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4 @settitle Semi-gnus 6.2.4 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The news reader gnus.
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262 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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271 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
273 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
274 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
275 are preserved on all copies.
277 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
278 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
279 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
280 permission notice identical to this one.
282 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
283 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
292 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
294 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
296 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
297 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
298 are preserved on all copies.
301 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
302 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
303 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
304 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
307 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
308 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
309 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
310 permission notice identical to this one.
312 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
313 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
319 @title Semi-gnus 6.2.4 Manual
321 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
324 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
325 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
327 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
328 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
329 are preserved on all copies.
331 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
332 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
333 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
334 permission notice identical to this one.
336 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
337 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
346 @top The gnus Newsreader
350 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
351 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
352 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
355 Semi-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So Semi-gnus
356 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
357 other various kinds of formats. Semi-gnus also supports
358 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
359 API. So Semi-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
360 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
362 This manual corresponds to Semi-gnus 6.2.4.
373 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
374 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
376 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
377 being accused of plagiarism:
379 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
380 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
381 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
382 even read news with it!
384 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
385 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
386 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
387 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
388 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
395 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
396 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
397 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
398 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
399 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
400 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
401 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
402 * Various:: General purpose settings.
403 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
404 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
405 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
406 * Key Index:: Key Index.
410 @chapter Starting gnus
415 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
416 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
419 @findex gnus-other-frame
420 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
421 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
422 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
424 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
425 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
426 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
428 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
429 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
432 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
433 * The First Time:: What does gnus do the first time you start it?
434 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
435 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one gnus active at a time.
436 * Fetching a Group:: Starting gnus just to read a group.
437 * New Groups:: What is gnus supposed to do with new groups?
438 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
439 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
440 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
441 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
442 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
446 @node Finding the News
447 @section Finding the News
450 @vindex gnus-select-method
452 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
453 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
454 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
455 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are foreign
458 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
459 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
462 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
465 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
468 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
471 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
472 certainly be much faster.
474 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
476 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
477 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
478 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
479 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
480 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
481 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an
482 @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
484 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
485 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
486 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
487 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
489 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
490 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
491 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
492 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
493 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
494 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
496 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
498 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
499 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
500 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
501 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
502 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
503 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
505 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
507 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
508 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
509 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
510 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
511 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
512 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
515 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
516 would typically set this variable to
519 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
524 @section The First Time
525 @cindex first time usage
527 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
528 be subscribed by default.
530 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
531 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
532 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
533 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
536 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
537 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
538 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
540 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
541 help you with most common problems.
543 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
544 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
548 @node The Server is Down
549 @section The Server is Down
550 @cindex server errors
552 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
553 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
554 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
556 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
557 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
558 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
559 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
560 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
561 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
562 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
564 @findex gnus-no-server
565 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
567 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
568 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
569 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
570 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
571 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
572 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
577 @section Slave Gnusae
580 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
581 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if
582 you are using the two different gnusae to read from two different
583 servers), that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
585 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
588 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
589 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and @dfn{slaves}.
590 (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have taken out a
591 copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in conjunction
592 with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to me. Usage of
593 the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer Applications})
594 will be much more expensive, of course.)
596 Anyways, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
597 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
598 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
599 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
600 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
601 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
602 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
603 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
605 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
606 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
609 @node Fetching a Group
610 @section Fetching a Group
611 @cindex fetching a group
613 @findex gnus-fetch-group
614 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
615 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
616 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
617 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
618 It takes the group name as a parameter.
626 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
627 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
628 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
629 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
630 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
631 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
632 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
633 @code{always}, then gnus will query the backends for new groups even
634 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
637 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
638 * Subscription Methods:: What gnus should do with new groups.
639 * Filtering New Groups:: Making gnus ignore certain new groups.
643 @node Checking New Groups
644 @subsection Checking New Groups
646 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
647 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
648 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
649 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
650 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
651 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
652 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
653 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
654 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
655 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
657 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
658 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
659 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
660 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
661 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't work.
662 I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server supports
663 @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't. You could
664 @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see whether it lists
665 @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If it does, then it
666 might work. (But there are servers that lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} without
667 supporting the function properly.)
669 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
670 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
671 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
672 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
673 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
674 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
677 @node Subscription Methods
678 @subsection Subscription Methods
680 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
681 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
682 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
684 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
685 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
687 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
691 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
692 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
693 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
694 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
695 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
697 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
698 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
699 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
700 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
702 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
703 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
704 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
706 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
707 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
708 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
709 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
710 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
711 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
712 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
713 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
714 up. Or something like that.
716 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
717 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
718 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask you
719 about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe to
720 will be subscribed hierarchically.
722 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
723 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
728 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
729 A closely related variable is
730 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
731 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
732 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
733 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
736 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
737 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
738 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
739 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
742 @node Filtering New Groups
743 @subsection Filtering New Groups
745 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
746 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
747 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
750 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
753 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
754 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
755 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
756 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
757 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
758 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
759 subscribing these groups.
760 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
761 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
763 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
764 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
765 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
766 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
767 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
768 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
769 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
770 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
772 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
773 Yet another variable that meddles here is
774 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
775 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
776 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
777 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
778 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
779 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
780 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
781 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
783 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
784 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
787 @node Changing Servers
788 @section Changing Servers
789 @cindex changing servers
791 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
792 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
793 very flaky and you want to use another.
795 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
796 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
800 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
801 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
802 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
803 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
806 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
807 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
808 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
809 functions more than absolutely necessary.
811 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
812 @findex gnus-change-server
813 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
814 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
815 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
816 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
817 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
819 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
820 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
821 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
822 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
823 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
825 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
826 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
827 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
828 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
829 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
830 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
834 @section Startup Files
835 @cindex startup files
840 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
841 information is traditionally stored in this file.
843 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{GNUS}. In addition to
844 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
845 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
846 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
847 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{GNUS} would read whichever one of these
848 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
849 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
851 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
852 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
853 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
854 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
855 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
856 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
858 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
859 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
860 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
861 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from gnus faster.
862 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
863 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
865 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
866 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
867 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
868 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
869 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
870 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
871 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
872 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
873 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
874 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
875 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
876 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
878 @vindex gnus-startup-file
879 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
880 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
881 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
883 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
884 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
885 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
886 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
887 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
888 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
889 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
890 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
891 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
892 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
895 (defun turn-off-backup ()
896 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
898 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
899 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
902 @vindex gnus-init-file
903 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
904 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
905 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
906 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
907 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
908 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
909 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
910 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
911 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
920 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
921 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
922 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
923 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
924 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
927 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
928 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file
931 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
932 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
933 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
935 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
936 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
937 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
938 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
939 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
940 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
943 @node The Active File
944 @section The Active File
946 @cindex ignored groups
948 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
949 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
950 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
952 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
953 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
954 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
955 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
956 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
957 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
958 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
961 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
962 @c if you set it to anything else.
964 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
966 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
967 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
968 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
970 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
971 you actually subscribe to.
973 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
974 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
975 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
976 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
978 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
979 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
980 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
981 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
982 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
983 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
985 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
986 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
987 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
988 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
989 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
990 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
992 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
993 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
995 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
996 secondary select methods.
999 @node Startup Variables
1000 @section Startup Variables
1004 @item gnus-load-hook
1005 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1006 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1007 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1008 times you start Gnus.
1010 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1011 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1012 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1014 @item gnus-startup-hook
1015 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1016 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1018 @item gnus-started-hook
1019 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1020 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1023 @item gnus-started-hook
1024 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1025 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1026 generating the group buffer.
1028 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1029 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1030 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1031 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1032 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1033 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1034 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1035 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1037 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1038 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1039 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1040 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1041 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1042 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1044 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1045 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1046 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1048 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1049 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1050 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1052 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1053 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1054 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1055 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1060 @node The Group Buffer
1061 @chapter The Group Buffer
1062 @cindex group buffer
1064 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1065 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1066 long as Gnus is active.
1070 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1071 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1072 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1073 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1074 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1075 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1076 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1077 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1083 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1084 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1085 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1086 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1087 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1088 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1089 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1090 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1091 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1092 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1093 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1094 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1095 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1096 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1097 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1098 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1099 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1103 @node Group Buffer Format
1104 @section Group Buffer Format
1107 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1108 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1109 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1113 @node Group Line Specification
1114 @subsection Group Line Specification
1115 @cindex group buffer format
1117 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1118 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1120 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1123 25: news.announce.newusers
1124 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1129 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1130 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1131 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1132 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1134 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1135 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1136 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1137 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1138 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1139 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1141 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1143 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1144 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1145 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1146 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1149 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1150 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1151 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1153 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1158 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1161 Whether the group is subscribed.
1164 Level of subscribedness.
1167 Number of unread articles.
1170 Number of dormant articles.
1173 Number of ticked articles.
1176 Number of read articles.
1179 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1180 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1183 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1186 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1195 Newsgroup description.
1198 @samp{m} if moderated.
1201 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1210 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1214 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1217 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1218 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1219 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1220 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1221 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1224 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1226 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1230 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1234 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1235 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1236 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1237 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1238 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1239 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1244 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1245 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1246 group, or a bogus native group.
1249 @node Group Modeline Specification
1250 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1251 @cindex group modeline
1253 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1254 The mode line can be changed by setting
1255 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1256 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1260 The native news server.
1262 The native select method.
1266 @node Group Highlighting
1267 @subsection Group Highlighting
1268 @cindex highlighting
1269 @cindex group highlighting
1271 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1272 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1273 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1274 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1275 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1277 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1281 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1282 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1283 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1284 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1285 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1287 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1288 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1289 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1290 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1291 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1292 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1295 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1297 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1304 The number of unread articles in the group.
1308 Whether the group is a mail group.
1310 The level of the group.
1312 The score of the group.
1314 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1316 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1317 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1319 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1320 topic being inserted.
1323 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1324 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1325 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1327 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1328 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1329 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1330 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1331 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1334 @node Group Maneuvering
1335 @section Group Maneuvering
1336 @cindex group movement
1338 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1339 expected, hopefully.
1345 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1346 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1347 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1353 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1354 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1355 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1359 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1360 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1364 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1365 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1369 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1370 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1371 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1375 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1376 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1377 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1380 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1386 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1387 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1388 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1393 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1394 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1395 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1399 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1400 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1401 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1404 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1405 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1406 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1407 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1411 @node Selecting a Group
1412 @section Selecting a Group
1413 @cindex group selection
1418 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1419 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1420 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1421 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1422 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1423 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1424 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1425 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1426 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1427 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1431 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1432 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1433 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1434 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1435 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1439 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1440 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1441 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1442 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1443 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1444 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1445 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1446 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1447 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1448 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1451 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1452 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1453 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1454 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1455 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1458 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1459 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1460 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1461 doing any processing of its contents
1462 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1463 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1464 manner will have no permanent effects.
1468 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1469 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1470 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1471 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1472 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1473 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1474 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1475 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1478 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1479 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1480 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1481 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1486 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1487 full summary buffer.
1490 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1493 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1497 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1498 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1499 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1503 @node Subscription Commands
1504 @section Subscription Commands
1505 @cindex subscription
1513 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1514 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1515 Toggle subscription to the current group
1516 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1522 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1523 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1524 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1525 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1531 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1532 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1533 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1539 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1540 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1543 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1544 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1545 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1546 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1547 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1553 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1554 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1558 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1559 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1562 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1563 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1564 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1565 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1566 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1567 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1568 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1569 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1570 @file{.newsrc} file.
1574 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1584 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1585 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1586 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1587 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1588 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1589 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1594 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1595 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1596 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1600 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1601 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1602 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1604 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1605 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1606 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1607 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1608 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1609 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1616 @section Group Levels
1620 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1621 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1622 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1623 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1624 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1626 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1632 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1633 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1634 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1635 prompted for a level.
1638 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1639 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1640 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1641 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1642 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1643 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1644 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1645 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1646 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1647 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1648 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1649 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1650 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1651 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1652 reasons of efficiency.
1654 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1655 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1657 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1658 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1659 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1661 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1662 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1663 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1664 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1665 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1666 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1667 relevant valid ranges.
1669 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1670 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1671 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1672 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1673 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1674 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1677 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1678 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1679 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1682 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1683 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1684 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1685 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1688 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1689 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1690 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1691 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1693 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1694 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1695 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1696 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1697 to 5. The default is 6.
1701 @section Group Score
1706 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1707 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1708 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1711 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1712 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1713 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1714 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1715 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1716 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1717 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1719 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1720 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1721 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1722 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1723 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1724 action after each summary exit, you can add
1725 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1726 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1727 slow things down somewhat.
1730 @node Marking Groups
1731 @section Marking Groups
1732 @cindex marking groups
1734 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1735 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1736 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1737 bidding on those groups.
1739 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1740 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1741 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1749 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1750 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1756 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1757 Remove the mark from the current group
1758 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1762 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1763 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1767 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1768 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1772 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1773 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1777 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1778 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1779 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1782 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1784 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1785 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1786 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1787 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1788 the command to be executed.
1791 @node Foreign Groups
1792 @section Foreign Groups
1793 @cindex foreign groups
1795 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1796 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1797 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1798 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1805 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1806 @cindex making groups
1807 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1808 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1809 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1813 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1814 @cindex renaming groups
1815 Rename the current group to something else
1816 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1817 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1823 @findex gnus-group-customize
1824 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1828 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1829 @cindex renaming groups
1830 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1831 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1835 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1836 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1837 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1841 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1842 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1843 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1847 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1849 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1850 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1855 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1856 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1860 @cindex (ding) archive
1861 @cindex archive group
1862 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1863 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1864 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1865 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1866 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1867 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1868 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1872 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1874 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1875 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1876 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1877 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1881 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1883 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1884 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1885 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1889 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1890 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1892 Make a group based on some file or other
1893 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1894 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1895 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1896 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1897 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1898 this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
1899 @xref{Document Groups}.
1903 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1908 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1909 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1910 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1911 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1912 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1913 @xref{Web Searches}.
1915 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1916 to a particular group by using a match string like
1917 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1920 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1921 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1922 This function will delete the current group
1923 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1924 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1925 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1926 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1927 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1931 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1932 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1933 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1937 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1938 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1939 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1942 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1945 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1946 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1947 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1948 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1949 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1952 @node Group Parameters
1953 @section Group Parameters
1954 @cindex group parameters
1956 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
1957 Here's an example group parameter list:
1960 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
1964 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
1965 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
1966 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
1967 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
1969 The following group parameters can be used:
1974 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
1977 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
1980 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
1981 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
1982 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
1983 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
1984 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
1986 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1987 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1988 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1989 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1990 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1991 list address instead.
1995 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
1998 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2001 It is totally ignored
2002 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2003 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2005 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2006 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group paramater,
2007 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2008 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2009 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2011 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2012 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2013 sending the message.
2017 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2018 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2019 of whether it has any unread articles.
2021 @item broken-reply-to
2022 @cindex broken-reply-to
2023 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2024 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2025 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2026 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2027 broken behavior. So there!
2031 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2032 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2036 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2037 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2038 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2043 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2044 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2045 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2046 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2047 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2048 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2049 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2053 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2054 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2055 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2058 @cindex total-expire
2059 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2060 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2061 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2062 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2067 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2068 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2069 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2070 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2071 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2072 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2075 @cindex score file group parameter
2076 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2077 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2078 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2081 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2082 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2083 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2084 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2087 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2088 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2089 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2090 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2093 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2094 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2098 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2101 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2106 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2107 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2108 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2111 @item @var{(variable form)}
2112 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2113 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2114 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2115 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2116 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2117 @code{eval}ed there.
2119 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2120 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2121 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2122 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2123 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2127 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2128 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2132 @node Listing Groups
2133 @section Listing Groups
2134 @cindex group listing
2136 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2144 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2145 List all groups that have unread articles
2146 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2147 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2148 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2149 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2156 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2157 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2158 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2159 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2160 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2161 unsubscribed groups).
2165 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2166 List all unread groups on a specific level
2167 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2168 with no unread articles.
2172 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2173 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2174 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2175 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2180 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2181 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2185 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2186 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2187 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2191 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2192 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2196 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2197 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2198 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2199 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2200 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2201 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2202 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2203 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2207 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2208 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2209 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2213 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2214 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2215 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2219 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2220 @cindex visible group parameter
2221 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2222 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2223 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2224 get the same effect.
2226 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2227 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2228 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2229 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2230 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2233 @node Sorting Groups
2234 @section Sorting Groups
2235 @cindex sorting groups
2237 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2238 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2239 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2240 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2241 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2242 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2247 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2248 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2249 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2251 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2252 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2253 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2255 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2256 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2257 Sort by group level.
2259 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2260 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2261 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2263 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2264 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2265 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2266 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2268 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2269 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2270 Sort by number of unread articles.
2272 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2273 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2274 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2279 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2280 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2284 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2285 some sorting criteria:
2289 @kindex G S a (Group)
2290 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2291 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2292 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2295 @kindex G S u (Group)
2296 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2297 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2298 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2301 @kindex G S l (Group)
2302 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2303 Sort the group buffer by group level
2304 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2307 @kindex G S v (Group)
2308 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2309 Sort the group buffer by group score
2310 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2313 @kindex G S r (Group)
2314 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2315 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2316 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2319 @kindex G S m (Group)
2320 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2321 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2322 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2326 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2328 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2332 @kindex G P a (Group)
2333 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2334 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2335 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2338 @kindex G P u (Group)
2339 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2340 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2341 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2344 @kindex G P l (Group)
2345 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2346 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2347 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2350 @kindex G P v (Group)
2351 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2352 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2353 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2356 @kindex G P r (Group)
2357 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2358 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2359 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2362 @kindex G P m (Group)
2363 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2364 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2365 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2371 @node Group Maintenance
2372 @section Group Maintenance
2373 @cindex bogus groups
2378 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2379 Find bogus groups and delete them
2380 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2384 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2385 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2386 If given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2390 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2391 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2392 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2393 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2396 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2397 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2398 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2399 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2404 @node Browse Foreign Server
2405 @section Browse Foreign Server
2406 @cindex foreign servers
2407 @cindex browsing servers
2412 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2413 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2414 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2415 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2418 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2419 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2420 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2421 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2423 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2428 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2429 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2433 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2434 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2437 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2438 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2439 Enter the current group and display the first article
2440 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2443 @kindex RET (Browse)
2444 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2445 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2449 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2450 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2451 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2457 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2458 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2462 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2463 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2464 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2469 @section Exiting Gnus
2470 @cindex exiting Gnus
2472 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2477 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2478 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2479 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2480 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2484 @findex gnus-group-exit
2485 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2486 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2490 @findex gnus-group-quit
2491 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2492 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2495 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2496 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2497 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2498 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2499 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2504 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2505 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2506 trying to customize meta-variables.
2511 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2512 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2513 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2519 @section Group Topics
2522 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2523 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2524 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2525 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2526 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2527 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2531 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2532 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2543 2: alt.religion.emacs
2546 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2548 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2549 13: comp.sources.unix
2552 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2554 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2555 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2556 is a toggling command.)
2558 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2559 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2560 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2561 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2564 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2565 the hook for the group mode:
2568 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2572 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2573 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2574 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2575 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2576 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2580 @node Topic Variables
2581 @subsection Topic Variables
2582 @cindex topic variables
2584 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2585 really neat, I think.
2587 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2588 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2589 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2602 Number of groups in the topic.
2604 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2606 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2609 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2610 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2611 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2614 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2615 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2617 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2618 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2619 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2622 @node Topic Commands
2623 @subsection Topic Commands
2624 @cindex topic commands
2626 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2627 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2628 definitions slightly.
2634 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2635 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2636 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2640 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2641 Move the current group to some other topic
2642 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2643 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2647 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2648 Copy the current group to some other topic
2649 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2650 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2654 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2655 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2656 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2657 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2661 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2662 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2663 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2667 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2668 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2669 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2673 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2674 Toggle hiding empty topics
2675 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2679 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2680 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2681 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2684 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2685 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2686 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2687 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2691 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2693 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2694 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2695 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2696 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2697 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2698 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2701 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2702 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2703 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2704 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2705 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2709 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2710 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2711 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2715 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2716 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2717 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2722 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2723 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2726 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2727 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2728 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2732 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2733 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2734 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2738 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2739 @cindex group parameters
2740 @cindex topic parameters
2742 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2743 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2749 @subsection Topic Sorting
2750 @cindex topic sorting
2752 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2758 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2759 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2760 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2761 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2764 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2765 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2766 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2767 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2770 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2771 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2772 Sort the current topic by group level
2773 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2776 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2777 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2778 Sort the current topic by group score
2779 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2782 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2783 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2784 Sort the current topic by group rank
2785 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2788 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2789 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2790 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2791 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2795 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2798 @node Topic Topology
2799 @subsection Topic Topology
2800 @cindex topic topology
2803 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2809 2: alt.religion.emacs
2812 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2814 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2815 13: comp.sources.unix
2818 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2819 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2820 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2825 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2826 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2830 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2831 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2832 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2833 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2834 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2835 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2837 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2838 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2839 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2842 @node Topic Parameters
2843 @subsection Topic Parameters
2844 @cindex topic parameters
2846 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2847 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2848 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2850 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2851 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2852 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2853 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2859 2: alt.religion.emacs
2863 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2865 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2866 13: comp.sources.unix
2870 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2871 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2872 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2873 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2874 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2875 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2877 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2878 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2879 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2880 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2881 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2883 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2884 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2885 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2886 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2887 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2888 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2889 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2890 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2893 @node Misc Group Stuff
2894 @section Misc Group Stuff
2897 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2898 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2899 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2900 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2907 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2908 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2909 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2913 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2914 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2915 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2919 @findex gnus-group-mail
2920 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2924 Variables for the group buffer:
2928 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2929 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2930 is called after the group buffer has been
2933 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2934 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2935 is called after the group buffer is
2936 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2939 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
2940 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2941 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
2942 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
2944 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2945 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2946 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2947 whether they are empty or not.
2952 @node Scanning New Messages
2953 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2954 @cindex new messages
2955 @cindex scanning new news
2961 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2962 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
2963 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2964 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2965 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2966 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
2971 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2972 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2973 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
2974 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2975 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2976 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2977 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2979 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2980 @cindex activating groups
2982 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2983 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2988 @findex gnus-group-restart
2989 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
2990 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
2991 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
2995 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2996 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2998 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2999 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3003 @node Group Information
3004 @subsection Group Information
3005 @cindex group information
3006 @cindex information on groups
3013 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3014 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3017 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3018 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3019 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3020 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3021 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3022 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3023 for fetching the file.
3025 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3026 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3030 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3032 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3033 @cindex describing groups
3034 @cindex group description
3035 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3036 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3037 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3041 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3042 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3043 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3050 @findex gnus-version
3051 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3055 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3056 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3059 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3062 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3063 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3067 @node Group Timestamp
3068 @subsection Group Timestamp
3070 @cindex group timestamps
3072 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3073 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3074 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3077 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3080 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3082 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3083 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3086 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3087 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3090 This will result in lines looking like:
3093 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3094 0: custom 19961002T012713
3097 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3098 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3102 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3103 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3108 @subsection File Commands
3109 @cindex file commands
3115 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3116 @vindex gnus-init-file
3117 @cindex reading init file
3118 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3119 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3123 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3124 @cindex saving .newsrc
3125 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3126 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3127 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3130 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3131 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3132 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3137 @node The Summary Buffer
3138 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3139 @cindex summary buffer
3141 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3142 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3144 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3145 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3147 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3150 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3151 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3152 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3153 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3154 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3155 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3156 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3157 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3158 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3159 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3160 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3161 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3162 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3163 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3164 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3165 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3166 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3167 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3168 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3169 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3170 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3171 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3172 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3173 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3174 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3175 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3176 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3180 @node Summary Buffer Format
3181 @section Summary Buffer Format
3182 @cindex summary buffer format
3186 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3187 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3188 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3194 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3195 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3196 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3199 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3200 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3201 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3202 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3203 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3204 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3205 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3206 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3207 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3208 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3209 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3211 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3212 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3213 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3214 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3217 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3218 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3220 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3221 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3222 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3223 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3224 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3226 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3228 The following format specification characters are understood:
3236 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3237 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3238 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3240 Full @code{From} header.
3242 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3244 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3245 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3246 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3247 may be more thorough.
3249 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3252 Number of lines in the article.
3254 Number of characters in the article.
3256 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3258 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3259 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3261 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3262 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3264 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3265 for adopted articles.
3267 One space for each thread level.
3269 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3274 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3275 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3279 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3281 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3282 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3283 default level. If the difference between
3284 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3285 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3293 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3295 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3301 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3302 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3304 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3305 article has any children.
3311 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3312 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3313 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3314 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3315 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3316 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3319 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3320 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3321 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3322 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3323 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3324 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3326 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3327 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3329 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3332 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3333 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3335 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3336 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3337 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3338 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3340 Here are the elements you can play with:
3346 Unprefixed group name.
3348 Current article number.
3352 Number of unread articles in this group.
3354 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3357 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3358 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3359 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3360 and no unselected ones.
3362 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3363 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3365 Subject of the current article.
3367 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3369 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3371 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3373 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3375 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3377 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3381 @node Summary Highlighting
3382 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3386 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3387 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3388 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3389 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3390 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3392 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3393 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3394 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3395 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3397 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3398 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3399 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3400 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3402 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3403 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3404 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3405 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3406 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3407 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3409 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3410 ((> score default) . bold))
3412 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3413 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3417 @node Summary Maneuvering
3418 @section Summary Maneuvering
3419 @cindex summary movement
3421 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3422 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3424 None of these commands select articles.
3429 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3430 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3431 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3432 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3433 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3437 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3438 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3439 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3440 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3441 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3446 @kindex G j (Summary)
3447 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3448 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3449 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3452 @kindex G g (Summary)
3453 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3454 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3455 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3458 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3459 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3460 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3461 to the group buffer.
3463 Variables related to summary movement:
3467 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3468 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3469 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3470 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3471 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3472 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3473 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3474 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3475 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3476 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3477 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3478 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3479 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3480 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3482 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3483 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3484 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3485 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3486 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3487 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3488 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3490 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3491 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3492 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3493 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3494 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3496 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3497 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3498 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3499 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3500 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3501 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3502 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3503 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3509 @node Choosing Articles
3510 @section Choosing Articles
3511 @cindex selecting articles
3514 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3515 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3519 @node Choosing Commands
3520 @subsection Choosing Commands
3522 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3523 and they all select and display an article.
3527 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3528 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3529 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3530 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3535 @kindex G n (Summary)
3536 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3537 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3538 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3543 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3544 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3545 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3550 @kindex G N (Summary)
3551 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3552 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3557 @kindex G P (Summary)
3558 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3559 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3562 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3563 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3564 Go to the next article with the same subject
3565 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3568 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3569 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3570 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3571 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3575 @kindex G f (Summary)
3577 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3578 Go to the first unread article
3579 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3583 @kindex G b (Summary)
3585 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3586 Go to the article with the highest score
3587 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3592 @kindex G l (Summary)
3593 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3594 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3597 @kindex G o (Summary)
3598 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3600 @cindex article history
3601 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3602 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3603 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3604 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3605 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3606 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3610 @node Choosing Variables
3611 @subsection Choosing Variables
3613 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3616 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3617 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3618 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3619 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3620 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3621 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3623 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3624 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3625 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3626 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3628 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3629 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3630 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3631 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3632 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3633 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3634 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3635 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3636 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3637 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3638 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3639 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3640 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3641 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3646 @node Paging the Article
3647 @section Scrolling the Article
3648 @cindex article scrolling
3653 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3654 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3655 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3656 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3657 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3660 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3661 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3662 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3665 @kindex RET (Summary)
3666 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3667 Scroll the current article one line forward
3668 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3672 @kindex A g (Summary)
3674 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3675 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3676 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3677 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3678 the way it came from the server.
3683 @kindex A < (Summary)
3684 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3685 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3686 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3691 @kindex A > (Summary)
3692 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3693 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3697 @kindex A s (Summary)
3699 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3700 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3701 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3705 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3706 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3711 @node Reply Followup and Post
3712 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3715 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3716 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3720 @node Summary Mail Commands
3721 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3723 @cindex composing mail
3725 Commands for composing a mail message:
3731 @kindex S r (Summary)
3733 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3734 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3735 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3736 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3737 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3742 @kindex S R (Summary)
3743 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3744 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3745 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3746 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3747 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3750 @kindex S w (Summary)
3751 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3752 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3753 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3754 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3755 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3758 @kindex S W (Summary)
3759 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3760 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3761 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3762 the process/prefix convention.
3765 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3766 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3767 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3768 Forward the current article to some other person
3769 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3770 headers of the forwarded article.
3775 @kindex S m (Summary)
3776 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3777 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3778 Send a mail to some other person
3779 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3782 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3783 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3784 @cindex bouncing mail
3785 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3786 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3787 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3788 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3789 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3790 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3791 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3792 very well fail, though.
3795 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3796 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3797 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3798 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3799 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3800 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3801 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3802 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3803 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3804 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3806 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3807 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3808 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3809 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3810 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3812 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3813 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3816 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3817 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3818 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3819 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3820 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3823 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3824 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3825 @cindex crossposting
3826 @cindex excessive crossposting
3827 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3828 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3830 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3831 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3832 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3833 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3834 command understands the process/prefix convention
3835 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3839 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3842 @node Summary Post Commands
3843 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3845 @cindex composing news
3847 Commands for posting a news article:
3853 @kindex S p (Summary)
3854 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3855 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3856 Post an article to the current group
3857 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3862 @kindex S f (Summary)
3863 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3864 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3865 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3869 @kindex S F (Summary)
3871 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3872 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3873 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3874 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3875 process/prefix convention.
3878 @kindex S n (Summary)
3879 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3880 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3881 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3884 @kindex S n (Summary)
3885 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3886 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3887 message through mail and include the original message
3888 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3889 the process/prefix convention.
3892 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3893 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3894 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3895 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3896 headers of the forwarded article.
3899 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3900 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3902 @cindex making digests
3903 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3904 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3905 process/prefix convention.
3908 @kindex S u (Summary)
3909 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3910 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3911 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3912 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3915 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3918 @node Canceling and Superseding
3919 @section Canceling Articles
3920 @cindex canceling articles
3921 @cindex superseding articles
3923 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3924 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3926 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3928 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3930 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
3931 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3932 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3933 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3934 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3935 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3937 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3938 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3941 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when cancelling. If you
3942 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
3943 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
3945 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3946 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3947 your original article.
3949 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3951 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3952 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3953 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3956 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3957 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3958 have posted almost the same article twice.
3960 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3961 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3962 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3963 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
3964 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3965 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3966 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3967 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3968 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3969 canceled/superseded.
3971 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3974 @node Marking Articles
3975 @section Marking Articles
3976 @cindex article marking
3977 @cindex article ticking
3980 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3982 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3983 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3984 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3986 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3989 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3990 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3991 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3995 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3999 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4000 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4004 @node Unread Articles
4005 @subsection Unread Articles
4007 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4012 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4013 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4015 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4016 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4017 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4018 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4019 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4023 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4024 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4026 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4027 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4028 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4031 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4032 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4034 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4039 @subsection Read Articles
4040 @cindex expirable mark
4042 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4047 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4048 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4049 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4052 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4053 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4056 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4057 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4058 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4061 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4062 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4065 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4066 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4069 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4070 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4073 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4074 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4077 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4078 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4081 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4082 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4085 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4086 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4090 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4091 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4092 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4096 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4097 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4099 One more special mark, though:
4103 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4104 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4106 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4107 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4108 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4109 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4115 @subsection Other Marks
4116 @cindex process mark
4119 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4125 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4126 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4127 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4128 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4129 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4132 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4133 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4134 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4135 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4138 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4139 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4140 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}
4143 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4144 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4145 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4146 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4149 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4150 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4151 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4152 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4153 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4156 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4157 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4158 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4159 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4160 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4161 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4165 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4166 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4167 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4169 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4170 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4171 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4175 @subsection Setting Marks
4176 @cindex setting marks
4178 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4183 @kindex M c (Summary)
4184 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4185 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4186 @cindex mark as unread
4187 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4188 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4194 @kindex M t (Summary)
4195 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4196 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4197 @xref{Article Caching}
4202 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4203 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4204 Mark the current article as dormant
4205 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}
4209 @kindex M d (Summary)
4211 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4212 Mark the current article as read
4213 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4217 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4218 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4219 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4224 @kindex M k (Summary)
4225 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4226 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4227 and then select the next unread article
4228 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4232 @kindex M K (Summary)
4233 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4234 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4235 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4236 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4239 @kindex M C (Summary)
4240 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4241 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4242 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4245 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4246 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4247 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4248 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4251 @kindex M H (Summary)
4252 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4253 Catchup the current group to point
4254 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4257 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4258 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4259 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4260 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4263 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4264 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4265 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4266 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4270 @kindex M e (Summary)
4272 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4273 Mark the current article as expirable
4274 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4277 @kindex M b (Summary)
4278 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4279 Set a bookmark in the current article
4280 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4283 @kindex M B (Summary)
4284 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4285 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4286 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4289 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4290 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4291 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4292 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4295 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4296 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4297 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4298 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4301 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4302 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4303 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4304 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4305 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4308 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4309 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4310 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4311 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4312 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4313 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4314 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4315 The default is @code{t}.
4318 @node Setting Process Marks
4319 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4320 @cindex setting process marks
4327 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4328 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4329 Mark the current article with the process mark
4330 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4331 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4335 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4336 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4337 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4338 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4341 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4342 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4343 Remove the process mark from all articles
4344 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4347 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4348 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4349 Invert the list of process marked articles
4350 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4353 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4354 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4355 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4356 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4359 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4360 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4361 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4364 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4365 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4366 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4367 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4370 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4371 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4372 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4373 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4376 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4377 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4378 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4379 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4382 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4383 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4384 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4387 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4388 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4389 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4390 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4393 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4394 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4395 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4398 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4399 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4400 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4401 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4404 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4405 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4406 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4407 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4410 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4411 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4412 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4413 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4416 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4417 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4418 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4419 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4428 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4429 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4430 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4433 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4434 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4435 additional articles.
4441 @kindex / / (Summary)
4442 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4443 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4444 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4447 @kindex / a (Summary)
4448 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4449 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4450 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4454 @kindex / u (Summary)
4456 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4457 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4458 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4459 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4460 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4463 @kindex / m (Summary)
4464 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4465 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4466 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4469 @kindex / t (Summary)
4470 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4471 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4472 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4473 articles younger than that number of days.
4476 @kindex / n (Summary)
4477 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4478 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4479 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4480 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4483 @kindex / w (Summary)
4484 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4485 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4486 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4490 @kindex / v (Summary)
4491 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4492 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4493 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4497 @kindex M S (Summary)
4498 @kindex / E (Summary)
4499 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4500 Display all expunged articles
4501 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4504 @kindex / D (Summary)
4505 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4506 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4509 @kindex / * (Summary)
4510 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4511 Display all cached articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4514 @kindex / d (Summary)
4515 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4516 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4519 @kindex / T (Summary)
4520 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4521 Include all the articles in the current thread.
4524 @kindex / c (Summary)
4525 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4526 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4527 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4530 @kindex / C (Summary)
4531 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4532 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4533 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4534 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4542 @cindex article threading
4544 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4545 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4546 hierarchical fashion.
4548 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4549 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4550 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4551 or simply missing. Weird news propagration excarcerbates the problem,
4552 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4553 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4554 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4556 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4560 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4563 A tree-like article structure.
4566 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4569 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4570 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4571 summary buffer. We then typicall have many sub-threads that really
4572 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4573 called loose threads.
4575 @item thread gathering
4576 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4578 @item sparse threads
4579 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4580 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4586 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4587 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4591 @node Customizing Threading
4592 @subsection Customizing Threading
4593 @cindex customizing threading
4596 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4597 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4598 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4599 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4604 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4607 @cindex loose threads
4610 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4611 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4612 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4613 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4614 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4615 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4617 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4618 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4619 There are four possible values:
4623 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4624 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4625 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4626 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4627 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4632 @cindex adopting articles
4637 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4638 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4639 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4640 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4643 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4644 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4645 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4646 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4647 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4648 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4649 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4652 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4653 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4654 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4658 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4659 display them after one another.
4662 Don't gather loose threads.
4665 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4666 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4667 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4668 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4669 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4670 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4671 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4672 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4673 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4674 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4675 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4677 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4678 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4679 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4682 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4683 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4684 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4685 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4686 simplification is used.
4688 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4689 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4690 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4691 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4693 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4695 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4701 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4702 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4703 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4704 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4709 (mapconcat 'identity
4710 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4712 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4715 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4718 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4719 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4720 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4721 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4722 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4723 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4725 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4728 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4729 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4730 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4732 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4733 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4736 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4737 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4738 Remove excessive whitespace.
4741 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4744 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4745 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4746 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4747 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4748 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4749 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4750 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4751 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4753 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4754 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4755 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4756 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4757 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4758 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4759 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4760 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4761 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4765 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4766 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4767 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4768 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4770 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4771 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4772 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4775 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4779 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4780 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4786 @node Filling In Threads
4787 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4790 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4791 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4792 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4793 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
4794 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4795 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4796 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4797 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4798 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4799 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4800 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4801 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4803 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4804 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4805 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4807 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4808 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4809 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4810 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4811 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4812 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4813 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4814 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4815 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4816 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4817 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4818 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4819 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4820 @code{nil} by default.
4825 @node More Threading
4826 @subsubsection More Threading
4829 @item gnus-show-threads
4830 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4831 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4832 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4833 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4834 slower and more awkward.
4836 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4837 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4838 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4841 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4842 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4843 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4844 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4845 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4846 threads are expunged.
4848 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4849 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4850 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4853 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4854 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4855 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4856 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4857 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4860 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4861 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4862 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4868 @node Low-Level Threading
4869 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4873 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4874 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4875 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4876 @code{(gnus-decode-rfc1522)}, which means that QPized headers will be
4877 slightly decoded in a hackish way. This is likely to change in the
4878 future when Gnus becomes @sc{MIME}ified.
4880 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4881 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4882 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4883 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4884 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4885 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4886 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4887 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4888 meaningful. Here's one example:
4891 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4893 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4894 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4896 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4898 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4905 @node Thread Commands
4906 @subsection Thread Commands
4907 @cindex thread commands
4913 @kindex T k (Summary)
4914 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4915 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4916 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4917 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4918 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4923 @kindex T l (Summary)
4924 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4925 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4926 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4927 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4930 @kindex T i (Summary)
4931 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4932 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4933 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4936 @kindex T # (Summary)
4937 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4938 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4939 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4942 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4943 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4944 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4945 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4948 @kindex T T (Summary)
4949 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4950 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4953 @kindex T s (Summary)
4954 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4955 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4956 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4959 @kindex T h (Summary)
4960 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4961 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4964 @kindex T S (Summary)
4965 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4966 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4969 @kindex T H (Summary)
4970 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4971 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4974 @kindex T t (Summary)
4975 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4976 Re-thread the current article's thread
4977 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4978 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4981 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4982 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4983 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4984 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
4988 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4989 understand the numeric prefix.
4994 @kindex T n (Summary)
4995 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4996 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4999 @kindex T p (Summary)
5000 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5001 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5004 @kindex T d (Summary)
5005 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5006 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5009 @kindex T u (Summary)
5010 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5011 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5014 @kindex T o (Summary)
5015 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5016 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5019 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5020 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5021 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5022 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5023 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5024 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5025 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5026 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5027 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5028 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5029 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5030 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5037 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5038 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5039 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5040 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5041 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5042 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5043 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5044 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5045 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
5046 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5047 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5048 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5049 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5050 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5052 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5053 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5054 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
5055 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
5056 in the list. You should probably always include
5057 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5058 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5059 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5060 ascending article order.
5062 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
5063 number, you could do something like:
5066 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5067 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5068 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5069 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
5072 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5073 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5074 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5075 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5076 which the articles arrived.
5078 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5082 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5084 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5085 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5088 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5089 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5090 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5091 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5094 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5095 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5096 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5097 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5098 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5099 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5100 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5101 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5102 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5103 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5104 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5105 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5106 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5108 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5112 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5113 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5114 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5119 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5120 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5121 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5122 @cindex article pre-fetch
5125 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5126 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5127 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5128 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5129 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5131 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5132 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5134 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5135 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5136 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5137 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5138 connection is blocked.
5140 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5141 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5142 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5143 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
5145 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5146 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5147 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5148 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5151 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5154 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5155 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5156 happen automatically.
5158 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5159 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5160 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5161 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5162 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5163 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5164 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5166 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5167 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5168 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5169 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5170 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5171 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5172 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5173 data structure as the only parameter.
5175 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5178 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5179 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5180 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5181 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5184 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5187 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5188 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
5189 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5191 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5192 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5193 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5194 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5198 Remove articles when they are read.
5201 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5204 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5206 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5207 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5208 from the next group.
5211 @node Article Caching
5212 @section Article Caching
5213 @cindex article caching
5216 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5217 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5218 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5219 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5220 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5222 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5224 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5225 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5226 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5227 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5228 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5229 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5230 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5231 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5233 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5234 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5235 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5236 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5237 as dormant, and don't worry.
5239 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5241 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5242 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5243 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5244 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5245 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5246 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5247 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5248 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5249 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5250 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5252 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5253 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5254 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5255 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5256 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5257 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5258 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5259 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5260 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5261 not then be downloaded by this command.
5263 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5264 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
5265 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5266 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5267 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
5268 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
5269 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
5272 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5273 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5274 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5275 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5276 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5277 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
5278 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5279 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5280 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5284 @node Persistent Articles
5285 @section Persistent Articles
5286 @cindex persistent articles
5288 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5289 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5290 useful in my opinion.
5292 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5293 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5294 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5295 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5296 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5297 the expiry going on at the news server.
5299 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5300 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5301 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5307 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5308 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5311 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5312 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5313 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5314 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5318 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5320 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5321 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5322 interested in persistent articles:
5325 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5329 @node Article Backlog
5330 @section Article Backlog
5332 @cindex article backlog
5334 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5335 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5336 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
5337 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5338 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5339 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5340 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5341 increase memory usage some.
5343 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5344 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5345 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5346 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5347 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5348 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5349 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5351 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5354 @node Saving Articles
5355 @section Saving Articles
5356 @cindex saving articles
5358 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5359 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5360 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5361 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5362 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5364 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5365 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5366 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5368 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5369 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5370 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5371 deleted before saving.
5377 @kindex O o (Summary)
5379 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5380 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5381 Save the current article using the default article saver
5382 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5385 @kindex O m (Summary)
5386 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5387 Save the current article in mail format
5388 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5391 @kindex O r (Summary)
5392 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5393 Save the current article in rmail format
5394 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5397 @kindex O f (Summary)
5398 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5399 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5400 Save the current article in plain file format
5401 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5404 @kindex O F (Summary)
5405 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5406 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5407 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5410 @kindex O b (Summary)
5411 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5412 Save the current article body in plain file format
5413 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5416 @kindex O h (Summary)
5417 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5418 Save the current article in mh folder format
5419 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5422 @kindex O v (Summary)
5423 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5424 Save the current article in a VM folder
5425 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5428 @kindex O p (Summary)
5429 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5430 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5431 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5434 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5435 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5436 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5437 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5438 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5439 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5440 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5441 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5442 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5443 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5444 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5445 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5449 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5450 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5451 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5452 functions below, or you can create your own.
5456 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5457 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5458 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5459 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5460 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5461 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5462 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5464 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5465 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5466 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5467 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5468 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5469 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5471 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5472 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5473 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5474 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5475 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5476 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5477 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5479 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5480 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5481 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5482 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5483 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5485 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5486 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5487 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5488 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5489 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5492 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5493 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5494 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5495 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5496 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5498 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5499 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5500 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5501 reader to use this setting.
5504 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5505 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5506 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5507 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5510 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5511 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5512 available functions that generate names:
5516 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5517 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5518 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5520 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5521 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5522 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5524 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5525 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5526 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5528 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5529 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5530 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5533 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5534 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5535 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5536 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5537 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5541 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5542 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5543 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5544 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5547 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5548 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5549 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5550 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5551 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5552 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5553 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5554 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5555 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5557 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5558 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5559 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5560 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5562 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5563 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5564 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5567 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5568 lots of mail groups called things like
5569 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5570 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5571 following will do just that:
5574 (defun my-save-name (group)
5575 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5576 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5578 (setq gnus-split-methods
5579 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5584 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5585 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5586 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5587 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5588 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5589 all the files in the toplevel directory
5590 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5591 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5592 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5593 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5595 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5596 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5597 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5598 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5599 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5602 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5606 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5607 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5610 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5611 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5612 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5613 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5616 @node Decoding Articles
5617 @section Decoding Articles
5618 @cindex decoding articles
5620 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5621 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5624 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5625 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5626 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5627 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5628 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5629 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5633 @cindex article series
5634 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5635 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5636 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5637 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5638 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5640 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5641 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5642 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5644 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5645 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5646 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5648 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5649 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5650 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5653 @node Uuencoded Articles
5654 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5656 @cindex uuencoded articles
5661 @kindex X u (Summary)
5662 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5663 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5664 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5667 @kindex X U (Summary)
5668 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5669 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5670 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5673 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5674 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5675 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5678 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5679 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5680 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5681 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5685 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5686 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5687 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5688 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5689 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5691 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5692 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5693 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5694 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5697 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5698 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5699 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5700 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5701 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5702 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5706 @node Shell Archives
5707 @subsection Shell Archives
5709 @cindex shell archives
5710 @cindex shared articles
5712 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5713 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5714 some commands to deal with these:
5719 @kindex X s (Summary)
5720 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5721 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5724 @kindex X S (Summary)
5725 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5726 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5729 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5730 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5731 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5734 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5735 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5736 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5737 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5741 @node PostScript Files
5742 @subsection PostScript Files
5748 @kindex X p (Summary)
5749 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5750 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5753 @kindex X P (Summary)
5754 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5755 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5756 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5759 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5760 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5761 View the current PostScript series
5762 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5765 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5766 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5767 View and save the current PostScript series
5768 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5773 @subsection Other Files
5777 @kindex X o (Summary)
5778 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5779 Save the current series
5780 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5783 @kindex X b (Summary)
5784 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5785 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5786 doesn't really work yet.
5790 @node Decoding Variables
5791 @subsection Decoding Variables
5793 Adjective, not verb.
5796 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5797 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5798 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5802 @node Rule Variables
5803 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5804 @cindex rule variables
5806 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5807 variables are of the form
5810 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5817 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5818 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5820 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5821 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5824 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5825 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5828 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5829 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5830 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5831 user and default view rules.
5833 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5834 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5835 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5840 @node Other Decode Variables
5841 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5844 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5846 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5847 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5848 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5849 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5850 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5854 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5855 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5858 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5859 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5860 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5863 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5864 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5865 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5866 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5867 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5870 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5871 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5872 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5874 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5875 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5876 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5877 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5878 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5881 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5882 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5883 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5885 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5886 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5887 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5888 looking for files to display.
5890 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5891 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5892 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5895 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5896 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5897 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5900 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5901 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5902 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5905 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5906 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5907 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5910 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5911 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5912 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
5913 decoded articles as unread.
5915 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5916 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5917 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5918 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5920 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5921 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5922 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
5924 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5925 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5927 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5928 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5929 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5930 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5932 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5933 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5934 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5935 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5936 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5937 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5938 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5939 simply dropped them.
5944 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5945 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5949 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5950 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5951 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5952 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5953 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5954 for you when you post the article.
5956 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5957 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5958 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5959 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5961 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5962 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5963 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5964 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
5965 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5966 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5967 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5969 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5970 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5971 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5972 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5973 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5974 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5975 Default is @code{t}.
5981 @subsection Viewing Files
5982 @cindex viewing files
5983 @cindex pseudo-articles
5985 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5986 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5987 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5988 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5989 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5990 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5991 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5993 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5994 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5995 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5996 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5998 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5999 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6000 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6002 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6003 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6004 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6005 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6006 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6008 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6009 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6010 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6011 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6012 a list of parameters to that command.
6014 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6015 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6016 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6018 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6019 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6020 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6023 @node Article Treatment
6024 @section Article Treatment
6026 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6027 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6028 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6029 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6030 these articles easier.
6033 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6034 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look niced.
6035 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6036 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6037 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6038 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6039 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6043 @node Article Highlighting
6044 @subsection Article Highlighting
6047 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6048 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6053 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6054 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6055 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
6058 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6060 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6061 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6062 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6063 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6064 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6065 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6066 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6067 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6068 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6071 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6072 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6073 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6075 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6078 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6080 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6081 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6082 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6084 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6085 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6086 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6088 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6089 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6090 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6092 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6093 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6094 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6095 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6096 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6097 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6099 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6100 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6101 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6103 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6104 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6105 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6107 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6108 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6109 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6110 that it's a citation.
6112 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6113 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6114 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6116 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6117 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6118 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6120 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6121 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6122 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6123 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6129 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6130 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6131 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6132 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6133 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6134 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6135 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6136 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6142 @node Article Fontisizing
6143 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6145 @cindex article emphasis
6147 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6148 @kindex W e (Summary)
6149 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6150 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6151 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6152 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6154 @vindex gnus-article-emphasis
6155 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6156 @code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
6157 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6158 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6159 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6160 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6161 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6165 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6166 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6167 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6170 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6171 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6172 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6173 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6174 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6175 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6176 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6177 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6178 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6179 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6180 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6181 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6182 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6184 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6185 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6186 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6190 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6194 @node Article Hiding
6195 @subsection Article Hiding
6196 @cindex article hiding
6198 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6199 too much cruft in most articles.
6204 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6205 @findex gnus-article-hide
6206 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
6209 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6210 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6211 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6215 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6216 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6217 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6218 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6221 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6222 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6223 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6227 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6228 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6229 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6230 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6231 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6232 signature has been hidden.
6235 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6236 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6237 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6238 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6241 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6242 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6243 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6244 customizing the hiding:
6248 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6249 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6250 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6251 50), hide the cited text.
6253 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6254 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6255 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6258 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6259 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6260 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6261 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6262 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6267 Start point of the hidden text.
6269 End point of the hidden text.
6271 Length of the hidden text.
6274 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6275 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6276 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6281 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6282 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6283 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6284 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6285 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6286 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6290 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6291 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6292 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6294 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6295 citation customization.
6298 @node Article Washing
6299 @subsection Article Washing
6301 @cindex article washing
6303 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6304 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6306 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6307 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6313 @kindex W l (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6315 Remove page breaks from the current article
6316 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
6319 @kindex W r (Summary)
6320 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6321 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6322 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6323 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6324 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6325 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6327 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6328 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6329 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6330 is rumoured to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6333 @kindex W t (Summary)
6334 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6335 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6336 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6339 @kindex W v (Summary)
6340 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6341 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6342 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6345 @kindex W m (Summary)
6346 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6347 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
6348 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6351 @kindex W o (Summary)
6352 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6353 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6356 @kindex W d (Summary)
6357 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6358 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6361 @kindex W w (Summary)
6362 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6363 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6364 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6365 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6367 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6371 @kindex W c (Summary)
6372 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6373 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6374 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6377 @kindex W q (Summary)
6378 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
6379 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
6380 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
6381 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
6382 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
6386 @kindex W f (Summary)
6388 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6389 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6390 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6391 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6397 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6398 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6399 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6400 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6401 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6402 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6403 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6404 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6405 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6406 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6407 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6408 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6409 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6410 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6414 @kindex W b (Summary)
6415 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6416 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6417 @xref{Article Buttons}
6420 @kindex W B (Summary)
6421 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6422 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6423 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6426 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6427 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6428 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6429 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6432 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6433 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6434 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6435 lines with a single empty line.
6436 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6439 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6440 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6441 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6442 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6445 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6446 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6447 Do all the three commands above
6448 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6451 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6452 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6453 Remove all blank lines
6454 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6457 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6458 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6459 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6460 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6465 @node Article Buttons
6466 @subsection Article Buttons
6469 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6470 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6471 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6472 button on these references.
6474 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6475 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6476 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6481 @item gnus-button-alist
6482 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6483 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6486 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6492 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6493 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6494 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6497 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6498 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6499 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6502 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6503 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6504 avoid false matches.
6507 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6510 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6511 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6515 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6518 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6521 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6522 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6523 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6524 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6525 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6528 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6531 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6533 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6534 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6535 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6536 default values of the variables above.
6538 @item gnus-article-button-face
6539 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6540 Face used on buttons.
6542 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6543 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6544 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6550 @subsection Article Date
6552 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6553 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6554 when the article was sent.
6559 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6560 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6561 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6562 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6565 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6566 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6568 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6569 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6572 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6573 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6574 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6577 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6578 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6579 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6580 @findex format-time-string
6581 Display the date using a user-defined format
6582 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6583 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6584 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6585 for a list of possible format specs.
6588 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6589 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6590 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6591 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6592 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6593 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6594 updated continually, you can put
6597 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6600 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6601 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6605 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6606 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6607 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6608 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6609 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6610 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6611 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6616 @node Article Signature
6617 @subsection Article Signature
6619 @cindex article signature
6621 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6622 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6623 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6624 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6625 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6626 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6627 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6628 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6629 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6632 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6633 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6634 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6635 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6636 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6637 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6638 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6639 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6642 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6645 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6646 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6651 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6654 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6657 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6658 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6660 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6661 in question is not a signature.
6664 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6665 listed above. Here's an example:
6668 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6669 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6672 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6673 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6674 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6675 signature after all.
6678 @node Article Commands
6679 @section Article Commands
6686 @kindex A P (Summary)
6687 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6688 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6689 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6690 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6691 run just before printing the buffer.
6696 @node Summary Sorting
6697 @section Summary Sorting
6698 @cindex summary sorting
6700 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6701 can't really see why you'd want that.
6706 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6707 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6708 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6711 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6712 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6713 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6716 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6717 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6718 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6721 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6722 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6723 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6726 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6727 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6728 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6731 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6732 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6733 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6736 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6737 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6738 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6739 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6740 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6744 @node Finding the Parent
6745 @section Finding the Parent
6746 @cindex parent articles
6747 @cindex referring articles
6752 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6753 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6754 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6755 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6756 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6757 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6758 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6759 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6760 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6762 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6763 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6764 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6765 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6766 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6770 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6771 @kindex A R (Summary)
6772 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
6773 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6776 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
6777 @kindex A T (Summary)
6778 Display the full thread where the current article appears
6779 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
6780 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
6781 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
6782 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
6783 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
6784 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
6786 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
6787 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
6788 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
6789 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
6790 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
6791 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
6794 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6795 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6797 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6798 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6799 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6800 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6801 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6802 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6803 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6806 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6807 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6808 by giving this command a prefix.
6810 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6811 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6812 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6813 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6814 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6815 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6818 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6819 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6820 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6821 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6822 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6823 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6826 @node Alternative Approaches
6827 @section Alternative Approaches
6829 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6830 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6833 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6834 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6839 @subsection Pick and Read
6840 @cindex pick and read
6842 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
6843 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
6844 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
6845 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
6847 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6848 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6849 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6850 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6851 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6852 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
6854 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6859 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6860 Pick the article on the current line
6861 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6862 go to that article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
6863 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6866 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6867 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6868 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6869 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6873 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6874 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6878 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6879 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6883 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6884 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6888 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6889 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6893 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6894 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6898 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6899 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6903 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6904 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6908 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6909 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6913 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6914 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6918 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6919 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6923 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6924 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6925 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6926 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6927 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6928 will still be visible when you are reading.
6932 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6935 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6938 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6939 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6941 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6942 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6943 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6945 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6946 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
6947 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6948 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6949 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6950 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6951 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6955 @subsection Binary Groups
6956 @cindex binary groups
6958 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6959 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6960 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6961 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6962 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6963 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6964 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6967 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6968 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
6969 command, when you have turned on this mode
6970 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6972 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6973 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6977 @section Tree Display
6980 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6981 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6982 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6983 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6986 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6989 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6990 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6991 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6993 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6994 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6995 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6996 is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list of valid specs, @pxref{Summary
6999 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7000 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7001 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7002 default is @code{modeline}.
7004 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7005 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7006 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7007 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7008 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7009 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7010 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7016 The name of the poster.
7018 The @code{From} header.
7020 The number of the article.
7022 The opening bracket.
7024 The closing bracket.
7029 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7031 Variables related to the display are:
7034 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7035 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7036 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7037 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7038 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7039 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7041 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7042 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7043 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7044 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7048 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7049 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7050 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
7051 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
7052 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7053 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7054 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7055 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7056 other windows displayed next to it.
7058 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7059 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7060 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7061 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7062 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7063 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7064 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7068 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7071 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7081 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7085 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7086 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7088 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7090 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7095 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7096 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7097 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7100 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7101 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7102 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7103 (gnus-add-configuration
7107 (summary 0.75 point)
7112 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7115 @node Mail Group Commands
7116 @section Mail Group Commands
7117 @cindex mail group commands
7119 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7120 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7122 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7123 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7128 @kindex B e (Summary)
7129 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7130 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7131 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7134 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7135 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7136 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7137 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7138 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7139 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7142 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7143 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7144 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7145 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7146 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7147 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7150 @kindex B m (Summary)
7152 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7153 Move the article from one mail group to another
7154 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7157 @kindex B c (Summary)
7159 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7160 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7161 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7162 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7165 @kindex B B (Summary)
7166 @cindex crosspost mail
7167 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7168 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7169 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7170 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7171 be properly updated.
7174 @kindex B i (Summary)
7175 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7176 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7177 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7178 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7181 @kindex B r (Summary)
7182 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7183 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7184 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7185 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7186 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7190 @kindex B w (Summary)
7192 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7193 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7194 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7195 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7196 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7197 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7200 @kindex B q (Summary)
7201 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7202 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7203 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7204 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7207 @kindex B p (Summary)
7208 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7209 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7210 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7211 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7212 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7213 article from your news server (or rather, from
7214 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7215 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7216 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7217 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7218 just not have arrived yet.
7222 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7223 @cindex moving articles
7224 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
7225 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7226 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7227 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7228 suggestions you find reasonable.
7231 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7232 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7233 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7234 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7238 @node Various Summary Stuff
7239 @section Various Summary Stuff
7242 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7243 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7244 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7245 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7249 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7250 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7251 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7253 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7254 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7255 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7256 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7257 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7258 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7261 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7262 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7263 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7264 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7265 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7267 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7268 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7269 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7270 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7271 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7272 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7273 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
7274 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7275 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7276 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7281 @node Summary Group Information
7282 @subsection Summary Group Information
7287 @kindex H f (Summary)
7288 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7289 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7290 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7291 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7292 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7293 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7294 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7295 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7296 be used for fetching the file.
7299 @kindex H d (Summary)
7300 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7301 Give a brief description of the current group
7302 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7303 rereading the description from the server.
7306 @kindex H h (Summary)
7307 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7308 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7309 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7312 @kindex H i (Summary)
7313 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7314 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7318 @node Searching for Articles
7319 @subsection Searching for Articles
7324 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7325 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7326 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7327 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7330 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7331 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7332 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7333 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7337 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7338 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7339 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7340 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7344 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7345 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7346 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7347 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7350 @node Summary Generation Commands
7351 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7356 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7357 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7358 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7361 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7362 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7363 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7364 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7369 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7370 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7375 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7376 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7377 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7378 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7379 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7380 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7381 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7382 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7383 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7387 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7388 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7389 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7390 several documents into one biiig group
7391 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7392 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7393 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7394 command understands the process/prefix convention
7395 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7398 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7399 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7400 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7401 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7402 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7403 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7407 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7408 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7409 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7412 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
7413 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
7414 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7415 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
7420 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7421 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7422 @cindex summary exit
7423 @cindex exiting groups
7425 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7426 group and return you to the group buffer.
7432 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7434 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7435 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7436 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7437 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7438 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7439 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7440 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7441 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7442 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7443 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7444 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7448 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7450 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7451 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7452 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7456 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7458 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7459 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7460 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7461 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7464 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7465 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7466 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7467 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7470 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7471 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7472 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7473 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7476 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7477 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7478 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7479 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7480 all articles, both read and unread.
7484 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7485 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7486 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7487 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7488 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7489 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7490 articles, both read and unread.
7493 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7494 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7495 Exit the group and go to the next group
7496 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7499 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7500 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7501 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7502 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7505 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7506 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7507 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7508 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7509 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7510 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7513 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7514 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7517 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7518 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7519 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7520 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7521 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7522 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7523 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7524 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7525 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7526 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7527 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7528 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7530 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7532 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7533 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7534 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7535 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7536 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7537 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7538 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7539 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7540 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7543 @node Crosspost Handling
7544 @section Crosspost Handling
7548 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7549 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7550 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7551 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7552 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7553 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7556 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7557 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7558 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7559 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7560 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7562 @cindex cross-posting
7565 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7566 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7567 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7568 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7569 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7570 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7571 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7572 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7573 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7574 the cross reference mechanism.
7576 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7577 @cindex overview.fmt
7578 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7579 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7580 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7581 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7582 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7583 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7586 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7587 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7588 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7593 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7596 @node Duplicate Suppression
7597 @section Duplicate Suppression
7599 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7600 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7601 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7602 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
7607 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7608 is evil and not very common.
7611 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7612 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7615 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7616 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7619 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7622 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7623 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7625 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7626 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7627 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7628 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7629 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7630 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7631 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7634 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7635 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7636 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7637 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7638 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7642 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7643 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7644 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7646 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7647 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7648 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7649 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7650 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
7651 session are suppressed.
7653 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7654 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7655 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7656 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7658 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7659 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7660 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7661 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7664 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7665 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7666 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7667 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7668 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7669 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7670 to you to figure out, I think.
7673 @node The Article Buffer
7674 @chapter The Article Buffer
7675 @cindex article buffer
7677 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7678 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7679 tell Gnus otherwise.
7682 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7683 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7684 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7685 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7686 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7690 @node Hiding Headers
7691 @section Hiding Headers
7692 @cindex hiding headers
7693 @cindex deleting headers
7695 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7696 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7698 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7699 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7700 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7701 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7702 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7703 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7704 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7705 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7706 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7708 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7712 @item gnus-visible-headers
7713 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7714 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7715 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7716 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7718 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7719 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7722 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7725 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7728 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7729 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7730 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7731 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7732 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7733 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7735 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7736 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7739 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7742 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7745 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7746 variable will have no effect.
7750 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7751 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7752 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7753 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7754 the headers are to be displayed.
7756 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7757 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7760 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7763 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7764 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
7766 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7767 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7768 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7769 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7770 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7771 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7772 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7773 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7774 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7776 These conditions are:
7779 Remove all empty headers.
7781 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7784 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7785 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7787 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7790 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7793 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
7795 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
7798 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7801 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7802 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7805 This is also the default value for this variable.
7809 @section Using @sc{mime}
7812 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7813 while people stand around yawning.
7815 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7816 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7818 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7819 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7820 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7822 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7823 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7824 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7825 @findex metamail-buffer
7826 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7827 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7828 default. This function calls the external @code{metamail} program to
7829 actually do the work. One common problem with this program is that is
7830 thinks that it can't display 8-bit things in the Emacs buffer. To tell
7831 it the truth, put something like the following in your
7832 @file{.bash_profile} file. (You do use @code{bash}, don't you?)
7835 export MM_CHARSET="iso-8859-1"
7838 For more information on @code{metamail}, see its manual page.
7840 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7841 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7842 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7843 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7844 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7845 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7847 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7848 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7849 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7850 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7851 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7852 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7853 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7854 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7855 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7857 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7860 @node Customizing Articles
7861 @section Customizing Articles
7862 @cindex article customization
7864 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7865 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7866 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7867 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7869 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7870 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7871 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7872 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7873 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7874 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7875 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7876 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7877 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7879 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7880 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7881 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7882 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7883 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7886 @node Article Keymap
7887 @section Article Keymap
7889 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7890 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7891 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7892 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7895 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7900 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7901 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7902 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7905 @kindex DEL (Article)
7906 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7907 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7910 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7911 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7912 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7913 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7914 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7917 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7918 @findex gnus-article-mail
7919 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7920 given a prefix, include the mail.
7924 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7925 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7926 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7930 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7931 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7932 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7935 @kindex TAB (Article)
7936 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7937 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
7938 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7941 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7942 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7943 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
7949 @section Misc Article
7953 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7954 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7955 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7956 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7959 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7960 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7961 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7962 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7963 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7964 the contents of the article buffer.
7966 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7967 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7968 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7969 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7970 hiding headers, and the like.
7972 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7973 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7974 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7976 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7977 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7978 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7979 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7981 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7982 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7983 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7984 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7985 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7989 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7990 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7994 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7996 @item gnus-break-pages
7997 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7998 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7999 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8000 paging will not be done.
8002 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8003 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8004 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8009 @node Composing Messages
8010 @chapter Composing Messages
8011 @cindex composing messages
8014 @cindex sending mail
8019 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8020 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8021 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
8022 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
8023 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
8024 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
8025 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
8028 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8029 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8030 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8031 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8032 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8033 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8034 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8037 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8038 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8044 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8047 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8048 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8049 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8050 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8052 @item gnus-add-to-list
8053 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8054 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8055 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8063 Variables for composing news articles:
8066 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8067 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8068 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8069 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8070 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8071 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8072 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8073 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8074 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
8077 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8078 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8079 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8080 file. It is 1000 by default.
8085 @node Posting Server
8086 @section Posting Server
8088 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8089 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8091 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8093 @vindex gnus-post-method
8095 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
8096 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8097 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8098 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8099 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8102 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8105 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8106 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8107 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8108 the ``current'' server for posting.
8110 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8111 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8113 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8114 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8117 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8118 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8119 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8124 @section Mail and Post
8126 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8130 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8131 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8132 @cindex mailing lists
8134 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8135 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8136 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8137 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8138 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8139 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8140 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8141 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8142 still a pain, though.
8146 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8147 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8148 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8151 @findex ispell-message
8153 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8157 @node Archived Messages
8158 @section Archived Messages
8159 @cindex archived messages
8160 @cindex sent messages
8162 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8163 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8164 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8165 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8168 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8169 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
8170 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8174 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8175 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8176 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8177 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8180 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8181 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8182 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8183 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8186 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8187 '(nnfolder "archive"
8188 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8189 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8190 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8193 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8195 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8196 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8197 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8199 This variable can be used to do the following:
8203 Messages will be saved in that group.
8204 @item a list of strings
8205 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8206 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8207 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8209 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8214 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8216 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8219 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8221 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8224 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8226 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8227 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8228 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8229 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8234 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8235 '((if (message-news-p)
8240 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8241 messages in one file per month:
8244 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8245 '((if (message-news-p)
8247 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8248 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8251 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8252 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8254 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8255 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8256 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8257 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8258 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8259 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8260 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8261 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8262 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8263 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8265 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8266 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8267 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8268 this will disable archiving.
8271 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8272 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8273 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8274 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8275 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8278 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8279 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8280 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8283 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8284 but the latter is the preferred method.
8288 @c @node Posting Styles
8289 @c @section Posting Styles
8290 @c @cindex posting styles
8293 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
8295 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8296 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8297 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8300 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8301 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8302 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8303 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8304 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8309 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
8310 @c (organization . "What me?"))
8312 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
8313 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8314 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
8317 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8318 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8319 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8320 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8321 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8322 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8323 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8324 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8326 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8327 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8328 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8329 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8330 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8331 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8334 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8335 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8336 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
8337 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8338 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8341 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8342 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8343 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8345 @c So here's a new example:
8348 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
8350 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
8351 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
8352 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8353 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
8355 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8356 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8357 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
8358 @c (posting-from-work-p
8359 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
8360 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
8361 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
8363 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
8370 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8371 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8372 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8373 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8374 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8376 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8377 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8378 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8379 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8380 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8384 @vindex nndraft-directory
8385 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8386 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8387 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8388 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8389 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8390 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8392 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8393 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8396 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8397 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8398 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8399 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8400 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8401 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8402 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8403 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8404 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8405 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8406 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8407 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8408 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8409 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8411 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8412 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8413 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8415 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8417 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8418 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8419 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8421 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8424 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8425 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8426 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8427 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8428 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8429 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8430 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8433 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8434 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8435 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8438 @node Rejected Articles
8439 @section Rejected Articles
8440 @cindex rejected articles
8442 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8443 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8444 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8445 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8447 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
8448 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8449 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8450 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
8451 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8453 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8454 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8455 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8458 @node Select Methods
8459 @chapter Select Methods
8460 @cindex foreign groups
8461 @cindex select methods
8463 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8464 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8465 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8466 personal mail group.
8468 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8469 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8470 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8471 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8472 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8473 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8475 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8476 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8478 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8481 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8482 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8483 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8484 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8485 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8487 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8490 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8491 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8492 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8493 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8494 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8495 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8499 @node The Server Buffer
8500 @section The Server Buffer
8502 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8503 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8504 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8505 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8506 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8507 backend represents a virtual server.
8509 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8510 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8511 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8512 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8514 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8515 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8516 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8517 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8518 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8519 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8520 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8522 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8523 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8526 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8527 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8528 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8529 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8530 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8531 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8532 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8535 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8536 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8539 @node Server Buffer Format
8540 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8541 @cindex server buffer format
8543 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8544 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8545 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8546 variable, with some simple extensions:
8551 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8554 The name of this server.
8557 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8560 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8563 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8564 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8565 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
8576 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8579 @node Server Commands
8580 @subsection Server Commands
8581 @cindex server commands
8587 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8588 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8592 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8593 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8596 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8597 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8598 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8602 @findex gnus-server-exit
8603 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8607 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8608 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8612 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8613 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8617 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8618 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8622 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8623 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8627 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8628 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8629 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8634 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8635 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8636 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8637 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8642 @node Example Methods
8643 @subsection Example Methods
8645 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8648 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8651 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8657 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8658 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8661 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8662 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8664 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8665 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8669 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8672 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8673 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8675 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8676 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8677 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8681 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8684 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8687 Here's the method for a public spool:
8691 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8692 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8695 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8696 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8697 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8698 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8699 should probably look something like this:
8703 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8704 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8705 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8706 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8707 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8710 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
8711 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
8712 server that would look something like this:
8716 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
8717 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
8718 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8719 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8720 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8721 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
8724 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
8725 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
8726 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
8727 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
8730 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8731 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8733 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8734 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8736 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8737 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8738 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8740 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8742 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8743 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8744 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8745 will contain the following:
8755 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8756 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8757 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8760 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8761 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8762 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8765 @node Server Variables
8766 @subsection Server Variables
8768 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8769 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8770 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8771 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8772 won't change the "derived" variables.
8774 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8775 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8776 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8777 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8778 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8779 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8780 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8781 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8782 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8786 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8787 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8788 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8792 @node Servers and Methods
8793 @subsection Servers and Methods
8795 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8796 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8797 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8798 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8802 @node Unavailable Servers
8803 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8805 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8806 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8807 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8808 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8809 actually the case or not.
8811 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8812 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
8813 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8814 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
8815 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
8816 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
8817 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
8818 it will regard that server as ``down''.
8820 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8821 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8823 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8824 with the following commands:
8830 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8831 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8832 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8836 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8837 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8838 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8842 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8843 Mark the current server as unreachable
8844 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8847 @kindex M-o (Server)
8848 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8849 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8850 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8853 @kindex M-c (Server)
8854 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8855 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8856 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8860 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8861 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
8862 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8868 @section Getting News
8869 @cindex reading news
8870 @cindex news backends
8872 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8873 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8874 or it can read from a local spool.
8877 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8878 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8883 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8886 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8887 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8888 server as the, uhm, address.
8890 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8891 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8892 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8893 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8895 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8896 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8897 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8899 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8904 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8905 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8906 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8908 @cindex authentification
8909 @cindex nntp authentification
8910 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8911 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8912 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
8913 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
8914 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
8915 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
8916 present in this hook.
8918 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8919 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8920 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8921 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
8922 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8923 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
8924 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
8925 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
8926 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
8927 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
8928 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
8929 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
8933 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
8936 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
8937 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password}, and
8938 @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp}
8939 token, which is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format deviates
8940 from the @file{.netrc} file format.)
8944 Here's an example file:
8947 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
8948 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
8951 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
8952 have to be first, for instance.
8954 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
8955 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
8956 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
8957 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
8958 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
8959 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
8960 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
8962 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
8964 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8965 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8966 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8967 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8968 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8971 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8975 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8977 The default value is
8980 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8981 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8984 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8985 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8987 @item nntp-maximum-request
8988 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8989 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8990 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8991 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8992 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8993 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8994 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8996 @c @item nntp-connection-timeout
8997 @c @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8998 @c If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8999 @c regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9000 @c responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9001 @c time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9002 @c somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9003 @c that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9004 @c connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9005 @c no timeouts are done.
9007 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9008 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9009 @c @cindex PPP connections
9010 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9011 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9012 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9013 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9014 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9015 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9016 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9017 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9018 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9019 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9021 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9022 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9023 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9024 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9027 @item nntp-server-hook
9028 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9029 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9032 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9033 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9034 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9035 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9036 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9037 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Three pre-made
9038 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
9039 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
9040 two are @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9041 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9042 available there, and @code{nntp-open-telnet}, which does a @samp{telnet}
9043 to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet} to get to the
9046 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9050 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9051 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9052 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9053 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9055 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9056 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9057 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9059 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9060 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9061 User name on the remote system.
9065 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9068 @item nntp-telnet-command
9069 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9070 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9072 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9073 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9074 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9076 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9077 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9078 User name for log in on the remote system.
9080 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9081 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9082 Password to use when logging in.
9084 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9085 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9086 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9089 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9090 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9091 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9092 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9094 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9095 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9096 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9097 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9098 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9102 @item nntp-end-of-line
9103 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9104 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9105 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9106 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9108 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9109 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9110 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9114 @vindex nntp-address
9115 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9117 @item nntp-port-number
9118 @vindex nntp-port-number
9119 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9122 @item nntp-buggy-select
9123 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9124 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9126 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9127 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9128 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9129 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9132 @item nntp-xover-commands
9133 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9136 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9137 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9141 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9142 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9143 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9144 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9145 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9146 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9147 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9148 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9149 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9150 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9151 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9153 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9154 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9155 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9157 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9158 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9159 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9160 server closes connection.
9162 @item nntp-record-commands
9163 @vindex nntp-record-commands
9164 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
9165 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
9166 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
9167 that doesn't seem to work.
9173 @subsection News Spool
9177 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9178 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9179 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9182 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9183 anything else) as the address.
9185 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9186 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9187 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9188 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9192 @item nnspool-inews-program
9193 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9194 Program used to post an article.
9196 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9197 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9198 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9200 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9201 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9202 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9203 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9205 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9206 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9207 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9208 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9210 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9211 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9212 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9214 @item nnspool-active-file
9215 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9216 The path to the active file.
9218 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9219 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9220 The path to the group descriptions file.
9222 @item nnspool-history-file
9223 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9224 The path to the news history file.
9226 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9227 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9228 The path to the active date file.
9230 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9231 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9232 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9235 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9236 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9238 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9239 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9240 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9246 @section Getting Mail
9247 @cindex reading mail
9250 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9254 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9255 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9256 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9257 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9258 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9259 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9260 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9261 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9262 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9263 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9264 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9268 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9269 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9271 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9272 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9273 and things will happen automatically.
9275 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9276 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9279 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9280 '((nnml "private")))
9283 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9284 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9285 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9286 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9287 like any other group.
9289 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9292 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9293 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9294 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9298 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9299 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9300 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9303 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9304 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9305 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9308 @node Splitting Mail
9309 @subsection Splitting Mail
9310 @cindex splitting mail
9311 @cindex mail splitting
9313 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9314 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9315 to be split into groups.
9318 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9319 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9320 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9324 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9325 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9326 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9327 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9328 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9329 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9330 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9333 ("list.\\1" "From:.*\\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9336 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
9337 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
9340 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9341 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9342 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9343 mail belongs in that group.
9345 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9346 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9347 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9348 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9349 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9350 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9352 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9353 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9354 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9355 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9356 thinks should carry this mail message.
9358 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9359 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9360 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9361 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9363 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9364 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9365 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9366 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9367 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9369 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9372 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9373 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9374 links. If that's the case for you, set
9375 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9376 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9378 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9379 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9380 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9381 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9383 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9384 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9385 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9386 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9387 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9388 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9389 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9390 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9394 @node Mail Backend Variables
9395 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9397 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9401 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9402 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9403 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9404 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9406 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9407 @item nnmail-spool-file
9411 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9412 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9413 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9414 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9415 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9416 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9417 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9418 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9419 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9420 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9421 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9422 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9423 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9424 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9425 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9427 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9429 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9430 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9433 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9434 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9435 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9436 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9437 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9438 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9440 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9441 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9442 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9443 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9444 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9445 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9446 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9449 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9450 @item nnmail-crash-box
9451 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9452 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9453 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9456 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9457 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9458 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
9459 used for, well, anything, really.
9461 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9462 @item nnmail-split-hook
9463 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
9464 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9465 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9466 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9467 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9468 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9469 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
9470 is one likely function to add to this hook.
9472 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9473 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9474 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9475 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9476 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9477 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9478 starting to handle the new mail) and
9479 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9480 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9481 default file modes the new mail files get:
9484 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9485 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9487 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9488 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9491 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9492 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9493 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9494 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9495 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9496 it will be used instead.
9498 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9499 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9500 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9501 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9503 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9504 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9507 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9508 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9509 @cindex incoming mail files
9510 @cindex deleting incoming files
9511 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9512 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9515 @c This is @code{nil} by
9516 @c default for reasons of security.
9518 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9519 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9520 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9521 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9522 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9525 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9527 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9528 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9529 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9530 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9531 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9532 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9533 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9535 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9536 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9538 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9540 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9541 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9542 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9543 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9544 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9549 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9550 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9551 @cindex mail splitting
9552 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9554 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9555 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9556 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9557 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9558 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9559 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9561 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9564 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9565 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9566 ;; from real errors.
9567 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9569 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9570 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9571 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9572 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9573 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9574 ;; Other mailing lists...
9575 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9576 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9578 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9579 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9583 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9584 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9585 the five possible split syntaxes:
9590 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
9593 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9594 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9595 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9598 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9599 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9600 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9601 be stored in one or more groups.
9604 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9605 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9608 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9612 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9613 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9614 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9619 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9620 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9621 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9622 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9623 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9625 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9626 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9627 are expanded as specified by the variable
9628 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9629 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9632 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9633 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9634 when all this splitting is performed.
9636 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9637 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9638 substitions in the group names), you can say things like:
9641 (any "debian-\\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9644 @node Mail and Procmail
9645 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9650 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9651 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9652 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9653 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9654 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9656 If you have a combined @code{procmail}/POP/mailbox setup, you can do
9657 something like the following:
9659 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9661 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
9662 (setq nnmail-spool-file
9663 '("/usr/spool/mail/my-name" "po:my-name"))
9666 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9667 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9670 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9671 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9672 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9673 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9674 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9675 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9677 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9680 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9682 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9683 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9685 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9686 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9687 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9688 to include all your mail groups.
9690 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9691 method will be created automatically.
9693 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9694 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9695 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9696 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9697 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9698 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9699 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9700 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9702 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9703 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9704 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9705 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9706 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9708 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9709 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9710 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9711 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9712 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9713 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9715 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9716 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9717 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9718 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9719 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9722 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9723 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9724 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9725 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9726 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9730 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9731 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9733 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9734 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9735 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9738 Doing so can be quite easy.
9740 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9741 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9742 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9743 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9744 your @code{nnml} groups.
9750 Go to the group buffer.
9753 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9754 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9757 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9760 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9761 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9764 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9765 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9768 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9769 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9770 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9771 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9772 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9774 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9775 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9776 using the new mail backend.
9780 @subsection Expiring Mail
9781 @cindex article expiry
9783 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9784 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9785 different approach to mail reading.
9787 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9788 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9789 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9790 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9791 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9792 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9795 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9796 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9797 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9798 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9799 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9800 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9801 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9802 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9804 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9805 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9806 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9807 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9808 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9809 column in the summary buffer.
9811 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
9812 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
9813 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
9814 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
9817 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
9819 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
9820 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
9821 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
9824 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
9825 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
9826 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
9827 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
9828 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
9830 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
9831 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
9834 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9835 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
9838 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
9839 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
9841 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
9842 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
9843 don't really mix very well.
9845 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
9846 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
9847 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
9848 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
9851 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
9852 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
9853 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
9854 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
9857 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9859 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9861 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
9863 ((string= group "mail.junk")
9865 ((string= group "important")
9871 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
9872 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
9874 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
9875 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
9876 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
9879 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
9880 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9882 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9883 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
9884 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
9885 easier for procmail users.
9887 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
9888 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
9889 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
9890 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
9891 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
9892 caution. Even more dangerous is the
9893 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
9894 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
9895 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
9896 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
9897 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
9898 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
9899 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
9902 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
9906 @subsection Washing Mail
9907 @cindex mail washing
9908 @cindex list server brain damage
9909 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9911 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9912 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9913 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
9914 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
9915 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
9916 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
9918 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
9919 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
9920 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
9923 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
9924 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
9925 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
9926 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
9929 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9930 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9931 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
9932 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
9935 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9936 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9937 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
9938 Emacs running on MS machines.
9942 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9943 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9944 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
9945 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
9948 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9949 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9950 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
9951 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
9953 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9954 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9955 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
9956 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
9957 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
9958 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
9959 also be a list of regexp.
9961 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
9962 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
9965 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
9966 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
9969 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
9970 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
9971 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
9975 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9976 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9977 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
9981 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
9982 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
9983 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
9990 @subsection Duplicates
9992 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
9993 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
9994 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
9995 @cindex duplicate mails
9996 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
9997 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
9998 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
9999 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
10000 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
10001 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
10002 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
10003 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
10004 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
10005 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
10006 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
10007 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
10008 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
10010 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
10011 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
10012 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
10013 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
10015 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
10018 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
10019 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
10023 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
10024 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
10025 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
10026 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
10027 (any mail "mail.misc")
10034 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10035 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
10040 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
10041 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
10042 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
10043 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
10044 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
10047 @node Not Reading Mail
10048 @subsection Not Reading Mail
10050 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
10051 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
10052 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
10054 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
10055 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
10057 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10058 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10059 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10060 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10061 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10062 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
10063 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
10064 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
10065 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
10066 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
10067 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
10069 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
10070 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
10074 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
10075 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
10077 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
10078 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
10079 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
10082 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
10083 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
10084 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
10085 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
10086 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
10090 @node Unix Mail Box
10091 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
10093 @cindex unix mail box
10095 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10096 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10097 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
10098 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
10099 which group it belongs in.
10101 Virtual server settings:
10104 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
10105 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10106 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
10108 @item nnmbox-active-file
10109 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10110 The name of the active file for the mail box.
10112 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
10113 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10114 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
10120 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
10124 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10125 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10126 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10127 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10128 article to say which group it belongs in.
10130 Virtual server settings:
10133 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10134 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10135 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10137 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10138 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10139 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10141 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10142 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10143 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10148 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10150 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10152 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10153 format. It should be used with some caution.
10155 @vindex nnml-directory
10156 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10157 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10158 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10159 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10161 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10164 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10165 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10166 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10167 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10168 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10169 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10170 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10171 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10173 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10174 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10175 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10176 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10178 Virtual server settings:
10181 @item nnml-directory
10182 @vindex nnml-directory
10183 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10185 @item nnml-active-file
10186 @vindex nnml-active-file
10187 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10189 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10190 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10191 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10194 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10195 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10196 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10198 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10199 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10200 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10202 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10203 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10204 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10206 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10207 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10208 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10212 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10213 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10214 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10215 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10216 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10217 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10218 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10223 @subsubsection MH Spool
10225 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10227 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10228 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10229 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10230 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10232 Virtual server settings:
10235 @item nnmh-directory
10236 @vindex nnmh-directory
10237 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10239 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10240 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10241 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10244 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10245 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10246 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10247 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10248 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10249 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10250 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10255 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10257 @cindex mbox folders
10258 @cindex mail folders
10260 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10261 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10262 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10265 Virtual server settings:
10268 @item nnfolder-directory
10269 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10270 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10272 @item nnfolder-active-file
10273 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10274 The name of the active file.
10276 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10277 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10278 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10280 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10281 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10282 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10285 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10286 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10287 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10288 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10289 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10290 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10293 @node Other Sources
10294 @section Other Sources
10296 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10297 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10301 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10302 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10303 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10304 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10305 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10306 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10310 @node Directory Groups
10311 @subsection Directory Groups
10313 @cindex directory groups
10315 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10316 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10319 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10320 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10321 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10322 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10324 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10325 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10326 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10327 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10328 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10330 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10332 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10333 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10334 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10335 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10338 @node Anything Groups
10339 @subsection Anything Groups
10342 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10343 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10344 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10347 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10348 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10349 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10350 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10351 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10352 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10353 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10354 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10355 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10356 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10359 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10360 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10361 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10362 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10364 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10365 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10366 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10367 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10369 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10370 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10371 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10372 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10373 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10374 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10375 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10376 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10381 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10382 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10383 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10384 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10386 @item nneething-exclude-files
10387 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10388 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10389 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10391 @item nneething-map-file
10392 @vindex nneething-map-file
10393 Name of the map files.
10397 @node Document Groups
10398 @subsection Document Groups
10400 @cindex documentation group
10403 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10404 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10411 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10416 The standard Unix mbox file.
10418 @cindex MMDF mail box
10420 The MMDF mail box format.
10423 Several news articles appended into a file.
10426 @cindex rnews batch files
10427 The rnews batch transport format.
10428 @cindex forwarded messages
10431 Forwarded articles.
10435 @cindex MIME digest
10436 @cindex 1153 digest
10437 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10438 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10439 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10441 @item standard-digest
10442 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10445 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10448 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10449 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10450 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10453 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10454 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10455 group. And that's it.
10457 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10458 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10459 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10460 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10461 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10462 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10463 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10464 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10465 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10466 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10468 Virtual server variables:
10471 @item nndoc-article-type
10472 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10473 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10474 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10475 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-digest}, @code{standard-digest},
10476 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or @code{guess}.
10478 @item nndoc-post-type
10479 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10480 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10481 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10486 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10490 @node Document Server Internals
10491 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10493 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10494 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10495 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10496 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10498 First, here's an example document type definition:
10502 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10503 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10506 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10507 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10508 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10509 types can be defined with very few settings:
10512 @item first-article
10513 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10514 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10517 @item article-begin
10518 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10519 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10521 @item head-begin-function
10522 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10525 @item nndoc-head-begin
10526 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10529 @item nndoc-head-end
10530 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10531 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10533 @item body-begin-function
10534 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10538 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10541 @item body-end-function
10542 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10546 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10549 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10550 regexp will be totally ignored.
10554 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10555 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10556 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10557 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10558 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10561 @item prepare-body-function
10562 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10563 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10564 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10566 @item article-transform-function
10567 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10568 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10569 body of the article.
10571 @item generate-head-function
10572 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10573 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10574 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10575 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10579 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10584 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10585 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10586 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10587 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10588 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10589 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10590 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10591 (subtype digest guess))
10594 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10595 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10596 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10597 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10598 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10600 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10601 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10602 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10603 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10604 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
10605 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10606 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10607 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10608 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10609 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10617 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10618 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10619 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10621 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10622 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10623 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10626 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10627 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10628 that interested in doing things properly.
10630 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10631 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10634 First some terminology:
10639 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10640 get news and/or mail from.
10643 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10644 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10647 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10651 @item message packets
10652 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10653 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10654 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10656 @item response packets
10657 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10658 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10659 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10669 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10670 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10671 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10672 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10675 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10678 You put the packet in your home directory.
10681 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10682 the native or secondary server.
10685 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10686 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10689 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10693 You transfer this packet to the server.
10696 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10699 You then repeat until you die.
10703 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10704 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10707 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10708 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10709 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10713 @node SOUP Commands
10714 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10716 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10720 @kindex G s b (Group)
10721 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10722 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10723 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10724 process/prefix convention.
10727 @kindex G s w (Group)
10728 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10729 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10732 @kindex G s s (Group)
10733 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10734 Send all replies from the replies packet
10735 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10738 @kindex G s p (Group)
10739 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10740 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10743 @kindex G s r (Group)
10744 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10745 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10748 @kindex O s (Summary)
10749 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10750 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10751 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10752 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10757 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10762 @item gnus-soup-directory
10763 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10764 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10765 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10767 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10768 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10769 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10770 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10772 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10773 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10774 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10775 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10777 @item gnus-soup-packer
10778 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10779 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10780 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10782 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10783 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10784 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10785 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10787 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10788 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10789 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10791 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10792 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10793 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
10794 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
10800 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
10803 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
10804 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
10805 you can read them at leisure.
10807 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
10811 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
10812 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
10813 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
10814 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
10816 @item nnsoup-directory
10817 @vindex nnsoup-directory
10818 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
10819 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
10821 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
10822 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
10823 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
10824 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
10826 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
10827 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
10828 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
10829 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
10830 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
10832 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
10833 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
10834 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
10835 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
10837 @item nnsoup-active-file
10838 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
10839 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
10840 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
10841 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
10842 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
10844 @item nnsoup-packer
10845 @vindex nnsoup-packer
10846 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
10847 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
10849 @item nnsoup-unpacker
10850 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
10851 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
10852 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10854 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
10855 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
10856 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
10859 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
10860 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
10861 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
10864 @item nnsoup-always-save
10865 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
10866 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
10872 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
10874 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
10875 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
10876 more for that to happen.
10878 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
10879 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
10880 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
10883 In specific, this is what it does:
10886 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
10887 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
10890 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
10891 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
10892 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
10896 @subsection Web Searches
10900 @cindex InReference
10901 @cindex Usenet searches
10902 @cindex searching the Usenet
10904 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
10905 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
10906 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
10907 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
10908 searches without having to use a browser.
10910 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
10911 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
10912 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
10913 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
10914 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
10916 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
10917 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
10918 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
10919 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
10920 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
10921 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
10922 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
10923 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
10924 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
10925 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
10928 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
10929 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
10930 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
10931 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
10932 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
10933 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
10935 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
10936 to use @code{nnweb}.
10938 Virtual server variables:
10943 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
10944 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
10948 @vindex nnweb-search
10949 The search string to feed to the search engine.
10951 @item nnweb-max-hits
10952 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
10953 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
10956 @item nnweb-type-definition
10957 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
10958 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
10959 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
10964 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
10968 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
10971 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
10974 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
10978 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
10985 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
10986 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
10987 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
10990 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
10991 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
10992 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
10994 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
11000 @item nngateway-address
11001 @vindex nngateway-address
11002 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
11004 @item nngateway-header-transformation
11005 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
11006 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
11007 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
11008 transformation should be called, and defaults to
11009 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
11010 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
11013 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
11014 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
11015 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
11018 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
11021 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
11024 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
11029 So, to use this, simply say something like:
11032 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
11036 @node Combined Groups
11037 @section Combined Groups
11039 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
11043 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
11044 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
11048 @node Virtual Groups
11049 @subsection Virtual Groups
11051 @cindex virtual groups
11053 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
11056 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
11057 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
11058 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
11060 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
11061 regexp to match component groups.
11063 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
11064 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
11065 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
11066 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
11067 the virtual group.)
11069 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
11070 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
11073 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
11076 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
11077 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
11079 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
11080 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
11081 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
11082 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
11085 "^nntp\\+some\\.server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+some\\.server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
11088 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
11089 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
11090 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
11092 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
11093 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
11094 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
11095 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
11096 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
11098 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
11099 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
11100 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
11102 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
11103 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
11104 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
11105 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
11106 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
11107 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
11108 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
11109 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
11110 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
11111 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
11112 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
11115 @node Kibozed Groups
11116 @subsection Kibozed Groups
11120 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
11121 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
11122 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
11123 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
11125 @kindex G k (Group)
11126 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
11129 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
11130 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11131 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11132 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11134 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11135 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11136 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11138 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11139 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11140 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11141 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11142 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11143 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11144 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11145 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11147 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11148 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11149 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11150 Stranger things have happened.
11152 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11153 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11155 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11156 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11157 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11158 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11159 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11160 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11162 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11163 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11166 @node Gnus Unplugged
11167 @section Gnus Unplugged
11172 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11174 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11175 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11176 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11177 read news. Believe it or not.
11179 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11180 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11181 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11182 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11183 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11185 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11186 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11187 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11188 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11189 reading news on a machine.
11191 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11195 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11196 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11200 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11201 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11208 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11210 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11213 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11214 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11215 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11216 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
11217 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11218 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11219 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11220 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11225 @subsection Agent Basics
11227 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11229 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11230 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11231 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11232 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11234 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11235 connected to the net continously.
11237 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11238 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11240 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11245 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11246 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11247 already fetched while in this mode.
11250 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11251 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11252 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11255 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11256 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11257 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11258 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11261 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11262 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11263 then you read the news offline.
11266 And then you go to step 2.
11269 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11275 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11276 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11277 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11278 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11279 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11280 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11283 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}
11290 @node Agent Categories
11291 @subsection Agent Categories
11293 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11294 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11295 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11296 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11297 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11298 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11299 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11301 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11302 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11303 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11306 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11307 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11308 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11312 @node Category Syntax
11313 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11315 A category consists of two things.
11319 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11320 are eligible for downloading; and
11323 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11324 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11325 score} is wholly unrelated to normal scores.)
11328 A predicate consists of predicates with logical operators sprinkled in
11331 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11333 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11334 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11340 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11341 short (for some value of ``short'').
11343 Here's a more complex predicate:
11352 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11353 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11356 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11357 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11358 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11360 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11361 you want to do, you can write your own.
11365 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11366 lines; default 100.
11369 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11370 lines; default 200.
11373 True iff the article has a download score less than
11374 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11377 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11378 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11381 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11382 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11383 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11392 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11393 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11394 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11397 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11398 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11399 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11400 following headers can be scored on: @code{From}, @code{Subject},
11401 @code{Date}, @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars}, @code{Message-ID},
11402 and @code{References}.
11405 @node The Category Buffer
11406 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11408 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11409 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11410 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11412 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11416 @kindex q (Category)
11417 @findex gnus-category-exit
11418 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11421 @kindex k (Category)
11422 @findex gnus-category-kill
11423 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11426 @kindex c (Category)
11427 @findex gnus-category-copy
11428 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11431 @kindex a (Category)
11432 @findex gnus-category-add
11433 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11436 @kindex p (Category)
11437 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11438 Edit the predicate of the current category
11439 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11442 @kindex g (Category)
11443 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11444 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11445 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11448 @kindex s (Category)
11449 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11450 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11451 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11454 @kindex l (Category)
11455 @findex gnus-category-list
11456 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11460 @node Category Variables
11461 @subsubsection Category Variables
11464 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11465 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11466 Hook run in category buffers.
11468 @item gnus-category-line-format
11469 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11470 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11471 Variables}). Legal elements are:
11475 The name of the category.
11478 The number of groups in the category.
11481 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11482 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11483 Format of the category mode line.
11485 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11486 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11487 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11489 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11490 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11491 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11493 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11494 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11495 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11498 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11499 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11500 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11506 @node Agent Commands
11507 @subsection Agent Commands
11509 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11510 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11511 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11515 * Group Agent Commands::
11516 * Summary Agent Commands::
11517 * Server Agent Commands::
11520 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
11521 following incantation:
11523 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11525 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11530 @node Group Agent Commands
11531 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
11535 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
11536 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
11537 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
11538 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
11541 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
11542 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
11543 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
11546 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
11547 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
11548 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
11549 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
11552 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
11553 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
11554 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
11555 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}
11558 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
11559 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
11560 Add the current group to an Agent category
11561 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
11566 @node Summary Agent Commands
11567 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
11571 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
11572 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
11573 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
11576 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
11577 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
11578 Remove the downloading mark from the article
11579 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
11582 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
11583 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
11584 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
11587 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
11588 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
11589 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
11594 @node Server Agent Commands
11595 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
11599 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
11600 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
11601 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
11602 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
11605 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
11606 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
11607 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
11608 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
11614 @subsection Agent Expiry
11616 @vindex gnus-agent-expiry-days
11617 @findex gnus-agent-expiry
11618 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expiry
11619 @cindex Agent expiry
11620 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
11623 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
11624 @code{gnus-agent-expiry} command that will expire all read articles that
11625 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expiry-days} days. It can be run
11626 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
11627 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
11628 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
11630 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
11631 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
11632 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
11633 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
11634 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
11637 @node Outgoing Messages
11638 @subsection Outgoing Messages
11640 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
11641 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
11642 after posting, and edit them at will.
11644 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
11645 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
11646 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
11647 messages in the draft group.
11651 @node Agent Variables
11652 @subsection Agent Variables
11655 @item gnus-agent-directory
11656 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
11657 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
11658 @file{~/News/agent/}.
11660 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
11661 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
11662 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
11663 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
11664 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
11667 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11668 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11669 Hook run when connecting to the network.
11671 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11672 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11673 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
11678 @node Example Setup
11679 @subsection Example Setup
11681 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
11682 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
11683 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
11686 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
11687 ;;; from your ISP's server.
11688 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
11690 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
11691 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
11692 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
11693 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
11695 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
11696 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11698 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
11702 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
11703 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
11706 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
11707 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
11708 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
11709 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
11710 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
11713 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
11714 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
11715 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
11716 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
11717 back all the killed groups.)
11719 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
11720 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
11721 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
11724 @node Batching Agents
11725 @subsection Batching Agents
11727 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
11728 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
11729 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
11733 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
11742 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
11743 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
11744 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
11747 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
11748 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
11749 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
11750 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
11751 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
11753 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
11754 before generating the summary buffer.
11756 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
11757 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
11758 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
11760 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
11761 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
11762 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
11763 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
11766 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
11767 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
11768 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
11769 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
11770 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
11771 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
11772 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
11773 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
11774 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
11775 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
11776 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
11777 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
11778 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
11779 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
11780 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
11781 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
11785 @node Summary Score Commands
11786 @section Summary Score Commands
11787 @cindex score commands
11789 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
11790 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
11791 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
11792 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
11793 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
11795 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
11796 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
11797 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
11798 score file the current one.
11800 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
11805 @kindex V s (Summary)
11806 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
11807 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
11810 @kindex V S (Summary)
11811 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
11812 Display the score of the current article
11813 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
11816 @kindex V t (Summary)
11817 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
11818 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
11819 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
11822 @kindex V R (Summary)
11823 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
11824 Run the current summary through the scoring process
11825 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
11826 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
11827 effect you're having.
11830 @kindex V a (Summary)
11831 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
11832 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
11833 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
11836 @kindex V c (Summary)
11837 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
11838 Make a different score file the current
11839 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
11842 @kindex V e (Summary)
11843 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
11844 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
11845 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
11849 @kindex V f (Summary)
11850 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
11851 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
11852 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
11855 @kindex V F (Summary)
11856 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11857 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
11858 after editing score files.
11861 @kindex V C (Summary)
11862 @findex gnus-score-customize
11863 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
11864 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
11868 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
11873 @kindex V m (Summary)
11874 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
11875 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
11876 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
11879 @kindex V x (Summary)
11880 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
11881 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
11882 expunge all articles below this score
11883 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
11886 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
11887 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
11890 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
11891 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
11895 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
11896 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
11898 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
11899 keys are available:
11903 Score on the author name.
11906 Score on the subject line.
11909 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
11912 Score on thread---the References line.
11918 Score on the number of lines.
11921 Score on the Message-ID.
11924 Score on followups.
11934 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
11935 what headers you are scoring on.
11947 Substring matching.
11950 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
11979 Greater than number.
11984 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
11985 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
11986 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
11990 Temporary score entry.
11993 Permanent score entry.
11996 Immediately scoring.
12001 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
12002 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
12003 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
12004 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
12006 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
12007 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
12008 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
12009 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
12010 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
12012 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
12013 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
12014 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
12015 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
12016 current score file.
12018 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
12019 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
12020 pretend they are keymaps or not.
12023 @node Group Score Commands
12024 @section Group Score Commands
12025 @cindex group score commands
12027 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
12032 @kindex W f (Group)
12033 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12034 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
12035 all the time. This command will flush the cache
12036 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
12040 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
12042 @findex gnus-batch-score
12043 @cindex batch scoring
12045 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l gnus -f gnus-batch-score
12049 @node Score Variables
12050 @section Score Variables
12051 @cindex score variables
12055 @item gnus-use-scoring
12056 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
12057 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
12058 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
12060 @item gnus-kill-killed
12061 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
12062 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
12063 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
12064 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
12065 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
12066 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
12067 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
12069 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
12070 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
12071 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
12072 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
12073 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
12075 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
12076 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
12077 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
12078 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
12080 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12081 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12082 @cindex score cache
12083 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
12084 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
12085 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
12086 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
12087 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
12088 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
12091 @item gnus-save-score
12092 @vindex gnus-save-score
12093 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
12094 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
12095 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
12097 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12098 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12099 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
12100 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
12101 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
12102 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
12103 manually entered data.
12105 @item gnus-summary-default-score
12106 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
12107 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
12109 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
12110 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
12111 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
12112 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
12113 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
12114 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
12116 @item gnus-score-over-mark
12117 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
12118 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
12119 default. Default is @samp{+}.
12121 @item gnus-score-below-mark
12122 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
12123 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
12124 default. Default is @samp{-}.
12126 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12127 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12128 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
12129 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
12131 Predefined functions available are:
12134 @item gnus-score-find-single
12135 @findex gnus-score-find-single
12136 Only apply the group's own score file.
12138 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
12139 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
12140 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
12141 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
12142 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
12143 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
12144 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
12145 then a regexp match is done.
12147 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
12148 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
12150 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
12151 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
12152 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
12153 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
12155 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12156 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12157 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12158 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12159 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12162 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12163 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12164 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12165 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12166 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12167 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12170 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12171 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12172 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12173 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12174 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12176 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12177 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12178 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12179 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12180 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12181 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12182 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12185 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12186 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12187 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12189 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
12190 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
12191 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
12192 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
12193 threading---according to the current value of
12194 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
12195 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
12196 simplified in this manner.
12201 @node Score File Format
12202 @section Score File Format
12203 @cindex score file format
12205 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12206 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12207 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12209 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12213 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12215 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12217 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12219 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12224 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12228 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12229 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12230 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12231 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12235 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12236 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12238 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12239 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12240 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12242 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12247 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12248 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12249 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12250 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12251 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12252 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12253 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12254 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12255 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12256 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12257 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12258 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12259 to articles that matches these score entries.
12261 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12262 score entry has one to four elements.
12266 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12267 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12271 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12272 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12273 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12274 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12275 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12276 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12279 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12280 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12281 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12282 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12283 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12286 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12287 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12288 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12289 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12292 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12293 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12294 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12295 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12296 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12297 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12298 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12299 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12300 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12301 instead, if you feel like.
12304 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12305 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
12306 careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
12307 @code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
12308 lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
12309 the articles with few lines.
12312 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12313 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12314 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12315 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12316 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12317 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12318 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12322 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12323 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12324 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12325 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12326 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12327 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12328 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12329 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12332 @item Head, Body, All
12333 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12337 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12338 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12339 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12340 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12341 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12342 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12343 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12347 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12348 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
12349 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12350 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12351 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12352 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12353 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12354 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12355 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12356 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12360 @cindex Score File Atoms
12362 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12363 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12366 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12367 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12369 @item mark-and-expunge
12370 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12371 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12374 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12375 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12376 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12377 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12378 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12381 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12382 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12385 @item exclude-files
12386 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12387 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12391 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12392 ignored when handling global score files.
12395 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12396 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
12397 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
12398 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
12401 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12402 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12403 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12404 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12406 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12410 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12413 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12414 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12415 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12416 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12417 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12419 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12420 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12421 ordinary scoring rules.
12424 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12425 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12426 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12427 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12428 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12429 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12430 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12431 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12432 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12433 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12434 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12438 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12439 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12440 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12441 file for a number of groups.
12444 @cindex local variables
12445 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12446 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12447 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12448 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12449 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12453 @node Score File Editing
12454 @section Score File Editing
12456 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12457 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12458 with a mode for that.
12460 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12461 additional commands:
12466 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12467 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12468 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12469 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12472 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12473 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12474 Insert the current date in numerical format
12475 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12476 you were wondering.
12479 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
12480 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
12481 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
12482 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
12483 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
12488 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
12490 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
12491 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
12493 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
12494 e} to begin editing score files.
12497 @node Adaptive Scoring
12498 @section Adaptive Scoring
12499 @cindex adaptive scoring
12501 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
12502 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
12503 stupidity, to be precise.
12505 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
12506 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
12507 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
12508 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
12509 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12510 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
12511 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
12512 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
12513 variable to @code{(word line)}.
12515 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12516 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
12517 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
12518 might look something like this:
12521 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12522 '((gnus-unread-mark)
12523 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
12524 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
12525 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
12526 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
12527 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
12528 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
12529 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
12530 (gnus-ancient-mark)
12531 (gnus-low-score-mark)
12532 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
12535 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
12536 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
12537 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
12538 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
12539 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
12540 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
12543 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
12544 will be applied to each article.
12546 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
12547 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
12548 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
12549 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
12551 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
12552 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
12553 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
12554 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
12556 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
12557 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
12558 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
12559 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
12561 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
12562 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
12563 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
12564 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
12565 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
12566 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
12568 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
12569 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
12570 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
12571 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
12572 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
12573 aspirins afterwards.)
12575 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
12576 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
12577 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
12579 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
12580 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
12581 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
12583 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
12584 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
12585 let you use different rules in different groups.
12587 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
12588 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
12589 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
12592 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
12593 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
12594 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
12595 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
12596 the length of the match is less than
12597 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
12598 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
12601 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12602 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
12603 headers. If you adapt on words, the
12604 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
12605 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
12608 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12609 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
12610 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
12611 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
12612 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
12615 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
12616 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
12617 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
12618 score with 30 points.
12620 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
12621 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
12622 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
12623 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
12624 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
12626 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
12627 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
12628 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
12629 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
12631 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
12632 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
12633 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
12634 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
12636 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
12637 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
12638 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
12640 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
12641 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
12642 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
12643 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
12646 @node Home Score File
12647 @section Home Score File
12649 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
12650 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
12651 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
12652 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
12654 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
12655 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
12656 could perhaps use the same home score file.
12658 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
12659 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
12664 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
12668 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
12669 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
12673 A list. The elements in this list can be:
12677 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
12678 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
12681 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
12682 the home score file.
12685 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
12688 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
12693 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
12696 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12697 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
12700 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
12701 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
12704 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12705 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
12708 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
12710 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
12711 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
12712 their own home score files:
12715 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12716 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
12717 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
12718 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
12719 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
12722 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
12723 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
12724 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
12725 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
12726 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
12728 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
12729 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
12730 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
12731 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
12732 precedence over this variable.
12735 @node Followups To Yourself
12736 @section Followups To Yourself
12738 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
12739 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
12740 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
12741 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
12742 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
12743 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
12747 @item gnus-score-followup-article
12748 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
12749 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
12752 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
12753 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
12754 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
12758 @vindex message-sent-hook
12759 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
12760 @code{message-sent-hook}.
12762 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
12763 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
12767 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12768 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12771 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
12772 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
12777 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
12781 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
12782 is system-dependent.
12786 @section Scoring Tips
12787 @cindex scoring tips
12793 @cindex scoring crossposts
12794 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
12795 the @code{Xref} header.
12797 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
12800 @item Multiple crossposts
12801 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
12802 more than, say, 3 groups:
12804 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
12807 @item Matching on the body
12808 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
12809 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
12810 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
12811 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
12812 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
12813 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
12814 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
12817 @item Marking as read
12818 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
12819 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
12820 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
12824 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
12826 @item Negated character classes
12827 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
12828 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
12829 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
12833 @node Reverse Scoring
12834 @section Reverse Scoring
12835 @cindex reverse scoring
12837 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
12838 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
12839 like this in your score file:
12843 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
12848 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
12849 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
12852 @node Global Score Files
12853 @section Global Score Files
12854 @cindex global score files
12856 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
12857 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
12858 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
12860 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
12861 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
12862 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
12864 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
12865 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
12866 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
12867 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
12868 files are applicable to which group.
12870 Say you want to use the score file
12871 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
12872 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
12875 (setq gnus-global-score-files
12876 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
12877 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
12880 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
12881 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
12882 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
12883 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
12884 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
12886 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
12887 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
12889 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
12890 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
12891 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
12892 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
12893 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
12894 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
12896 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
12902 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
12904 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
12906 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
12908 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
12909 lowered out of existence.
12911 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
12912 articles completely.
12915 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
12916 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
12917 old articles for a long time.
12920 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
12921 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
12922 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
12923 holding our breath yet?
12927 @section Kill Files
12930 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
12931 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
12932 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
12934 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
12935 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
12936 files into score files.
12938 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
12939 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
12940 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
12941 that isn't a very good idea.
12943 Normal kill files look like this:
12946 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12947 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
12951 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
12952 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
12954 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
12955 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
12958 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
12963 @kindex M-k (Summary)
12964 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
12965 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
12968 @kindex M-K (Summary)
12969 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
12970 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
12973 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
12978 @kindex M-k (Group)
12979 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
12980 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
12983 @kindex M-K (Group)
12984 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
12985 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
12988 Kill file variables:
12991 @item gnus-kill-file-name
12992 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
12993 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
12994 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
12995 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
12996 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
12997 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
12999 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13000 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13001 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
13002 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
13005 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
13006 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
13007 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
13008 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
13009 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
13010 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
13011 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
13012 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
13013 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
13015 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13016 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13017 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
13022 @node Converting Kill Files
13023 @section Converting Kill Files
13025 @cindex converting kill files
13027 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
13028 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
13029 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
13032 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
13033 You can fetch it from
13034 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
13036 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
13037 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
13038 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
13046 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
13047 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
13048 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
13050 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
13051 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
13052 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
13053 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
13054 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
13055 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
13056 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
13057 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
13061 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
13062 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
13063 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
13064 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
13068 @node Using GroupLens
13069 @subsection Using GroupLens
13071 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
13073 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
13074 better bit in town at the moment.
13076 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
13080 @item gnus-use-grouplens
13081 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
13082 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
13083 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
13085 @item grouplens-pseudonym
13086 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
13087 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
13088 with the Better Bit Bureau.
13090 @item grouplens-newsgroups
13091 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
13092 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
13096 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
13097 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
13098 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
13099 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
13100 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
13101 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
13104 @node Rating Articles
13105 @subsection Rating Articles
13107 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
13108 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
13109 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
13110 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
13113 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
13118 @kindex r (GroupLens)
13119 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
13120 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
13123 @kindex k (GroupLens)
13124 @findex grouplens-score-thread
13125 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
13126 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
13127 threads in rec.humor.
13131 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
13132 the score of the article you're reading.
13137 @kindex n (GroupLens)
13138 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
13139 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
13142 @kindex , (GroupLens)
13143 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
13144 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
13148 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
13149 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
13152 @node Displaying Predictions
13153 @subsection Displaying Predictions
13155 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
13156 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
13157 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
13158 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
13159 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
13161 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
13162 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
13163 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
13164 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
13165 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
13166 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13167 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13168 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13169 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13170 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13171 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13172 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13173 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13175 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13176 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13177 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13178 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13180 The following are valid values for that variable.
13183 @item prediction-spot
13184 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13187 @item confidence-interval
13188 A numeric confidence interval.
13190 @item prediction-bar
13191 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13193 @item confidence-bar
13194 Numerical confidence.
13196 @item confidence-spot
13197 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13199 @item prediction-num
13200 Plain-old numeric value.
13202 @item confidence-plus-minus
13203 Prediction +/- confidence.
13208 @node GroupLens Variables
13209 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13213 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13214 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13215 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13216 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13219 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13220 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13223 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13224 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13226 @item grouplens-score-offset
13227 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13228 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13231 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13232 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13233 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13238 @node Advanced Scoring
13239 @section Advanced Scoring
13241 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13242 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13243 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13244 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13245 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13247 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13251 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13252 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13253 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13257 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13258 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13260 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13261 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13262 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13263 non-@code{nil} value.
13265 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13266 operator, and various match operators.
13273 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13274 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13275 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13280 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13281 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13282 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13287 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13288 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13292 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13293 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13294 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13295 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13296 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13297 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13298 the ancestry you want to go.
13300 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13301 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13302 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13303 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13304 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13307 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13308 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13310 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13311 when he's talking about Gnus:
13315 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13316 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13322 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13326 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13333 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13334 really don't want to read what he's written:
13338 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13339 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13343 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13344 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13345 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13352 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13353 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13354 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13355 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13359 The possibilities are endless.
13362 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13363 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13365 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13366 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13367 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13368 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13369 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13370 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13371 @samp{subject}) first.
13373 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13374 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
13385 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
13386 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13392 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13399 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13400 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13405 @section Score Decays
13406 @cindex score decays
13409 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13410 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13411 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13412 use them in any sensible way.
13414 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13415 @findex gnus-decay-score
13416 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
13417 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13418 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13419 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13420 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13421 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
13422 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13423 definition of that function:
13426 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13427 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant' and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13430 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13432 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13434 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13437 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13438 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13439 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13440 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13444 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13447 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13450 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13454 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13455 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13456 the new score, which should be an integer.
13458 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
13459 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
13466 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
13467 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
13468 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
13469 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
13470 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
13471 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
13472 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
13473 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
13474 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
13475 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
13476 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
13477 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
13478 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
13479 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
13480 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
13481 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
13482 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolited commercial email.
13483 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
13487 @node Process/Prefix
13488 @section Process/Prefix
13489 @cindex process/prefix convention
13491 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
13492 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
13494 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
13495 command to be performed on.
13499 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
13500 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
13501 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
13502 with the current one.
13504 @vindex transient-mark-mode
13505 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
13506 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
13508 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
13509 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
13512 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
13513 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
13515 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
13518 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
13519 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
13520 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
13521 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13523 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
13524 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
13525 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
13526 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
13527 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
13528 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
13529 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
13530 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
13534 @section Interactive
13535 @cindex interaction
13539 @item gnus-novice-user
13540 @vindex gnus-novice-user
13541 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
13542 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
13543 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
13544 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
13547 @item gnus-expert-user
13548 @vindex gnus-expert-user
13549 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
13550 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
13551 matter how strange.
13553 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
13554 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
13555 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
13556 is @code{t} by default.
13558 @item gnus-interactive-exit
13559 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
13560 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
13565 @node Symbolic Prefixes
13566 @section Symbolic Prefixes
13567 @cindex symbolic prefixes
13569 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
13570 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four charaters forward, and
13571 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
13572 rule of 900 to the current article.
13574 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
13575 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
13576 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
13577 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
13578 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
13579 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
13580 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
13582 @kindex M-i (Summary)
13583 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
13584 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
13585 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
13586 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
13587 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
13588 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
13589 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
13590 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
13592 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
13593 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
13594 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
13596 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
13600 @node Formatting Variables
13601 @section Formatting Variables
13602 @cindex formatting variables
13604 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
13605 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
13606 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
13607 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
13610 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
13611 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
13612 lots of percentages everywhere.
13615 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
13616 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
13617 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
13618 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
13621 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
13622 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
13623 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
13624 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
13625 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
13626 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
13627 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
13628 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
13630 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
13631 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
13633 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
13634 @findex gnus-update-format
13635 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
13636 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
13637 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
13638 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
13642 @node Formatting Basics
13643 @subsection Formatting Basics
13645 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
13646 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
13647 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
13649 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
13650 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
13651 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
13652 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
13653 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
13656 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
13657 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
13658 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
13659 less than 4 characters wide.
13662 @node Advanced Formatting
13663 @subsection Advanced Formatting
13665 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
13666 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
13667 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
13668 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
13670 These are the valid modifiers:
13675 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
13679 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
13684 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
13687 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
13692 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
13695 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
13698 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
13701 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
13705 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
13706 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
13707 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
13708 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
13709 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
13710 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
13711 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
13713 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
13714 last operation, padding.
13716 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
13717 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
13718 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
13719 @xref{Compilation}.
13722 @node User-Defined Specs
13723 @subsection User-Defined Specs
13725 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
13726 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
13727 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
13728 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
13729 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
13730 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
13731 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
13732 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
13733 should protect against that.
13735 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
13736 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
13737 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
13738 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
13742 @node Formatting Fonts
13743 @subsection Formatting Fonts
13745 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
13746 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
13747 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
13748 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
13751 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
13752 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
13753 default. If you say @samp{%1[}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
13754 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
13755 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
13756 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
13758 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
13761 ;; Create three face types.
13762 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
13763 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
13765 ;; We want the article count to be in
13766 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
13767 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
13768 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
13770 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
13771 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
13773 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
13774 (setq gnus-group-line-format
13775 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
13778 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
13779 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
13781 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
13782 mode-line variables.
13785 @node Windows Configuration
13786 @section Windows Configuration
13787 @cindex windows configuration
13789 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
13791 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
13792 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
13793 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
13794 @code{t} by default.
13796 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
13797 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
13798 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
13801 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
13802 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
13803 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13807 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
13808 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
13809 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
13810 possible names is listed below.
13812 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
13813 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
13816 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13820 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
13821 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
13822 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
13823 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
13824 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
13825 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
13826 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
13827 size spec per split.
13829 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
13830 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
13831 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
13832 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
13833 present) gets focus.
13835 Here's a more complicated example:
13838 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
13839 (summary 0.25 point)
13840 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
13844 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
13845 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
13846 occupy, not a percentage.
13848 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
13849 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
13850 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
13851 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
13852 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
13855 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
13858 (article (horizontal 1.0
13863 (summary 0.25 point)
13868 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
13869 @code{horizontal} thingie?
13871 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
13872 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
13873 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
13874 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
13875 the screen is to be given to this strip.
13877 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
13878 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
13879 lines from the splits.
13881 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
13885 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
13886 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
13887 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
13888 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
13889 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
13890 size = number | frame-params
13891 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
13894 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
13895 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
13896 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
13897 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
13899 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
13900 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
13901 @cindex window height
13902 @cindex window width
13903 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
13904 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
13905 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
13906 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
13907 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
13908 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
13910 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
13911 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
13912 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
13913 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
13915 @findex gnus-configure-frame
13916 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
13917 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
13918 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
13919 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
13920 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
13921 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
13922 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
13923 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
13924 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
13925 configuration list.
13928 (gnus-configure-frame
13932 (article 0.3 point))
13940 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
13941 @code{frame} split:
13944 (gnus-configure-frame
13947 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
13949 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
13950 (user-position . t)
13951 (left . -1) (top . 1))
13956 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
13957 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
13958 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
13959 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
13960 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
13961 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
13962 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
13963 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
13966 Here's a list of all possible keys for
13967 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
13969 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
13970 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
13971 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
13972 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
13973 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
13974 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
13976 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
13977 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
13978 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
13982 (message (horizontal 1.0
13983 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
13985 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
13990 @findex gnus-add-configuration
13991 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
13992 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
13993 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
13994 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
13997 (gnus-add-configuration
13998 '(article (vertical 1.0
14000 (summary .25 point)
14004 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
14005 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
14006 Gnus has been loaded.
14008 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
14009 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
14010 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
14011 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
14012 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
14015 @node Faces and Fonts
14016 @section Faces and Fonts
14021 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
14022 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
14023 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
14028 @section Compilation
14029 @cindex compilation
14030 @cindex byte-compilation
14032 @findex gnus-compile
14034 Remember all those line format specification variables?
14035 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
14036 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
14037 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
14038 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
14039 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
14042 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
14043 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
14044 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
14045 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
14046 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
14047 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
14048 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
14052 @section Mode Lines
14055 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
14056 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
14057 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
14058 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
14059 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
14060 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
14061 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
14064 @cindex display-time
14066 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
14067 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
14068 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
14069 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
14070 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
14071 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
14072 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
14073 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
14076 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
14078 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
14079 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
14081 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
14082 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
14083 (length display-time-string)))))
14086 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
14087 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
14088 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
14089 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
14090 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
14093 @node Highlighting and Menus
14094 @section Highlighting and Menus
14096 @cindex highlighting
14099 @vindex gnus-visual
14100 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
14101 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
14102 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
14105 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
14106 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
14109 @item group-highlight
14110 Do highlights in the group buffer.
14111 @item summary-highlight
14112 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
14113 @item article-highlight
14114 Do highlights in the article buffer.
14116 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
14118 Create menus in the group buffer.
14120 Create menus in the summary buffers.
14122 Create menus in the article buffer.
14124 Create menus in the browse buffer.
14126 Create menus in the server buffer.
14128 Create menus in the score buffers.
14130 Create menus in all buffers.
14133 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
14134 buffers, you could say something like:
14137 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
14140 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
14143 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
14146 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
14147 in all Gnus buffers.
14149 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
14152 @item gnus-mouse-face
14153 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
14154 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
14155 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
14159 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
14163 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
14164 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
14165 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
14167 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
14168 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
14169 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14171 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14172 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14173 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14175 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14176 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14177 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14179 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14180 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14181 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14183 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14184 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14185 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14196 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14197 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14198 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14199 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14200 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14204 @vindex gnus-carpal
14205 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14206 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14207 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14212 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14213 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14214 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14216 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14217 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14218 Face used on buttons.
14220 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14221 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14222 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14224 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14225 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14226 Buttons in the group buffer.
14228 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14229 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14230 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14232 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14233 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14234 Buttons in the server buffer.
14236 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14237 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14238 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14241 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14242 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14243 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14251 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14252 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14253 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14254 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14255 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14257 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14258 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14259 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14261 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14262 been idle for thirty minutes:
14265 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14268 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14272 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14275 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14276 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14277 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14279 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14280 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14281 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14282 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14284 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14285 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14286 @var{idle} minutes.
14288 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14289 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14292 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14293 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14294 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14296 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14297 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14298 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14299 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14301 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14302 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14303 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14305 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14306 your @file{.gnus} file:
14308 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14310 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14313 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14314 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14315 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14316 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14317 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14318 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14319 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14320 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14321 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14322 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14323 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14325 @findex gnus-demon-init
14326 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14327 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14328 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14329 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14330 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14332 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
14333 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14334 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14343 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14344 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
14346 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
14347 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
14348 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
14349 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
14352 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
14353 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
14354 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
14355 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
14357 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
14358 this will make spam disappear.
14360 There are some variables to customize, of course:
14363 @item gnus-use-nocem
14364 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
14365 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
14368 @item gnus-nocem-groups
14369 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
14370 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
14371 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
14372 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
14374 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
14375 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
14376 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
14377 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
14378 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
14379 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
14380 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
14382 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
14385 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
14386 @cindex Chris Lewis
14387 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
14388 usenet abuse than anybody else.
14391 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
14392 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
14393 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
14395 @item jem@@xpat.com;
14397 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
14400 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
14401 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
14402 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
14405 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
14406 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
14407 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
14408 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
14409 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
14410 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
14411 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
14412 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
14413 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
14414 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
14416 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
14417 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
14420 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
14423 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
14424 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
14427 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
14430 The specs are applied left-to-right.
14433 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
14434 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
14436 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
14437 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
14438 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
14439 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
14441 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
14442 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
14445 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
14447 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
14455 This might be dangerous, though.
14457 @item gnus-nocem-directory
14458 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
14459 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
14460 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
14462 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14463 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14464 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
14465 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
14466 might then see old spam.
14470 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
14471 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
14472 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
14473 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
14480 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
14481 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
14482 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
14484 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
14485 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
14486 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
14487 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
14488 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
14489 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
14490 @code{undo} function.
14492 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
14493 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
14494 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
14495 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
14496 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
14497 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
14498 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
14499 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
14500 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
14501 never be totally undoable.
14503 @findex gnus-undo-mode
14504 @vindex gnus-use-undo
14506 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
14507 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
14508 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
14509 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
14514 @section Moderation
14517 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
14518 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
14519 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
14522 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
14526 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
14529 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
14531 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
14536 You split your incoming mail by matching on
14537 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
14538 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
14541 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
14542 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
14545 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
14546 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
14550 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
14553 (setq gnus-moderated-list
14554 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
14558 @node XEmacs Enhancements
14559 @section XEmacs Enhancements
14562 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
14566 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
14567 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
14568 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
14569 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
14582 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
14583 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
14584 over your shoulder as you read news.
14587 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
14588 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
14589 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
14590 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
14591 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
14596 @subsubsection Picon Basics
14598 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
14607 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
14608 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
14609 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
14610 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
14611 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
14612 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
14613 @code{GIF} formats.
14616 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14617 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
14618 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
14619 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string
14620 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
14622 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14623 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
14624 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at
14625 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
14626 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
14627 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14630 @node Picon Requirements
14631 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
14633 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
14634 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
14637 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
14638 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
14639 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
14641 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14642 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
14643 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
14644 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
14645 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
14649 @subsubsection Easy Picons
14651 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
14652 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
14655 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
14656 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14657 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
14660 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
14661 containing the Picons databases.
14663 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
14666 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
14671 @subsubsection Hard Picons
14679 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
14680 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
14681 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
14682 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
14683 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
14688 @item gnus-picons-database
14689 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14690 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
14691 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
14692 subdirectories. This is only useful if
14693 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
14694 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
14696 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14697 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14698 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
14699 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
14700 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
14701 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
14702 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14704 @item gnus-picons-display-where
14705 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14706 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
14707 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
14708 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
14709 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
14710 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
14711 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
14713 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14714 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14715 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
14720 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
14721 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
14723 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
14724 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
14727 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
14728 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14730 @item gnus-article-display-picons
14731 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14732 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
14733 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
14734 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14736 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
14737 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14738 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
14739 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14743 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
14744 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
14747 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14751 @node Picon Useless Configuration
14752 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
14760 The following variables offer further control over how things are
14761 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
14762 don't need to worry about.
14766 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
14767 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
14768 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14769 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
14771 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
14772 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
14773 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
14774 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
14776 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
14777 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
14778 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14779 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
14780 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
14782 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14783 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14784 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
14785 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
14786 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
14787 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
14788 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
14790 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14791 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14792 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
14793 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
14795 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
14796 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
14797 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
14798 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
14799 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
14800 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
14801 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
14803 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
14804 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
14805 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
14806 Defaults to @code{nil}.
14808 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
14809 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
14810 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
14811 Defaults to @code{t}.
14813 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
14814 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
14815 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
14816 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
14818 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
14819 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
14820 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
14821 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
14823 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
14824 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
14825 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
14826 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
14827 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
14828 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
14829 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
14830 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
14841 @subsection Smileys
14846 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
14851 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
14852 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
14854 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
14855 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14858 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
14861 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
14862 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
14863 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
14864 text and maps that to file names.
14866 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
14867 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
14868 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
14869 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
14870 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
14871 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
14873 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
14874 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
14876 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
14877 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
14878 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
14880 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
14881 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
14885 @item smiley-data-directory
14886 @vindex smiley-data-directory
14887 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
14889 @item smiley-flesh-color
14890 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
14891 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
14893 @item smiley-features-color
14894 @vindex smiley-features-color
14895 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14897 @item smiley-tongue-color
14898 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
14899 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
14901 @item smiley-circle-color
14902 @vindex smiley-circle-color
14903 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14905 @item smiley-mouse-face
14906 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
14907 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
14913 @subsection Toolbar
14923 @item gnus-use-toolbar
14924 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
14925 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
14926 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
14927 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
14929 @item gnus-group-toolbar
14930 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
14931 The toolbar in the group buffer.
14933 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
14934 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
14935 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
14937 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14938 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14939 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
14945 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
14948 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14949 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14950 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
14951 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
14952 unusual directory structure.
14954 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14955 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14956 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
14957 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
14959 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
14960 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
14961 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
14962 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
14963 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
14964 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
14966 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
14967 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
14968 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
14982 @node Fuzzy Matching
14983 @section Fuzzy Matching
14984 @cindex fuzzy matching
14986 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
14987 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
14989 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
14990 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
14991 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
14993 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
14994 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
14995 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
14996 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
14997 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
15000 @node Thwarting Email Spam
15001 @section Thwarting Email Spam
15005 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
15007 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
15008 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
15009 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
15010 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
15011 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
15012 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
15013 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
15014 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
15017 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
15018 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
15019 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
15020 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
15021 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrouos hair on your toes!'')
15022 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
15026 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
15027 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
15029 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
15030 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
15031 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
15032 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
15033 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
15034 part of the mail address.)
15037 (setq message-default-news-headers
15038 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
15041 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15042 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
15047 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
15048 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
15049 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
15055 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
15056 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
15057 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
15058 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
15060 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
15061 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
15062 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
15063 twarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
15064 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
15065 your fancy split rule in this way:
15070 (to "larsi" "misc")
15074 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
15075 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
15076 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
15077 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
15078 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
15080 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
15081 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, availiable FOR FREE
15082 at @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
15083 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
15084 cosmic balance somewhat.
15086 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
15087 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
15088 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
15089 to non-existant domains is yucky, in my opinion.
15092 @node Various Various
15093 @section Various Various
15099 @item gnus-home-directory
15100 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
15101 defaults to @file{~/}.
15103 @item gnus-directory
15104 @vindex gnus-directory
15105 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
15106 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
15107 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
15109 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
15110 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
15111 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
15112 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
15114 @item gnus-default-directory
15115 @vindex gnus-default-directory
15116 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
15117 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
15118 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
15119 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15120 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
15121 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
15124 @vindex gnus-verbose
15125 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
15126 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
15127 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
15128 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
15129 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
15131 @item gnus-verbose-backends
15132 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
15133 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
15134 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
15136 @item nnheader-max-head-length
15137 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
15138 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
15139 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
15140 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
15141 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
15142 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
15143 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
15144 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
15145 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
15147 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
15148 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
15149 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
15150 read when doing the operation described above.
15152 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15153 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15155 @cindex invalid characters in file names
15156 @cindex characters in file names
15157 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
15158 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
15159 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
15162 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15166 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
15167 Windows (phooey) systems.
15169 @item gnus-hidden-properties
15170 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
15171 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
15172 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
15173 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
15175 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
15176 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
15177 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
15178 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
15179 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
15181 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
15182 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
15183 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
15192 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
15193 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
15195 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
15197 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
15203 Not because of victories @*
15206 but for the common sunshine,@*
15208 the largess of the spring.
15212 but for the day's work done@*
15213 as well as I was able;@*
15214 not for a seat upon the dais@*
15215 but at the common table.@*
15220 @chapter Appendices
15223 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
15224 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
15225 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
15226 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
15227 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
15228 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15229 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15237 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15238 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15240 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15241 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15242 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15243 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15244 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15246 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15247 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15248 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15249 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15250 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15251 appropriate name, don't you think?)
15253 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
15254 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
15255 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
15256 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
15258 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
15259 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
15260 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
15262 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
15263 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
15265 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
15266 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4''.
15268 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
15269 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
15270 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
15271 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
15272 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
15276 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
15277 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
15278 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
15279 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
15280 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
15281 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
15282 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15289 What's the point of Gnus?
15291 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15292 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15293 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15294 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15295 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15296 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15297 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15298 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15299 keep track of millions of people who post?
15301 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15302 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15303 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15304 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15305 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15306 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15307 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15308 every one of you to explore and invent.
15310 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15311 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
15314 @node Compatibility
15315 @subsection Compatibility
15317 @cindex compatibility
15318 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
15319 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
15320 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
15325 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
15329 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
15332 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
15335 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
15336 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
15337 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
15338 important variables have their values copied into their global
15339 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
15340 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
15342 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
15343 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
15344 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
15345 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
15346 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
15350 @cindex highlighting
15351 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
15352 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
15353 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
15354 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
15355 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
15356 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
15359 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
15360 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
15361 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
15362 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
15364 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
15365 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
15366 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
15367 to stop doing it the old way.
15369 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
15371 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
15373 @cindex reporting bugs
15375 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
15376 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
15377 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
15381 @subsection Conformity
15383 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
15384 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
15391 There are no known breaches of this standard.
15395 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
15397 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
15398 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
15399 We do have some breaches to this one.
15404 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
15405 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
15408 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
15409 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
15410 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
15411 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
15412 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
15417 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
15418 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
15423 @subsection Emacsen
15429 Gnus should work on :
15434 Emacs 19.32 and up.
15437 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
15440 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
15444 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
15445 reliably, at least.
15447 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
15448 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
15449 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
15454 @subsection Contributors
15455 @cindex contributors
15457 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
15458 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
15459 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
15460 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
15461 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
15462 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
15463 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
15464 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
15465 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
15466 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
15468 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
15474 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
15477 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
15478 well as numerous other things).
15481 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
15484 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
15487 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
15488 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
15491 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
15494 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
15495 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15498 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
15501 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
15504 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
15507 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
15510 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
15511 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
15514 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
15517 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
15520 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
15523 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
15527 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
15530 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
15533 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
15536 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
15537 well as autoconf support.
15541 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
15542 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
15544 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
15553 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
15557 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
15576 Massimo Campostrini,
15581 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
15587 Michael Welsh Duggan,
15590 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
15594 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
15599 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
15601 Michelangelo Grigni,
15604 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
15606 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
15611 François Felix Ingrand,
15612 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
15614 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
15622 Peter Skov Knudsen,
15623 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
15624 Thor Kristoffersen,
15626 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
15642 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
15643 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
15650 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
15654 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
15656 John McClary Prevost,
15659 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
15664 Christian von Roques,
15671 Philippe Schnoebelen,
15672 Randal L. Schwartz,
15699 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
15701 Shenghuo Zhu. @c Zhu
15703 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
15704 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
15705 (550kB and counting).
15707 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
15710 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
15711 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
15715 @subsection New Features
15716 @cindex new features
15719 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
15720 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
15721 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
15722 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6.7.
15725 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
15726 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
15727 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
15731 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
15733 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
15738 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
15739 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
15742 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
15743 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
15746 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
15749 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
15750 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
15751 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15754 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
15755 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
15756 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
15757 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15760 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
15761 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15764 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
15765 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
15766 (@pxref{The Active File}).
15769 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
15770 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
15773 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
15774 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
15775 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15778 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
15779 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
15780 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
15783 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
15784 the @file{.emacs} file.
15787 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
15788 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15791 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
15792 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
15795 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
15796 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15799 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
15800 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
15803 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
15804 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15807 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
15810 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
15811 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
15814 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
15815 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
15818 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
15819 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
15822 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
15825 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
15826 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15829 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
15833 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
15837 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
15838 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
15841 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
15847 @node September Gnus
15848 @subsubsection September Gnus
15852 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
15856 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
15861 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
15862 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
15866 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
15867 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
15871 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
15875 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
15876 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
15879 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
15883 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15886 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
15889 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
15892 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
15896 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
15897 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
15900 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
15904 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
15908 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
15912 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
15916 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
15919 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
15920 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
15923 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
15927 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
15928 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
15931 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
15934 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
15935 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
15936 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15939 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
15943 The Gnus cache is much faster.
15946 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
15950 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
15951 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15954 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
15955 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
15958 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
15959 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15962 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
15963 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
15964 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
15967 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
15968 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
15971 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
15974 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
15977 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15978 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
15982 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
15985 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
15988 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
15989 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
15992 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
15996 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
15999 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
16004 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
16007 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
16011 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16014 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
16018 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
16021 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
16024 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
16025 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16028 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
16029 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
16033 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
16034 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
16037 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
16041 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
16042 buffer to allow easier treatment.
16045 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
16048 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
16052 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
16056 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
16057 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
16060 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
16064 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
16065 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16068 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
16069 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16072 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
16076 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16079 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16080 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
16084 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
16087 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
16093 @subsubsection Red Gnus
16095 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
16099 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
16106 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
16109 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
16110 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16113 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
16114 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
16118 Article washing status can be displayed in the
16119 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
16122 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
16125 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
16126 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
16129 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
16133 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
16134 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
16138 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
16139 Server Internals}).
16142 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
16146 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
16149 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
16150 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
16153 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
16154 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
16155 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
16158 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
16159 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16162 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
16163 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
16166 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
16170 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
16171 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16174 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
16175 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16178 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
16182 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
16185 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
16189 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
16190 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16193 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
16194 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16197 A new command for reading collections of documents
16198 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
16199 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
16202 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
16206 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
16207 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
16210 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
16211 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
16212 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
16215 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
16216 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
16220 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
16224 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
16228 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
16233 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
16237 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
16241 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
16242 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
16245 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
16248 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
16255 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
16257 New features in Gnus 5.6.7:
16262 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
16263 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
16264 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
16267 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
16268 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
16269 group, which is created automatically.
16272 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
16276 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
16279 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
16280 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
16283 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
16287 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
16290 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
16291 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
16294 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
16297 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
16298 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
16301 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
16302 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
16305 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
16306 control over simplification.
16309 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
16312 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
16316 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
16319 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16322 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
16323 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
16324 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
16327 Cancelling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
16328 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
16331 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
16335 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
16336 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
16339 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
16340 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
16343 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
16347 A history of where mails have been split is available.
16350 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
16353 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
16354 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
16357 A new function for citing in Message has been
16358 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
16361 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
16364 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
16368 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
16369 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
16372 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
16373 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
16376 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
16379 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
16384 @node Newest Features
16385 @subsection Newest Features
16388 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
16391 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
16393 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
16394 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
16397 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
16402 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
16405 Really do unbinhexing.
16408 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
16409 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
16412 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
16415 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
16418 facep is not declared.
16421 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
16422 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
16425 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
16430 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
16431 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
16432 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
16433 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
16434 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
16435 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
16436 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
16441 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
16444 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
16447 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
16449 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
16450 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
16452 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
16454 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
16456 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
16457 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
16459 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
16461 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
16462 be marked as unread.
16464 Orphan score entries dont show on "V t" score trace
16466 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
16468 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
16469 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
16471 expinged articles are counted when computing scores.
16473 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
16475 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
16476 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
16478 topics that contain just groups with ticked
16479 articles aren't displayed.
16481 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
16483 implement gnus-score-thread
16485 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
16486 make the mail groups killed.
16488 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
16490 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
16491 and articles have to be removed.
16493 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
16496 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
16498 finding short score file names takes forever.
16500 canceling articles in foreign groups.
16502 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
16504 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
16506 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
16508 nnweb doesn't work properly.
16510 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
16512 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
16513 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
16517 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
16519 really unbinhex binhex files.
16521 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
16522 bar and the Gnus bar.
16525 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
16526 `(canonize-message-id id)'
16527 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
16528 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
16529 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
16530 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
16535 nnml .overview directory with splits.
16539 postponed commands.
16541 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
16543 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
16546 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
16547 headers of the oldest orhpan with a 0 article number?
16549 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
16550 inherit copy prompts and save files.
16552 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
16554 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
16555 for backends that support that.
16557 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
16559 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
16560 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
16562 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
16563 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
16565 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
16567 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
16569 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
16571 server mode command: close/open all connections
16573 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
16574 has been changed before using it.
16576 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
16578 hide (sub)threads with low score.
16580 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
16582 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
16584 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
16585 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
16587 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
16588 contaion groups that match a regexp.
16590 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
16593 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
16596 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
16597 from subject lines.
16599 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
16601 nntp-ping-before-connect
16603 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
16605 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
16606 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
16608 message annotations.
16610 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
16612 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
16613 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
16615 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
16620 support qmail maildir spools
16622 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
16624 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
16626 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
16628 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
16629 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
16631 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
16633 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
16635 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
16636 finds and generate proper active ranges.
16638 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
16639 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
16641 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
16643 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
16645 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
16646 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
16648 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
16650 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
16652 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
16653 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
16656 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
16658 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
16660 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
16661 `C-c C-c' when posting.
16663 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
16666 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
16667 should be marker as expirable.
16669 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
16671 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
16672 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
16674 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
16675 Also consult Date headers.
16677 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
16679 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
16681 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
16682 Message-ID, delete the "original".
16684 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
16685 into a See-Also header.
16687 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
16689 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
16691 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
16692 should be listed as such and not as "K".
16694 generate font names dynamically.
16696 score file mode auto-alist.
16698 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
16699 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
16701 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
16702 absolutely all headers there is.
16704 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
16705 and pipe them to the process.
16707 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
16708 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
16709 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
16711 function for starting to edit a file to put into
16712 the current mail group.
16714 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
16716 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
16717 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
16719 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
16720 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
16722 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
16724 when replying to several process-marked articles,
16725 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
16727 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
16728 groups it has been mailed to.
16730 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
16732 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
16734 Command in the group buffer to respoll process-marked groups.
16736 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
16737 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
16739 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
16740 newlines) should be ignored.
16742 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
16743 groups in subtopics as well.
16745 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
16747 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
16750 add edit and forward secondary marks.
16752 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
16754 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
16756 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
16758 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
16760 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
16762 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
16763 or the formatted article.
16765 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
16767 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
16768 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
16770 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
16772 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
16774 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
16776 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
16777 even unread articles.
16779 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
16781 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
16783 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
16785 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
16787 cancelling articles in foreign groups.
16789 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
16792 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
16793 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
16795 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
16796 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
16798 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
16800 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
16802 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
16803 from a particular server? Hm.
16805 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
16806 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
16808 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
16810 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
16811 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
16813 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
16814 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
16816 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
16817 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
16818 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
16821 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
16822 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
16824 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
16826 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
16828 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
16830 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
16833 when following up mulitple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
16836 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
16837 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
16839 command to show and edit group scores
16841 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
16844 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
16846 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
16848 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
16849 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
16852 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
16853 that are of that length.
16855 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
16857 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
16859 asynchronous posting under nntp.
16861 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
16863 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
16865 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
16867 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
16868 a score lower than this number.
16870 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
16872 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
16874 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
16875 so that each copy can be edited separately.
16877 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
16879 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
16880 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
16882 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
16885 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
16886 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
16887 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
16888 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
16890 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
16893 command to remove all topic stuff.
16895 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
16896 and splitting the resulting digests.
16898 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
16900 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
16902 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
16903 matches an alist -- before saving.
16905 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
16907 variable to activate each group before entering them
16908 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
16910 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
16911 starting Gnus first if necessary.
16913 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
16914 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
16916 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
16918 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
16919 of several groups at once.
16921 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
16922 matches some regexp(s).
16924 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
16926 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
16928 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
16930 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
16932 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
16934 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
16936 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
16938 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
16939 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
16940 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
16941 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
16943 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
16944 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
16946 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
16948 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
16949 recently cited text.
16951 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
16953 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
16956 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
16957 server and just read the articles in the server
16959 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
16960 value of nnoo variables.
16962 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
16964 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
16965 listed in each group info.
16967 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
16970 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
16971 should only be applied to some groups.
16973 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
16974 mail-copies-to: never.
16976 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
16977 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
16979 the slave dribble files should autosave to the slave file names.
16981 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
16984 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
16987 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where appliccable.
16989 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
16992 group user-defined meta-parameters.
16996 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
16998 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
16999 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
17000 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
17001 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
17002 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
17004 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at
17005 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
17012 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
17013 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
17015 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
17016 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
17018 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
17019 "Return the date the group was last read."
17020 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
17025 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
17026 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
17027 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
17028 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
17032 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
17033 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
17035 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
17038 They could be used like this:
17042 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
17043 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
17044 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
17046 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
17048 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
17051 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
17054 One could also immagine the labels being used for highliting, or
17055 affect the summary line format.
17059 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
17061 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
17062 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
17064 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
17067 - For other directories, create a nneething summaru buffer.
17069 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
17071 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
17073 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
17075 - For other files, just find them normally.
17077 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
17078 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
17081 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
17082 tell him what you are doing.
17085 Currently, I get prompted:
17089 decend into sci.something ?
17093 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
17094 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only decending sci.something? If
17095 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
17096 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
17099 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
17100 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
17101 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
17102 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
17105 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
17106 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
17112 more than n blank lines
17114 more than m identical lines
17115 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
17117 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
17121 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
17122 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
17123 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
17124 "same" subject for threading purposes.
17127 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
17128 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
17129 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
17130 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
17133 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
17136 soup - bowl of soup
17137 score below - dim light bulb
17138 score over - bright light bulb
17141 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
17146 show-list-of-articles-in-group
17147 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17148 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
17149 if (articles-selected)
17150 start-reading-selected-articles;
17151 junk-unread-articles;
17156 else if (key-pressed = '.')
17157 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
17158 select-thread-under-cursor;
17160 select-article-under-cursor;
17164 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17165 if (more-pages-in-article)
17167 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
17174 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
17175 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
17176 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
17179 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
17180 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
17181 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
17182 the wildcard expression).
17185 It would be nice if it also handled
17187 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
17189 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
17194 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
17195 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
17196 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
17197 article versions) variable.
17199 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
17201 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
17202 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
17206 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
17209 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
17210 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
17211 (message-sent-hook).
17213 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
17216 * Enhancements to Gnus:
17220 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
17221 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
17224 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
17225 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
17226 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
17229 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
17230 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
17234 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
17237 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
17241 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
17242 the nnmail duplicate checking.
17245 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
17246 value of the signature file.
17249 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
17250 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
17253 (setq message-tab-alist
17254 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
17255 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
17257 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
17261 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
17264 a command to import a buffer into a group.
17267 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
17270 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
17271 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
17274 a command to process mark all unread articles.
17277 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
17278 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
17279 do more gathering by subject.
17282 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
17283 article numerical order.
17286 (gnus-thread-total-score
17287 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
17291 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
17294 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
17295 in the summary buffer.
17298 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
17299 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
17302 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
17303 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
17304 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
17305 and/or newsgroup name.
17308 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
17311 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
17314 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
17317 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
17318 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
17319 will automatically get the process mark.
17322 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
17323 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
17324 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
17327 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
17331 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
17332 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
17335 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
17336 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
17340 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
17341 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
17344 be able to post via DejaNews.
17347 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
17350 allow the user to specify the presedence of the secondary marks. Also
17351 allow them to be displayed separately.
17354 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
17355 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
17358 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
17359 articles that match a certain From header.
17362 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
17363 saving living summary buffers.
17366 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
17367 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
17370 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
17371 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
17374 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
17375 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
17378 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
17379 (goto-char (point-min))
17380 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
17381 (replace-match "`" t t))
17382 (goto-char (point-min))
17383 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
17384 (replace-match "'" t t))
17385 (goto-char (point-min))
17386 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
17387 (replace-match "\"" t t))
17388 (goto-char (point-min))
17389 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
17390 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
17395 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
17397 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
17398 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
17399 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
17400 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
17404 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
17407 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
17408 numbers and match on the age of the article.
17411 gnus-cacheable-groups
17415 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
17416 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
17417 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
17419 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
17420 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
17422 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
17423 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
17428 all commands that react to the process mark should push
17429 the current process mark set onto the stack.
17432 gnus-article-hide-pgp
17433 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
17435 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
17437 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
17438 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
17441 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
17442 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
17445 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
17449 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
17450 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
17453 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
17456 nndraft-request-group should tally autosave files.
17459 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
17462 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
17466 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
17472 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
17475 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
17479 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
17480 X characters in the body.
17483 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
17486 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
17489 format spec to "tab" to a position.
17492 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
17495 command to display all dormant articles.
17498 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
17501 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
17502 to something someone else has said.
17505 Read Netscape discussion groups:
17506 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
17509 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
17510 the displayed version.
17513 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
17517 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
17520 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
17521 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
17522 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
17526 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
17527 in the head or body.
17530 Allow breaking lengthy NNTP commands.
17533 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
17536 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
17537 in a special, unique buffer.
17540 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
17543 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
17544 is less than a certain number of days old.
17547 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
17550 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
17553 Solve the halting problem.
17562 @section The Manual
17566 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
17567 either @code{texi2dvi}
17569 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
17570 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
17572 to get what you hold in your hands now.
17574 The following conventions have been used:
17579 This is a @samp{string}
17582 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
17585 This is a @file{file}
17588 This is a @code{symbol}
17592 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
17596 (setq flargnoze "yes")
17599 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
17602 (setq flumphel 'yes)
17605 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
17606 ever get them confused.
17610 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
17611 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
17612 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
17613 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
17614 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
17615 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
17616 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
17624 @section Terminology
17626 @cindex terminology
17631 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
17632 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
17633 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
17634 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
17635 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
17639 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
17640 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
17641 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
17642 not posting, and replying is not following up.
17646 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
17650 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
17655 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
17656 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
17657 is all done by the backends.
17661 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
17662 default, way of getting news.
17666 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
17667 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
17672 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
17673 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
17677 A message that has been posted as news.
17680 @cindex mail message
17681 A message that has been mailed.
17685 A mail message or news article
17689 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
17694 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
17699 A line from the head of an article.
17703 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
17704 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
17708 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
17709 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
17710 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
17711 normal @sc{head} format.
17715 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
17716 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
17717 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
17718 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
17719 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
17720 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
17722 @item killed groups
17723 @cindex killed groups
17724 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
17725 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
17727 @item zombie groups
17728 @cindex zombie groups
17729 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
17732 @cindex active file
17733 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
17734 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
17735 is rather large, as you might surmise.
17738 @cindex bogus groups
17739 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
17740 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
17741 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
17744 @cindex activating groups
17745 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
17746 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
17747 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
17751 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
17753 @item select method
17754 @cindex select method
17755 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
17758 @item virtual server
17759 @cindex virtual server
17760 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
17761 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
17762 whole is a virtual server.
17766 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
17767 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
17770 @item ephemeral groups
17771 @cindex ephemeral groups
17772 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
17773 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
17774 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
17777 @cindex solid groups
17778 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
17779 group buffer are solid groups.
17781 @item sparse articles
17782 @cindex sparse articles
17783 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
17784 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
17788 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
17789 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
17793 @cindex thread root
17794 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
17795 articles in the thread.
17799 An article that has responses.
17803 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
17807 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
17808 specified by RFC1153.
17814 @node Customization
17815 @section Customization
17816 @cindex general customization
17818 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
17819 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
17820 for some quite common situations.
17823 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
17824 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
17825 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
17826 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
17830 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
17831 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
17833 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
17834 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
17835 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
17839 @item gnus-read-active-file
17840 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
17841 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
17842 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
17843 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
17844 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
17846 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
17847 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
17848 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
17849 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
17853 @node Slow Terminal Connection
17854 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
17856 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
17857 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
17858 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
17862 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
17863 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
17864 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
17865 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
17866 horizontal and vertical recentering.
17868 @item gnus-visible-headers
17869 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
17870 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
17871 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
17872 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
17874 @item gnus-article-display-hook
17875 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
17877 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
17878 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
17879 gnus-article-hide-citation))
17882 @item gnus-use-full-window
17883 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
17884 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
17885 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
17886 want to read them anyway.
17888 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
17889 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
17892 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
17893 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
17894 lines, which might save some time.
17898 @node Little Disk Space
17899 @subsection Little Disk Space
17902 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
17903 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
17907 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
17908 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
17909 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
17910 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
17913 @item gnus-save-killed-list
17914 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
17915 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
17916 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
17917 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
17923 @subsection Slow Machine
17924 @cindex slow machine
17926 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
17927 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
17929 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
17930 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
17932 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
17933 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
17934 summary buffer faster.
17936 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
17937 processing a bit faster.
17941 @node Troubleshooting
17942 @section Troubleshooting
17943 @cindex troubleshooting
17945 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
17953 Make sure your computer is switched on.
17956 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
17957 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
17961 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
17962 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
17963 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
17964 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
17967 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
17971 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
17972 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
17973 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
17974 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
17975 something like that.
17978 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
17981 @cindex reporting bugs
17983 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
17985 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
17986 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
17987 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
17988 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
17990 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
17991 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
17992 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
17993 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
17996 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
17997 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
17998 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
17999 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
18000 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
18001 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
18003 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
18004 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
18005 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
18008 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
18009 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
18011 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
18012 @cindex ding mailing list
18013 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
18014 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
18018 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
18019 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
18021 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
18022 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
18023 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
18024 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
18027 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
18028 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
18029 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
18030 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
18031 and general methods of operation.
18034 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
18035 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
18036 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
18037 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
18038 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
18039 * Group Info:: The group info format.
18040 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
18041 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
18042 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
18046 @node Gnus Utility Functions
18047 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
18048 @cindex Gnus utility functions
18049 @cindex utility functions
18051 @cindex internal variables
18053 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
18054 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
18055 Below is a list of the most common ones.
18059 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
18060 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
18061 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
18063 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
18064 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
18065 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
18067 @item gnus-group-real-name
18068 @findex gnus-group-real-name
18069 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
18072 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
18073 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
18074 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
18075 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
18077 @item gnus-get-info
18078 @findex gnus-get-info
18079 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
18081 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18082 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18083 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
18086 @item gnus-continuum-version
18087 @findex gnus-continuum-version
18088 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
18089 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
18092 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
18093 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
18094 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
18096 @item gnus-news-group-p
18097 @findex gnus-news-group-p
18098 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
18100 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18101 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18102 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
18104 @item gnus-server-to-method
18105 @findex gnus-server-to-method
18106 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
18108 @item gnus-server-equal
18109 @findex gnus-server-equal
18110 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
18112 @item gnus-group-native-p
18113 @findex gnus-group-native-p
18114 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
18116 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
18117 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
18118 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
18120 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
18121 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
18122 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
18124 @item group-group-find-parameter
18125 @findex group-group-find-parameter
18126 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
18127 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
18129 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
18130 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
18131 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
18133 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
18134 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
18135 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
18137 @item gnus-check-backend-function
18138 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
18139 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
18140 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
18143 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
18147 @item gnus-read-method
18148 @findex gnus-read-method
18149 Prompts the user for a select method.
18154 @node Backend Interface
18155 @subsection Backend Interface
18157 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
18158 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
18159 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
18160 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
18161 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
18162 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
18164 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
18165 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
18166 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
18167 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
18168 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
18169 been opened, the function should fail.
18171 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
18172 name. Take this example:
18176 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
18177 (nntp-port-number 4324))
18180 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
18181 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
18183 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
18184 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
18185 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
18187 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
18188 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
18189 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
18191 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
18192 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
18193 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
18194 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
18195 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
18196 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
18199 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
18200 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
18201 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
18202 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
18205 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
18208 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
18211 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
18212 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
18213 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
18214 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
18215 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
18216 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
18220 @node Required Backend Functions
18221 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
18225 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
18227 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
18228 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
18229 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
18230 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
18232 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
18233 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
18234 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
18235 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
18237 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
18238 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
18239 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
18240 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
18241 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
18242 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
18243 number, do maximum fetches.
18245 Here's an example HEAD:
18248 221 1056 Article retrieved.
18249 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
18250 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
18251 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
18252 Subject: Re: Something very droll
18253 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
18254 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
18256 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
18257 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
18258 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
18262 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
18263 these in the data buffer.
18265 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
18269 head = error / valid-head
18270 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
18271 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
18272 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
18273 header = <text> eol
18276 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
18277 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
18281 nov-buffer = *nov-line
18282 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
18283 field = <text except TAB>
18286 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
18290 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
18292 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
18293 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
18295 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
18296 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
18297 server. In fact, it should do so.
18299 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
18300 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
18303 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
18305 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
18306 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
18309 There should be no data returned.
18312 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
18314 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
18315 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
18316 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
18317 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
18319 There should be no data returned.
18322 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
18324 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
18325 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
18326 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
18327 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
18329 There should be no data returned.
18332 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
18334 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
18336 There should be no data returned.
18339 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
18341 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
18342 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
18343 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
18344 it would be nice if that were possible.
18346 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
18347 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
18348 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
18349 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
18350 into its article buffer.
18352 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
18353 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
18354 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
18355 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
18356 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
18357 on successful article retrieval.
18360 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
18362 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
18363 making @var{group} the current group.
18365 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
18368 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
18371 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
18374 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
18375 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
18376 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
18377 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
18378 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
18379 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
18380 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
18381 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
18384 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
18385 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
18386 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
18390 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18392 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
18393 a no-op on most backends.
18395 There should be no data returned.
18398 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
18400 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
18403 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
18406 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
18407 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
18410 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
18411 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
18414 active-file = *active-line
18415 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
18417 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
18420 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
18421 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
18422 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
18425 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
18427 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
18428 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
18429 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
18430 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
18431 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
18432 clear if the posting could not be completed.
18434 There should be no result data from this function.
18439 @node Optional Backend Functions
18440 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
18444 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
18446 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
18447 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
18448 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
18450 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
18451 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
18452 former is in the same format as the data from
18453 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
18454 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
18457 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
18461 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
18463 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
18464 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
18465 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
18466 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
18467 should return the (altered) group info.
18469 There should be no result data from this function.
18472 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
18474 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
18475 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
18476 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
18477 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
18478 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
18479 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
18480 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
18481 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
18483 There should be no result data from this function.
18486 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
18488 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
18489 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
18490 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
18491 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
18492 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
18494 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
18495 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
18496 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
18499 There should be no result data from this function.
18502 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
18504 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
18505 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
18506 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
18507 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
18508 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
18509 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
18510 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
18512 There should be no result data from this function.
18515 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
18517 The result data from this function should be a description of
18521 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
18523 description = <text>
18526 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
18528 The result data from this function should be the description of all
18529 groups available on the server.
18532 description-buffer = *description-line
18536 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
18538 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
18539 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
18540 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
18543 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18545 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
18547 There should be no return data.
18550 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
18552 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
18553 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
18554 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
18555 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
18556 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
18559 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
18562 There should be no result data returned.
18565 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
18568 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
18569 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
18571 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
18572 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
18573 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
18574 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
18575 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
18576 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
18578 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
18579 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
18582 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18583 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18585 There should be no data returned.
18588 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
18590 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
18591 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
18592 this function in short order.
18594 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18595 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18597 There should be no data returned.
18600 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
18602 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
18603 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
18605 There should be no data returned.
18608 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
18610 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
18611 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
18612 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
18614 There should be no data returned.
18617 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
18619 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
18620 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
18622 There should be no data returned.
18627 @node Error Messaging
18628 @subsubsection Error Messaging
18630 @findex nnheader-report
18631 @findex nnheader-get-report
18632 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
18633 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
18634 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
18635 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
18636 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
18637 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
18640 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
18642 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
18645 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
18646 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
18647 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
18648 takes one argument---the server symbol.
18650 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
18651 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
18652 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
18655 @node Writing New Backends
18656 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
18658 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
18659 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
18660 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
18661 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
18662 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
18665 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
18666 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
18667 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
18669 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
18670 package called @code{nnoo}.
18672 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
18673 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
18679 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
18680 parameters. For instance:
18683 (nnoo-declare nndir
18687 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
18688 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
18691 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
18692 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
18693 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
18695 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
18696 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
18697 a function in those backends.
18700 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
18701 "Where nndir will look for groups."
18702 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
18705 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
18706 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
18707 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
18709 @item nnoo-define-basics
18710 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
18714 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
18718 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
18719 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
18720 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
18722 @item nnoo-map-functions
18723 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
18724 functions from the parent backends.
18727 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
18728 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18729 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
18732 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
18733 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
18734 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
18735 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
18738 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
18739 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
18740 haven't already been defined.
18746 nnmh-request-newgroups)
18750 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
18751 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
18752 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
18757 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
18760 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
18761 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
18765 (require 'nnheader)
18769 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
18771 (nnoo-declare nndir
18774 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
18775 "Where nndir will look for groups."
18776 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
18778 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
18779 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
18782 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
18783 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
18784 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
18786 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
18787 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
18789 ;;; Interface functions.
18791 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
18793 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
18794 (setq nndir-directory
18795 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
18797 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
18798 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
18799 (push `(nndir-current-group
18800 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
18802 (push `(nndir-top-directory
18803 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
18805 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
18807 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
18808 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18809 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18810 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
18811 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
18815 nnmh-status-message
18817 nnmh-request-newgroups))
18823 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
18824 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
18826 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
18827 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
18828 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
18829 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
18831 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
18832 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
18837 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
18840 The abilities can be:
18844 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
18846 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
18848 This backend supports both mail and news.
18850 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
18853 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
18854 articles and groups.
18856 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
18857 true for almost all backends.
18858 @item prompt-address
18859 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
18860 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
18861 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
18865 @node Mail-like Backends
18866 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
18868 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
18869 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
18870 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
18871 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
18874 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
18875 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
18876 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
18879 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
18880 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
18883 This function takes four parameters.
18887 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
18890 @item exit-function
18891 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
18893 @item temp-directory
18894 Where the temporary files should be stored.
18897 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
18898 performed for one group only.
18901 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
18902 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
18903 find the article number assigned to this article.
18905 The function also uses the following variables:
18906 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
18907 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
18908 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
18909 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
18913 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
18914 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
18918 @node Score File Syntax
18919 @subsection Score File Syntax
18921 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
18922 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
18923 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
18925 Here's a typical score file:
18929 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
18936 BNF definition of a score file:
18939 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
18940 element = rule / atom
18941 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
18942 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
18943 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
18944 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
18946 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
18947 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
18948 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
18949 date-header = "date"
18950 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
18951 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
18952 score = "nil" / <integer>
18953 date = "nil" / <natural number>
18954 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
18955 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
18956 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
18957 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
18958 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
18959 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
18960 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
18961 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
18962 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
18963 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
18964 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
18965 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
18966 exclude-files / read-only / touched
18967 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
18968 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
18969 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
18970 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
18971 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
18972 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
18973 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
18974 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
18975 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
18976 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
18977 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
18978 eval = "eval" space <form>
18979 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
18982 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
18985 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
18986 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
18987 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
18988 one looong line, then that's ok.
18990 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
18991 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
18995 @subsection Headers
18997 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
18998 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
18999 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
19000 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
19002 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
19003 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
19004 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
19005 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
19006 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
19007 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
19008 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
19010 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
19011 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
19012 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
19013 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
19014 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
19016 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
19023 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
19024 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
19026 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
19027 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
19028 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
19029 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
19031 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
19035 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
19038 is transformed into
19041 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
19044 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
19045 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
19048 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
19051 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
19052 is slightly tricky:
19055 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
19061 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
19064 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
19070 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
19077 and is equal to the previous range.
19079 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
19080 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
19081 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
19085 range = simple-range / normal-range
19086 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
19087 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
19088 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
19089 number *[ " " contents ]
19092 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
19093 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
19094 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
19095 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
19096 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
19101 @subsection Group Info
19103 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
19104 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
19105 describes the group.
19107 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
19108 second is a more complex one:
19111 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
19113 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
19114 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
19116 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
19119 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
19120 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
19121 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
19122 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
19123 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
19124 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
19125 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
19126 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
19127 this section is about.
19129 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
19130 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
19131 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
19133 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
19136 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
19137 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
19138 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19139 group = quote <string> quote
19140 ralevel = rank / level
19141 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19142 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
19143 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19145 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
19146 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
19147 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
19148 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
19151 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
19152 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
19155 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
19156 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
19159 @item gnus-info-group
19160 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
19161 @findex gnus-info-group
19162 @findex gnus-info-set-group
19163 Get/set the group name.
19165 @item gnus-info-rank
19166 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
19167 @findex gnus-info-rank
19168 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
19169 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
19171 @item gnus-info-level
19172 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
19173 @findex gnus-info-level
19174 @findex gnus-info-set-level
19175 Get/set the group level.
19177 @item gnus-info-score
19178 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
19179 @findex gnus-info-score
19180 @findex gnus-info-set-score
19181 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
19183 @item gnus-info-read
19184 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
19185 @findex gnus-info-read
19186 @findex gnus-info-set-read
19187 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
19189 @item gnus-info-marks
19190 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
19191 @findex gnus-info-marks
19192 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
19193 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
19195 @item gnus-info-method
19196 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
19197 @findex gnus-info-method
19198 @findex gnus-info-set-method
19199 Get/set the group select method.
19201 @item gnus-info-params
19202 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
19203 @findex gnus-info-params
19204 @findex gnus-info-set-params
19205 Get/set the group parameters.
19208 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
19209 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
19211 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
19212 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
19213 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
19214 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
19217 @node Extended Interactive
19218 @subsection Extended Interactive
19219 @cindex interactive
19220 @findex gnus-interactive
19222 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
19223 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
19224 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
19227 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
19228 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
19233 The best thing to do would have been to implement
19234 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
19235 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
19236 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
19237 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
19238 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
19239 @code{interactive}.
19241 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
19246 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
19247 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
19251 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
19252 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
19253 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
19256 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
19260 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
19264 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
19270 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
19271 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
19275 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
19276 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
19277 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
19279 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
19280 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
19281 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
19282 Gnus, that's very useful.
19284 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
19285 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
19286 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
19287 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
19288 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
19289 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
19290 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
19291 following function:
19294 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
19298 (,function ,@@args))
19302 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
19303 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
19304 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
19307 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
19308 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
19309 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
19311 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
19312 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
19313 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
19316 @node Various File Formats
19317 @subsection Various File Formats
19320 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
19321 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
19325 @node Active File Format
19326 @subsubsection Active File Format
19328 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
19329 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
19332 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
19335 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
19336 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
19337 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
19338 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
19339 no.general 1000 900 y
19342 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
19345 active = *group-line
19346 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
19347 group = <non-white-space string>
19349 high-number = <non-negative integer>
19350 low-number = <positive integer>
19351 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
19354 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
19355 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
19358 @node Newsgroups File Format
19359 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
19361 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
19362 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
19363 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
19366 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
19367 Here's the definition:
19371 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
19372 group = <non-white-space string>
19374 description = <string>
19379 @node Emacs for Heathens
19380 @section Emacs for Heathens
19382 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
19383 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
19384 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
19385 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
19386 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
19387 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
19388 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
19392 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
19393 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
19398 @subsection Keystrokes
19402 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
19405 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
19408 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
19409 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
19410 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
19411 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
19412 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
19413 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
19415 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
19416 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
19417 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
19418 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
19419 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
19420 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
19421 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
19423 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
19424 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
19425 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
19426 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
19427 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
19428 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
19429 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
19431 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
19432 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
19433 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
19434 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
19435 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
19441 @subsection Emacs Lisp
19443 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
19444 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
19445 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
19446 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
19448 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
19449 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
19450 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
19451 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
19452 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
19453 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
19454 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
19457 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
19458 write the following:
19461 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
19464 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
19465 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
19466 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
19469 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
19470 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
19471 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
19472 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
19473 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
19475 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
19476 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
19477 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
19481 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
19485 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
19488 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
19489 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
19492 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
19495 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
19496 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
19499 @include gnus-faq.texi