with five different marking commands, and
5108 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5111 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5112 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5113 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5114 to list in this manual.
5116 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5117 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5118 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5119 article, you could say something like:
5122 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5123 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5124 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5130 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5131 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5135 @node Setting Process Marks
5136 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5137 @cindex setting process marks
5144 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5145 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5146 Mark the current article with the process mark
5147 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5148 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5152 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5153 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5154 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5155 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5158 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5159 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5160 Remove the process mark from all articles
5161 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5164 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5165 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5166 Invert the list of process marked articles
5167 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5170 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5171 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5172 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5173 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5176 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5177 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5178 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5179 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5182 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5183 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5184 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5187 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5188 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5189 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5190 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5193 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5194 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5195 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5196 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5199 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5200 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5201 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5202 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5205 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5206 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5207 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5210 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5211 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5212 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5213 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5216 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5217 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5218 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5221 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5222 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5223 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5224 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5227 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5228 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5229 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5230 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5233 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5234 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5235 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5236 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5239 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5240 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5241 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5242 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5246 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5247 set process marks based on article body contents.
5254 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5255 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5256 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5259 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5260 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5261 additional articles.
5267 @kindex / / (Summary)
5268 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5269 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5270 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5273 @kindex / a (Summary)
5274 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5275 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5276 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5279 @kindex / x (Summary)
5280 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5281 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5282 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5283 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5287 @kindex / u (Summary)
5289 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5290 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5291 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5292 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5293 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5296 @kindex / m (Summary)
5297 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5298 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5299 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5302 @kindex / t (Summary)
5303 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5304 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5305 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5306 articles younger than that number of days.
5309 @kindex / n (Summary)
5310 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5311 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5312 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5313 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5316 @kindex / w (Summary)
5317 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5318 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5319 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5323 @kindex / v (Summary)
5324 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5325 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5326 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5330 @kindex M S (Summary)
5331 @kindex / E (Summary)
5332 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5333 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5334 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5337 @kindex / D (Summary)
5338 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5339 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5340 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5343 @kindex / * (Summary)
5344 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5345 Include all cached articles in the limit
5346 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5349 @kindex / d (Summary)
5350 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5351 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5352 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5355 @kindex / M (Summary)
5356 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5357 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5360 @kindex / T (Summary)
5361 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5362 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5365 @kindex / c (Summary)
5366 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5367 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5368 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5371 @kindex / C (Summary)
5372 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5373 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5374 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5375 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5383 @cindex article threading
5385 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5386 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5387 hierarchical fashion.
5389 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5390 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5391 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5392 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
5393 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5394 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5395 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5397 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5401 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5404 A tree-like article structure.
5407 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5410 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5411 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5412 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5413 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5414 called loose threads.
5416 @item thread gathering
5417 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5419 @item sparse threads
5420 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5421 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5427 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5428 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5432 @node Customizing Threading
5433 @subsection Customizing Threading
5434 @cindex customizing threading
5437 * Loose Threads:: How gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5438 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5439 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5440 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5445 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5448 @cindex loose threads
5451 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5452 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5453 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5454 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5455 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5456 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5458 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
5459 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
5460 There are four possible values:
5464 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5465 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5466 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5467 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5468 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5473 @cindex adopting articles
5478 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5479 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5480 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5481 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5484 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5485 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5486 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5487 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5488 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5489 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5490 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5493 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5494 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5495 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5499 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5500 display them after one another.
5503 Don't gather loose threads.
5506 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5507 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5508 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5509 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
5510 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5511 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5512 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5513 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5514 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5515 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
5516 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5518 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5519 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
5520 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5523 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5524 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5525 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5526 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5527 simplification is used.
5529 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5530 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5531 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5532 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5534 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5536 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5542 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5543 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5544 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5545 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5550 (mapconcat 'identity
5551 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5553 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5556 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5559 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5560 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5561 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5562 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5563 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5564 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5566 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5569 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5570 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5571 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5573 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5574 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5577 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5578 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5579 Remove excessive whitespace.
5582 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5585 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5586 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5587 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5588 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5589 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5590 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5591 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5592 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5594 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5595 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5596 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5597 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5598 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5599 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5600 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5601 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5602 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5606 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5607 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5608 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5609 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5611 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5612 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5613 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5616 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5620 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5621 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5627 @node Filling In Threads
5628 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5631 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5632 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5633 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5634 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5635 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5636 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5637 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5638 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5639 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5640 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5641 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5642 expired by the server, there's not much gnus can do about that.
5644 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5645 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5646 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5648 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5649 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5650 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5651 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5652 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5653 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5654 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
5655 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5656 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
5657 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
5658 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5659 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
5660 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5661 @code{nil} by default.
5666 @node More Threading
5667 @subsubsection More Threading
5670 @item gnus-show-threads
5671 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5672 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5673 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5674 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5675 slower and more awkward.
5677 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5678 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5679 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5682 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5683 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5684 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5685 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5686 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5687 threads are expunged.
5689 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5690 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5691 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5694 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5695 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5696 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5697 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5698 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5701 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5702 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5703 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5706 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5707 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5708 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5709 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5710 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5711 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5712 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
5713 Setting this variable to an alternate value
5714 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5715 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5716 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5721 @node Low-Level Threading
5722 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5726 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5727 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5728 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
5729 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
5730 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
5731 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
5733 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5734 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5735 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5736 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5737 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5738 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5739 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5740 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5741 meaningful. Here's one example:
5744 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5746 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5747 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5749 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5751 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5758 @node Thread Commands
5759 @subsection Thread Commands
5760 @cindex thread commands
5766 @kindex T k (Summary)
5767 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5768 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5769 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5770 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5771 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5776 @kindex T l (Summary)
5777 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5778 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5779 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5780 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5783 @kindex T i (Summary)
5784 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5785 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5786 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5789 @kindex T # (Summary)
5790 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5791 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5792 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5795 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5796 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5797 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5798 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5801 @kindex T T (Summary)
5802 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5803 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5806 @kindex T s (Summary)
5807 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5808 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5809 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5812 @kindex T h (Summary)
5813 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5814 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5817 @kindex T S (Summary)
5818 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5819 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5822 @kindex T H (Summary)
5823 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5824 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5827 @kindex T t (Summary)
5828 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5829 Re-thread the current article's thread
5830 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5831 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5834 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5835 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5836 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5837 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5841 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5842 understand the numeric prefix.
5847 @kindex T n (Summary)
5849 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
5851 @kindex M-down (Summary)
5852 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5853 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5856 @kindex T p (Summary)
5858 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
5860 @kindex M-up (Summary)
5861 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5862 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5865 @kindex T d (Summary)
5866 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5867 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5870 @kindex T u (Summary)
5871 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5872 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5875 @kindex T o (Summary)
5876 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5877 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5880 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5881 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5882 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5883 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5884 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5885 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5886 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5887 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5888 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5889 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5890 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5891 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5898 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5899 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5900 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5901 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5902 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5903 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5904 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5905 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5906 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5907 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5908 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5910 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5911 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5912 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5913 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5914 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5916 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5917 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5918 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
5920 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
5921 last function in the list. You should probably always include
5922 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5923 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5924 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5925 ascending article order.
5927 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
5928 by number, you could do something like:
5931 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5932 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5933 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5934 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
5937 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5938 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5939 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5940 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5941 which the articles arrived.
5943 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5947 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5949 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5950 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5953 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5954 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5955 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5956 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5959 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5960 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5961 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5962 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5963 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5964 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5965 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5966 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5967 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5968 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5969 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5970 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5971 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5973 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5977 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5978 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5979 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5984 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5985 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5986 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5987 @cindex article pre-fetch
5990 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5991 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5992 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5993 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5994 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5996 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5997 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
5999 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6000 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6001 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6002 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6003 connection is blocked.
6005 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6006 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6007 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6008 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6010 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6011 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6012 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6013 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6016 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6019 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6020 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6021 happen automatically.
6023 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6024 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6025 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6026 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
6027 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
6028 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6029 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6031 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6032 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6033 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6034 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6035 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6036 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6037 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6038 data structure as the only parameter.
6040 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6043 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6044 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6045 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6046 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6049 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6052 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6053 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
6054 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6056 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6057 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6058 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6059 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6063 Remove articles when they are read.
6066 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6069 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6071 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6072 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6073 @c from the next group.
6076 @node Article Caching
6077 @section Article Caching
6078 @cindex article caching
6081 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6082 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6083 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6084 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6085 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6087 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6089 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6090 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6091 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6092 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6093 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6094 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6095 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
6096 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6098 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6099 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6100 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6101 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6102 as dormant, and don't worry.
6104 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6106 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6107 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6108 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6109 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6110 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6111 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6112 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6113 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6114 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6115 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6117 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6118 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6119 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6120 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6121 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6122 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6123 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6124 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6125 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6126 not then be downloaded by this command.
6128 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6129 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6130 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6131 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6132 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6133 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6135 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6136 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6137 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6138 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6139 variables, the group is not cached.
6141 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6142 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6143 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6144 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6145 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6146 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
6147 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6148 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6149 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6153 @node Persistent Articles
6154 @section Persistent Articles
6155 @cindex persistent articles
6157 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6158 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6159 useful in my opinion.
6161 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6162 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6163 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6164 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6165 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6166 the expiry going on at the news server.
6168 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6169 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6170 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6176 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6177 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6180 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6181 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6182 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6183 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6187 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6189 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6190 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6191 interested in persistent articles:
6194 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6198 @node Article Backlog
6199 @section Article Backlog
6201 @cindex article backlog
6203 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6204 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6205 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
6206 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6207 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6208 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6209 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
6210 increase memory usage some.
6212 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6213 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
6214 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6215 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
6216 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6217 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6218 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6220 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6223 @node Saving Articles
6224 @section Saving Articles
6225 @cindex saving articles
6227 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6228 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6229 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6230 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6231 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6233 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6234 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
6235 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6237 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6238 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6239 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6240 deleted before saving.
6246 @kindex O o (Summary)
6248 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6249 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6250 Save the current article using the default article saver
6251 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6254 @kindex O m (Summary)
6255 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6256 Save the current article in mail format
6257 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6260 @kindex O r (Summary)
6261 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6262 Save the current article in rmail format
6263 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6266 @kindex O f (Summary)
6267 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6268 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6269 Save the current article in plain file format
6270 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6273 @kindex O F (Summary)
6274 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6275 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6276 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6279 @kindex O b (Summary)
6280 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6281 Save the current article body in plain file format
6282 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6285 @kindex O h (Summary)
6286 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6287 Save the current article in mh folder format
6288 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6291 @kindex O v (Summary)
6292 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6293 Save the current article in a VM folder
6294 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6297 @kindex O p (Summary)
6298 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6299 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6300 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6303 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6304 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6305 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6306 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6307 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6308 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6309 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6310 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6311 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6312 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6313 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6314 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6318 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6319 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6320 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6321 functions below, or you can create your own.
6325 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6326 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6327 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6328 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6329 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6330 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6331 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6333 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6334 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6335 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6336 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6337 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6338 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6340 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6341 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6342 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6343 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6344 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6345 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6346 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6348 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6349 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6350 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6351 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6352 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6354 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6355 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6356 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6357 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6358 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6361 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6362 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6363 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6364 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6365 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6367 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6368 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6369 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6370 reader to use this setting.
6373 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6374 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6375 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6376 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6379 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6380 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6381 available functions that generate names:
6385 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6386 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6387 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6389 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6390 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6391 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6393 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6394 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6395 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6397 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6398 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6399 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6402 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6403 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6404 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6405 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6406 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6410 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6411 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6412 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6413 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6416 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6417 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6418 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6419 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6420 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6421 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6422 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6423 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6424 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6426 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6427 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6428 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6429 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6431 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6432 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6433 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6436 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6437 lots of mail groups called things like
6438 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6439 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6440 following will do just that:
6443 (defun my-save-name (group)
6444 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6445 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6447 (setq gnus-split-methods
6448 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6453 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6454 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6455 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6456 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6457 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6458 all the files in the top level directory
6459 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6460 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6461 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6462 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6464 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6465 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6466 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6467 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6468 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6471 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6475 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6476 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6479 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6480 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6481 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6482 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6485 @node Decoding Articles
6486 @section Decoding Articles
6487 @cindex decoding articles
6489 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6490 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6493 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6494 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6495 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6496 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6497 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6498 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6502 @cindex article series
6503 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6504 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6505 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6506 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6507 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6509 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6510 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6511 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6513 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
6514 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6515 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6517 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6518 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6519 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6522 @node Uuencoded Articles
6523 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6525 @cindex uuencoded articles
6530 @kindex X u (Summary)
6531 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6532 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6533 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6536 @kindex X U (Summary)
6537 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6538 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6539 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6542 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6543 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6544 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6547 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6548 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6549 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6550 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6554 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6555 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6556 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6557 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6558 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6560 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6561 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6562 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6563 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6566 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6567 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6568 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6569 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6570 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6571 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6575 @node Shell Archives
6576 @subsection Shell Archives
6578 @cindex shell archives
6579 @cindex shared articles
6581 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6582 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6583 some commands to deal with these:
6588 @kindex X s (Summary)
6589 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6590 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6593 @kindex X S (Summary)
6594 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6595 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6598 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6599 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6600 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6603 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6604 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6605 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6606 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6610 @node PostScript Files
6611 @subsection PostScript Files
6617 @kindex X p (Summary)
6618 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6619 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6622 @kindex X P (Summary)
6623 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6624 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6625 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6628 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6629 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6630 View the current PostScript series
6631 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6634 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6635 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6636 View and save the current PostScript series
6637 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6642 @subsection Other Files
6646 @kindex X o (Summary)
6647 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6648 Save the current series
6649 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6652 @kindex X b (Summary)
6653 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6654 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6655 doesn't really work yet.
6659 @node Decoding Variables
6660 @subsection Decoding Variables
6662 Adjective, not verb.
6665 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6666 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6667 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6671 @node Rule Variables
6672 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6673 @cindex rule variables
6675 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6676 variables are of the form
6679 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6686 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6687 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6689 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6690 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6693 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6694 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6697 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6698 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6699 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6700 user and default view rules.
6702 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6703 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6704 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6709 @node Other Decode Variables
6710 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6713 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6715 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6716 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6717 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6718 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6719 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6723 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6724 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6727 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6728 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6729 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6732 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6733 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6734 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6735 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6736 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6739 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6740 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6741 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6743 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6744 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6745 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6746 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6747 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6750 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6751 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6752 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6754 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6755 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6756 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6757 looking for files to display.
6759 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6760 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6761 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6764 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6765 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6766 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6769 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6770 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6771 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6774 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6775 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6776 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6779 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6780 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6781 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6782 decoded articles as unread.
6784 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6785 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6786 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6787 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6789 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6790 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6791 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6793 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6794 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6796 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6797 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6798 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6799 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6801 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6802 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6803 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6804 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6805 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6806 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
6807 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6808 simply dropped them.
6813 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6814 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6818 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6819 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6820 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6821 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6822 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6823 for you when you post the article.
6825 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6826 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6827 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6828 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6830 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6831 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6832 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6833 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6834 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6835 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6836 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6838 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6839 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6840 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6841 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6842 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6843 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6844 Default is @code{t}.
6850 @subsection Viewing Files
6851 @cindex viewing files
6852 @cindex pseudo-articles
6854 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
6855 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6856 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6857 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
6858 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6859 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6860 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6862 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6863 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6864 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6865 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6867 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6868 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6869 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6871 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6872 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6873 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6874 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6875 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6877 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6878 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6879 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6880 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6881 a list of parameters to that command.
6883 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6884 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6885 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6887 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6888 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6889 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6892 @node Article Treatment
6893 @section Article Treatment
6895 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6896 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6897 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6898 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6899 these articles easier.
6902 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6903 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6904 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6905 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6906 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6907 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6908 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6909 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
6913 @node Article Highlighting
6914 @subsection Article Highlighting
6915 @cindex highlighting
6917 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6918 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6923 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6924 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6925 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6926 Do much highlighting of the current article
6927 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6928 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6931 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6932 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6933 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6934 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6935 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6936 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
6937 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
6938 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6939 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6940 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6941 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6942 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6945 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6946 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6947 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6949 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6952 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6954 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6955 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6956 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6958 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6959 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6960 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6962 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6963 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6964 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6966 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6967 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6968 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6969 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6970 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6971 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6973 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6974 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6975 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6977 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6978 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6979 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6981 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6982 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6983 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6984 that it's a citation.
6986 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6987 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6988 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6990 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6991 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6992 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6994 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6995 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6996 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6997 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7003 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7004 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7005 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7006 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7007 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7008 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7009 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7010 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7015 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7018 @node Article Fontisizing
7019 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7021 @cindex article emphasis
7023 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7024 @kindex W e (Summary)
7025 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7026 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7027 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7028 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7030 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7031 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7032 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7033 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7034 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7035 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7036 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7037 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7041 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
7042 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7043 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7052 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7053 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7054 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7055 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7056 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7057 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7058 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7059 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7060 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7061 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7062 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7063 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7064 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7066 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7067 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7068 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7072 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7075 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7077 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7078 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7079 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7080 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7082 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7085 @node Article Hiding
7086 @subsection Article Hiding
7087 @cindex article hiding
7089 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7090 too much cruft in most articles.
7095 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7096 @findex gnus-article-hide
7097 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7098 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7099 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7102 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7103 @findex gnus-article-toggle-headers
7104 Toggle hiding of headers (@code{gnus-article-toggle-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7108 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7109 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7110 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7111 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7114 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7115 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7116 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7120 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7121 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7122 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7123 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7124 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7125 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7126 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7127 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7131 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7132 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7133 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7134 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7139 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7140 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7141 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7142 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7143 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7144 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7145 articles that have signatures in them do:
7147 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7149 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7151 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7152 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7154 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7157 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7162 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7163 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7164 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7165 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7168 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7169 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7172 @cindex stripping advertisments
7173 @cindex advertisments
7174 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7175 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7176 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7177 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7178 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7179 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7180 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7181 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7182 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7183 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7187 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7188 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7189 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7190 customizing the hiding:
7194 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7195 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7196 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7197 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7198 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7199 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7200 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7205 Starting point of the hidden text.
7207 Ending point of the hidden text.
7209 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7211 Number of lines of hidden text.
7214 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7215 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7216 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7217 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7218 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7223 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7224 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7226 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7227 following two variables:
7230 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7231 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7232 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7233 50), hide the cited text.
7235 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7236 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7237 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7242 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7243 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7244 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7245 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7246 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7247 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7251 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7252 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7253 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7255 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7256 citation customization.
7258 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7262 @node Article Washing
7263 @subsection Article Washing
7265 @cindex article washing
7267 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7268 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7270 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7271 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7277 @kindex W l (Summary)
7278 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7279 Remove page breaks from the current article
7280 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7284 @kindex W r (Summary)
7285 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7286 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7287 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7288 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7289 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7290 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7292 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7293 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7294 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7295 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7299 @kindex W t (Summary)
7301 @findex gnus-article-toggle-headers
7302 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7303 (@code{gnus-article-toggle-headers}).
7306 @kindex W v (Summary)
7307 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7308 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7309 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7312 @kindex W m (Summary)
7313 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
7314 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
7315 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
7318 @kindex W o (Summary)
7319 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7320 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7323 @kindex W d (Summary)
7324 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7325 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7327 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
7329 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7330 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7331 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7332 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7336 @kindex W w (Summary)
7337 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7338 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7340 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7344 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7345 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7346 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7349 @kindex W C (Summary)
7350 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7351 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7352 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7355 @kindex W c (Summary)
7356 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7357 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7358 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7359 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7360 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7363 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7364 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7365 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7366 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7367 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7368 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7369 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7373 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7374 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7375 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7376 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7377 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7380 @kindex W h (Summary)
7381 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7382 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7383 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7384 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7388 @kindex W f (Summary)
7390 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7391 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7392 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7393 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7399 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7400 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7401 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7402 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7403 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7404 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7405 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7406 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7407 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7408 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7409 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7410 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7411 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7412 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7413 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7414 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7415 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7416 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7417 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7418 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7422 @kindex W b (Summary)
7423 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7424 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7425 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7428 @kindex W B (Summary)
7429 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7430 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7431 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7434 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7435 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7436 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7437 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7440 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7441 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7442 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7443 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7446 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7447 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7448 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7449 lines with a single empty line.
7450 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7453 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7454 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7455 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7456 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7459 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7460 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7461 Do all the three commands above
7462 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7465 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7466 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7467 Remove all blank lines
7468 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7471 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7472 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7473 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7474 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7477 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7478 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7479 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7480 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7484 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7487 @node Article Buttons
7488 @subsection Article Buttons
7491 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7492 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7493 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7494 button on these references.
7496 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7497 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7498 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7503 @item gnus-button-alist
7504 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7505 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7508 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7514 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
7515 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
7516 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
7519 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
7520 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
7521 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
7524 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
7525 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
7526 avoid false matches.
7529 This function will be called when you click on this button.
7532 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
7533 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
7537 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
7540 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
7543 @item gnus-header-button-alist
7544 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
7545 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7546 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7547 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7550 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7553 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7555 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7556 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7557 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7558 default values of the variables above.
7560 @item gnus-article-button-face
7561 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7562 Face used on buttons.
7564 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7565 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7566 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7570 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7574 @subsection Article Date
7576 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7577 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7578 when the article was sent.
7583 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7584 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7585 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7586 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7589 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7590 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7592 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7593 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7596 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7597 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7598 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7601 @kindex W T s (Summary)
7602 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
7603 @findex gnus-article-date-user
7604 @findex format-time-string
7605 Display the date using a user-defined format
7606 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
7607 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
7608 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
7609 for a list of possible format specs.
7612 @kindex W T e (Summary)
7613 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
7614 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
7615 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
7616 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
7617 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
7620 X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
7623 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
7624 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7627 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7628 into wonderful absurdities.
7630 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7633 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7636 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7637 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7641 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7642 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7643 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7644 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7645 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7646 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7647 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7651 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7652 preferred format automatically.
7655 @node Article Signature
7656 @subsection Article Signature
7658 @cindex article signature
7660 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7661 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7662 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7663 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7664 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7665 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7666 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7667 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7668 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7671 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7672 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7673 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7674 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7675 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7676 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7677 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7678 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7681 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7684 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7685 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7686 signature when displaying articles.
7690 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7693 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7696 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7697 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7699 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7700 in question is not a signature.
7703 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7704 listed above. Here's an example:
7707 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7708 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7711 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7712 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7713 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7714 signature after all.
7717 @node Article Miscellania
7718 @subsection Article Miscellania
7722 @kindex A t (Summary)
7723 @findex gnus-article-babel
7724 Translate the article from one language to another
7725 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7731 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7732 @cindex MIME decoding
7734 @cindex viewing attachments
7736 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
7737 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
7743 @kindex K v (Summary)
7744 View the @sc{mime} part.
7747 @kindex K o (Summary)
7748 Save the @sc{mime} part.
7751 @kindex K c (Summary)
7752 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
7755 @kindex K e (Summary)
7756 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
7759 @kindex K i (Summary)
7760 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
7763 @kindex K | (Summary)
7764 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
7767 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
7772 @kindex K b (Summary)
7773 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
7774 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
7778 @kindex K m (Summary)
7779 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
7780 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
7781 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
7782 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
7783 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
7786 @kindex X m (Summary)
7787 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7788 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
7789 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
7790 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7793 @kindex M-t (Summary)
7794 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
7795 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
7796 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
7799 @kindex W M w (Summary)
7800 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
7801 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
7804 @kindex W M c (Summary)
7805 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
7806 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
7808 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
7809 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
7810 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
7811 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
7812 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
7813 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
7816 @kindex W M v (Summary)
7817 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
7818 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
7825 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
7826 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
7827 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7828 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
7831 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
7834 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
7838 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7839 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7840 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7841 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
7842 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
7844 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
7845 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
7846 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
7847 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
7848 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
7849 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
7850 save all jpegs into some directory).
7852 Here's an example function the does the latter:
7855 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
7856 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
7858 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
7859 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
7860 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
7861 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
7862 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
7865 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7866 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7867 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
7876 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
7877 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
7878 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
7879 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
7880 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
7881 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
7882 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
7884 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
7885 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
7886 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
7887 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
7889 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
7890 aren't. These blitely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
7891 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
7892 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
7893 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
7894 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
7895 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
7896 something some agents insist on having in there.
7898 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
7899 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
7900 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
7901 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
7902 quoted-printable header encoding.
7904 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
7905 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
7906 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
7910 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
7913 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
7914 means encode all charsets),
7916 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
7917 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
7918 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
7925 @cindex coding system aliases
7926 @cindex preferred charset
7928 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
7930 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
7931 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
7934 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
7935 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
7938 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
7939 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
7941 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
7944 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
7947 This will almost do the right thing.
7949 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
7953 (codepage-setup 1251)
7954 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
7958 @node Article Commands
7959 @section Article Commands
7966 @kindex A P (Summary)
7967 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
7968 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
7969 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
7970 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
7971 run just before printing the buffer.
7976 @node Summary Sorting
7977 @section Summary Sorting
7978 @cindex summary sorting
7980 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
7981 can't really see why you'd want that.
7986 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
7987 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
7988 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
7991 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
7992 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
7993 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
7996 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
7997 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
7998 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8001 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8002 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8003 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8006 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8007 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8008 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8011 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8012 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8013 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8016 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8017 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8018 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8021 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8022 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8023 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8024 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8025 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8029 @node Finding the Parent
8030 @section Finding the Parent
8031 @cindex parent articles
8032 @cindex referring articles
8037 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8038 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8039 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8040 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8041 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8042 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8043 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8044 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8045 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8047 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8048 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8049 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
8050 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8051 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8055 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8056 @kindex A R (Summary)
8057 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8058 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8061 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8062 @kindex A T (Summary)
8063 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8064 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8065 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8066 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8067 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8068 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8069 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8071 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8072 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8073 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8074 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8075 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8076 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8079 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8080 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8082 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8083 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8084 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8085 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8086 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8087 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8088 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8091 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8092 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8093 by giving this command a prefix.
8095 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8096 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
8097 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8098 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8099 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8100 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8103 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8104 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8105 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8108 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8109 then ask Deja if that fails:
8112 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8114 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8117 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
8118 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
8119 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8120 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
8121 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
8122 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
8125 @node Alternative Approaches
8126 @section Alternative Approaches
8128 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8129 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8132 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8133 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8138 @subsection Pick and Read
8139 @cindex pick and read
8141 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8142 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8143 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8144 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8146 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8147 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8148 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8149 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8150 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8151 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8153 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8158 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8159 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8160 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8161 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8162 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8163 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8164 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8165 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8168 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8169 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8170 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8171 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8175 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8176 Unpick the thread or article
8177 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8178 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8179 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8180 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8181 the thread or article at that line.
8185 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8186 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8187 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8188 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8189 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8190 will still be visible when you are reading.
8194 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8195 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8196 which is mapped to the same function
8197 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8199 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8202 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8205 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8206 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8208 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8209 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8210 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8212 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8213 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8214 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8215 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8216 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8217 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8218 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8222 @subsection Binary Groups
8223 @cindex binary groups
8225 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8226 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8227 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8228 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8229 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8230 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8231 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8234 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8235 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8236 command, when you have turned on this mode
8237 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8239 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8240 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8244 @section Tree Display
8247 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8248 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
8249 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8250 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8253 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8256 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8257 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8258 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8260 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8261 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8262 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8263 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8264 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8266 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8267 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8268 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8269 default is @code{modeline}.
8271 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8272 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8273 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8274 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8275 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8276 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8277 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8283 The name of the poster.
8285 The @code{From} header.
8287 The number of the article.
8289 The opening bracket.
8291 The closing bracket.
8296 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8298 Variables related to the display are:
8301 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8302 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8303 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8304 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8305 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8306 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8308 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8309 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8310 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8311 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8315 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8316 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8317 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
8318 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
8319 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8320 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8321 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8322 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8323 other windows displayed next to it.
8325 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8326 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8327 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8328 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8329 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8330 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8331 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8335 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8338 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8348 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8352 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8353 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8355 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8357 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8362 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8363 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8364 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8367 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8368 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8369 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8370 (gnus-add-configuration
8374 (summary 0.75 point)
8379 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
8382 @node Mail Group Commands
8383 @section Mail Group Commands
8384 @cindex mail group commands
8386 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8387 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8389 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8390 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8395 @kindex B e (Summary)
8396 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8397 Expire all expirable articles in the group
8398 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
8401 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8402 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8403 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8404 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8405 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8406 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8409 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8410 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8411 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8412 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8413 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8414 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8417 @kindex B m (Summary)
8419 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8420 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8421 Move the article from one mail group to another
8422 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8423 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8426 @kindex B c (Summary)
8428 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8429 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8430 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8431 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8432 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8435 @kindex B B (Summary)
8436 @cindex crosspost mail
8437 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8438 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8439 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8440 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8441 be properly updated.
8444 @kindex B i (Summary)
8445 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8446 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8447 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8448 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
8451 @kindex B r (Summary)
8452 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
8453 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
8454 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
8455 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
8456 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
8457 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
8458 (which is the default).
8462 @kindex B w (Summary)
8464 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
8465 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
8466 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
8467 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
8468 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
8469 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
8472 @kindex B q (Summary)
8473 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
8474 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
8475 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
8476 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
8479 @kindex B t (Summary)
8480 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
8481 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
8482 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
8485 @kindex B p (Summary)
8486 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
8487 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
8488 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
8489 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
8490 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
8491 article from your news server (or rather, from
8492 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
8493 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
8494 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
8495 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
8496 just not have arrived yet.
8500 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
8501 @cindex moving articles
8502 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
8503 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
8504 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
8505 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
8506 suggestions you find reasonable.
8509 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
8510 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
8511 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
8512 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
8516 @node Various Summary Stuff
8517 @section Various Summary Stuff
8520 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
8521 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
8522 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
8523 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
8527 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
8528 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
8529 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
8531 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
8532 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
8533 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
8534 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
8535 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
8536 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
8539 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8540 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8541 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
8542 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
8543 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
8545 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8546 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8547 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
8550 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8551 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8552 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
8553 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
8554 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
8555 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
8556 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
8557 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
8558 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
8559 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
8561 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8562 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8563 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
8564 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
8565 list of articles to be selected.
8567 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
8568 the list in one particular group:
8571 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
8572 (if (string= group "some.group")
8573 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
8580 @node Summary Group Information
8581 @subsection Summary Group Information
8586 @kindex H f (Summary)
8587 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
8588 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
8589 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
8590 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
8591 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
8592 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
8593 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
8594 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
8595 be used for fetching the file.
8598 @kindex H d (Summary)
8599 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
8600 Give a brief description of the current group
8601 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
8602 rereading the description from the server.
8605 @kindex H h (Summary)
8606 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
8607 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
8608 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
8611 @kindex H i (Summary)
8612 @findex gnus-info-find-node
8613 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
8617 @node Searching for Articles
8618 @subsection Searching for Articles
8623 @kindex M-s (Summary)
8624 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
8625 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
8626 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
8629 @kindex M-r (Summary)
8630 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
8631 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
8632 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
8636 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
8637 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
8638 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
8639 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
8640 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
8641 search backward instead.
8643 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
8644 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
8647 @kindex M-& (Summary)
8648 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
8649 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
8650 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
8653 @node Summary Generation Commands
8654 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
8659 @kindex Y g (Summary)
8660 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
8661 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
8664 @kindex Y c (Summary)
8665 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
8666 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
8667 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
8672 @node Really Various Summary Commands
8673 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
8679 @kindex C-d (Summary)
8680 @kindex A D (Summary)
8681 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
8682 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
8683 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
8684 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
8685 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
8686 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
8687 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
8688 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
8692 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
8693 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
8694 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
8695 several documents into one biiig group
8696 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
8697 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
8698 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
8699 command understands the process/prefix convention
8700 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8703 @kindex C-t (Summary)
8704 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
8705 Toggle truncation of summary lines
8706 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
8707 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
8708 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
8712 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
8713 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
8714 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
8717 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
8718 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
8719 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8720 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
8723 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
8724 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
8725 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8726 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
8731 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
8732 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
8733 @cindex summary exit
8734 @cindex exiting groups
8736 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
8737 group and return you to the group buffer.
8743 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
8745 @findex gnus-summary-exit
8746 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
8747 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
8748 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
8749 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
8750 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
8751 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
8752 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
8753 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
8754 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
8755 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
8759 @kindex Z E (Summary)
8761 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
8762 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
8763 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
8767 @kindex Z c (Summary)
8769 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
8770 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
8771 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
8772 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
8775 @kindex Z C (Summary)
8776 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
8777 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
8778 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
8781 @kindex Z n (Summary)
8782 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
8783 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
8784 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
8787 @kindex Z R (Summary)
8788 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
8789 Exit this group, and then enter it again
8790 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
8791 all articles, both read and unread.
8795 @kindex Z G (Summary)
8796 @kindex M-g (Summary)
8797 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
8798 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
8799 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
8800 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
8801 articles, both read and unread.
8804 @kindex Z N (Summary)
8805 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
8806 Exit the group and go to the next group
8807 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
8810 @kindex Z P (Summary)
8811 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
8812 Exit the group and go to the previous group
8813 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
8816 @kindex Z s (Summary)
8817 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
8818 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
8819 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
8820 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
8821 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
8824 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
8825 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
8826 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
8827 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
8829 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
8830 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
8831 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
8832 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
8833 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
8834 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
8835 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
8836 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
8837 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
8838 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
8839 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
8840 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
8842 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
8844 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
8845 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
8846 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
8847 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
8848 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
8849 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
8850 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
8851 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
8852 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
8855 @node Crosspost Handling
8856 @section Crosspost Handling
8860 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
8861 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
8862 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
8863 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
8864 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
8865 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
8868 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
8869 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
8870 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
8871 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
8872 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
8874 @cindex cross-posting
8877 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
8878 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
8879 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
8880 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
8881 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
8882 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
8883 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
8884 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
8885 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
8886 the cross reference mechanism.
8888 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
8889 @cindex overview.fmt
8890 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
8891 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
8892 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
8893 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
8894 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
8895 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
8898 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
8899 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
8900 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
8905 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
8908 @node Duplicate Suppression
8909 @section Duplicate Suppression
8911 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
8912 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
8913 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
8914 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
8919 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
8920 is evil and not very common.
8923 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
8924 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
8927 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
8928 different @sc{nntp} servers.
8931 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
8934 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
8935 well, but these four are the most common situations.
8937 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
8938 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
8939 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
8940 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
8941 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
8942 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
8943 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
8946 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
8947 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
8948 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
8949 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
8950 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
8954 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
8955 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
8956 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
8958 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
8959 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
8960 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
8961 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
8962 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
8963 session are suppressed.
8965 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
8966 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
8967 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
8968 suppression list. The default is 10000.
8970 @item gnus-duplicate-file
8971 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
8972 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
8973 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
8976 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
8977 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
8978 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
8979 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
8980 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
8981 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
8982 to you to figure out, I think.
8985 @node The Article Buffer
8986 @chapter The Article Buffer
8987 @cindex article buffer
8989 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
8990 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
8991 tell gnus otherwise.
8994 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
8995 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
8996 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
8997 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
8998 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9002 @node Hiding Headers
9003 @section Hiding Headers
9004 @cindex hiding headers
9005 @cindex deleting headers
9007 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9008 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9010 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9011 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9012 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9013 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9014 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9015 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9016 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9017 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9018 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9020 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9024 @item gnus-visible-headers
9025 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9026 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9027 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9028 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9030 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9031 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9034 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9037 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9040 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9041 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9042 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9043 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9044 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9045 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9047 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
9048 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
9051 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9054 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9057 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9058 variable will have no effect.
9062 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9063 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9064 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9065 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9066 the headers are to be displayed.
9068 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9069 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9072 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9075 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9076 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9078 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9079 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9080 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9081 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9082 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9083 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9084 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9087 These conditions are:
9090 Remove all empty headers.
9092 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9093 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9095 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9098 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9101 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9104 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9106 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9109 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
9112 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9113 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9116 This is also the default value for this variable.
9120 @section Using @sc{mime}
9123 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9124 while people stand around yawning.
9126 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9127 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9129 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9130 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9131 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9133 @vindex gnus-show-mime
9134 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
9135 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
9136 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
9137 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
9138 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
9139 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
9140 calls the SEMI MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
9141 information on SEMI MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is not
9142 existed yet, sorry).
9144 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
9145 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
9146 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
9147 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
9148 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
9149 buffer. These can't be avoided.
9151 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
9152 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
9153 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
9154 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
9155 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
9156 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
9157 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
9158 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
9159 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
9162 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9164 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
9165 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
9166 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
9167 buffer when there are nobody else.
9169 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9172 @node Customizing Articles
9173 @section Customizing Articles
9174 @cindex article customization
9176 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9177 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9178 called automatically when you select the articles.
9180 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9181 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9182 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9183 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9185 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9186 for sensible values.
9190 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9193 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9196 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9199 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9202 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9206 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9207 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9208 regexps in the list.
9211 A list where the first element is not a string:
9213 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9214 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9215 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9219 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9223 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
9228 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9229 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9230 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9231 considered to contain just a single part.
9233 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9234 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9235 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9236 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9237 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9238 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9239 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9241 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9242 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9243 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9244 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9247 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9248 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9249 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9250 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9251 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9252 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9253 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9254 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9255 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9256 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9257 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9258 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9259 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9260 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9261 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9262 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9263 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9264 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9265 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9266 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9267 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9268 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9269 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9270 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9271 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9272 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9273 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9274 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9275 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9276 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9277 @item gnus-treat-translate
9278 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset
9281 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9282 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9283 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9284 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9285 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9289 @node Article Keymap
9290 @section Article Keymap
9292 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9293 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9294 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9295 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9298 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9303 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9304 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9305 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9308 @kindex DEL (Article)
9309 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9310 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9313 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9314 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9315 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9316 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9317 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9320 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9321 @findex gnus-article-mail
9322 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9323 given a prefix, include the mail.
9327 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9328 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9329 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9333 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9334 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9335 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9338 @kindex TAB (Article)
9339 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9340 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9341 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9344 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9345 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9346 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
9352 @section Misc Article
9356 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
9357 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
9358 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
9359 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
9362 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
9363 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
9365 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
9366 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
9368 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
9369 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
9370 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
9371 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
9372 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
9373 the contents of the article buffer.
9375 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
9376 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
9377 Hook called in article mode buffers.
9379 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9380 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9381 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
9382 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
9384 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
9385 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
9386 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
9387 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
9388 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
9393 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
9394 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
9397 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
9400 @vindex gnus-break-pages
9402 @item gnus-break-pages
9403 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
9404 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
9405 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
9406 paging will not be done.
9408 @item gnus-page-delimiter
9409 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
9410 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
9415 @node Composing Messages
9416 @chapter Composing Messages
9417 @cindex composing messages
9420 @cindex sending mail
9425 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
9426 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
9427 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
9428 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
9429 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
9430 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
9433 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
9434 * Post:: Posting and following up.
9435 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
9436 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
9437 * Archived Messages:: Where gnus stores the messages you've sent.
9438 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
9439 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
9440 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
9443 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
9444 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
9450 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
9453 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
9454 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
9455 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
9456 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
9458 @item gnus-add-to-list
9459 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
9460 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
9461 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
9463 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
9464 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
9465 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
9466 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
9467 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
9475 Variables for composing news articles:
9478 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
9479 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
9480 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
9481 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
9482 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
9483 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
9484 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
9485 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
9486 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want gnus to keep a history
9489 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
9490 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
9491 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
9492 file. It is 1000 by default.
9497 @node Posting Server
9498 @section Posting Server
9500 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
9501 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
9503 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
9505 @vindex gnus-post-method
9507 It can be quite complicated. Normally, gnus will use the same native
9508 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
9509 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
9510 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
9511 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
9514 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
9517 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
9518 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
9519 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
9520 the ``current'' server for posting.
9522 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
9523 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
9525 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
9526 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
9529 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
9530 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
9531 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
9536 @section Mail and Post
9538 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
9542 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
9543 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
9544 @cindex mailing lists
9546 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
9547 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
9548 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
9549 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
9550 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
9551 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
9552 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
9553 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
9554 still a pain, though.
9558 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
9559 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
9560 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
9563 @findex ispell-message
9565 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
9568 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
9569 you're in, you could say something like the following:
9572 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
9575 ((string-match "^de\\." gnus-newsgroup-name)
9576 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
9578 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
9581 Modify to suit your needs.
9584 @node Archived Messages
9585 @section Archived Messages
9586 @cindex archived messages
9587 @cindex sent messages
9589 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
9590 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
9591 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
9592 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
9595 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
9596 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
9597 use to store sent messages. The default is:
9601 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
9602 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
9603 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
9604 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
9607 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
9608 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
9609 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
9610 directory chosen, you could say something like:
9613 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
9614 '(nnfolder "archive"
9615 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
9616 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
9617 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
9620 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
9622 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
9623 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
9624 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
9626 This variable can be used to do the following:
9630 Messages will be saved in that group.
9631 @item a list of strings
9632 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
9633 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
9634 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
9636 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
9641 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
9643 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
9646 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
9648 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
9651 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
9653 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9654 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
9655 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
9656 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
9661 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9662 '((if (message-news-p)
9667 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
9668 messages in one file per month:
9671 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9672 '((if (message-news-p)
9674 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
9677 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
9678 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
9680 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
9681 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
9682 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
9683 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
9684 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
9685 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
9686 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
9687 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
9688 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
9689 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
9691 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
9692 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
9693 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
9694 this will disable archiving.
9697 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
9698 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
9699 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
9700 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
9701 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
9704 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
9705 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
9706 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
9709 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
9710 but the latter is the preferred method.
9714 @node Posting Styles
9715 @section Posting Styles
9716 @cindex posting styles
9719 All them variables, they make my head swim.
9721 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
9722 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
9723 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
9726 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
9727 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
9728 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
9729 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
9730 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
9735 (signature "Peace and happiness")
9736 (organization "What me?"))
9738 (signature "Death to everybody"))
9739 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
9740 (organization "Emacs is it")))
9743 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
9744 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
9745 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
9746 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
9747 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
9748 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
9749 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
9750 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
9752 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
9753 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
9754 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header that
9755 match the next element in the match, and compare that to the last header
9756 in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function will be called
9757 with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
9758 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
9759 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
9762 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
9763 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} . @var{value})} pair. The
9764 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
9765 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
9766 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
9767 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
9768 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
9769 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
9770 result is thrown away.
9772 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
9773 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
9774 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
9775 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
9776 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
9777 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
9779 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
9780 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
9781 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
9783 @findex message-mail-p
9784 @findex message-news-p
9786 So here's a new example:
9789 (setq gnus-posting-styles
9791 (signature-file "~/.signature")
9793 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
9794 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
9796 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
9797 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
9798 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
9800 (signature my-news-signature))
9801 (header "From\\|To" "larsi.*org"
9802 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
9803 ((posting-from-work-p)
9804 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
9805 (address "user@@bar.foo")
9806 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
9807 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
9809 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
9817 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
9818 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
9819 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
9820 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
9821 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
9823 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
9824 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
9825 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
9826 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
9827 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
9831 @vindex nndraft-directory
9832 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
9833 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
9834 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
9835 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
9836 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
9837 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
9839 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
9840 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
9843 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
9844 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
9845 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
9846 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
9847 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
9848 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
9849 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
9850 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
9851 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
9852 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
9853 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
9854 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
9855 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
9856 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
9858 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
9859 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
9860 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
9862 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
9864 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
9865 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
9866 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
9868 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
9871 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
9872 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
9873 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
9874 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
9875 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
9876 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
9877 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
9880 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
9881 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
9882 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
9885 @node Rejected Articles
9886 @section Rejected Articles
9887 @cindex rejected articles
9889 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
9890 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
9891 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
9892 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
9894 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
9895 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
9896 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
9897 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
9898 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
9900 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
9901 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
9902 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
9905 @node Select Methods
9906 @chapter Select Methods
9907 @cindex foreign groups
9908 @cindex select methods
9910 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
9911 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
9912 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
9913 personal mail group.
9915 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
9916 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
9917 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
9918 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
9919 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
9920 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
9922 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
9923 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
9925 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
9928 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
9929 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
9930 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
9931 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
9932 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
9934 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
9937 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
9938 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
9939 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
9940 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
9941 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
9942 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
9943 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
9947 @node The Server Buffer
9948 @section The Server Buffer
9950 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
9951 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
9952 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
9953 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
9954 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
9955 backend represents a virtual server.
9957 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
9958 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
9959 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
9960 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
9962 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
9963 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
9964 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
9965 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
9966 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
9967 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
9968 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
9970 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
9971 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
9974 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
9975 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
9976 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
9977 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
9978 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
9979 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
9980 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
9983 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
9984 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
9987 @node Server Buffer Format
9988 @subsection Server Buffer Format
9989 @cindex server buffer format
9991 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
9992 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
9993 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
9994 variable, with some simple extensions:
9999 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
10002 The name of this server.
10005 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10008 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10011 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10012 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10013 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10014 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10024 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10027 @node Server Commands
10028 @subsection Server Commands
10029 @cindex server commands
10035 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10036 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10040 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10041 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10044 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10045 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10046 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10050 @findex gnus-server-exit
10051 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10055 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10056 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10060 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10061 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10065 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10066 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10070 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10071 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10075 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10076 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10077 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10082 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10083 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10084 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10085 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
10090 @node Example Methods
10091 @subsection Example Methods
10093 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10096 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10099 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10105 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10106 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10109 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10110 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10112 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10113 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10117 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10120 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
10121 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10123 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10124 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10125 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10129 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10132 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10135 Here's the method for a public spool:
10139 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10140 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10146 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10147 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10148 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10149 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10150 should probably look something like this:
10154 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
10155 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10156 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10157 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10158 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
10161 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10162 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
10163 server that would look something like this:
10167 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
10168 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
10169 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10170 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10171 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10172 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
10175 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10176 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10177 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10178 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10181 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10182 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10184 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10185 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10187 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10188 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10189 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10191 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10193 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10194 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10195 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10196 will contain the following:
10206 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10207 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10208 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10211 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10212 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10213 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10216 @node Server Variables
10217 @subsection Server Variables
10219 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
10220 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10221 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10222 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10223 won't change the "derived" variables.
10225 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10226 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10227 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10228 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10229 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10230 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10231 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10232 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
10233 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10237 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10238 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10239 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10243 @node Servers and Methods
10244 @subsection Servers and Methods
10246 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10247 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10248 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10249 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10253 @node Unavailable Servers
10254 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10256 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10257 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10258 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10259 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10260 actually the case or not.
10262 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10263 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10264 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10265 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10266 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10267 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10268 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10269 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10271 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10272 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10274 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
10275 with the following commands:
10281 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10282 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10283 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10287 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10288 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10289 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10293 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10294 Mark the current server as unreachable
10295 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10298 @kindex M-o (Server)
10299 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10300 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10301 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
10304 @kindex M-c (Server)
10305 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
10306 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
10307 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
10311 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
10312 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
10313 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
10319 @section Getting News
10320 @cindex reading news
10321 @cindex news backends
10323 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
10324 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
10325 or it can read from a local spool.
10328 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
10329 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
10334 @subsection @sc{nntp}
10337 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
10338 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
10339 server as the, uhm, address.
10341 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
10342 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
10343 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
10344 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10346 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
10347 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
10348 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
10350 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
10355 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
10356 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
10357 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
10359 @cindex authentification
10360 @cindex nntp authentification
10361 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10362 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
10363 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
10364 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
10365 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
10366 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
10367 present in this hook.
10369 @item nntp-authinfo-function
10370 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
10371 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10372 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
10373 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
10374 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
10375 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
10376 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
10377 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
10378 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
10379 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
10380 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
10384 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
10387 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
10388 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
10389 @samp{default}, @samp{port} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a
10390 valid @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is almost the only way the
10391 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
10396 Here's an example file:
10399 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
10400 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
10403 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
10404 have to be first, for instance.
10406 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
10407 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
10408 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
10409 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
10410 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
10411 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
10412 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
10414 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
10415 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
10421 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
10422 previously mentioned.
10424 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
10426 @item nntp-server-action-alist
10427 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
10428 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
10429 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
10430 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
10433 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
10434 '(("innd" (ding))))
10437 You probably don't want to do that, though.
10439 The default value is
10442 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
10443 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
10446 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
10447 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
10449 @item nntp-maximum-request
10450 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
10451 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
10452 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
10453 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
10454 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
10455 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
10456 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
10458 @item nntp-connection-timeout
10459 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
10460 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
10461 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
10462 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
10463 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
10464 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
10465 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
10466 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
10467 no timeouts are done.
10469 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
10470 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
10471 @c @cindex PPP connections
10472 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
10473 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
10474 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
10475 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
10476 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
10477 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
10478 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
10479 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
10480 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
10481 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
10483 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
10484 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
10485 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
10486 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
10487 @c described above.
10489 @item nntp-server-hook
10490 @vindex nntp-server-hook
10491 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
10494 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
10495 @findex nntp-open-telnet
10496 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
10497 @item nntp-open-connection-function
10498 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
10499 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
10500 functions are supplied:
10503 @item nntp-open-network-stream
10504 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
10507 @item nntp-open-rlogin
10508 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
10509 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
10512 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
10516 @item nntp-rlogin-program
10517 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
10518 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
10519 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
10521 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
10522 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
10523 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
10525 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10526 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10527 User name on the remote system.
10531 @item nntp-open-telnet
10532 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
10533 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
10535 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
10538 @item nntp-telnet-command
10539 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
10540 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
10542 @item nntp-telnet-switches
10543 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
10544 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
10546 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
10547 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
10548 User name for log in on the remote system.
10550 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
10551 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
10552 Password to use when logging in.
10554 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
10555 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
10556 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
10559 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10560 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10561 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
10562 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
10564 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10565 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10566 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
10567 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
10568 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
10572 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
10573 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
10574 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
10575 you must have SSLay installed
10576 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
10577 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
10578 define a server as follows:
10581 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
10583 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
10585 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
10586 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
10587 (nntp-port-number "snews")
10588 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
10593 @item nntp-end-of-line
10594 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
10595 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
10596 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
10597 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
10599 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10600 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10601 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
10605 @vindex nntp-address
10606 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
10608 @item nntp-port-number
10609 @vindex nntp-port-number
10610 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
10613 @item nntp-list-options
10614 @vindex nntp-list-options
10615 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
10616 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
10617 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
10618 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
10619 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
10623 (setq gnus-select-method
10624 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
10625 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
10628 @item nntp-options-subscribe
10629 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
10630 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
10631 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
10632 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
10633 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
10634 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
10637 (setq gnus-select-method
10638 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
10639 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
10642 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
10643 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
10644 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
10645 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
10646 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
10647 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
10648 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
10651 (setq gnus-select-method
10652 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
10653 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
10656 @item nntp-buggy-select
10657 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
10658 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
10660 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
10661 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
10662 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
10663 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
10666 @item nntp-xover-commands
10667 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
10670 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
10671 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
10675 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
10676 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
10677 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
10678 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
10679 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
10680 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
10681 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
10682 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
10683 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
10684 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
10685 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
10687 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
10688 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
10689 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
10691 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10692 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10693 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
10694 server closes connection.
10696 @item nntp-record-commands
10697 @vindex nntp-record-commands
10698 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
10699 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
10700 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
10701 that doesn't seem to work.
10707 @subsection News Spool
10711 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
10712 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
10713 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
10716 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
10717 anything else) as the address.
10719 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
10720 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
10721 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
10722 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
10726 @item nnspool-inews-program
10727 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
10728 Program used to post an article.
10730 @item nnspool-inews-switches
10731 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
10732 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
10734 @item nnspool-spool-directory
10735 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
10736 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
10737 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
10739 @item nnspool-nov-directory
10740 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
10741 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
10742 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
10744 @item nnspool-lib-dir
10745 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
10746 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
10748 @item nnspool-active-file
10749 @vindex nnspool-active-file
10750 The path to the active file.
10752 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
10753 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
10754 The path to the group descriptions file.
10756 @item nnspool-history-file
10757 @vindex nnspool-history-file
10758 The path to the news history file.
10760 @item nnspool-active-times-file
10761 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
10762 The path to the active date file.
10764 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
10765 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
10766 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
10769 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10770 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10772 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
10773 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
10774 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
10780 @section Getting Mail
10781 @cindex reading mail
10784 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
10788 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
10789 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
10790 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
10791 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
10792 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
10793 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
10794 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
10795 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
10796 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
10797 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
10798 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
10799 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
10800 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
10804 @node Mail in a Newsreader
10805 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
10807 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
10808 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
10809 of a culture shock.
10811 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
10812 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
10814 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
10815 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
10816 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
10817 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
10819 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
10821 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
10822 deleted? How awful!
10824 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
10825 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
10826 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
10827 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
10830 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
10831 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
10832 they want to treat a message.
10834 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
10835 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
10836 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
10837 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
10838 archived somewhere else.
10840 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
10841 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
10842 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
10843 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
10844 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
10846 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
10847 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
10848 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
10850 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
10851 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
10854 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
10855 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
10856 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
10857 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
10858 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
10860 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
10861 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
10862 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
10863 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
10864 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
10865 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
10869 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
10870 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
10872 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
10873 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
10874 and things will happen automatically.
10876 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
10877 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
10880 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
10881 '((nnml "private")))
10884 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
10885 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
10886 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
10887 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
10888 like any other group.
10890 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
10893 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10894 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10895 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10899 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
10900 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
10901 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
10904 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
10905 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
10906 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
10909 @node Splitting Mail
10910 @subsection Splitting Mail
10911 @cindex splitting mail
10912 @cindex mail splitting
10914 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
10915 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
10916 to be split into groups.
10919 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10920 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10921 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10922 ("mail.other" "")))
10925 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
10926 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
10927 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
10928 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
10929 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
10930 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
10931 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
10934 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
10937 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
10938 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
10939 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
10940 mail belongs in that group.
10942 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
10943 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
10944 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
10945 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
10946 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
10947 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
10949 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
10950 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
10951 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
10952 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
10953 thinks should carry this mail message.
10955 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
10956 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
10957 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
10958 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
10960 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
10961 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
10962 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
10963 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
10964 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
10966 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
10969 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
10970 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
10971 links. If that's the case for you, set
10972 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
10973 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
10975 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
10976 @kindex nnmail-split-history
10977 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
10978 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
10979 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
10980 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
10983 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
10984 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
10985 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
10986 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
10987 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
10988 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
10989 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
10990 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
10991 month's rent money.
10995 @subsection Mail Sources
10997 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
10998 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11002 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11003 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11004 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11008 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11009 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11011 @cindex mail server
11014 @cindex mail source
11016 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11017 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11022 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11025 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11026 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11027 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11030 The following mail source types are available:
11034 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11040 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11041 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11044 An example file mail source:
11047 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11050 Or using the default path:
11056 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11057 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11058 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11061 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11065 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11068 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11072 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11075 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11077 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11080 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11084 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11085 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11086 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil force Gnus to
11087 scan the mail source only once.
11093 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11097 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11101 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11102 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11103 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11104 predicate are considered.
11108 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11112 An example directory mail source:
11115 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11120 Get mail from a POP server.
11126 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11127 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11130 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11131 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11132 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11133 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}.
11136 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11140 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11144 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This is should be
11145 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11148 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11151 The valid format specifier characters are:
11155 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11156 included in this string.
11159 The name of the server.
11162 The port number of the server.
11165 The user name to use.
11168 The password to use.
11171 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11172 corresponding keywords.
11175 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11176 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11179 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11180 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11183 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11184 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11187 @item :authentication
11188 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11189 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11194 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11195 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11197 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11198 default user name, and default fetcher:
11204 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11207 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11208 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11211 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11214 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11218 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11219 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11220 contains exactly one mail.
11226 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
11227 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
11230 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
11231 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
11233 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
11234 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
11235 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
11238 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
11239 from locking problems).
11243 Two example maildir mail sources:
11246 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/" :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
11250 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/" :subdirs ("new"))
11254 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap} as
11255 intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for some
11256 reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server and
11257 fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox.
11263 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
11264 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11267 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
11268 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
11271 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
11275 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
11279 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
11280 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
11281 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
11283 @item :authentication
11284 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
11285 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
11286 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
11290 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
11291 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
11294 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
11295 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
11296 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
11297 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
11298 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
11299 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
11302 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
11303 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
11304 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
11305 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
11308 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
11309 after finishing the fetch.
11313 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
11316 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" :stream kerberos4 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
11320 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
11321 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
11323 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
11326 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
11327 required for url "4.0pre.46".
11329 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
11335 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
11336 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
11339 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
11343 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
11347 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
11348 folder after finishing the fetch.
11352 An example webmail source:
11355 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11360 @item Common Keywords
11361 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
11367 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
11368 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
11372 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
11377 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
11378 useful when you use local mail and news.
11383 @subsubheading Function Interface
11385 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
11386 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
11387 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
11388 consider the following mail-source setting:
11391 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
11392 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
11395 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
11396 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
11397 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
11398 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
11399 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
11401 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
11404 @node Mail Source Customization
11405 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
11407 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
11408 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
11412 @item mail-source-crash-box
11413 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
11414 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
11415 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
11417 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
11418 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
11419 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
11421 @item mail-source-directory
11422 @vindex mail-source-directory
11423 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
11424 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
11425 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
11428 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11429 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11430 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
11431 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
11432 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
11433 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
11435 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
11436 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
11437 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
11442 @node Fetching Mail
11443 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
11445 @vindex mail-sources
11446 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
11447 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
11448 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
11449 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
11451 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
11452 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
11455 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
11456 mail server, you'd say something like:
11461 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11462 :password "secret")))
11465 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
11469 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
11470 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11473 :password "secret")))
11477 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
11478 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
11479 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
11480 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
11481 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
11482 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
11486 @node Mail Backend Variables
11487 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
11489 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
11493 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11494 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11495 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
11496 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
11498 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
11499 @item nnmail-split-hook
11500 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
11501 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
11502 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
11503 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
11504 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
11505 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
11506 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
11507 in the buffer will show up in any files.
11508 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
11511 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11512 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11513 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11514 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11515 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
11516 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
11517 starting to handle the new mail) and
11518 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
11519 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
11520 default file modes the new mail files get:
11523 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11524 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
11526 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
11527 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
11530 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
11531 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
11532 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
11533 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
11534 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
11535 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
11536 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
11538 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
11539 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
11540 @findex delete-file
11541 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
11543 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11544 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11545 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
11546 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
11547 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
11552 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
11553 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
11554 @cindex mail splitting
11555 @cindex fancy mail splitting
11557 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
11558 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
11559 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
11560 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
11561 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
11562 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
11564 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
11567 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
11568 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
11569 ;; from real errors.
11570 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
11572 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
11573 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
11574 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
11575 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
11576 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
11577 ;; Other mailing lists...
11578 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
11579 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
11580 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
11581 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
11582 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
11583 ;; message was really cross-posted.
11584 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
11585 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
11587 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
11588 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
11592 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
11593 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
11594 the five possible split syntaxes:
11599 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
11600 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
11604 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
11605 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
11606 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
11607 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
11608 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
11609 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
11610 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
11611 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
11614 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11615 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
11616 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
11617 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
11620 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11621 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
11624 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
11625 this message. Use with extreme caution.
11628 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
11629 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
11630 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
11631 function should return a @var{split}.
11633 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
11634 body of the messages:
11637 (defun split-on-body ()
11639 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
11640 (goto-char (point-min))
11641 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
11646 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11647 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
11648 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
11652 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
11656 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
11657 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
11658 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
11659 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
11660 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
11662 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
11663 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
11664 are expanded as specified by the variable
11665 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
11666 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
11669 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
11670 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
11671 when all this splitting is performed.
11673 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
11674 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
11675 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
11678 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
11681 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
11682 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
11684 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
11685 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
11686 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
11687 groupings 1 through 9.
11690 @node Group Mail Splitting
11691 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
11692 @cindex mail splitting
11693 @cindex group mail splitting
11695 @findex gnus-group-split
11696 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
11697 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
11698 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
11699 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
11700 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
11701 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
11702 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
11703 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
11705 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
11706 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
11707 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
11708 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
11710 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
11711 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
11712 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
11713 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
11714 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
11715 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
11716 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
11718 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
11719 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
11720 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
11721 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
11722 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
11723 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
11724 @code{gnus-group-split}.
11726 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
11727 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
11728 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
11729 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
11730 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
11731 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
11732 that group is used as the catch-all group. Note that, in this case,
11733 there's no cross-posting, as a @code{|} fancy split encloses the
11734 @code{&} split and the catch-all group.
11736 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
11741 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
11742 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
11744 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
11745 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
11746 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
11747 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
11749 ((split-spec . catch-all))
11752 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
11753 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
11754 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
11757 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
11758 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
11759 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
11763 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
11764 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
11765 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
11769 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
11772 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
11773 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
11774 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
11775 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} may be the name
11776 of a group to be used as the default catch-all group. If
11777 @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
11778 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
11779 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
11780 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
11782 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
11783 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
11784 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
11785 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
11786 used to select @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
11787 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
11788 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
11789 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
11790 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
11792 @findex gnus-group-split-update
11793 However, if you change group parameters, you have to update
11794 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
11795 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
11796 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
11797 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
11800 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
11803 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
11804 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
11805 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
11806 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional),
11807 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
11810 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
11811 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
11812 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
11813 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
11815 @node Incorporating Old Mail
11816 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
11818 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
11819 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
11820 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
11823 Doing so can be quite easy.
11825 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
11826 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
11827 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
11828 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
11829 your @code{nnml} groups.
11835 Go to the group buffer.
11838 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
11839 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11842 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
11845 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
11846 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11849 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
11850 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
11853 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
11854 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
11855 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
11856 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
11857 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
11859 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
11860 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
11861 using the new mail backend.
11864 @node Expiring Mail
11865 @subsection Expiring Mail
11866 @cindex article expiry
11868 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
11869 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
11870 different approach to mail reading.
11872 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
11873 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
11874 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
11875 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
11876 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
11877 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
11880 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
11881 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
11882 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
11883 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
11884 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
11885 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
11886 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
11887 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
11889 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11890 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
11891 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
11892 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
11893 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
11894 column in the summary buffer.
11896 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
11897 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
11898 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
11899 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
11902 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
11904 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
11905 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
11906 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
11909 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
11910 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
11911 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
11912 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
11913 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
11915 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
11916 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
11919 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11920 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
11923 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
11924 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
11926 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
11927 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
11928 don't really mix very well.
11930 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
11931 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
11932 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
11933 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
11936 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
11937 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
11938 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
11939 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
11942 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
11944 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
11946 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
11948 ((string= group "mail.junk")
11950 ((string= group "important")
11956 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
11957 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
11959 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
11960 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
11961 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
11964 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
11965 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
11967 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
11968 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
11969 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
11970 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
11971 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
11972 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
11973 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
11974 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
11975 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
11976 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
11977 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
11978 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
11981 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
11983 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
11987 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
11988 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
11989 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
11990 easier for procmail users.
11992 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
11993 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
11994 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
11995 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
11996 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
11997 caution. Even more dangerous is the
11998 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
11999 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12000 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12001 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12002 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12003 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12004 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12007 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12009 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12010 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12011 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12012 auto-expire turned on.
12016 @subsection Washing Mail
12017 @cindex mail washing
12018 @cindex list server brain damage
12019 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12021 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12022 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12023 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12024 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12025 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12026 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12028 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12029 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12030 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12033 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12034 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12035 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12036 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12039 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12040 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12041 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12042 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12043 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12046 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12047 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12048 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12049 Emacs running on MS machines.
12053 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12054 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12055 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12056 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12059 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12060 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12061 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12062 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12064 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12065 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12066 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12067 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12068 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12069 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12070 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12073 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12074 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12077 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12078 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12081 This can also be done non-destructively with
12082 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12084 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12085 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12086 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12088 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12089 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12091 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12092 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12093 @code{References} headers.
12097 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12098 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12099 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12103 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12104 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12105 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12112 @subsection Duplicates
12114 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12115 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12116 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12117 @cindex duplicate mails
12118 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12119 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12120 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12121 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12122 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12123 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12124 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12125 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12126 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12127 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12128 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12129 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12130 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12132 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
12133 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
12134 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
12135 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
12137 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
12140 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
12141 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
12145 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12146 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
12147 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
12148 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
12149 (any mail "mail.misc")
12156 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12157 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
12162 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
12163 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
12164 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
12165 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
12166 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
12169 @node Not Reading Mail
12170 @subsection Not Reading Mail
12172 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
12173 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
12174 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
12176 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
12177 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
12178 mail, which should help.
12180 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12181 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12182 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12183 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12184 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12185 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
12186 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
12187 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
12188 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
12189 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
12190 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
12192 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
12193 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
12197 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
12198 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
12200 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
12201 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
12202 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
12204 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
12205 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
12206 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
12207 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
12210 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
12211 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
12212 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
12213 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
12214 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
12215 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
12219 @node Unix Mail Box
12220 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
12222 @cindex unix mail box
12224 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12225 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12226 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
12227 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
12228 which group it belongs in.
12230 Virtual server settings:
12233 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
12234 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12235 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
12237 @item nnmbox-active-file
12238 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12239 The name of the active file for the mail box.
12241 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
12242 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12243 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
12249 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
12253 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12254 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12255 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
12256 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
12257 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
12259 Virtual server settings:
12262 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
12263 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12264 The name of the rmail mbox file.
12266 @item nnbabyl-active-file
12267 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12268 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
12270 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12271 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12272 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
12277 @subsubsection Mail Spool
12279 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
12281 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
12282 format. It should be used with some caution.
12284 @vindex nnml-directory
12285 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
12286 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
12287 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
12288 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
12290 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
12293 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
12294 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
12295 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
12296 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
12297 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
12298 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
12299 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
12300 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
12302 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
12303 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
12304 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
12305 backend when it comes to reading mail.
12307 Virtual server settings:
12310 @item nnml-directory
12311 @vindex nnml-directory
12312 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
12314 @item nnml-active-file
12315 @vindex nnml-active-file
12316 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
12318 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
12319 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
12320 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12323 @item nnml-get-new-mail
12324 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12325 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
12327 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
12328 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
12329 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
12331 @item nnml-nov-file-name
12332 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
12333 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
12335 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12336 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12337 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
12341 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
12342 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
12343 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
12344 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
12345 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
12346 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
12347 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
12352 @subsubsection MH Spool
12354 @cindex mh-e mail spool
12356 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
12357 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
12358 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
12359 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
12361 Virtual server settings:
12364 @item nnmh-directory
12365 @vindex nnmh-directory
12366 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
12368 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
12369 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12370 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
12373 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
12374 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
12375 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
12376 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
12377 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
12378 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
12379 to set this variable to @code{t}.
12384 @subsubsection Mail Folders
12386 @cindex mbox folders
12387 @cindex mail folders
12389 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
12390 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
12391 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
12394 Virtual server settings:
12397 @item nnfolder-directory
12398 @vindex nnfolder-directory
12399 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
12401 @item nnfolder-active-file
12402 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
12403 The name of the active file.
12405 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12406 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12407 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
12409 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
12410 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12411 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
12413 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12414 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12415 @cindex backup files
12416 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
12417 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
12418 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
12419 your @file{.emacs} file:
12422 (defun turn-off-backup ()
12423 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
12425 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
12428 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12429 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12430 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
12431 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
12432 extract some information from it before removing it.
12437 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
12438 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
12439 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
12440 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
12441 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
12442 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
12445 @node Comparing Mail Backends
12446 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
12448 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
12449 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
12450 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
12451 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
12452 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
12454 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
12455 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
12456 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
12457 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
12458 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
12459 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
12460 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
12461 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
12464 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
12465 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
12466 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
12467 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
12472 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
12473 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
12474 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
12475 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
12476 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
12477 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
12478 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
12479 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
12480 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
12481 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
12482 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
12483 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
12484 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
12489 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
12490 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
12491 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
12492 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
12493 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
12494 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
12495 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
12496 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
12497 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
12498 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
12499 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
12500 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
12501 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
12502 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
12504 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
12505 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
12510 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
12511 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
12512 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
12513 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
12514 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
12515 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
12516 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
12517 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
12518 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
12519 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
12520 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
12521 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
12522 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
12523 provided by the active file and overviews.
12525 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
12526 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
12527 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
12528 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
12529 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
12532 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
12533 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
12538 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
12539 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
12540 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
12541 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
12542 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
12543 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
12544 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
12548 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
12549 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
12550 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
12551 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
12552 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
12553 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
12554 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
12555 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
12556 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
12558 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
12559 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
12560 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
12561 friendly mail backend all over.
12566 @node Browsing the Web
12567 @section Browsing the Web
12569 @cindex browsing the web
12573 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
12574 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
12575 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
12576 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
12577 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
12578 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
12579 even know what a news group is.
12581 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
12582 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
12583 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
12584 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
12585 you mad in the end.
12587 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
12590 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
12591 interfaces to these sources.
12594 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
12595 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
12596 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
12597 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
12598 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
12601 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
12603 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
12604 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
12605 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
12606 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
12607 though, you should be ok.
12609 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
12610 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
12611 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
12612 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
12613 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
12617 @subsection Web Searches
12621 @cindex InReference
12622 @cindex Usenet searches
12623 @cindex searching the Usenet
12625 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
12626 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
12627 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
12628 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
12629 searches without having to use a browser.
12631 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
12632 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
12633 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
12634 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
12635 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
12637 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
12638 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
12639 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
12640 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
12641 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
12642 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
12643 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
12644 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
12645 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
12646 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
12649 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
12650 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
12651 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
12652 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
12653 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
12654 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
12656 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
12657 to use @code{nnweb}.
12659 Virtual server variables:
12664 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
12665 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
12669 @vindex nnweb-search
12670 The search string to feed to the search engine.
12672 @item nnweb-max-hits
12673 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
12674 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
12677 @item nnweb-type-definition
12678 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
12679 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
12680 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
12685 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
12689 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
12692 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
12695 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
12699 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
12706 @subsection Slashdot
12710 Slashdot (@file{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
12711 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
12712 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
12714 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
12715 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12718 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
12719 '((nnslashdot "")))
12722 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
12723 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
12724 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
12725 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
12726 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
12729 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
12730 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12732 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
12733 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
12734 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
12735 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
12736 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
12737 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
12740 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
12743 @item nnslashdot-threaded
12744 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
12745 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
12746 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
12747 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
12748 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
12749 but much, much slower than untreaded.
12751 @item nnslashdot-login-name
12752 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
12753 The login name to use when posting.
12755 @item nnslashdot-password
12756 @vindex nnslashdot-password
12757 The password to use when posting.
12759 @item nnslashdot-directory
12760 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
12761 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default value is
12762 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
12764 @item nnslashdot-active-url
12765 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
12766 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
12767 news articles and comments. The default is
12768 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
12770 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
12771 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
12772 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
12774 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
12776 @item nnslashdot-article-url
12777 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
12778 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
12780 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
12782 @item nnslashdot-threshold
12783 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
12784 The score threshold. The default is -1.
12786 @item nnslashdot-group-number
12787 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
12788 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
12789 updated. The default is 0.
12796 @subsection Ultimate
12798 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
12800 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@file{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
12801 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
12802 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
12803 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
12805 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
12806 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
12807 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
12808 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
12809 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
12810 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
12811 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
12813 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
12816 @item nnultimate-directory
12817 @vindex nnultimate-directory
12818 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
12819 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
12824 @subsection Web Archive
12826 @cindex Web Archive
12828 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
12829 @file{http://www.egroups.com/} and
12830 @file{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
12831 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
12834 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
12835 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
12836 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
12837 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
12838 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
12839 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
12840 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
12842 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
12845 @item nnwarchive-directory
12846 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
12847 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
12848 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
12850 @item nnwarchive-login
12851 @vindex nnwarchive-login
12852 The account name on the web server.
12854 @item nnwarchive-passwd
12855 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
12856 The password for your account on the web server.
12860 @node Customizing w3
12861 @subsection Customizing w3
12867 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
12868 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
12869 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
12871 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
12872 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
12873 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
12876 (eval-after-load "w3"
12878 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
12879 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
12880 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
12881 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
12883 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
12886 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
12887 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
12891 @node Other Sources
12892 @section Other Sources
12894 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
12895 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
12899 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
12900 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
12901 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
12902 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
12903 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
12904 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
12908 @node Directory Groups
12909 @subsection Directory Groups
12911 @cindex directory groups
12913 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
12914 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
12917 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
12918 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
12919 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
12920 backend to read directories. Big deal.
12922 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
12923 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
12924 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
12925 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
12926 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
12928 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
12930 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
12931 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
12932 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
12933 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
12936 @node Anything Groups
12937 @subsection Anything Groups
12940 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
12941 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
12942 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
12945 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
12946 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
12947 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
12948 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
12949 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
12950 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
12951 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
12952 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
12953 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
12954 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
12957 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
12958 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
12959 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
12960 in the article buffer, just as usual.
12962 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
12963 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
12964 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
12965 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
12967 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
12968 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
12969 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
12970 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
12971 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
12972 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
12973 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
12974 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
12979 @item nneething-map-file-directory
12980 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
12981 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
12982 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
12984 @item nneething-exclude-files
12985 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
12986 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
12987 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
12989 @item nneething-include-files
12990 @vindex nneething-include-files
12991 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
12992 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
12994 @item nneething-map-file
12995 @vindex nneething-map-file
12996 Name of the map files.
13000 @node Document Groups
13001 @subsection Document Groups
13003 @cindex documentation group
13006 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
13007 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
13014 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
13019 The standard Unix mbox file.
13021 @cindex MMDF mail box
13023 The MMDF mail box format.
13026 Several news articles appended into a file.
13029 @cindex rnews batch files
13030 The rnews batch transport format.
13031 @cindex forwarded messages
13034 Forwarded articles.
13037 Netscape mail boxes.
13040 MIME multipart messages.
13042 @item standard-digest
13043 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
13046 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
13049 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
13050 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
13051 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
13054 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
13055 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
13056 group. And that's it.
13058 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
13059 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
13060 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
13061 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
13062 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
13063 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
13064 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
13065 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
13066 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
13067 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
13069 Virtual server variables:
13072 @item nndoc-article-type
13073 @vindex nndoc-article-type
13074 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
13075 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
13076 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
13077 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
13079 @item nndoc-post-type
13080 @vindex nndoc-post-type
13081 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
13082 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
13087 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
13091 @node Document Server Internals
13092 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
13094 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
13095 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
13096 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
13097 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
13099 First, here's an example document type definition:
13103 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
13104 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
13107 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
13108 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
13109 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
13110 types can be defined with very few settings:
13113 @item first-article
13114 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
13115 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
13118 @item article-begin
13119 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
13120 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
13122 @item head-begin-function
13123 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
13126 @item nndoc-head-begin
13127 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
13130 @item nndoc-head-end
13131 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
13132 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
13134 @item body-begin-function
13135 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
13139 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
13142 @item body-end-function
13143 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
13147 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
13150 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
13151 regexp will be totally ignored.
13155 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
13156 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
13157 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
13158 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
13159 something that's palatable for Gnus:
13162 @item prepare-body-function
13163 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
13164 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
13165 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
13167 @item article-transform-function
13168 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
13169 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
13170 body of the article.
13172 @item generate-head-function
13173 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
13174 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
13175 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
13176 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
13180 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
13185 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13186 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13187 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
13188 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
13189 (head-end . "^ ?$")
13190 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
13191 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
13192 (subtype digest guess))
13195 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
13196 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
13197 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
13198 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
13199 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
13201 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
13202 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
13203 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
13204 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
13205 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
13206 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
13207 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
13208 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
13209 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
13210 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
13218 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
13219 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
13220 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
13222 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
13223 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
13224 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
13227 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
13228 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
13229 that interested in doing things properly.
13231 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
13232 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
13235 First some terminology:
13240 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
13241 get news and/or mail from.
13244 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
13245 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
13248 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
13252 @item message packets
13253 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
13254 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
13255 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13257 @item response packets
13258 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
13259 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
13260 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13270 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
13271 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
13272 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
13273 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
13276 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
13279 You put the packet in your home directory.
13282 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
13283 the native or secondary server.
13286 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
13287 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
13290 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
13294 You transfer this packet to the server.
13297 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
13300 You then repeat until you die.
13304 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
13305 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
13308 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
13309 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
13310 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
13314 @node SOUP Commands
13315 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
13317 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
13321 @kindex G s b (Group)
13322 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
13323 Pack all unread articles in the current group
13324 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
13325 process/prefix convention.
13328 @kindex G s w (Group)
13329 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
13330 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
13333 @kindex G s s (Group)
13334 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
13335 Send all replies from the replies packet
13336 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
13339 @kindex G s p (Group)
13340 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
13341 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
13344 @kindex G s r (Group)
13345 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
13346 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
13349 @kindex O s (Summary)
13350 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
13351 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
13352 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
13353 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13358 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
13363 @item gnus-soup-directory
13364 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
13365 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
13366 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
13368 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
13369 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
13370 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
13371 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
13373 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
13374 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
13375 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
13376 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
13378 @item gnus-soup-packer
13379 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
13380 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13381 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
13383 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
13384 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
13385 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13386 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13388 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
13389 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
13390 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
13392 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13393 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13394 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
13395 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
13401 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
13404 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
13405 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
13406 you can read them at leisure.
13408 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
13412 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
13413 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
13414 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
13415 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
13417 @item nnsoup-directory
13418 @vindex nnsoup-directory
13419 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
13420 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
13422 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
13423 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
13424 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
13425 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
13427 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
13428 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
13429 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
13430 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
13431 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
13433 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
13434 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
13435 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
13436 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
13438 @item nnsoup-active-file
13439 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
13440 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
13441 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
13442 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
13443 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
13445 @item nnsoup-packer
13446 @vindex nnsoup-packer
13447 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
13448 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
13450 @item nnsoup-unpacker
13451 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
13452 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
13453 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13455 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
13456 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
13457 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
13460 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
13461 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
13462 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
13465 @item nnsoup-always-save
13466 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
13467 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
13473 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
13475 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
13476 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
13477 more for that to happen.
13479 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
13480 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
13481 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
13484 In specific, this is what it does:
13487 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
13488 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
13491 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
13492 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
13493 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
13496 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
13497 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
13498 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
13501 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
13502 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
13503 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
13505 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
13511 @item nngateway-address
13512 @vindex nngateway-address
13513 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
13515 @item nngateway-header-transformation
13516 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
13517 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
13518 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
13519 transformation should be called, and defaults to
13520 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
13521 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
13524 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
13525 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
13526 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
13529 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
13532 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
13535 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
13538 The following pre-defined functions exist:
13540 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13543 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13544 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13545 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
13547 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13549 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13550 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13551 @code{nngateway-address}.
13556 (setq gnus-post-method
13557 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
13558 (nngateway-header-transformation
13559 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
13567 So, to use this, simply say something like:
13570 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
13576 @subsection @sc{imap}
13580 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13581 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap} server
13582 is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just specify the
13583 network address of the server.
13585 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
13590 @item nnimap-address
13591 @vindex nnimap-address
13593 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
13594 server name if not specified.
13596 @item nnimap-server-port
13597 @vindex nnimap-server-port
13598 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
13600 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
13603 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13604 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
13607 @item nnimap-list-pattern
13608 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
13609 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
13610 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
13611 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
13612 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
13613 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
13615 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
13616 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
13617 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
13620 Example server specification:
13623 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13624 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
13625 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
13628 @item nnimap-stream
13629 @vindex nnimap-stream
13630 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
13631 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
13632 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
13633 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
13635 Example server specification:
13638 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13639 (nnimap-stream ssl))
13642 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
13646 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Require the
13647 @samp{imtest} program.
13649 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Require the @samp{imtest} program.
13651 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
13652 SSL). Require the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13655 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Require OpenSSL (the
13656 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
13658 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start IMAP connection.
13660 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
13663 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
13664 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD, nnimap support
13665 both @samp{imtest} version 1.5.x and version 1.6.x. The variable
13666 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
13669 @vindex imap-ssl-program
13670 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
13671 @file{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
13672 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
13673 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
13674 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
13675 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
13678 @vindex imap-shell-program
13679 @vindex imap-shell-host
13680 For IMAP connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
13681 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
13683 @item nnimap-authenticator
13684 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
13686 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
13687 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
13689 Example server specification:
13692 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13693 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
13696 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
13700 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
13701 external program @code{imtest}.
13703 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
13706 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
13707 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
13709 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
13711 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
13713 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
13716 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
13718 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
13719 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
13720 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
13721 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
13722 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
13723 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
13726 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
13727 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
13728 running in circles yet?
13730 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
13731 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
13734 The possible options are:
13739 The default behaviour, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
13742 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
13743 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
13744 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
13745 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
13747 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
13752 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
13753 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
13755 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format
13756 is (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See
13757 `nntp-authinfo-file' for exact syntax.
13759 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
13760 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
13761 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
13767 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
13768 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
13769 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
13774 @node Splitting in IMAP
13775 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
13776 @cindex splitting imap mail
13778 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
13779 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
13780 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
13781 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
13782 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
13786 Here are the variables of interest:
13790 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
13791 @cindex splitting, crosspost
13793 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
13795 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
13796 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
13798 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
13800 @item nnimap-split-inbox
13801 @cindex splitting, inbox
13803 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
13805 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
13806 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
13810 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
13811 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
13814 No nnmail equivalent.
13816 @item nnimap-split-rule
13817 @cindex Splitting, rules
13818 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
13820 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
13823 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
13824 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
13825 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
13826 Neither did I, we need examples.
13829 (setq nnimap-split-rule
13830 '(("INBOX.nnimap" "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
13831 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
13832 ("INBOX.private" "")))
13835 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
13836 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
13837 into INBOX.spam and everything else in INBOX.private.
13839 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
13840 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
13844 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
13847 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13848 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
13849 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
13850 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
13852 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
13853 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
13854 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
13855 of your inbox. (This might might affect performance if you keep lots of
13856 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
13857 them every time you fetch new mail.)
13859 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
13860 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
13861 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
13863 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
13864 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
13865 thinks the article should be splitted to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
13867 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
13869 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
13870 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
13871 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
13874 (setq nnimap-split-rule
13875 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
13876 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
13877 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
13878 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
13879 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
13882 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
13883 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
13884 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
13885 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
13886 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
13887 group/function elements.
13889 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
13891 @item nnimap-split-predicate
13893 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
13895 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
13896 splitted, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
13898 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
13899 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
13900 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
13903 @item nnimap-split-fancy
13904 @cindex splitting, fancy
13905 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
13906 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
13908 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
13909 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
13910 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13912 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
13913 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
13914 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
13915 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
13920 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
13921 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
13924 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
13928 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
13929 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
13930 @cindex editing imap acls
13931 @cindex Access Control Lists
13932 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
13934 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
13936 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
13937 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
13938 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
13941 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
13942 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
13943 editing window with detailed instructions.
13945 Some possible uses:
13949 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
13950 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
13951 follow the list without subscribing to it.
13953 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
13954 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
13955 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
13959 @node Expunging mailboxes
13960 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
13964 @cindex Manual expunging
13966 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
13968 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-close},
13969 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
13970 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
13972 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
13977 @node Combined Groups
13978 @section Combined Groups
13980 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
13984 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
13985 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
13989 @node Virtual Groups
13990 @subsection Virtual Groups
13992 @cindex virtual groups
13993 @cindex merging groups
13995 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
13998 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
13999 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
14000 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
14002 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
14003 regexp to match component groups.
14005 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
14006 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
14007 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
14008 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
14009 the virtual group.)
14011 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
14012 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
14015 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
14018 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
14019 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
14021 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
14022 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
14023 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
14024 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
14027 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
14030 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
14031 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
14032 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
14034 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
14035 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
14036 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
14037 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
14038 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
14040 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
14041 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
14042 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
14044 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
14045 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
14046 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
14047 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14048 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
14049 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
14050 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
14051 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
14052 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
14053 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
14054 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
14056 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
14057 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
14058 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
14059 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
14060 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
14061 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
14062 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
14064 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
14065 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
14069 @node Kibozed Groups
14070 @subsection Kibozed Groups
14074 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
14075 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
14076 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
14077 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
14079 @kindex G k (Group)
14080 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
14083 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
14084 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
14085 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
14086 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
14088 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
14089 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
14090 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
14092 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
14093 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
14094 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
14095 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
14096 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
14097 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
14098 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
14099 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
14101 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
14102 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
14103 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
14104 Stranger things have happened.
14106 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
14107 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
14109 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
14110 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
14111 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
14112 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
14113 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
14114 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
14116 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
14117 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
14120 @node Gnus Unplugged
14121 @section Gnus Unplugged
14126 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
14128 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
14129 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
14130 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
14131 read news. Believe it or not.
14133 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
14134 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
14135 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
14136 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
14137 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
14139 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
14140 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
14141 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
14142 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
14143 reading news on a machine.
14145 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
14149 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
14150 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
14154 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
14155 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14162 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
14164 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
14167 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
14168 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
14169 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
14170 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
14171 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
14172 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
14173 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
14174 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
14175 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
14176 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
14181 @subsection Agent Basics
14183 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
14185 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
14186 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
14187 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
14188 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
14190 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
14191 connected to the net continuously.
14193 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
14194 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
14196 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
14201 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
14202 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
14203 already fetched while in this mode.
14206 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
14207 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
14208 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
14209 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
14210 Source Specifiers}).
14213 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
14214 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
14215 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
14216 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
14217 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
14220 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
14221 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
14222 then you read the news offline.
14225 And then you go to step 2.
14228 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
14234 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
14235 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
14236 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
14237 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
14238 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
14239 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
14242 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
14249 @node Agent Categories
14250 @subsection Agent Categories
14252 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
14253 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
14254 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
14255 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
14256 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
14257 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
14258 you're interested in the articles anyway.
14260 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
14261 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
14262 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
14263 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
14264 managing categories.
14267 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
14268 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
14269 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
14273 @node Category Syntax
14274 @subsubsection Category Syntax
14276 A category consists of two things.
14280 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
14281 are eligible for downloading; and
14284 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
14285 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
14286 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
14289 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
14290 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
14291 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
14292 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
14294 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
14295 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
14296 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
14298 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
14299 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
14300 operators sprinkled in between.
14302 Perhaps some examples are in order.
14304 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
14305 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
14311 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
14312 short (for some value of ``short'').
14314 Here's a more complex predicate:
14323 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
14324 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
14327 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
14328 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
14329 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
14331 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
14332 you want to do, you can write your own.
14336 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
14337 lines; default 100.
14340 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
14341 lines; default 200.
14344 True iff the article has a download score less than
14345 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
14348 True iff the article has a download score greater than
14349 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
14352 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
14353 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
14354 checksum and sees whether articles match.
14363 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
14364 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
14365 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
14368 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
14369 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
14370 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
14371 something along the lines of the following:
14374 (defun my-article-old-p ()
14375 "Say whether an article is old."
14376 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
14377 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
14380 with the predicate then defined as:
14383 (not my-article-old-p)
14386 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
14387 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
14388 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
14389 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
14392 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
14393 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
14394 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
14397 and simply specify your predicate as:
14403 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
14404 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
14405 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
14406 just don't give a damm.
14408 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
14409 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
14410 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
14411 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
14412 parameters like so:
14415 (agent-predicate . short)
14418 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
14419 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
14420 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
14422 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
14425 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
14428 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
14429 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
14430 predicate is assumed to be a list.
14433 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
14434 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
14435 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
14436 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
14437 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
14438 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
14440 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
14441 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
14442 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
14443 if it's to be specific to that group.
14445 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
14452 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
14453 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
14459 Category specification
14463 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14469 Group Parameter specification
14472 (agent-score ("from"
14473 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14478 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
14484 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
14491 Category specification
14494 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
14500 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
14504 Group Parameter specification
14507 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
14510 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
14515 Use @code{normal} score files
14517 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
14518 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
14519 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
14520 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
14522 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
14523 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
14524 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
14525 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
14529 Category Specification
14536 Group Parameter specification
14539 (agent-score . file)
14544 @node The Category Buffer
14545 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
14547 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
14548 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
14549 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
14551 The following commands are available in this buffer:
14555 @kindex q (Category)
14556 @findex gnus-category-exit
14557 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
14560 @kindex k (Category)
14561 @findex gnus-category-kill
14562 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
14565 @kindex c (Category)
14566 @findex gnus-category-copy
14567 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
14570 @kindex a (Category)
14571 @findex gnus-category-add
14572 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
14575 @kindex p (Category)
14576 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
14577 Edit the predicate of the current category
14578 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
14581 @kindex g (Category)
14582 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
14583 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
14584 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
14587 @kindex s (Category)
14588 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
14589 Edit the download score rule of the current category
14590 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
14593 @kindex l (Category)
14594 @findex gnus-category-list
14595 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
14599 @node Category Variables
14600 @subsubsection Category Variables
14603 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
14604 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
14605 Hook run in category buffers.
14607 @item gnus-category-line-format
14608 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
14609 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
14610 Variables}). Valid elements are:
14614 The name of the category.
14617 The number of groups in the category.
14620 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
14621 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
14622 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
14624 @item gnus-agent-short-article
14625 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
14626 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
14628 @item gnus-agent-long-article
14629 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
14630 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
14632 @item gnus-agent-low-score
14633 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
14634 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
14637 @item gnus-agent-high-score
14638 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
14639 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
14645 @node Agent Commands
14646 @subsection Agent Commands
14648 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
14649 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
14650 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
14654 * Group Agent Commands::
14655 * Summary Agent Commands::
14656 * Server Agent Commands::
14659 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
14660 following incantation:
14662 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14664 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14669 @node Group Agent Commands
14670 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
14674 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
14675 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
14676 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
14677 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
14680 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
14681 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
14682 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
14685 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
14686 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
14687 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
14688 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
14691 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
14692 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
14693 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
14694 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
14697 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
14698 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
14699 Add the current group to an Agent category
14700 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
14701 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14704 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
14705 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
14706 Remove the current group from its category, if any
14707 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
14708 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14711 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
14712 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
14713 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
14719 @node Summary Agent Commands
14720 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
14724 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
14725 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
14726 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
14729 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
14730 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
14731 Remove the downloading mark from the article
14732 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
14735 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
14736 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
14737 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
14740 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
14741 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
14742 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
14747 @node Server Agent Commands
14748 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
14752 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
14753 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
14754 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
14755 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
14758 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
14759 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
14760 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
14761 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
14767 @subsection Agent Expiry
14769 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
14770 @findex gnus-agent-expire
14771 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
14772 @cindex Agent expiry
14773 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
14776 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
14777 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
14778 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
14779 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
14780 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
14781 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
14783 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
14784 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
14785 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
14786 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
14787 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
14790 @node Agent and IMAP
14791 @subsection Agent and IMAP
14793 The Agent work with any Gnus backend, including nnimap. However, since
14794 there are some conceptual differences between NNTP and IMAP, this
14795 section (should) provide you with some information to make Gnus Agent
14796 work smoother as a IMAP Disconnected Mode client.
14798 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
14799 are kept on the IMAP server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
14800 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
14801 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
14803 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
14804 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
14805 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize theese
14806 with the server. This behaviour is customizable with
14807 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
14809 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
14810 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
14811 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
14812 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
14813 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
14814 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
14816 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
14817 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
14818 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
14819 in the group buffer by default.
14821 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
14822 expect from a disconnected IMAP client, including:
14827 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
14830 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
14834 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
14835 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
14836 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
14837 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
14838 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
14839 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
14840 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
14841 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
14844 @node Outgoing Messages
14845 @subsection Outgoing Messages
14847 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
14848 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
14849 after posting, and edit them at will.
14851 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
14852 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
14853 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
14854 messages in the draft group.
14858 @node Agent Variables
14859 @subsection Agent Variables
14862 @item gnus-agent-directory
14863 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
14864 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
14865 @file{~/News/agent/}.
14867 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
14868 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
14869 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
14870 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
14871 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
14874 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
14875 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
14876 Hook run when connecting to the network.
14878 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
14879 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
14880 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
14885 @node Example Setup
14886 @subsection Example Setup
14888 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
14889 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
14890 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
14893 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
14894 ;;; from your ISP's server.
14895 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
14897 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
14898 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
14899 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
14901 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
14902 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
14904 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
14908 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
14909 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
14912 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
14913 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
14914 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
14915 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
14916 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
14919 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
14920 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
14921 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
14922 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
14923 back all the killed groups.)
14925 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
14926 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
14927 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
14930 @node Batching Agents
14931 @subsection Batching Agents
14933 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
14934 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
14935 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
14939 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
14943 @node Agent Caveats
14944 @subsection Agent Caveats
14946 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
14947 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
14951 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
14956 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
14957 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
14963 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
14964 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
14971 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
14972 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
14973 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
14976 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
14977 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
14978 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
14979 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
14980 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
14982 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
14983 before generating the summary buffer.
14985 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
14986 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
14987 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
14989 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
14990 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
14991 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
14992 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
14995 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
14996 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
14997 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
14998 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
14999 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
15000 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
15001 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
15002 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
15003 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
15004 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
15005 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
15006 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
15007 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
15008 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
15009 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
15013 @node Summary Score Commands
15014 @section Summary Score Commands
15015 @cindex score commands
15017 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
15018 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
15019 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
15020 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
15021 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
15023 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
15024 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
15025 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
15026 score file the current one.
15028 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
15033 @kindex V s (Summary)
15034 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
15035 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
15038 @kindex V S (Summary)
15039 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
15040 Display the score of the current article
15041 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
15044 @kindex V t (Summary)
15045 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
15046 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
15047 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
15050 @kindex V R (Summary)
15051 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
15052 Run the current summary through the scoring process
15053 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
15054 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
15055 effect you're having.
15058 @kindex V c (Summary)
15059 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
15060 Make a different score file the current
15061 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
15064 @kindex V e (Summary)
15065 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
15066 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
15067 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
15071 @kindex V f (Summary)
15072 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
15073 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
15074 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
15077 @kindex V F (Summary)
15078 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15079 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
15080 after editing score files.
15083 @kindex V C (Summary)
15084 @findex gnus-score-customize
15085 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
15086 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
15090 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
15095 @kindex V m (Summary)
15096 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
15097 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
15098 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
15101 @kindex V x (Summary)
15102 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
15103 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
15104 expunge all articles below this score
15105 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
15108 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
15109 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
15112 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
15113 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
15117 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
15118 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
15120 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
15121 keys are available:
15125 Score on the author name.
15128 Score on the subject line.
15131 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
15134 Score on the @code{References} line.
15140 Score on the number of lines.
15143 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
15146 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
15147 the followups to this author.
15161 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
15162 what headers you are scoring on.
15174 Substring matching.
15177 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
15206 Greater than number.
15211 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
15212 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
15213 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
15217 Temporary score entry.
15220 Permanent score entry.
15223 Immediately scoring.
15228 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
15229 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
15230 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
15231 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
15233 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
15234 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
15235 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
15236 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
15237 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
15239 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
15240 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
15241 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
15242 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
15243 current score file.
15245 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
15246 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
15247 pretend they are keymaps or not.
15250 @node Group Score Commands
15251 @section Group Score Commands
15252 @cindex group score commands
15254 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
15259 @kindex W f (Group)
15260 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15261 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
15262 all the time. This command will flush the cache
15263 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
15267 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
15269 @findex gnus-batch-score
15270 @cindex batch scoring
15272 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
15276 @node Score Variables
15277 @section Score Variables
15278 @cindex score variables
15282 @item gnus-use-scoring
15283 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
15284 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
15285 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
15287 @item gnus-kill-killed
15288 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
15289 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
15290 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
15291 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
15292 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
15293 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
15294 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
15296 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
15297 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
15298 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
15299 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
15300 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
15302 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
15303 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
15304 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
15305 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
15307 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15308 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15309 @cindex score cache
15310 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
15311 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
15312 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
15313 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
15314 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
15315 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
15318 @item gnus-save-score
15319 @vindex gnus-save-score
15320 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
15321 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
15322 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
15324 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
15325 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
15326 across group visits.
15328 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15329 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15330 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
15331 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
15332 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
15333 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
15334 manually entered data.
15336 @item gnus-summary-default-score
15337 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
15338 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
15340 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
15341 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
15342 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
15343 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
15344 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
15345 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
15347 @item gnus-score-over-mark
15348 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
15349 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
15350 default. Default is @samp{+}.
15352 @item gnus-score-below-mark
15353 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
15354 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
15355 default. Default is @samp{-}.
15357 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15358 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15359 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
15360 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
15362 Predefined functions available are:
15365 @item gnus-score-find-single
15366 @findex gnus-score-find-single
15367 Only apply the group's own score file.
15369 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
15370 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
15371 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
15372 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
15373 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
15374 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
15375 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
15376 then a regexp match is done.
15378 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
15379 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
15381 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
15382 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
15383 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
15384 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
15386 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15387 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15388 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
15389 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
15390 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
15394 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
15395 functions will be called with the group name as argument, and all the
15396 returned lists of score files will be applied. These functions can also
15397 return lists of score alists directly. In that case, the functions that
15398 return these non-file score alists should probably be placed before the
15399 ``real'' score file functions, to ensure that the last score file
15400 returned is the local score file. Phu.
15402 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
15403 overall score file, you could use the value
15405 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE")) 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
15408 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
15409 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
15410 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
15411 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
15412 are expired. It's 7 by default.
15414 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15415 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15416 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
15417 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
15418 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
15419 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
15420 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
15423 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15424 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15425 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
15427 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
15428 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
15429 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
15430 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
15431 threading---according to the current value of
15432 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
15433 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
15434 simplified in this manner.
15439 @node Score File Format
15440 @section Score File Format
15441 @cindex score file format
15443 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
15444 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
15445 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
15447 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
15451 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
15453 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
15455 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
15457 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
15462 (mark-and-expunge -10)
15466 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
15467 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
15468 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
15469 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
15473 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
15474 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
15476 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
15477 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
15478 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
15480 Six keys are supported by this alist:
15485 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
15486 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
15487 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
15488 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
15489 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
15490 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
15491 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
15492 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
15493 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
15494 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
15495 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
15496 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
15497 to articles that matches these score entries.
15499 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
15500 score entry has one to four elements.
15504 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
15505 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
15509 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
15510 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
15511 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
15512 is successful. If this element is not present, the
15513 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
15514 instead. This is 1000 by default.
15517 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
15518 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
15519 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
15520 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
15521 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
15524 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
15525 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
15526 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
15527 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
15530 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
15531 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
15532 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
15533 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
15534 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
15535 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
15536 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
15537 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
15538 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
15539 instead, if you feel like.
15542 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
15543 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
15545 These predicates are true if
15548 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
15551 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
15552 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
15559 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
15560 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
15561 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
15562 it's not. I think.)
15564 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
15565 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
15566 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
15567 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
15570 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
15571 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
15572 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
15573 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
15574 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
15575 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
15576 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
15580 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
15581 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
15582 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
15583 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
15584 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
15585 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
15586 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
15587 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
15590 @item Head, Body, All
15591 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
15595 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
15596 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
15597 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
15598 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
15599 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
15600 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
15601 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
15605 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
15606 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
15607 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
15608 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
15609 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
15610 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
15611 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
15612 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
15613 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
15614 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
15615 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
15619 @cindex Score File Atoms
15621 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15622 lower than this number will be marked as read.
15625 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15626 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
15628 @item mark-and-expunge
15629 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15630 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
15633 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
15634 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
15635 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
15636 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
15637 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
15640 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
15641 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
15644 @item exclude-files
15645 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
15646 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
15650 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
15651 ignored when handling global score files.
15654 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
15655 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
15656 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
15657 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
15660 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
15661 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
15662 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
15663 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
15665 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
15669 (mark-and-expunge -100)
15672 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
15673 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
15674 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
15675 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
15676 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
15678 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
15679 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
15680 ordinary scoring rules.
15683 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
15684 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
15685 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
15686 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
15687 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
15688 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
15689 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15690 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
15691 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
15692 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
15693 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
15697 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
15698 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
15699 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
15700 file for a number of groups.
15703 @cindex local variables
15704 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
15705 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
15706 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
15707 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
15708 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
15712 @node Score File Editing
15713 @section Score File Editing
15715 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
15716 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
15717 with a mode for that.
15719 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
15720 additional commands:
15725 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
15726 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
15727 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
15728 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
15731 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
15732 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
15733 Insert the current date in numerical format
15734 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
15735 you were wondering.
15738 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
15739 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
15740 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
15741 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
15742 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
15747 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
15749 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
15750 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
15752 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
15753 e} to begin editing score files.
15756 @node Adaptive Scoring
15757 @section Adaptive Scoring
15758 @cindex adaptive scoring
15760 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
15761 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
15762 stupidity, to be precise.
15764 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
15765 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
15766 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
15767 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
15768 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15769 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
15770 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
15771 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
15772 variable to @code{(word line)}.
15774 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
15775 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
15776 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
15777 might look something like this:
15780 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
15781 '((gnus-unread-mark)
15782 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
15783 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
15784 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
15785 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
15786 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
15787 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
15788 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
15789 (gnus-ancient-mark)
15790 (gnus-low-score-mark)
15791 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
15794 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
15795 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
15796 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
15797 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
15798 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
15799 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
15802 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
15803 will be applied to each article.
15805 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
15806 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
15807 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
15808 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
15810 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
15811 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
15812 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
15813 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
15815 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
15816 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
15817 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
15818 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
15820 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
15821 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
15822 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
15823 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
15824 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
15825 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
15827 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
15828 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
15829 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
15830 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
15831 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
15832 aspirins afterwards.)
15834 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
15835 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
15836 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
15838 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
15839 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
15840 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
15842 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
15843 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
15844 let you use different rules in different groups.
15846 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
15847 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
15848 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
15851 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
15852 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
15853 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
15854 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
15855 the length of the match is less than
15856 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
15857 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
15860 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
15861 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
15862 headers. If you adapt on words, the
15863 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
15864 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
15867 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
15868 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
15869 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
15870 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
15871 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
15874 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
15875 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
15876 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
15877 score with 30 points.
15879 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
15880 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
15881 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
15882 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
15883 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
15885 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
15886 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
15887 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
15888 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
15890 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
15891 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
15892 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
15893 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
15895 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
15896 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
15897 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
15898 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
15899 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
15901 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
15902 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
15903 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
15905 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
15906 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
15907 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
15908 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
15911 @node Home Score File
15912 @section Home Score File
15914 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
15915 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
15916 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
15917 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
15919 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
15920 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
15921 could perhaps use the same home score file.
15923 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
15924 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
15929 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
15933 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
15934 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
15938 A list. The elements in this list can be:
15942 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
15943 group name, the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
15946 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
15947 the home score file.
15950 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
15953 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
15958 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
15961 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15962 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
15965 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
15966 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
15968 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
15970 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15971 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
15974 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
15975 Other functions include
15978 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
15979 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
15980 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
15981 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
15985 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
15986 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
15987 their own home score files:
15990 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15991 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
15992 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
15993 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
15994 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
15997 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
15998 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
15999 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
16000 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
16001 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
16003 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
16004 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
16005 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
16006 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
16007 precedence over this variable.
16010 @node Followups To Yourself
16011 @section Followups To Yourself
16013 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
16014 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
16015 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
16016 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
16017 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
16018 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
16022 @item gnus-score-followup-article
16023 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
16024 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
16027 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
16028 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
16029 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
16033 @vindex message-sent-hook
16034 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
16035 @code{message-sent-hook}.
16037 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
16038 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
16042 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16043 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16046 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
16047 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
16052 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
16056 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
16057 is system-dependent.
16061 @section Scoring Tips
16062 @cindex scoring tips
16068 @cindex scoring crossposts
16069 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
16070 the @code{Xref} header.
16072 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
16075 @item Multiple crossposts
16076 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
16077 more than, say, 3 groups:
16079 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
16082 @item Matching on the body
16083 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
16084 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
16085 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
16086 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
16087 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
16088 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
16089 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
16092 @item Marking as read
16093 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
16094 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
16095 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
16099 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
16101 @item Negated character classes
16102 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
16103 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
16104 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
16108 @node Reverse Scoring
16109 @section Reverse Scoring
16110 @cindex reverse scoring
16112 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
16113 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
16114 like this in your score file:
16118 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
16123 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
16124 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
16127 @node Global Score Files
16128 @section Global Score Files
16129 @cindex global score files
16131 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
16132 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
16133 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
16135 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
16136 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
16137 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
16139 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
16140 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
16141 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
16142 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
16143 files are applicable to which group.
16145 Say you want to use the score file
16146 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
16147 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
16150 (setq gnus-global-score-files
16151 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
16152 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
16155 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
16156 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
16157 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
16158 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
16159 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
16161 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
16162 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
16164 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
16165 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
16166 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
16167 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
16168 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
16169 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
16171 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
16177 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
16179 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
16181 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
16183 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
16184 lowered out of existence.
16186 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
16187 articles completely.
16190 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
16191 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
16192 old articles for a long time.
16195 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
16196 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
16197 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
16198 holding our breath yet?
16202 @section Kill Files
16205 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
16206 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
16207 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
16209 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
16210 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
16211 files into score files.
16213 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
16214 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
16215 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
16216 that isn't a very good idea.
16218 Normal kill files look like this:
16221 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16222 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
16226 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
16227 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
16229 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
16230 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
16233 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
16238 @kindex M-k (Summary)
16239 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
16240 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
16243 @kindex M-K (Summary)
16244 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
16245 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
16248 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
16253 @kindex M-k (Group)
16254 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
16255 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
16258 @kindex M-K (Group)
16259 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
16260 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
16263 Kill file variables:
16266 @item gnus-kill-file-name
16267 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
16268 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
16269 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
16270 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
16271 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
16272 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
16274 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16275 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16276 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
16277 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
16280 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
16281 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
16282 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
16283 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
16284 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
16285 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
16286 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
16287 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
16288 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
16290 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16291 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16292 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
16296 @c The URL below is invalid and the code isn't on gnus.org.
16298 @node Converting Kill Files
16299 @section Converting Kill Files
16301 @cindex converting kill files
16303 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
16304 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
16305 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
16308 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
16309 You can fetch it from
16310 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
16312 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
16313 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
16314 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
16323 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
16324 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
16325 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
16327 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
16328 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
16329 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
16330 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
16331 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
16332 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
16333 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
16334 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
16338 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
16339 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
16340 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
16341 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
16345 @node Using GroupLens
16346 @subsection Using GroupLens
16348 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
16350 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
16351 better bit in town at the moment.
16353 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
16357 @item gnus-use-grouplens
16358 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
16359 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
16360 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
16362 @item grouplens-pseudonym
16363 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
16364 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
16365 with the Better Bit Bureau.
16367 @item grouplens-newsgroups
16368 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
16369 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
16373 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
16374 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
16375 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
16376 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
16377 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
16378 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
16381 @node Rating Articles
16382 @subsection Rating Articles
16384 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
16385 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
16386 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
16387 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
16390 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
16395 @kindex r (GroupLens)
16396 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
16397 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
16400 @kindex k (GroupLens)
16401 @findex grouplens-score-thread
16402 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
16403 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
16404 threads in rec.humor.
16408 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
16409 the score of the article you're reading.
16414 @kindex n (GroupLens)
16415 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
16416 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
16419 @kindex , (GroupLens)
16420 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
16421 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
16425 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
16426 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
16429 @node Displaying Predictions
16430 @subsection Displaying Predictions
16432 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
16433 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
16434 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
16435 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
16436 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
16438 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
16439 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
16440 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
16441 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
16442 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
16443 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
16444 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
16445 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
16446 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
16447 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
16448 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
16449 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
16450 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
16452 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
16453 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
16454 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
16455 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
16457 The following are valid values for that variable.
16460 @item prediction-spot
16461 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
16464 @item confidence-interval
16465 A numeric confidence interval.
16467 @item prediction-bar
16468 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
16470 @item confidence-bar
16471 Numerical confidence.
16473 @item confidence-spot
16474 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
16476 @item prediction-num
16477 Plain-old numeric value.
16479 @item confidence-plus-minus
16480 Prediction +/- confidence.
16485 @node GroupLens Variables
16486 @subsection GroupLens Variables
16490 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
16491 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
16492 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
16493 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
16496 @item grouplens-bbb-host
16497 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
16500 @item grouplens-bbb-port
16501 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
16503 @item grouplens-score-offset
16504 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
16505 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
16508 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
16509 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
16510 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
16515 @node Advanced Scoring
16516 @section Advanced Scoring
16518 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
16519 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
16520 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
16521 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
16522 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
16524 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
16528 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
16529 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
16530 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
16534 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
16535 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
16537 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
16538 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
16539 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
16540 non-@code{nil} value.
16542 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
16543 operator, and various match operators.
16550 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16551 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
16552 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
16557 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16558 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
16559 then this operator will return @code{false}.
16564 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
16565 logical negation of the value of its argument.
16569 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
16570 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
16571 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
16572 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
16573 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
16574 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
16575 the ancestry you want to go.
16577 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
16578 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
16579 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
16580 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
16581 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
16584 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
16585 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
16587 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
16588 when he's talking about Gnus:
16592 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16593 ("subject" "Gnus"))
16599 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
16603 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16610 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
16611 really don't want to read what he's written:
16615 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16616 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
16620 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
16621 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
16622 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
16629 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
16630 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
16631 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
16632 ("body" "white.*socks"))
16636 The possibilities are endless.
16639 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
16640 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
16642 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
16643 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
16644 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
16645 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
16646 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
16647 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
16648 @samp{subject}) first.
16650 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
16651 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
16662 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
16663 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
16669 ("subject" "Gnus")))
16676 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
16677 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
16682 @section Score Decays
16683 @cindex score decays
16686 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
16687 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
16688 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
16689 use them in any sensible way.
16691 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
16692 @findex gnus-decay-score
16693 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
16694 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
16695 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
16696 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
16697 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
16698 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
16699 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
16700 definition of that function:
16703 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
16705 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
16706 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
16709 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
16711 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
16713 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
16716 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
16717 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
16718 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
16719 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
16723 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
16726 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
16729 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
16733 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
16734 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
16735 the new score, which should be an integer.
16737 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
16738 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
16745 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
16746 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
16747 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
16748 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
16749 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
16750 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
16751 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
16752 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
16753 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
16754 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
16755 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
16756 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
16757 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
16758 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
16759 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
16760 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
16761 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
16762 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
16766 @node Process/Prefix
16767 @section Process/Prefix
16768 @cindex process/prefix convention
16770 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
16771 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
16773 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
16774 command to be performed on.
16778 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
16779 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
16780 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
16781 with the current one.
16783 @vindex transient-mark-mode
16784 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
16785 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
16787 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
16788 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
16791 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
16792 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
16794 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
16797 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
16798 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
16799 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
16800 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16802 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
16803 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
16804 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
16805 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
16806 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
16807 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
16808 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
16809 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
16811 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
16812 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
16813 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
16814 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
16815 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
16819 @section Interactive
16820 @cindex interaction
16824 @item gnus-novice-user
16825 @vindex gnus-novice-user
16826 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
16827 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
16828 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
16829 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
16832 @item gnus-expert-user
16833 @vindex gnus-expert-user
16834 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
16835 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
16836 matter how strange.
16838 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
16839 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
16840 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
16841 is @code{t} by default.
16843 @item gnus-interactive-exit
16844 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
16845 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
16850 @node Symbolic Prefixes
16851 @section Symbolic Prefixes
16852 @cindex symbolic prefixes
16854 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
16855 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
16856 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
16857 rule of 900 to the current article.
16859 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
16860 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
16861 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
16862 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
16863 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
16864 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
16865 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
16867 @kindex M-i (Summary)
16868 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
16869 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
16870 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
16871 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
16872 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
16873 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
16874 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
16875 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
16877 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
16878 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
16879 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
16881 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
16885 @node Formatting Variables
16886 @section Formatting Variables
16887 @cindex formatting variables
16889 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
16890 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
16891 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
16892 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
16893 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
16896 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
16897 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
16898 lots of percentages everywhere.
16901 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
16902 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
16903 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
16904 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
16905 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
16908 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
16909 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
16910 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
16911 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
16912 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
16913 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
16914 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
16915 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
16917 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
16918 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
16920 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
16921 @findex gnus-update-format
16922 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
16923 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
16924 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
16925 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
16929 @node Formatting Basics
16930 @subsection Formatting Basics
16932 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
16933 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
16934 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
16936 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
16937 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
16938 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
16939 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
16940 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
16943 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
16944 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
16945 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
16946 less than 4 characters wide.
16949 @node Mode Line Formatting
16950 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
16952 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
16953 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
16954 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
16955 with the following two differences:
16960 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
16963 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
16964 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
16965 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
16966 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
16967 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
16968 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
16969 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
16974 @node Advanced Formatting
16975 @subsection Advanced Formatting
16977 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
16978 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
16979 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
16980 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
16982 These are the valid modifiers:
16987 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
16991 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
16996 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
16999 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
17004 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
17007 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
17010 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
17013 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
17017 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
17018 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
17019 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
17020 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
17021 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
17022 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
17023 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
17025 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
17026 last operation, padding.
17028 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
17029 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
17030 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
17031 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
17032 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
17033 the look of your lines.
17034 @xref{Compilation}.
17037 @node User-Defined Specs
17038 @subsection User-Defined Specs
17040 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
17041 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
17042 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
17043 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
17044 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
17045 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
17046 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
17047 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
17048 should protect against that.
17050 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
17051 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
17052 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
17053 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
17057 @node Formatting Fonts
17058 @subsection Formatting Fonts
17060 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
17061 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
17062 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
17063 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
17066 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
17067 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
17068 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
17069 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
17070 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
17071 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
17073 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
17074 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
17075 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
17076 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
17077 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
17078 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
17079 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
17080 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
17082 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
17085 ;; Create three face types.
17086 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
17087 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
17089 ;; We want the article count to be in
17090 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
17091 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
17092 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
17094 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
17095 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
17097 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
17098 (setq gnus-group-line-format
17099 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
17102 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
17103 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
17105 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
17106 mode-line variables.
17109 @node Windows Configuration
17110 @section Windows Configuration
17111 @cindex windows configuration
17113 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
17115 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
17116 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
17117 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
17118 @code{t} by default.
17120 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
17121 glitches. Use at your own peril.
17123 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
17124 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
17125 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
17128 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
17129 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
17130 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17134 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
17135 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
17136 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
17137 possible names is listed below.
17139 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
17140 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
17143 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17147 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
17148 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
17149 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
17150 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
17151 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
17152 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
17153 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
17154 size spec per split.
17156 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
17157 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
17158 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
17159 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
17160 present) gets focus.
17162 Here's a more complicated example:
17165 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
17166 (summary 0.25 point)
17167 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
17171 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
17172 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
17173 occupy, not a percentage.
17175 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
17176 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
17177 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
17178 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
17179 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
17182 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
17185 (article (horizontal 1.0
17190 (summary 0.25 point)
17195 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
17196 @code{horizontal} thingie?
17198 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
17199 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
17200 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
17201 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
17202 the screen is to be given to this strip.
17204 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
17205 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
17206 lines from the splits.
17208 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
17212 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
17213 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
17214 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
17215 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
17216 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
17217 size = number | frame-params
17218 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
17221 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
17222 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
17223 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
17224 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
17226 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
17227 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
17228 @cindex window height
17229 @cindex window width
17230 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
17231 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
17232 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
17233 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
17234 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
17235 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
17237 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
17238 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
17239 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
17240 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
17242 @findex gnus-configure-frame
17243 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
17244 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
17245 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
17246 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
17247 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
17248 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
17249 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
17250 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
17251 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
17252 configuration list.
17255 (gnus-configure-frame
17259 (article 0.3 point))
17267 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
17268 @code{frame} split:
17271 (gnus-configure-frame
17274 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
17276 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
17277 (user-position . t)
17278 (left . -1) (top . 1))
17283 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
17284 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
17285 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
17286 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
17287 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
17288 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
17289 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
17290 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
17292 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
17293 be found in its default value.
17295 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
17296 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
17297 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
17301 (message (horizontal 1.0
17302 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
17304 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
17309 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
17310 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
17311 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
17314 (message (frame 1.0
17315 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
17316 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
17317 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
17318 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
17319 (name . "Message"))
17320 (message 1.0 point))))
17323 @findex gnus-add-configuration
17324 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
17325 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
17326 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
17327 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
17330 (gnus-add-configuration
17331 '(article (vertical 1.0
17333 (summary .25 point)
17337 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
17338 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
17339 Gnus has been loaded.
17341 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
17342 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
17343 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
17344 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
17345 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
17347 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
17348 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
17349 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
17353 @node Faces and Fonts
17354 @section Faces and Fonts
17359 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
17360 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
17361 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
17366 @section Compilation
17367 @cindex compilation
17368 @cindex byte-compilation
17370 @findex gnus-compile
17372 Remember all those line format specification variables?
17373 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
17374 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
17375 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
17376 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
17377 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
17378 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
17379 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
17382 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
17383 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
17384 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
17385 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
17386 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17389 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
17390 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
17391 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
17392 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
17393 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
17398 @section Mode Lines
17401 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
17402 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
17403 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
17404 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
17405 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
17406 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
17407 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
17410 @cindex display-time
17412 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
17413 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
17414 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
17415 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
17416 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
17417 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
17418 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
17419 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
17422 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
17424 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
17425 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
17427 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
17428 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
17429 (length display-time-string)))))
17432 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
17433 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
17434 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
17435 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
17436 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
17439 @node Highlighting and Menus
17440 @section Highlighting and Menus
17442 @cindex highlighting
17445 @vindex gnus-visual
17446 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
17447 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
17448 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
17451 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
17452 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
17455 @item group-highlight
17456 Do highlights in the group buffer.
17457 @item summary-highlight
17458 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
17459 @item article-highlight
17460 Do highlights in the article buffer.
17462 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
17464 Create menus in the group buffer.
17466 Create menus in the summary buffers.
17468 Create menus in the article buffer.
17470 Create menus in the browse buffer.
17472 Create menus in the server buffer.
17474 Create menus in the score buffers.
17476 Create menus in all buffers.
17479 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
17480 buffers, you could say something like:
17483 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
17486 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
17489 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
17492 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
17493 in all Gnus buffers.
17495 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
17498 @item gnus-mouse-face
17499 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
17500 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
17501 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
17505 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
17509 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
17510 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
17511 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
17513 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
17514 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
17515 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
17517 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
17518 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
17519 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
17521 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
17522 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
17523 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
17525 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
17526 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
17527 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
17529 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
17530 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
17531 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
17542 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
17543 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
17544 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
17545 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
17546 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
17550 @vindex gnus-carpal
17551 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
17552 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
17553 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
17558 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17559 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17560 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
17562 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
17563 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
17564 Face used on buttons.
17566 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
17567 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
17568 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
17570 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17571 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17572 Buttons in the group buffer.
17574 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17575 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17576 Buttons in the summary buffer.
17578 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17579 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17580 Buttons in the server buffer.
17582 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17583 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17584 Buttons in the browse buffer.
17587 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
17588 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
17589 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
17597 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
17598 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
17599 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
17600 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
17601 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
17603 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
17604 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
17605 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
17607 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
17608 been idle for thirty minutes:
17611 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
17614 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
17618 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
17621 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
17622 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
17623 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17625 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
17626 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
17627 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
17628 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17630 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
17631 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
17632 @var{idle} minutes.
17634 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
17635 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
17638 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
17639 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
17640 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
17642 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
17643 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
17644 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
17645 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
17647 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
17648 your @file{.gnus} file:
17650 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
17652 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
17655 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
17656 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
17657 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
17658 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
17659 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
17660 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
17661 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
17662 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
17663 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
17664 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
17665 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
17667 @findex gnus-demon-init
17668 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
17669 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
17670 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
17671 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
17672 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
17674 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
17675 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
17676 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
17685 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
17686 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
17688 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
17689 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
17690 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
17691 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
17694 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
17695 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
17696 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
17697 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
17699 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
17700 this will make spam disappear.
17702 There are some variables to customize, of course:
17705 @item gnus-use-nocem
17706 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
17707 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
17710 @item gnus-nocem-groups
17711 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
17712 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
17713 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
17714 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
17716 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
17717 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
17718 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
17719 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
17720 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
17721 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
17722 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
17724 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
17727 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
17728 @cindex Chris Lewis
17729 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
17730 usenet abuse than anybody else.
17733 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
17734 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
17735 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
17737 @item jem@@xpat.com;
17739 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
17742 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
17743 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
17744 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
17747 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
17748 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
17749 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
17750 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
17751 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
17752 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
17753 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
17754 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
17755 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
17756 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
17758 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
17759 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
17762 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
17765 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
17766 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
17769 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
17772 The specs are applied left-to-right.
17775 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
17776 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
17778 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
17779 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
17780 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
17781 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
17783 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
17784 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
17787 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
17789 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
17797 This might be dangerous, though.
17799 @item gnus-nocem-directory
17800 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
17801 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
17802 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
17804 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
17805 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
17806 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
17807 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
17808 might then see old spam.
17812 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
17813 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
17814 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
17815 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
17822 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
17823 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
17824 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
17826 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
17827 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
17828 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
17829 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
17830 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
17831 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
17832 @code{undo} function.
17834 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
17835 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
17836 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
17837 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
17838 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
17839 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
17840 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
17841 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
17842 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
17843 never be totally undoable.
17845 @findex gnus-undo-mode
17846 @vindex gnus-use-undo
17848 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
17849 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
17850 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
17851 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
17856 @section Moderation
17859 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
17860 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
17861 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
17864 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
17868 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
17871 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17873 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
17878 You split your incoming mail by matching on
17879 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
17880 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
17883 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
17884 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
17887 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
17888 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
17892 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
17895 (setq gnus-moderated-list
17896 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
17900 @node XEmacs Enhancements
17901 @section XEmacs Enhancements
17904 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
17908 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
17909 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
17910 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
17911 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
17924 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
17925 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
17926 over your shoulder as you read news.
17929 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
17930 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
17931 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
17932 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
17933 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
17938 @subsubsection Picon Basics
17940 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
17949 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
17950 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
17951 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
17952 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
17953 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
17954 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
17955 @code{GIF} formats.
17958 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17959 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
17960 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
17961 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
17962 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
17964 @vindex gnus-picons-database
17965 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
17966 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
17967 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
17968 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
17969 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
17972 @node Picon Requirements
17973 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
17975 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
17976 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
17979 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
17980 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
17981 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
17983 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17984 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
17985 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
17986 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
17987 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
17991 @subsubsection Easy Picons
17993 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
17994 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
17997 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
17998 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
18001 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
18002 containing the Picons databases.
18004 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
18007 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18008 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
18013 @subsubsection Hard Picons
18021 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
18022 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
18023 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
18024 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
18025 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
18030 @item gnus-picons-database
18031 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18032 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
18033 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
18034 subdirectories. This is only useful if
18035 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
18036 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
18038 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18039 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18040 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
18041 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
18042 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
18043 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
18044 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18046 @item gnus-picons-display-where
18047 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18048 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
18049 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
18050 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
18051 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
18052 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
18053 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
18055 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18056 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18057 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
18062 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
18063 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
18065 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
18066 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
18069 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18071 @item gnus-article-display-picons
18072 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18073 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
18074 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
18076 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
18077 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18078 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
18084 @node Picon Useless Configuration
18085 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
18093 The following variables offer further control over how things are
18094 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
18095 don't need to worry about.
18099 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
18100 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
18101 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18102 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
18104 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
18105 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
18106 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
18107 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
18109 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
18110 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
18111 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18112 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
18113 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
18115 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18116 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18117 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
18118 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
18119 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
18120 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
18121 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
18123 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18124 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18125 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
18126 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
18128 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18129 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18130 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
18131 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
18132 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
18133 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
18134 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
18136 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18137 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18138 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
18139 Defaults to @code{nil}.
18141 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
18142 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
18143 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
18144 Defaults to @code{t}.
18146 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18147 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18148 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
18149 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
18151 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
18152 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
18153 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
18155 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18156 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18157 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
18158 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
18160 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
18161 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the defailt.
18163 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18164 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18165 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
18166 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
18167 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
18168 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
18169 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
18170 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
18181 @subsection Smileys
18186 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
18191 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
18192 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
18194 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
18195 @file{.gnus.el} file:
18198 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
18201 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
18202 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
18203 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
18204 text and maps that to file names.
18206 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
18207 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
18208 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
18209 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
18210 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
18211 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
18213 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
18214 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
18216 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
18217 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
18218 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
18220 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
18221 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
18225 @item smiley-data-directory
18226 @vindex smiley-data-directory
18227 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
18229 @item smiley-flesh-color
18230 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
18231 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
18233 @item smiley-features-color
18234 @vindex smiley-features-color
18235 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18237 @item smiley-tongue-color
18238 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
18239 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
18241 @item smiley-circle-color
18242 @vindex smiley-circle-color
18243 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18245 @item smiley-mouse-face
18246 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
18247 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
18253 @subsection Toolbar
18263 @item gnus-use-toolbar
18264 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
18265 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
18266 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
18267 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
18269 @item gnus-group-toolbar
18270 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
18271 The toolbar in the group buffer.
18273 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
18274 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
18275 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
18277 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18278 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18279 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
18285 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
18288 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18289 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18290 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
18291 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
18292 unusual directory structure.
18294 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18295 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18296 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
18297 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
18299 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18300 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18301 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
18302 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
18303 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
18304 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
18306 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18307 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18308 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
18322 @node Fuzzy Matching
18323 @section Fuzzy Matching
18324 @cindex fuzzy matching
18326 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
18327 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
18329 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
18330 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
18331 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
18333 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
18334 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
18335 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
18336 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
18337 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
18340 @node Thwarting Email Spam
18341 @section Thwarting Email Spam
18345 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
18347 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
18348 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
18349 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
18350 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
18351 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
18352 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
18353 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
18354 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
18357 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
18358 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
18359 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
18360 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
18361 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
18362 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
18366 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
18367 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
18369 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
18370 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
18371 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
18372 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
18373 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
18374 part of the mail address.)
18377 (setq message-default-news-headers
18378 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
18381 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
18382 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
18387 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
18388 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
18389 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
18395 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
18396 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
18397 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
18398 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
18400 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
18401 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
18402 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
18403 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
18404 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
18405 your fancy split rule in this way:
18410 (to "larsi" "misc")
18414 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
18415 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
18416 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
18417 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
18418 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
18420 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
18421 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
18422 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
18423 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
18424 cosmic balance somewhat.
18426 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
18427 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
18428 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
18429 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
18432 @node Various Various
18433 @section Various Various
18439 @item gnus-home-directory
18440 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
18441 defaults to @file{~/}.
18443 @item gnus-directory
18444 @vindex gnus-directory
18445 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
18446 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
18447 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
18449 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
18450 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
18451 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
18452 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
18454 @item gnus-default-directory
18455 @vindex gnus-default-directory
18456 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
18457 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
18458 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
18459 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
18460 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
18461 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
18464 @vindex gnus-verbose
18465 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
18466 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
18467 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
18468 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
18469 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
18471 @item gnus-verbose-backends
18472 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
18473 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
18474 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
18476 @item nnheader-max-head-length
18477 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
18478 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
18479 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
18480 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
18481 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
18482 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
18483 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
18484 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
18485 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
18487 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
18488 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
18489 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
18490 read when doing the operation described above.
18492 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18493 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18495 @cindex invalid characters in file names
18496 @cindex characters in file names
18497 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
18498 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
18499 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
18502 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18506 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
18507 Windows (phooey) systems.
18509 @item gnus-hidden-properties
18510 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
18511 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
18512 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
18513 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
18515 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
18516 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
18517 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
18518 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
18519 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
18521 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
18522 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
18523 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
18525 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18526 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18528 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
18529 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
18530 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
18531 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
18534 IMAP users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
18543 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
18544 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
18546 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
18548 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
18554 Not because of victories @*
18557 but for the common sunshine,@*
18559 the largess of the spring.
18563 but for the day's work done@*
18564 as well as I was able;@*
18565 not for a seat upon the dais@*
18566 but at the common table.@*
18571 @chapter Appendices
18574 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
18575 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
18576 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
18577 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
18578 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
18579 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
18580 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
18581 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
18589 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
18590 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
18592 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
18593 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
18594 @file{http://quimby.gnus.org/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
18595 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
18596 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
18598 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
18599 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
18600 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
18601 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
18602 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
18603 appropriate name, don't you think?)
18605 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
18606 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
18607 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
18608 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
18611 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
18612 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
18613 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
18614 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
18615 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
18616 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
18617 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
18618 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
18619 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
18620 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
18624 @node Gnus Versions
18625 @subsection Gnus Versions
18626 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
18628 @cindex September Gnus
18629 @cindex Quassia Gnus
18631 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
18632 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
18633 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
18635 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
18636 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
18638 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
18639 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
18641 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
18642 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
18644 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
18645 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
18648 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
18649 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
18650 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
18651 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
18652 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
18656 @node Other Gnus Versions
18657 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
18660 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
18661 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
18662 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
18663 @sc{mime} capabilities.
18665 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
18666 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
18667 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
18668 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
18675 What's the point of Gnus?
18677 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
18678 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
18679 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
18680 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
18681 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
18682 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
18683 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
18684 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
18685 keep track of millions of people who post?
18687 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
18688 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
18689 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
18690 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
18691 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
18692 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
18693 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
18694 every one of you to explore and invent.
18696 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
18697 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
18700 @node Compatibility
18701 @subsection Compatibility
18703 @cindex compatibility
18704 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
18705 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
18706 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
18711 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
18715 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
18718 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
18721 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
18722 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
18723 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
18724 important variables have their values copied into their global
18725 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
18726 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
18728 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
18729 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
18730 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
18731 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
18732 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
18736 @cindex highlighting
18737 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
18738 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
18739 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
18740 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
18741 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
18742 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
18745 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
18746 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
18747 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
18748 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
18750 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
18751 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
18752 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
18753 to stop doing it the old way.
18755 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
18757 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18759 @cindex reporting bugs
18761 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
18762 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
18763 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
18765 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
18766 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
18767 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
18768 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
18773 @subsection Conformity
18775 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
18776 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
18783 There are no known breaches of this standard.
18787 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
18789 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
18790 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
18791 We do have some breaches to this one.
18797 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
18798 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
18799 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
18800 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
18801 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
18806 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
18807 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
18808 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
18809 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
18813 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
18814 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
18819 @subsection Emacsen
18825 Gnus should work on :
18833 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
18837 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
18838 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
18839 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
18840 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
18841 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
18843 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
18844 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
18845 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
18849 @node Gnus Development
18850 @subsection Gnus Development
18852 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
18853 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
18854 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
18855 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
18856 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
18857 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
18858 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
18859 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
18861 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
18862 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
18863 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
18864 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
18865 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
18868 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
18869 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
18870 In particular, @code{nnmail-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
18871 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
18872 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
18874 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
18875 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
18876 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
18877 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
18878 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
18879 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
18880 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
18881 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
18882 usually keep up with these rapid changes, whille people on the newsgroup
18883 can't be assumed to do so.
18888 @subsection Contributors
18889 @cindex contributors
18891 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
18892 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
18893 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
18894 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
18895 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
18896 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
18897 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
18898 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
18899 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
18900 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
18902 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
18908 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
18911 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
18912 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
18913 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
18914 functionality and stuff.
18917 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
18918 well as numerous other things).
18921 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
18924 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
18927 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
18930 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
18931 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
18934 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
18937 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
18938 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
18941 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
18944 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
18947 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
18950 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
18953 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
18954 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
18957 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
18960 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
18963 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
18966 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
18970 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
18973 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
18976 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
18979 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
18980 well as autoconf support.
18984 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
18985 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
18987 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
18996 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
19000 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
19010 Alexei V. Barantsev,
19025 Massimo Campostrini,
19030 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
19031 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
19035 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
19038 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
19044 Michael Welsh Duggan,
19049 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
19053 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
19061 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
19063 Michelangelo Grigni,
19067 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
19069 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
19071 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
19078 François Felix Ingrand,
19079 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
19080 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
19082 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
19093 Peter Skov Knudsen,
19094 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
19096 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
19097 Thor Kristoffersen,
19100 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
19118 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
19119 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
19126 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
19131 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
19135 John McClary Prevost,
19141 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
19146 Christian von Roques,
19149 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
19156 Philippe Schnoebelen,
19158 Randal L. Schwartz,
19172 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
19177 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
19193 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
19198 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
19199 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
19200 (550kB and counting).
19202 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
19205 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
19206 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
19210 @subsection New Features
19211 @cindex new features
19214 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
19215 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
19216 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
19217 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
19220 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
19221 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
19222 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
19226 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
19228 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
19233 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
19234 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
19237 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
19238 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
19241 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
19244 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
19245 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
19246 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
19249 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
19250 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
19251 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
19252 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19255 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
19256 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19259 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
19260 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
19261 (@pxref{The Active File}).
19264 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
19265 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
19268 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
19269 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
19270 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19273 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
19274 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
19275 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
19278 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
19279 the @file{.emacs} file.
19282 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
19283 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19286 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
19287 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
19290 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
19291 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19294 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
19295 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
19298 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
19299 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19302 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
19305 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
19306 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
19309 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
19310 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
19313 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
19314 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
19317 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
19320 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
19321 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19324 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
19328 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
19332 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
19333 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
19336 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
19342 @node September Gnus
19343 @subsubsection September Gnus
19347 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
19351 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
19356 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
19357 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
19361 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
19362 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
19366 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
19370 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
19371 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
19374 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
19378 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19381 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
19384 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
19387 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
19391 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
19392 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
19395 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
19399 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
19403 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
19407 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
19411 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
19414 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
19415 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
19418 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
19422 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
19423 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
19426 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
19429 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
19430 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
19431 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19434 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
19438 The Gnus cache is much faster.
19441 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
19445 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
19446 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19449 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
19450 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
19453 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
19454 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19457 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
19458 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
19459 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
19462 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
19463 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
19466 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
19469 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19472 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
19475 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
19478 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
19479 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
19482 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
19486 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
19489 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
19494 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
19497 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
19501 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19504 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
19508 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
19511 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
19514 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
19515 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19518 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
19519 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
19523 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
19524 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
19527 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
19531 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
19532 buffer to allow easier treatment.
19535 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
19538 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
19542 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
19546 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
19547 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
19550 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
19554 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
19555 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19558 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
19559 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19562 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
19566 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19569 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
19572 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
19578 @subsubsection Red Gnus
19580 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
19584 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
19591 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
19594 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
19595 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19598 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
19599 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
19603 Article washing status can be displayed in the
19604 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
19607 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
19610 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
19611 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
19614 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
19618 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
19619 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
19623 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
19624 Server Internals}).
19627 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
19631 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
19634 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
19635 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
19638 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
19639 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
19640 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
19643 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
19644 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19647 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
19648 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
19651 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
19655 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
19656 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19659 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
19660 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19663 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
19667 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
19670 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
19674 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
19675 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19678 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
19679 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19682 A new command for reading collections of documents
19683 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
19684 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
19687 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
19691 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
19692 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
19695 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
19696 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
19697 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
19700 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
19701 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
19705 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
19709 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
19713 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
19718 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
19722 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
19726 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
19727 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
19730 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
19736 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
19738 New features in Gnus 5.6:
19743 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
19744 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
19745 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
19748 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
19749 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
19750 group, which is created automatically.
19753 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
19757 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
19760 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
19761 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
19764 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
19768 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
19771 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
19772 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
19775 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
19778 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
19779 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
19782 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
19783 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
19786 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
19787 control over simplification.
19790 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
19793 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
19797 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
19800 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
19803 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
19804 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
19805 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
19808 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
19809 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
19812 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
19816 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
19817 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
19820 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
19821 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
19824 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
19828 A history of where mails have been split is available.
19831 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
19834 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
19835 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
19838 A new function for citing in Message has been
19839 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
19842 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
19845 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
19849 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
19850 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
19853 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
19854 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
19857 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
19860 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
19865 @node Newest Features
19866 @subsection Newest Features
19869 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
19872 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
19874 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
19875 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
19878 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
19883 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
19884 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
19887 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
19890 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
19893 facep is not declared.
19896 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
19897 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
19900 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
19905 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
19906 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
19907 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
19908 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
19909 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
19910 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
19911 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
19916 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
19919 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
19922 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
19924 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
19925 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
19927 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
19929 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
19931 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
19932 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
19934 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
19936 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
19937 be marked as unread.
19939 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
19941 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
19943 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
19944 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
19946 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
19948 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
19950 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
19951 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
19953 topics that contain just groups with ticked
19954 articles aren't displayed.
19956 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
19958 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
19959 make the mail groups killed.
19961 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
19963 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
19964 and articles have to be removed.
19966 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
19969 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
19971 finding short score file names takes forever.
19973 canceling articles in foreign groups.
19975 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
19977 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
19979 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
19981 nnweb doesn't work properly.
19983 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
19985 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
19986 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
19990 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
19992 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
19993 bar and the Gnus bar.
19996 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
19997 `(canonize-message-id id)'
19998 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
19999 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
20000 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
20001 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
20006 nnml .overview directory with splits.
20010 postponed commands.
20012 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
20014 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
20017 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
20018 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
20020 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
20021 inherit copy prompts and save files.
20023 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
20025 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
20026 for backends that support that.
20028 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
20030 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
20031 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
20033 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
20034 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
20036 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
20038 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
20040 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
20042 server mode command: close/open all connections
20044 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
20045 has been changed before using it.
20047 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
20049 hide (sub)threads with low score.
20051 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
20053 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
20055 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
20056 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
20058 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
20059 contain groups that match a regexp.
20061 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
20064 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
20067 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
20068 from subject lines.
20070 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
20072 nntp-ping-before-connect
20074 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
20076 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
20077 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
20079 message annotations.
20081 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
20083 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
20084 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
20086 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
20091 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
20093 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
20095 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
20097 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
20098 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
20100 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
20102 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
20104 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
20105 finds and generate proper active ranges.
20107 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
20108 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
20110 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
20112 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
20114 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
20115 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
20117 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
20119 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
20121 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
20122 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
20125 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
20127 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
20129 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
20130 `C-c C-c' when posting.
20132 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
20135 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
20136 should be marker as expirable.
20138 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
20140 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
20141 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
20143 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
20144 Also consult Date headers.
20146 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
20148 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
20150 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
20151 Message-ID, delete the "original".
20153 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
20154 into a See-Also header.
20156 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
20158 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
20160 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
20161 should be listed as such and not as "K".
20163 generate font names dynamically.
20165 score file mode auto-alist.
20167 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
20168 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
20170 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
20171 absolutely all headers there is.
20173 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
20174 and pipe them to the process.
20176 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
20177 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
20178 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
20180 function for starting to edit a file to put into
20181 the current mail group.
20183 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
20185 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
20186 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
20188 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
20189 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
20191 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
20193 when replying to several process-marked articles,
20194 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
20196 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
20197 groups it has been mailed to.
20199 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
20201 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
20203 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
20205 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
20206 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
20208 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
20209 newlines) should be ignored.
20211 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
20212 groups in subtopics as well.
20214 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
20216 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
20219 add edit and forward secondary marks.
20221 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
20223 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
20225 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
20227 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
20229 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
20231 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
20232 or the formatted article.
20234 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
20236 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
20237 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
20239 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
20241 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
20243 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
20245 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
20246 even unread articles.
20248 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
20250 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
20252 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
20254 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
20256 canceling articles in foreign groups.
20258 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
20261 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
20262 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
20264 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
20265 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
20267 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
20269 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
20271 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
20272 from a particular server? Hm.
20274 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
20275 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
20277 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
20279 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
20280 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
20282 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
20283 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
20285 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
20286 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
20287 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
20290 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
20291 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
20293 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
20295 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
20297 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
20299 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
20302 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
20305 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
20306 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
20308 command to show and edit group scores
20310 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
20313 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
20315 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
20317 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
20318 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
20321 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
20322 that are of that length.
20324 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
20326 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
20328 asynchronous posting under nntp.
20330 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
20332 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
20334 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
20336 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
20337 a score lower than this number.
20339 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
20341 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
20343 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
20344 so that each copy can be edited separately.
20346 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
20348 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
20349 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
20351 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
20354 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
20355 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
20356 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
20357 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
20359 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
20362 command to remove all topic stuff.
20364 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
20365 and splitting the resulting digests.
20367 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
20369 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
20371 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
20372 matches an alist -- before saving.
20374 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
20376 variable to activate each group before entering them
20377 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
20379 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
20380 starting Gnus first if necessary.
20382 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
20383 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
20385 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
20387 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
20388 of several groups at once.
20390 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
20391 matches some regexp(s).
20393 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
20395 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
20397 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
20399 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
20401 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
20403 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
20405 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
20407 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
20408 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
20409 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
20410 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
20412 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
20413 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
20415 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
20417 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
20418 recently cited text.
20420 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
20422 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
20425 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
20426 server and just read the articles in the server
20428 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
20429 value of nnoo variables.
20431 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
20433 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
20434 listed in each group info.
20436 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
20439 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
20440 should only be applied to some groups.
20442 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
20443 mail-copies-to: never.
20445 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
20446 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
20448 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
20450 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
20453 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
20456 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
20458 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
20461 group user-defined meta-parameters.
20465 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
20467 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
20468 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
20469 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
20470 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
20471 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
20473 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
20474 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
20481 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
20482 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
20484 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
20485 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
20487 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
20488 "Return the date the group was last read."
20489 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
20494 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
20495 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
20496 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
20497 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
20501 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
20502 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
20504 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
20507 They could be used like this:
20511 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
20512 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
20513 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
20515 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
20517 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
20520 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
20523 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
20524 affect the summary line format.
20528 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
20530 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
20531 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
20533 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
20536 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
20538 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
20540 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
20542 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
20544 - For other files, just find them normally.
20546 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
20547 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
20550 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
20551 tell him what you are doing.
20554 Currently, I get prompted:
20558 decend into sci.something ?
20562 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
20563 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
20564 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
20565 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
20568 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
20569 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
20570 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
20571 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
20574 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
20575 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
20581 more than n blank lines
20583 more than m identical lines
20584 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
20586 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
20590 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
20591 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
20592 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
20593 "same" subject for threading purposes.
20596 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
20597 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
20598 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
20599 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
20602 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
20605 soup - bowl of soup
20606 score below - dim light bulb
20607 score over - bright light bulb
20610 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
20615 show-list-of-articles-in-group
20616 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20617 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
20618 if (articles-selected)
20619 start-reading-selected-articles;
20620 junk-unread-articles;
20625 else if (key-pressed = '.')
20626 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
20627 select-thread-under-cursor;
20629 select-article-under-cursor;
20633 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20634 if (more-pages-in-article)
20636 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
20643 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
20644 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
20645 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
20648 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
20649 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
20650 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
20651 the wildcard expression).
20654 It would be nice if it also handled
20656 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
20658 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
20663 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
20664 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
20665 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
20666 article versions) variable.
20668 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
20670 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
20671 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
20675 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
20678 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
20679 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
20680 (message-sent-hook).
20682 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
20685 * Enhancements to Gnus:
20689 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
20690 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
20693 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
20694 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
20695 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
20698 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
20699 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
20703 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
20706 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
20710 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
20711 the nnmail duplicate checking.
20714 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
20715 value of the signature file.
20718 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
20719 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
20722 (setq message-tab-alist
20723 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
20724 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
20726 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
20730 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
20733 a command to import a buffer into a group.
20736 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
20739 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
20740 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
20743 a command to process mark all unread articles.
20746 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
20747 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
20748 do more gathering by subject.
20751 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
20752 article numerical order.
20755 (gnus-thread-total-score
20756 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
20760 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
20763 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
20764 in the summary buffer.
20767 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
20768 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
20771 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
20772 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
20773 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
20774 and/or newsgroup name.
20777 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
20780 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
20783 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
20786 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
20787 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
20788 will automatically get the process mark.
20791 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
20792 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
20793 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
20796 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
20800 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
20801 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
20804 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
20805 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
20809 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
20810 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
20813 be able to post via DejaNews.
20816 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
20819 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
20820 allow them to be displayed separately.
20823 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
20824 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
20827 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
20828 articles that match a certain From header.
20831 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
20832 saving living summary buffers.
20835 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
20836 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
20839 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
20840 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
20843 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
20844 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
20847 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
20848 (goto-char (point-min))
20849 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
20850 (replace-match "`" t t))
20851 (goto-char (point-min))
20852 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
20853 (replace-match "'" t t))
20854 (goto-char (point-min))
20855 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
20856 (replace-match "\"" t t))
20857 (goto-char (point-min))
20858 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
20859 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
20864 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
20866 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
20867 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
20868 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
20869 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
20873 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
20876 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
20877 numbers and match on the age of the article.
20881 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
20882 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
20883 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
20885 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
20886 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
20888 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
20889 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
20894 all commands that react to the process mark should push
20895 the current process mark set onto the stack.
20898 gnus-article-hide-pgp
20899 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
20901 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
20903 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
20904 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
20907 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
20908 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
20911 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
20915 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
20916 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
20919 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
20922 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
20925 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
20928 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
20932 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
20938 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
20941 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
20945 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
20946 X characters in the body.
20949 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
20952 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
20955 format spec to "tab" to a position.
20958 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
20961 command to display all dormant articles.
20964 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
20967 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
20968 to something someone else has said.
20971 Read Netscape discussion groups:
20972 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
20975 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
20976 the displayed version.
20979 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
20983 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
20986 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
20987 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
20988 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
20992 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
20993 in the head or body.
20996 Allow breaking lengthy @sc{nntp} commands.
20999 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
21002 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
21003 in a special, unique buffer.
21006 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
21009 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
21010 is less than a certain number of days old.
21013 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
21016 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
21019 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
21020 file, for instance.
21023 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
21024 in any other dummy thread will make gnus highlight the
21025 dummy root instead of the first article.
21028 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
21029 topics for displaying.
21032 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
21033 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
21036 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
21039 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
21040 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
21041 summary buffer for each article.
21044 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
21047 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
21051 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
21054 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
21058 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
21061 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
21064 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
21065 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
21068 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
21069 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
21072 A spec for the group line format to display the number of
21073 agent-downloaded articles in the group.
21076 Some nntp servers never respond when posting, so there should be a
21077 timeout for all commands.
21080 When stading on a topic line and `t'-ing, point goes to the last line.
21081 It should go somewhere else.
21084 I'm having trouble accessing a newsgroup with a "+" in its name with
21085 Gnus. There is a new newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com named
21086 "microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time" that I'm trying to
21088 "nntp+msnews.microsoft.com:microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time"
21089 but it gives an error that it cant access the group.
21091 Is the "+" character illegal in newsgroup names? Is there any way in
21092 Gnus to work around this? (gnus 5.6.45 - XEmacs 20.4)
21099 Subject: Answer to your mails 01.01.1999-01.05.1999
21100 --text follows this line--
21101 Sorry I killfiled you...
21103 Under the subject "foo", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
21105 Under the subject "foo1", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
21110 Allow "orphan" scores in the Agent scoring.
21114 - Edit article's summary line.
21116 - Sort lines in buffer by subject
21118 --> the old subject line appears in Summary buffer, not the one that was
21124 Remove list identifiers from the subject in the summary when doing `^'
21128 Have the Agent write out articles, one by one, as it retrieves them,
21129 to avoid having to re-fetch them all if Emacs should crash while
21133 Be able to forward groups of messages as MIME digests.
21136 nnweb should include the "get whole article" article when getting articles.
21139 When I type W W c (gnus-article-hide-citation) in the summary
21140 buffer, the citations are revealed, but the [+] buttons don't turn
21141 into [-] buttons. (If I click on one of the [+] buttons, it does
21142 turn into a [-] button.)
21145 Perhaps there should be a command to "attach" a buffer of comments to
21146 a message? That is, `B WHATEVER', you're popped into a buffer, write
21147 something, end with `C-c C-c', and then the thing you've written gets
21148 to be the child of the message you're commenting.
21151 Handle external-body parts.
21154 When renaming a group name, nnmail-split-history does not get the group
21158 Allow mail splitting on bodies when using advanced mail splitting.
21161 (body "whatever.text")
21165 Be able to run `J u' from summary buffers.
21168 Solve the halting problem.
21177 @section The Manual
21181 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21182 either @code{texi2dvi}
21184 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21185 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21187 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21189 The following conventions have been used:
21194 This is a @samp{string}
21197 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21200 This is a @file{file}
21203 This is a @code{symbol}
21207 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21211 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21214 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21217 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21220 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21221 ever get them confused.
21225 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21226 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21227 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21228 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21229 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21230 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21231 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21237 @node On Writing Manuals
21238 @section On Writing Manuals
21240 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21241 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21242 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21243 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21244 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21245 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21248 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21249 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21250 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21253 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21254 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21259 @section Terminology
21261 @cindex terminology
21266 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21267 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21268 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21269 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21270 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21274 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21275 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21276 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21277 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21281 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21285 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21290 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
21291 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21292 is all done by the backends.
21296 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
21297 default, way of getting news.
21301 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21302 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
21307 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21308 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21312 A message that has been posted as news.
21315 @cindex mail message
21316 A message that has been mailed.
21320 A mail message or news article
21324 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21329 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21334 A line from the head of an article.
21338 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21339 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21343 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
21344 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21345 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21346 normal @sc{head} format.
21350 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21351 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21352 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21353 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21354 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21355 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21357 @item killed groups
21358 @cindex killed groups
21359 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21360 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21362 @item zombie groups
21363 @cindex zombie groups
21364 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21367 @cindex active file
21368 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21369 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21370 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21373 @cindex bogus groups
21374 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21375 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21376 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21379 @cindex activating groups
21380 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21381 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21382 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21386 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21388 @item select method
21389 @cindex select method
21390 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
21393 @item virtual server
21394 @cindex virtual server
21395 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21396 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21397 whole is a virtual server.
21401 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21402 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21405 @item ephemeral groups
21406 @cindex ephemeral groups
21407 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21408 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21409 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21412 @cindex solid groups
21413 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21414 group buffer are solid groups.
21416 @item sparse articles
21417 @cindex sparse articles
21418 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21419 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21423 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21424 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21428 @cindex thread root
21429 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21430 articles in the thread.
21434 An article that has responses.
21438 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21442 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21443 specified by RFC 1153.
21449 @node Customization
21450 @section Customization
21451 @cindex general customization
21453 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21454 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21455 for some quite common situations.
21458 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21459 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21460 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21461 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21465 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21466 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21468 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21469 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21470 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21474 @item gnus-read-active-file
21475 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21476 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21477 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21478 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21479 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21481 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21482 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21483 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21484 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21488 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21489 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21491 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21492 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21493 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21497 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21498 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21499 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21500 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21501 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21503 @item gnus-visible-headers
21504 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21505 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21506 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21507 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21509 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21511 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21512 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21513 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21516 @item gnus-use-full-window
21517 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21518 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21519 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21520 want to read them anyway.
21522 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21523 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21526 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21527 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21528 lines, which might save some time.
21532 @node Little Disk Space
21533 @subsection Little Disk Space
21536 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21537 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21541 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21542 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21543 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21544 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21547 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21548 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21549 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21550 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21553 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21554 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21555 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21556 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21557 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21563 @subsection Slow Machine
21564 @cindex slow machine
21566 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21567 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21569 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21570 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21572 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21573 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21574 summary buffer faster.
21578 @node Troubleshooting
21579 @section Troubleshooting
21580 @cindex troubleshooting
21582 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21590 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21593 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21594 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21598 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21599 like @samp{T-gnus 6.14.* (based on Pterodactyl Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*,
21600 FLIM 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you
21601 get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some
21602 old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21605 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21609 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21610 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21611 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21612 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21613 something like that.
21616 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21619 @cindex reporting bugs
21621 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21623 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21624 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21625 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21626 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21628 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21629 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21630 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21631 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21634 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21635 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21636 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21637 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21638 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21639 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21641 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21642 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21643 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21646 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21647 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21649 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21650 @cindex ding mailing list
21651 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21652 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21656 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21657 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21659 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21660 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21661 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21662 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21665 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21666 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21667 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21668 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21669 and general methods of operation.
21672 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21673 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21674 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21675 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21676 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21677 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21678 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21679 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21680 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21684 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21685 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21686 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21687 @cindex utility functions
21689 @cindex internal variables
21691 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21692 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21693 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21697 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21698 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21699 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21701 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21702 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21703 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21705 @item gnus-group-real-name
21706 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21707 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21710 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21711 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21712 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21713 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21715 @item gnus-get-info
21716 @findex gnus-get-info
21717 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21719 @item gnus-group-unread
21720 @findex gnus-group-unread
21721 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21725 @findex gnus-active
21726 The active entry for @var{group}.
21728 @item gnus-set-active
21729 @findex gnus-set-active
21730 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21732 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21733 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21734 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21737 @item gnus-continuum-version
21738 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21739 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21740 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21743 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21744 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21745 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21747 @item gnus-news-group-p
21748 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21749 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
21751 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21752 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21753 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21755 @item gnus-server-to-method
21756 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21757 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21759 @item gnus-server-equal
21760 @findex gnus-server-equal
21761 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21763 @item gnus-group-native-p
21764 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21765 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21767 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21768 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21769 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21771 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21772 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21773 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21775 @item group-group-find-parameter
21776 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21777 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21778 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21780 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21781 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21782 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21784 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21785 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21786 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21788 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21789 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21790 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
21791 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21794 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21798 @item gnus-read-method
21799 @findex gnus-read-method
21800 Prompts the user for a select method.
21805 @node Backend Interface
21806 @subsection Backend Interface
21808 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21809 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21810 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
21811 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21812 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21813 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21815 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
21816 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21817 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
21818 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21819 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21820 been opened, the function should fail.
21822 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21823 name. Take this example:
21827 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21828 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21831 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21832 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21834 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21835 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21836 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21838 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21839 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21840 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21842 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21843 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21844 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21845 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21846 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21847 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21850 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
21851 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
21852 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21853 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21856 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
21859 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21862 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21863 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21864 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21865 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
21866 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21867 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
21871 @node Required Backend Functions
21872 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
21876 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21878 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21879 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
21880 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
21881 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21883 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21884 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21885 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21886 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21888 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21889 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21890 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21891 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21892 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
21893 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21894 number, do maximum fetches.
21896 Here's an example HEAD:
21899 221 1056 Article retrieved.
21900 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
21901 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
21902 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
21903 Subject: Re: Something very droll
21904 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
21905 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
21907 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
21908 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
21909 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
21913 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
21914 these in the data buffer.
21916 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
21920 head = error / valid-head
21921 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
21922 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
21923 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
21924 header = <text> eol
21927 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
21928 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
21932 nov-buffer = *nov-line
21933 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
21934 field = <text except TAB>
21937 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
21941 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
21943 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
21944 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
21946 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
21947 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
21948 server. In fact, it should do so.
21950 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
21951 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
21954 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
21956 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
21957 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
21960 There should be no data returned.
21963 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
21965 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
21966 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
21967 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
21968 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
21970 There should be no data returned.
21973 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
21975 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
21976 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
21977 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
21978 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
21980 There should be no data returned.
21983 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
21985 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
21987 There should be no data returned.
21990 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
21992 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
21993 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
21994 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
21995 it would be nice if that were possible.
21997 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
21998 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
21999 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22000 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22001 into its article buffer.
22003 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22004 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22005 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22006 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22007 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22008 on successful article retrieval.
22011 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22013 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22014 making @var{group} the current group.
22016 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22019 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22022 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22025 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22026 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22027 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22028 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22029 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22030 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22031 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22032 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22035 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22036 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22037 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22041 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22043 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22044 a no-op on most backends.
22046 There should be no data returned.
22049 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22051 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22054 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22057 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22058 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22061 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22062 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22065 active-file = *active-line
22066 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22068 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22071 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22072 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22073 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22076 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22078 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22079 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22080 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22081 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22082 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22083 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22085 There should be no result data from this function.
22090 @node Optional Backend Functions
22091 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
22095 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22097 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22098 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22099 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22101 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22102 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22103 former is in the same format as the data from
22104 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22105 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22108 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22112 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22114 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
22115 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
22116 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22117 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22118 should return the (altered) group info.
22120 There should be no result data from this function.
22123 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22125 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22126 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22127 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22128 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22129 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22130 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22131 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22132 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22134 There should be no result data from this function.
22137 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22139 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22140 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22141 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22142 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22143 propagate the mark information to the server.
22145 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22148 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22151 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
22152 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
22153 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
22154 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
22155 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
22156 Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
22157 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
22158 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
22159 not limit itself to these.
22161 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22162 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22163 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22164 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22166 An example action list:
22169 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22170 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22171 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22174 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22175 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22177 There should be no result data from this function.
22179 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22181 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
22182 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22183 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22184 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
22185 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22187 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22188 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22189 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22192 There should be no result data from this function.
22195 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22197 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22198 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
22199 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
22200 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22201 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
22202 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22203 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22205 There should be no result data from this function.
22208 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22210 The result data from this function should be a description of
22214 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22216 description = <text>
22219 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22221 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22222 groups available on the server.
22225 description-buffer = *description-line
22229 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22231 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22232 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
22233 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
22236 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22238 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22240 There should be no return data.
22243 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22245 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22246 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22247 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
22248 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22249 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22252 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22255 There should be no result data returned.
22258 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22261 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22262 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22264 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22265 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22266 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22267 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22268 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22269 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22271 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22272 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22275 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22276 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22278 There should be no data returned.
22281 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22283 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22284 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22285 this function in short order.
22287 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22288 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22290 There should be no data returned.
22293 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22295 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22296 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22298 There should be no data returned.
22301 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22303 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22304 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22305 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22307 There should be no data returned.
22310 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22312 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22313 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22315 There should be no data returned.
22320 @node Error Messaging
22321 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22323 @findex nnheader-report
22324 @findex nnheader-get-report
22325 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22326 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22327 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
22328 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22329 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22330 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22333 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22335 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22338 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22339 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22340 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
22341 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22343 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
22344 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
22345 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22348 @node Writing New Backends
22349 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
22351 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22352 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22353 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22354 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22355 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22358 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22359 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22360 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22362 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22363 package called @code{nnoo}.
22365 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
22366 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
22372 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22373 parameters. For instance:
22376 (nnoo-declare nndir
22380 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22381 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22384 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22385 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22386 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22388 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22389 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
22390 a function in those backends.
22393 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22394 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22395 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22398 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22399 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22400 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22402 @item nnoo-define-basics
22403 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
22407 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22411 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22412 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22413 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
22415 @item nnoo-map-functions
22416 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
22417 functions from the parent backends.
22420 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22421 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22422 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22425 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22426 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22427 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22428 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22431 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
22432 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22433 haven't already been defined.
22439 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22443 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22444 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22445 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22450 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
22453 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22454 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22458 (require 'nnheader)
22462 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22464 (nnoo-declare nndir
22467 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22468 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22469 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22471 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22472 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22475 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22476 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22477 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22479 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22480 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22482 ;;; Interface functions.
22484 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22486 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22487 (setq nndir-directory
22488 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22490 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22491 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22492 (push `(nndir-current-group
22493 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22495 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22496 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22498 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22500 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22501 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22502 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22503 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22504 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22508 nnmh-status-message
22510 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22516 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22517 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22519 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22520 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
22521 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22522 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22524 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
22525 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22530 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22533 The abilities can be:
22537 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22539 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
22541 This backend supports both mail and news.
22543 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
22546 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22547 articles and groups.
22549 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22550 true for almost all backends.
22551 @item prompt-address
22552 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22553 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
22554 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22558 @node Mail-like Backends
22559 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
22561 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
22562 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
22563 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22564 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22567 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22568 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22569 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22572 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22573 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22576 This function takes four parameters.
22580 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
22583 @item exit-function
22584 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22586 @item temp-directory
22587 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22590 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22591 performed for one group only.
22594 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
22595 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22596 find the article number assigned to this article.
22598 The function also uses the following variables:
22599 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22600 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
22601 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22602 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22606 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22607 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22611 @node Score File Syntax
22612 @subsection Score File Syntax
22614 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22615 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22616 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22618 Here's a typical score file:
22622 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22629 BNF definition of a score file:
22632 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22633 element = rule / atom
22634 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22635 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22636 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22637 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22639 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22640 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22641 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22642 date-header = "date"
22643 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22644 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22645 score = "nil" / <integer>
22646 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22647 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22648 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22649 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22650 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22651 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22652 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22653 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22654 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22655 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22656 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22657 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22658 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22659 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22660 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22661 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22662 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22663 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22664 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22665 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22666 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22667 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22668 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22669 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22670 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22671 eval = "eval" space <form>
22672 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22675 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22678 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22679 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22680 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22681 one looong line, then that's ok.
22683 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22684 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22688 @subsection Headers
22690 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22691 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22692 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22693 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22695 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22696 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22697 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22698 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22699 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22700 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22701 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22703 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22704 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22705 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22706 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22707 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22709 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22710 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22716 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22717 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22719 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22720 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22721 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22722 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22724 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22728 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22731 is transformed into
22734 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22737 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22738 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22741 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22744 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22745 is slightly tricky:
22748 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22754 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22757 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22763 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22770 and is equal to the previous range.
22772 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22773 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22774 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22778 range = simple-range / normal-range
22779 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22780 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22781 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22782 number *[ " " contents ]
22785 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22786 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22787 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22788 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22789 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22794 @subsection Group Info
22796 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22797 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22798 describes the group.
22800 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22801 second is a more complex one:
22804 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22806 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22807 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22809 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22812 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22813 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22814 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22815 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22816 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22817 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22818 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22819 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22820 this section is about.
22822 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22823 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22824 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22826 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22829 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22830 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22831 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22832 group = quote <string> quote
22833 ralevel = rank / level
22834 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22835 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22836 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22838 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22839 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22840 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22841 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22844 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22845 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22848 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22849 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22852 @item gnus-info-group
22853 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22854 @findex gnus-info-group
22855 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22856 Get/set the group name.
22858 @item gnus-info-rank
22859 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22860 @findex gnus-info-rank
22861 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22862 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22864 @item gnus-info-level
22865 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22866 @findex gnus-info-level
22867 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22868 Get/set the group level.
22870 @item gnus-info-score
22871 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22872 @findex gnus-info-score
22873 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22874 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22876 @item gnus-info-read
22877 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22878 @findex gnus-info-read
22879 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22880 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22882 @item gnus-info-marks
22883 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
22884 @findex gnus-info-marks
22885 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
22886 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
22888 @item gnus-info-method
22889 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
22890 @findex gnus-info-method
22891 @findex gnus-info-set-method
22892 Get/set the group select method.
22894 @item gnus-info-params
22895 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
22896 @findex gnus-info-params
22897 @findex gnus-info-set-params
22898 Get/set the group parameters.
22901 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
22902 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
22904 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
22905 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
22906 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
22907 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
22910 @node Extended Interactive
22911 @subsection Extended Interactive
22912 @cindex interactive
22913 @findex gnus-interactive
22915 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
22916 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
22917 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
22920 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
22921 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
22926 The best thing to do would have been to implement
22927 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
22928 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
22929 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
22930 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
22931 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
22932 @code{interactive}.
22934 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
22939 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
22940 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
22944 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
22945 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
22946 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
22949 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
22953 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
22957 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
22963 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
22964 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
22968 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
22969 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
22970 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
22972 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
22973 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
22974 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
22975 Gnus, that's very useful.
22977 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
22978 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
22979 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
22980 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
22981 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
22982 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
22983 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
22984 following function:
22987 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
22991 (,function ,@@args))
22995 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
22996 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
22997 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23000 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23001 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23002 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23004 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23005 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23006 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23009 @node Various File Formats
23010 @subsection Various File Formats
23013 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23014 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23018 @node Active File Format
23019 @subsubsection Active File Format
23021 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23022 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23025 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23028 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23029 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23030 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23031 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23032 no.general 1000 900 y
23035 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23038 active = *group-line
23039 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
23040 group = <non-white-space string>
23042 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23043 low-number = <positive integer>
23044 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23047 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23048 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23051 @node Newsgroups File Format
23052 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23054 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23055 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23056 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23059 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23060 Here's the definition:
23064 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23065 group = <non-white-space string>
23067 description = <string>
23072 @node Emacs for Heathens
23073 @section Emacs for Heathens
23075 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23076 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23077 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
23078 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23079 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23080 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23081 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23085 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23086 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23091 @subsection Keystrokes
23095 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23098 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23101 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23102 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23103 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23104 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23105 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23106 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23108 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23109 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23110 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23111 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23112 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23113 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23114 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23116 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23117 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
23118 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23119 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23120 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23121 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23122 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23124 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23125 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23126 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23127 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23128 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23134 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23136 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23137 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23138 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23139 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23141 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23142 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23143 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23144 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23145 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23146 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23147 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23150 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23151 write the following:
23154 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23157 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23158 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23159 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23162 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23163 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23164 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23165 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23166 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23168 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23169 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23170 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23174 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23178 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23181 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23182 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23185 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23188 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23189 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23192 @include gnus-faq.texi