10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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290 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
291 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
294 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
295 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
296 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
297 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
298 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
299 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
300 License'' in the Emacs manual.
302 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
303 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
304 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
306 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
307 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
308 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
309 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
317 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
319 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
320 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
322 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
323 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
324 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
325 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
326 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
327 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
328 License'' in the Emacs manual.
330 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
331 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
332 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
334 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
335 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
336 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
337 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
345 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
348 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
349 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
350 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
352 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
353 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
354 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
355 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
356 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
357 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
358 License'' in the Emacs manual.
360 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
361 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
362 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
364 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
365 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
366 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
367 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
376 @top The Gnus Newsreader
380 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
381 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
382 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
385 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.06.
396 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
397 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
399 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
400 being accused of plagiarism:
402 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
403 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
404 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
405 can even read news with it!
407 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
408 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
409 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
410 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
411 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
417 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
418 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
419 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
420 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
421 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
422 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
423 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
424 * Various:: General purpose settings.
425 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
426 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
427 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
428 * Key Index:: Key Index.
431 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
435 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
436 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
437 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
438 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
439 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
440 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
441 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
442 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
443 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
444 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
445 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
449 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
450 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
451 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
455 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
456 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
457 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
458 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
459 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
460 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
461 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
462 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
463 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
464 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
465 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
466 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
467 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
468 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
469 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
470 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
471 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
475 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
476 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
477 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
481 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
482 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
483 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
484 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
485 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
489 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
490 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
491 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
492 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
493 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
497 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
498 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
499 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
500 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
501 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
503 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
504 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
505 * Threading:: How threads are made.
506 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
507 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
508 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
509 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
510 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
511 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
512 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
513 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
514 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
515 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
516 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
517 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
518 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
519 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
520 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
521 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
522 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
523 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
524 or reselecting the current group.
525 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
526 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
527 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
528 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
530 Summary Buffer Format
532 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
533 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
534 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
535 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
539 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
540 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
542 Reply, Followup and Post
544 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
545 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
546 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
547 * Canceling and Superseding::
551 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
552 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
553 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
555 * Generic Marking Commands::
556 * Setting Process Marks::
560 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
561 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
562 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
566 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
567 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
569 Customizing Threading
571 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
572 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
573 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
574 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
578 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
579 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
580 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
581 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
582 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
583 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
587 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
588 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
589 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
593 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
594 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
595 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
596 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
597 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
598 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
599 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
600 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
601 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
602 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
604 Alternative Approaches
606 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
607 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
609 Various Summary Stuff
611 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
612 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
613 * Summary Generation Commands::
614 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
618 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
619 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
620 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
621 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
622 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
626 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
627 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
628 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
629 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
630 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
631 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
632 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
633 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
637 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
638 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
639 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
640 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
641 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
642 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
643 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
644 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
648 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
649 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
650 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
651 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
652 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
653 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
654 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
658 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
659 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
663 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
664 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
665 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
669 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
670 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
671 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
672 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
673 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
674 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
675 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
676 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
677 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
678 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
679 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
680 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
681 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
685 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
686 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
687 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
689 Choosing a Mail Back End
691 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
692 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
693 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
694 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
695 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
696 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
701 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
702 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
703 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
704 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
705 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
706 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
710 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
711 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
712 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
716 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
717 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
718 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
719 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
720 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
724 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
728 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
729 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
730 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
734 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
735 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
739 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
740 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
741 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
742 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
743 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
744 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
745 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
746 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
747 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
748 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
752 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
753 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
754 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
758 * Group Agent Commands::
759 * Summary Agent Commands::
760 * Server Agent Commands::
764 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
765 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
766 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
767 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
768 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
769 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
770 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
771 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
772 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
773 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
774 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
775 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
776 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
777 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
778 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
779 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
780 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
784 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
785 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
786 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
787 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
791 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
792 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
793 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
797 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
798 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
799 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
800 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
801 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
802 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
803 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
804 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
805 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
806 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
807 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
808 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
809 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
810 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
811 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
812 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
813 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
814 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
815 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
819 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
820 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
821 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
822 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
823 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
824 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
825 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
826 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
830 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
831 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
832 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
833 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
834 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
838 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
839 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
840 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
841 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
842 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
846 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
847 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
848 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
849 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
850 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
851 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
852 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
853 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
854 * Frequently Asked Questions::
858 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
859 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
860 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
861 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
862 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
863 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
864 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
865 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
866 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
870 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
871 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
872 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
873 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
874 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
878 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
879 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
880 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
881 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
885 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
886 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
887 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
888 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
889 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
890 * Group Info:: The group info format.
891 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
892 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
893 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
897 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
898 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
899 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
900 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
901 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
902 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
906 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
907 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
911 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
912 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
918 @chapter Starting Gnus
923 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
924 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
927 @findex gnus-other-frame
928 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
929 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
930 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
932 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
933 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
934 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
936 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
937 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
940 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
941 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
942 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
943 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
944 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
945 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
946 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
947 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
948 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
949 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
950 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
954 @node Finding the News
955 @section Finding the News
958 @vindex gnus-select-method
960 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
961 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
962 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
963 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
966 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
967 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
970 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
973 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
976 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
979 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
980 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
981 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
983 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
985 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
986 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
987 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
988 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
989 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
990 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
992 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
993 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
994 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
995 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
997 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
998 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
999 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1000 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1001 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1002 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1003 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1004 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1005 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1008 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1010 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1011 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1012 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1013 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1014 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1015 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1017 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1019 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1020 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1021 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1022 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1023 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1024 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1027 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1028 you would typically set this variable to
1031 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1035 @node The First Time
1036 @section The First Time
1037 @cindex first time usage
1039 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1040 be subscribed by default.
1042 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1043 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1044 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1045 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1048 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1049 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1050 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1052 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1053 help you with most common problems.
1055 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1056 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1060 @node The Server is Down
1061 @section The Server is Down
1062 @cindex server errors
1064 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1065 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1066 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1068 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1069 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1070 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1071 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1072 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1073 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1074 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1076 @findex gnus-no-server
1077 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1079 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1080 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1081 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1082 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1083 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1084 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1085 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1089 @section Slave Gnusae
1092 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1093 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1094 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1095 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1097 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1098 @code{.newsrc} file.
1100 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1101 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1102 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1103 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1104 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1105 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1106 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1108 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1109 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1110 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1111 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1112 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1113 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1114 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1115 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1117 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1118 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1120 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1121 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1122 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1123 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1124 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1126 @node Fetching a Group
1127 @section Fetching a Group
1128 @cindex fetching a group
1130 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1131 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1132 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1133 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1134 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1135 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1141 @cindex subscription
1143 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1144 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1145 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1146 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1147 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1148 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1149 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1150 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1151 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1154 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1155 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1156 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1160 @node Checking New Groups
1161 @subsection Checking New Groups
1163 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1164 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1165 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1166 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1167 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1168 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1169 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1170 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1171 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1172 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1174 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1175 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1176 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1177 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1178 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1179 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1180 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1181 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1182 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1183 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1184 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1186 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1187 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1188 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1189 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1190 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1191 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1194 @node Subscription Methods
1195 @subsection Subscription Methods
1197 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1198 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1199 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1201 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1202 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1204 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1208 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1209 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1210 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1211 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1212 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1214 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1215 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1216 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1217 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1219 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1220 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1221 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1223 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1224 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1225 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1226 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1227 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1228 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1229 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1230 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1231 up. Or something like that.
1233 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1234 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1235 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1236 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1237 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1239 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1240 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1241 Kill all new groups.
1243 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1244 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1245 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1246 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1247 topic parameter that looks like
1253 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1256 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1261 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1262 A closely related variable is
1263 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1264 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1265 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1266 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1269 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1270 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1271 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1272 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1275 @node Filtering New Groups
1276 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1278 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1279 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1280 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1283 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1286 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1287 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1288 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1289 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1290 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1291 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1292 subscribing these groups.
1293 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1294 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1296 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1297 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1298 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1299 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1300 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1301 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1302 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1303 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1305 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1306 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1307 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1308 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1309 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1310 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1311 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1312 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1313 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1314 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1317 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1318 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1321 @node Changing Servers
1322 @section Changing Servers
1323 @cindex changing servers
1325 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1326 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1327 very flaky and you want to use another.
1329 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1330 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1334 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1335 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1336 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1337 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1340 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1341 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1342 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1343 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1345 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1346 @findex gnus-change-server
1347 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1348 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1349 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1350 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1351 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1353 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1354 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1355 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1356 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1357 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1359 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1360 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1361 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1362 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1363 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1364 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1366 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1367 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1368 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1369 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1371 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1372 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1373 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1374 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1375 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1376 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1377 cache for all groups).
1381 @section Startup Files
1382 @cindex startup files
1387 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1388 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1390 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1391 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1392 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1393 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1394 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1395 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1396 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1398 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1399 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1400 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1401 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1402 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1403 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1405 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1406 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1407 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1408 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1409 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1410 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1411 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1412 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1413 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1414 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1416 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1417 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1418 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1419 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1420 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1421 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1422 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1423 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1424 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1425 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1426 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1427 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1429 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1430 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1431 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1432 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1434 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1435 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1436 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1437 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1438 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1439 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1440 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1441 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1442 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1443 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1446 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1447 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1449 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1450 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1453 @vindex gnus-init-file
1454 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1455 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1456 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1457 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1458 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1459 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1460 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1461 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1462 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1468 @cindex dribble file
1471 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1472 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1473 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1474 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1475 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1478 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1479 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1482 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1483 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1484 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1486 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1487 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1488 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1489 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1490 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1491 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1493 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1494 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1495 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1498 @node The Active File
1499 @section The Active File
1501 @cindex ignored groups
1503 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1504 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1505 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1507 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1508 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1509 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1510 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1511 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1512 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1513 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1516 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1517 @c if you set it to anything else.
1519 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1521 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1522 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1523 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1525 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1526 you actually subscribe to.
1528 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1529 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1530 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1531 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1533 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1534 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1535 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1536 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1537 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1538 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1540 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1541 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1542 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1545 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1546 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1547 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1548 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1549 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1550 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1552 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1553 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1555 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1556 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1558 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1559 secondary select methods.
1562 @node Startup Variables
1563 @section Startup Variables
1567 @item gnus-load-hook
1568 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1569 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1570 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1571 times you start Gnus.
1573 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1574 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1575 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1577 @item gnus-startup-hook
1578 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1579 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1581 @item gnus-started-hook
1582 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1583 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1586 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1587 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1588 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1589 generating the group buffer.
1591 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1592 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1593 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1594 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1595 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1596 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1597 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1598 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1600 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1601 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1602 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1603 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1604 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1605 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1607 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1608 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1609 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1611 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1612 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1613 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1615 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1616 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1617 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1618 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1624 @chapter Group Buffer
1625 @cindex group buffer
1627 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1629 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1630 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1631 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1632 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1633 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1634 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1635 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1636 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1637 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1638 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1639 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1640 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1641 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1642 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1643 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1644 @c human rights at 9...
1647 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1648 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1649 long as Gnus is active.
1653 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1654 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1655 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1656 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1657 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1658 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1659 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1660 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1666 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1667 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1668 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1669 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1670 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1671 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1672 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1673 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1674 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1675 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1676 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1677 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1678 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1679 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1680 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1681 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1682 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1686 @node Group Buffer Format
1687 @section Group Buffer Format
1690 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1691 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1692 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1696 @node Group Line Specification
1697 @subsection Group Line Specification
1698 @cindex group buffer format
1700 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1701 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1703 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1706 25: news.announce.newusers
1707 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1712 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1713 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1714 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1715 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1717 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1718 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1719 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1720 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1721 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1722 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1724 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1726 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1727 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1728 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1729 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1730 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1732 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1733 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1734 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1736 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1741 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1744 Whether the group is subscribed.
1747 Level of subscribedness.
1750 Number of unread articles.
1753 Number of dormant articles.
1756 Number of ticked articles.
1759 Number of read articles.
1762 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1763 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1765 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1766 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1767 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1768 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1769 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1770 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1771 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1772 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1775 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1778 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1787 Newsgroup description.
1790 @samp{m} if moderated.
1793 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1802 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1806 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1809 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1810 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1811 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1812 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1813 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1816 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1818 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1822 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1825 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1829 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1830 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1831 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1832 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1833 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1834 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1839 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1840 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1841 group, or a bogus native group.
1844 @node Group Modeline Specification
1845 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1846 @cindex group modeline
1848 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1849 The mode line can be changed by setting
1850 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1851 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1855 The native news server.
1857 The native select method.
1861 @node Group Highlighting
1862 @subsection Group Highlighting
1863 @cindex highlighting
1864 @cindex group highlighting
1866 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1867 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1868 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1869 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1870 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1872 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1876 (cond (window-system
1877 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1878 (defface my-group-face-1
1879 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1880 (defface my-group-face-2
1881 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1882 (defface my-group-face-3
1883 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1884 (defface my-group-face-4
1885 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1886 (defface my-group-face-5
1887 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1889 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1890 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1891 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1892 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1893 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1894 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1897 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1899 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1906 The number of unread articles in the group.
1910 Whether the group is a mail group.
1912 The level of the group.
1914 The score of the group.
1916 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1918 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1919 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1921 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1922 topic being inserted.
1925 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1926 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1927 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1929 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1930 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1931 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1932 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1933 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1936 @node Group Maneuvering
1937 @section Group Maneuvering
1938 @cindex group movement
1940 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1941 expected, hopefully.
1947 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1948 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1949 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1955 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1956 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1957 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1961 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1962 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1966 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1967 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1971 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1972 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1973 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1977 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1978 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1979 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1982 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1988 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1989 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1990 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1995 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1996 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1997 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2001 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2002 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2003 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2006 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2007 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2008 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2009 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2013 @node Selecting a Group
2014 @section Selecting a Group
2015 @cindex group selection
2020 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2021 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2022 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2023 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2024 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2025 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2026 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2027 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2028 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2029 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2031 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2032 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2033 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2035 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2036 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2041 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2042 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2043 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2044 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2045 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2049 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2050 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2051 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2052 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2053 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2054 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2055 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2056 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2057 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2058 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2061 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2062 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2063 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2064 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2065 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2068 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2069 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2070 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2071 doing any processing of its contents
2072 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2073 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2074 manner will have no permanent effects.
2078 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2079 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2080 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2081 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2082 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2083 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2084 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2085 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2088 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2089 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2090 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2091 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2092 Which article this is is controlled by the
2093 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2099 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2102 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2105 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2107 @item unseen-or-unread
2108 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2109 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2113 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2117 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2118 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2120 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2121 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2122 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2123 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2127 @node Subscription Commands
2128 @section Subscription Commands
2129 @cindex subscription
2137 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2138 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2139 Toggle subscription to the current group
2140 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2146 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2147 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2148 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2149 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2155 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2156 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2157 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2163 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2164 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2167 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2168 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2169 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2170 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2171 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2177 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2178 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2182 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2183 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2186 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2187 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2188 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2189 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2190 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2191 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2192 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2193 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2194 @file{.newsrc} file.
2198 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2208 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2209 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2210 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2211 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2212 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2213 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2218 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2219 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2220 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2224 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2225 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2226 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2228 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2229 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2230 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2231 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2232 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2233 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2240 @section Group Levels
2244 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2245 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2246 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2247 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2248 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2250 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2256 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2257 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2258 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2259 prompted for a level.
2262 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2263 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2264 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2265 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2266 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2267 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2268 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2269 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2270 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2271 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2272 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2273 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2274 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2275 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2276 reasons of efficiency.
2278 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2279 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2281 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2282 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2283 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2284 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2285 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2286 groups are hidden, in a way.
2288 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2289 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2290 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2291 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2292 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2293 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2295 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2296 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2297 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2298 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2299 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2300 list of killed groups.)
2302 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2303 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2304 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2306 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2307 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2308 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2309 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2310 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2311 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2312 relevant valid ranges.
2314 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2315 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2316 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2317 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2318 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2319 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2322 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2323 one with the best level.
2325 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2326 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2327 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2330 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2331 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2332 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2333 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2336 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2337 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2338 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2339 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2341 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2342 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2343 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2344 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2345 to 5. The default is 6.
2349 @section Group Score
2354 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2355 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2356 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2359 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2360 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2361 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2362 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2363 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2364 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2365 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2366 least significant part.))
2368 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2369 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2370 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2371 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2372 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2373 action after each summary exit, you can add
2374 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2375 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2376 slow things down somewhat.
2379 @node Marking Groups
2380 @section Marking Groups
2381 @cindex marking groups
2383 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2384 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2385 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2386 bidding on those groups.
2388 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2389 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2390 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2398 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2399 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2405 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2406 Remove the mark from the current group
2407 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2411 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2412 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2416 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2417 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2421 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2422 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2426 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2427 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2428 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2431 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2433 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2434 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2435 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2436 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2437 the command to be executed.
2440 @node Foreign Groups
2441 @section Foreign Groups
2442 @cindex foreign groups
2444 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2445 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2446 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2447 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2454 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2455 @cindex making groups
2456 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2457 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2458 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2462 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2463 @cindex renaming groups
2464 Rename the current group to something else
2465 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2466 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2472 @findex gnus-group-customize
2473 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2477 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2478 @cindex renaming groups
2479 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2480 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2484 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2485 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2486 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2490 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2491 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2492 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2496 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2498 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2499 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2504 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2505 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2509 @cindex (ding) archive
2510 @cindex archive group
2511 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2512 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2513 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2514 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2515 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2516 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2517 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2521 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2523 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2524 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2525 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2526 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2530 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2532 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2533 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2534 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2538 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2539 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2541 Make a group based on some file or other
2542 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2543 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2544 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2545 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2546 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2547 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2548 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2549 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2550 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2554 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2555 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2556 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2557 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2561 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2566 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2567 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2568 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2569 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2570 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2571 @xref{Web Searches}.
2573 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2574 to a particular group by using a match string like
2575 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2578 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2579 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2580 This function will delete the current group
2581 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2582 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2583 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2584 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2585 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2589 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2590 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2591 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2595 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2596 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2597 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2600 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2603 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2604 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2605 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2606 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2607 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2608 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2612 @node Group Parameters
2613 @section Group Parameters
2614 @cindex group parameters
2616 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2617 Here's an example group parameter list:
2620 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2624 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2625 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2626 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2627 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2629 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2630 is an alist of regexps and values.
2632 The following group parameters can be used:
2637 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2640 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2643 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2644 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2645 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2646 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2647 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2649 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2650 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2651 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2652 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2653 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2654 list address instead.
2656 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2660 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2663 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2666 It is totally ignored
2667 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2668 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2670 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2671 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2672 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2673 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2674 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2676 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2677 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2678 sending the message.
2680 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2681 @cindex Mail List Groups
2682 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2683 entering summary buffer.
2685 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2690 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2691 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2692 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2693 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2694 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2695 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2697 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2698 directly uses this group parameter.
2702 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2703 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2704 of whether it has any unread articles.
2706 @item broken-reply-to
2707 @cindex broken-reply-to
2708 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2709 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2710 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2711 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2712 broken behavior. So there!
2716 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2717 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2721 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2722 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2723 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2728 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2729 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2730 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2731 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2732 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2733 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2734 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2735 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2736 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept artciles.
2740 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2741 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2742 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2744 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2747 @cindex total-expire
2748 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2749 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2750 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2751 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2754 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2758 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2759 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2760 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2761 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2762 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2763 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2766 @cindex score file group parameter
2767 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2768 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2769 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2772 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2773 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2774 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2775 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2778 @cindex admin-address
2779 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2780 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2781 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2782 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2786 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2787 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2791 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2794 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2795 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2798 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2802 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2804 Here are some examples:
2808 Display only unread articles.
2811 Display everything except expirable articles.
2813 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2814 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2818 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2819 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2820 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2821 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2822 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2826 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2827 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2828 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2832 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2833 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2834 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2839 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2840 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2841 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2843 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2845 @item ignored-charsets
2846 @cindex ignored-charset
2847 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2848 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2849 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2851 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2854 @cindex posting-style
2855 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2856 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2857 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2858 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2859 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2861 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2862 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2863 like this in the group parameters:
2868 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2873 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2874 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2878 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2879 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2880 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2881 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2882 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2886 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2887 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2888 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2889 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2891 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2892 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2893 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2894 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2897 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2898 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2902 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2905 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2906 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2907 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2908 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2909 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2910 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2911 @code{eval}ed there.
2913 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2914 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2915 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2916 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2917 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2918 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2919 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2920 parameters for the group.
2923 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2924 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2925 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2926 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2927 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2931 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2932 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2933 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2934 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2935 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2937 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2938 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2942 (setq gnus-parameters
2944 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2945 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2946 (gnus-summary-line-format
2947 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2951 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2955 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2959 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2962 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2963 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2966 @node Listing Groups
2967 @section Listing Groups
2968 @cindex group listing
2970 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2978 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2979 List all groups that have unread articles
2980 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2981 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2982 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2983 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2990 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2991 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2992 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2993 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2994 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2995 unsubscribed groups).
2999 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3000 List all unread groups on a specific level
3001 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3002 with no unread articles.
3006 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3007 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3008 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3009 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3014 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3015 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3019 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3020 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3021 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3025 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3026 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3030 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3031 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3032 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3033 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3034 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3035 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3036 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3037 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3041 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3042 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3043 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3047 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3048 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3049 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3053 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3054 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3058 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3059 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3063 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3064 List groups limited within the current selection
3065 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3069 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3070 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3074 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3075 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3079 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3080 @cindex visible group parameter
3081 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3082 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3083 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3084 get the same effect.
3086 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3087 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3088 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3089 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3090 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3093 @node Sorting Groups
3094 @section Sorting Groups
3095 @cindex sorting groups
3097 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3098 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3099 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3100 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3101 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3102 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3107 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3108 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3109 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3111 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3112 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3113 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3115 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3116 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3117 Sort by group level.
3119 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3120 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3121 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3123 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3124 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3125 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3126 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3128 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3129 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3130 Sort by number of unread articles.
3132 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3133 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3134 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3136 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3137 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3138 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3143 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3144 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3148 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3149 some sorting criteria:
3153 @kindex G S a (Group)
3154 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3155 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3156 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3159 @kindex G S u (Group)
3160 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3161 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3162 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3165 @kindex G S l (Group)
3166 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3167 Sort the group buffer by group level
3168 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3171 @kindex G S v (Group)
3172 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3173 Sort the group buffer by group score
3174 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3177 @kindex G S r (Group)
3178 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3179 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3180 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3183 @kindex G S m (Group)
3184 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3185 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3186 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3190 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3191 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3193 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3194 commands will sort in reverse order.
3196 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3200 @kindex G P a (Group)
3201 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3202 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3203 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3206 @kindex G P u (Group)
3207 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3208 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3209 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3212 @kindex G P l (Group)
3213 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3214 Sort the groups by group level
3215 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3218 @kindex G P v (Group)
3219 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3220 Sort the groups by group score
3221 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3224 @kindex G P r (Group)
3225 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3226 Sort the groups by group rank
3227 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3230 @kindex G P m (Group)
3231 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3232 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3233 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3236 @kindex G P s (Group)
3237 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3238 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3242 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3246 @node Group Maintenance
3247 @section Group Maintenance
3248 @cindex bogus groups
3253 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3254 Find bogus groups and delete them
3255 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3259 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3260 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3261 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3262 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3263 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3267 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3268 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3269 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3270 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3271 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3272 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3275 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3276 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3277 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3278 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3283 @node Browse Foreign Server
3284 @section Browse Foreign Server
3285 @cindex foreign servers
3286 @cindex browsing servers
3291 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3292 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3293 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3294 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3297 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3298 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3299 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3300 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3302 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3307 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3308 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3312 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3313 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3316 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3317 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3318 Enter the current group and display the first article
3319 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3322 @kindex RET (Browse)
3323 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3324 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3328 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3329 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3330 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3336 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3337 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3341 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3342 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3343 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3348 @section Exiting Gnus
3349 @cindex exiting Gnus
3351 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3356 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3357 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3358 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3359 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3363 @findex gnus-group-exit
3364 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3365 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3369 @findex gnus-group-quit
3370 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3371 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3374 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3375 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3376 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3377 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3378 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3383 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3384 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3385 trying to customize meta-variables.
3390 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3391 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3392 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3398 @section Group Topics
3401 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3402 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3403 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3404 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3405 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3406 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3410 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3411 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3422 2: alt.religion.emacs
3425 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3427 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3428 13: comp.sources.unix
3431 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3433 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3434 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3435 is a toggling command.)
3437 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3438 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3439 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3440 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3443 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3444 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3445 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3448 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3452 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3453 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3454 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3455 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3456 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3460 @node Topic Commands
3461 @subsection Topic Commands
3462 @cindex topic commands
3464 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3465 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3466 definitions slightly.
3468 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3469 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3470 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3471 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3472 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3473 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3475 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3482 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3483 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3484 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3488 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3490 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3491 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3492 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3493 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3496 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3497 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3498 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3499 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3503 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3504 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3505 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3506 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3512 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3513 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3514 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3518 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3519 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3520 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3523 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3524 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3525 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3526 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3527 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3529 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3530 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3534 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3535 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3542 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3544 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3545 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3546 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3547 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3548 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3549 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3553 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3559 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3560 Move the current group to some other topic
3561 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3562 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3566 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3567 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3571 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3572 Copy the current group to some other topic
3573 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3574 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3578 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3579 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3580 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3584 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3585 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3586 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3590 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3591 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3592 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3593 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3594 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3595 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3596 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3599 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3600 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3604 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3605 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3606 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3610 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3611 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3612 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3616 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3617 Toggle hiding empty topics
3618 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3622 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3623 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3624 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3627 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3628 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3629 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3630 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3633 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3634 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3635 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3636 expiry process (if any)
3637 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3641 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3642 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3645 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3646 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3647 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3651 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3652 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3653 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3656 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3657 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3658 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3661 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3662 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3663 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3667 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3668 @cindex group parameters
3669 @cindex topic parameters
3671 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3672 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3677 @node Topic Variables
3678 @subsection Topic Variables
3679 @cindex topic variables
3681 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3682 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3684 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3685 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3686 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3699 Number of groups in the topic.
3701 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3703 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3706 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3707 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3708 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3711 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3712 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3714 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3715 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3716 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3720 @subsection Topic Sorting
3721 @cindex topic sorting
3723 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3729 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3730 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3731 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3732 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3735 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3736 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3737 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3738 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3741 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3742 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3743 Sort the current topic by group level
3744 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3747 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3748 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3749 Sort the current topic by group score
3750 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3753 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3754 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3755 Sort the current topic by group rank
3756 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3759 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3760 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3761 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3762 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3765 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3766 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3767 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3768 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3772 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3773 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3774 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3775 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3779 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3780 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3784 @node Topic Topology
3785 @subsection Topic Topology
3786 @cindex topic topology
3789 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3795 2: alt.religion.emacs
3798 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3800 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3801 13: comp.sources.unix
3804 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3805 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3806 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3811 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3812 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3816 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3817 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3818 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3819 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3820 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3821 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3823 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3824 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3825 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3828 @node Topic Parameters
3829 @subsection Topic Parameters
3830 @cindex topic parameters
3832 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3833 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3834 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3836 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3841 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3842 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3843 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3846 @item subscribe-level
3847 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3848 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3849 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3853 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3854 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3855 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3856 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3862 2: alt.religion.emacs
3866 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3868 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3869 13: comp.sources.unix
3873 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3874 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3875 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3876 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3877 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3878 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3880 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3881 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3882 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3883 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3884 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3886 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3887 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3888 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3889 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3890 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3891 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3892 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3893 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3896 @node Misc Group Stuff
3897 @section Misc Group Stuff
3900 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3901 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3902 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3903 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3904 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3911 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3912 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3913 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3917 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3918 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3919 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3920 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3921 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3922 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3923 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3927 @findex gnus-group-mail
3928 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3929 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3930 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3931 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3935 @findex gnus-group-news
3936 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3937 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3938 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3940 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3941 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3942 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3943 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3944 for this to work though.
3948 Variables for the group buffer:
3952 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3953 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3954 is called after the group buffer has been
3957 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3958 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3959 is called after the group buffer is
3960 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3963 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3964 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3965 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3966 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3968 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3969 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3970 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3971 whether they are empty or not.
3973 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3974 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3975 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3976 non-ASCII group names.
3980 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3981 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3984 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3985 @cindex UTF-8 group names
3986 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3987 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
3988 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
3989 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
3993 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3994 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3999 @node Scanning New Messages
4000 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4001 @cindex new messages
4002 @cindex scanning new news
4008 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4009 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4010 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4011 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4012 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4013 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4018 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4019 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4020 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4021 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4022 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4023 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4024 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4026 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4027 @cindex activating groups
4029 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4030 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4035 @findex gnus-group-restart
4036 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4037 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4038 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4042 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4043 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4045 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4046 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4050 @node Group Information
4051 @subsection Group Information
4052 @cindex group information
4053 @cindex information on groups
4060 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4061 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4064 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4065 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4066 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4067 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4068 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4069 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4070 for fetching the file.
4072 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4073 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4077 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4079 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4080 @cindex describing groups
4081 @cindex group description
4082 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4083 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4084 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4088 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4089 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4090 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4097 @findex gnus-version
4098 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4102 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4103 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4106 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4109 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4110 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4114 @node Group Timestamp
4115 @subsection Group Timestamp
4117 @cindex group timestamps
4119 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4120 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4121 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4124 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4127 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4129 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4130 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4133 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4134 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4137 This will result in lines looking like:
4140 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4141 0: custom 19961002T012713
4144 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4145 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4149 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4150 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4153 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4154 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4158 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4159 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4160 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4161 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4163 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4169 @subsection File Commands
4170 @cindex file commands
4176 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4177 @vindex gnus-init-file
4178 @cindex reading init file
4179 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4180 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4184 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4185 @cindex saving .newsrc
4186 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4187 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4188 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4191 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4192 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4193 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4198 @node Sieve Commands
4199 @subsection Sieve Commands
4200 @cindex group sieve commands
4202 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4203 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4204 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4205 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4206 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4208 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4209 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4210 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4211 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4212 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4213 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4214 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4215 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4216 regenerate the Sieve script.
4218 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4219 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4220 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4221 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4222 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4223 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4224 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4225 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4226 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4227 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4230 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4231 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4236 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4242 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4243 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4244 @cindex generating sieve script
4245 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4246 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4250 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4251 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4252 @cindex updating sieve script
4253 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4254 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4255 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4260 @node Summary Buffer
4261 @chapter Summary Buffer
4262 @cindex summary buffer
4264 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4265 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4267 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4268 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4270 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4273 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4274 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4275 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4276 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4277 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4278 * Delayed Articles::
4279 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4280 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4281 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4282 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4283 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4284 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4285 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4286 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4287 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4288 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4289 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4290 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4291 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4292 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4293 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4294 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4295 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4296 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4297 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4298 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4299 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4300 or reselecting the current group.
4301 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4302 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4303 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4304 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4308 @node Summary Buffer Format
4309 @section Summary Buffer Format
4310 @cindex summary buffer format
4314 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4315 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4316 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4322 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4323 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4324 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4325 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4328 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4329 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4330 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4331 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4332 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4333 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4334 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4335 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4336 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4337 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4338 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4341 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4342 'mail-extract-address-components)
4345 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4346 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4347 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4348 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4351 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4352 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4354 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4355 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4356 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4357 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4358 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4360 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4361 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4362 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4363 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4364 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4365 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4367 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4369 The following format specification characters and extended format
4370 specification(s) are understood:
4376 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4377 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4379 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4380 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4381 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4383 Full @code{From} header.
4385 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4387 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4388 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4390 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4391 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4392 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4393 may be more thorough.
4395 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4398 Number of lines in the article.
4400 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4401 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4403 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4405 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4408 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4409 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4411 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4412 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4414 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4415 for adopted articles.
4417 One space for each thread level.
4419 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4421 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4424 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4425 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4426 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4429 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4431 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4432 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4433 default level. If the difference between
4434 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4435 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4443 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4445 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4451 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4452 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4454 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4455 article has any children.
4461 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4462 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4464 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4465 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4466 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4467 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4468 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4469 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4472 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4473 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4474 There can only be one such area.
4476 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4477 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4478 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4479 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4480 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4481 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4483 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4484 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4486 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4489 @node To From Newsgroups
4490 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4494 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4495 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4496 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4497 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4498 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4502 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4503 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4504 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4508 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4509 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4512 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4513 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4516 @findex gnus-extra-header
4517 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4518 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4519 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4522 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4526 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4527 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4528 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4529 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4530 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4531 headers are used instead.
4535 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4536 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4537 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4538 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4541 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4542 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4543 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4544 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4546 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4550 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4552 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4553 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4554 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4555 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4559 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4562 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4563 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4570 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4571 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4574 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4575 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4577 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4578 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4579 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4580 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4582 Here are the elements you can play with:
4588 Unprefixed group name.
4590 Current article number.
4592 Current article score.
4596 Number of unread articles in this group.
4598 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4601 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4602 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4603 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4604 and no unselected ones.
4606 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4607 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4609 Subject of the current article.
4611 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4613 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4615 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4617 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4619 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4621 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4625 @node Summary Highlighting
4626 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4630 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4631 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4632 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4633 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4634 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4636 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4637 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4638 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4639 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4641 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4642 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4643 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4644 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4646 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4647 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4648 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4649 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4650 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4651 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4654 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4655 ((> score default) . bold))
4657 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4658 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4662 @node Summary Maneuvering
4663 @section Summary Maneuvering
4664 @cindex summary movement
4666 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4667 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4669 None of these commands select articles.
4674 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4675 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4676 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4677 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4678 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4682 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4683 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4684 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4685 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4686 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4689 @kindex G g (Summary)
4690 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4691 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4692 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4695 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4696 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4697 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4698 to the group buffer.
4700 Variables related to summary movement:
4704 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4705 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4706 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4707 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4708 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4709 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4710 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4711 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4712 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4713 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4714 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4715 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4716 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4717 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4719 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4720 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4721 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4722 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4723 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4724 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4725 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4727 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4729 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4730 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4731 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4732 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4733 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4735 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4736 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4737 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4738 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4739 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4740 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4741 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4742 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4745 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4746 the given number of lines from the top.
4751 @node Choosing Articles
4752 @section Choosing Articles
4753 @cindex selecting articles
4756 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4757 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4761 @node Choosing Commands
4762 @subsection Choosing Commands
4764 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4765 and they all select and display an article.
4767 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4768 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4772 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4773 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4774 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4775 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4780 @kindex G n (Summary)
4781 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4782 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4783 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4788 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4789 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4790 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4795 @kindex G N (Summary)
4796 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4797 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4802 @kindex G P (Summary)
4803 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4804 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4807 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4808 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4809 Go to the next article with the same subject
4810 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4813 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4814 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4815 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4816 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4820 @kindex G f (Summary)
4822 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4823 Go to the first unread article
4824 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4828 @kindex G b (Summary)
4830 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4831 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4832 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4833 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4838 @kindex G l (Summary)
4839 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4840 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4843 @kindex G o (Summary)
4844 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4846 @cindex article history
4847 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4848 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4849 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4850 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4851 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4852 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4857 @kindex G j (Summary)
4858 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4859 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4860 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4865 @node Choosing Variables
4866 @subsection Choosing Variables
4868 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4871 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4872 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4873 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4874 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4875 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4876 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4878 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4879 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4880 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4881 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4883 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4884 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4885 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4886 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4887 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4888 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4889 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4890 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4891 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4892 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4893 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4894 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4895 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4896 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4901 @node Paging the Article
4902 @section Scrolling the Article
4903 @cindex article scrolling
4908 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4909 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4910 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4911 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4912 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4915 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4916 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4917 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4920 @kindex RET (Summary)
4921 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4922 Scroll the current article one line forward
4923 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4926 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4927 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4928 Scroll the current article one line backward
4929 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4933 @kindex A g (Summary)
4935 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4936 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4937 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4938 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4939 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4940 the way it came from the server.
4942 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4943 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4944 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4947 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4952 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4957 @kindex A < (Summary)
4958 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4959 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4960 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4965 @kindex A > (Summary)
4966 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4967 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4971 @kindex A s (Summary)
4973 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4974 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4975 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4979 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4980 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4985 @node Reply Followup and Post
4986 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4989 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4990 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4991 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4992 * Canceling and Superseding::
4996 @node Summary Mail Commands
4997 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4999 @cindex composing mail
5001 Commands for composing a mail message:
5007 @kindex S r (Summary)
5009 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5010 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5011 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5012 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5013 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5018 @kindex S R (Summary)
5019 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5020 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5021 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5022 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5023 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5026 @kindex S w (Summary)
5027 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5028 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5029 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5030 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5031 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5034 @kindex S V (Summary)
5035 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5036 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5037 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5038 the process/prefix convention.
5041 @kindex S v (Summary)
5042 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5043 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5044 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5045 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5046 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5047 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5051 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5052 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5053 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5054 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5055 Forward the current article to some other person
5056 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5057 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5058 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5059 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5060 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5061 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5062 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5063 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5064 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5070 @kindex S m (Summary)
5071 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5072 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5073 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5074 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5075 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5080 @kindex S i (Summary)
5081 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5082 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5083 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5084 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5086 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5087 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5088 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5089 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5090 for this to work though.
5093 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5094 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5095 @cindex bouncing mail
5096 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5097 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5098 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5099 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5100 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5101 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5102 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5103 very well fail, though.
5106 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5107 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5108 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5109 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5110 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5111 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5112 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5113 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5114 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5115 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5117 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5118 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5119 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5120 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5121 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5123 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5124 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5127 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5128 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5129 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5130 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5131 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5134 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5135 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5136 @cindex crossposting
5137 @cindex excessive crossposting
5138 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5139 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5141 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5142 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5143 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5144 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5145 command understands the process/prefix convention
5146 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5150 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5151 Manual}, for more information.
5154 @node Summary Post Commands
5155 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5157 @cindex composing news
5159 Commands for posting a news article:
5165 @kindex S p (Summary)
5166 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5167 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5168 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5169 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5170 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5175 @kindex S f (Summary)
5176 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5177 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5178 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5182 @kindex S F (Summary)
5184 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5185 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5186 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5187 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5188 process/prefix convention.
5191 @kindex S n (Summary)
5192 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5193 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5194 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5197 @kindex S N (Summary)
5198 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5199 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5200 message through mail and include the original message
5201 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5202 the process/prefix convention.
5205 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5206 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5207 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5208 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5209 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5210 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5211 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5212 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5213 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5214 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5215 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5216 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5217 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5220 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5221 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5223 @cindex making digests
5224 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5225 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5226 process/prefix convention.
5229 @kindex S u (Summary)
5230 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5231 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5232 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5233 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5236 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5237 Manual}, for more information.
5240 @node Summary Message Commands
5241 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5245 @kindex S y (Summary)
5246 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5247 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5248 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5249 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5250 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5255 @node Canceling and Superseding
5256 @subsection Canceling Articles
5257 @cindex canceling articles
5258 @cindex superseding articles
5260 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5261 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5263 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5265 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5267 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5268 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5269 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5270 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5271 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5272 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5274 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5275 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5278 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5279 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5280 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5282 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5283 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5284 your original article.
5286 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5288 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5289 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5290 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5293 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5294 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5295 have posted almost the same article twice.
5297 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5298 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5299 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5300 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5301 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5302 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5303 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5304 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5305 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5306 canceled/superseded.
5308 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5310 @node Delayed Articles
5311 @section Delayed Articles
5312 @cindex delayed sending
5313 @cindex send delayed
5315 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5316 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5317 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5318 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5321 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5324 @findex gnus-delay-article
5325 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5326 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5327 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5328 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5332 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5333 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5334 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5335 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5338 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5339 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5340 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5343 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5344 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5345 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5346 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5347 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5348 that means a time tomorrow.
5351 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5352 couple of variables:
5355 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5356 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5357 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5358 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5360 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5361 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5362 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5363 formats described above.
5365 @item gnus-delay-group
5366 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5367 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5368 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5369 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5371 @item gnus-delay-header
5372 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5373 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5374 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5375 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5378 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5379 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5380 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5381 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5382 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5384 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5385 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5386 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5387 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5388 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5389 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5392 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5393 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5394 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5395 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5396 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5397 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5398 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5399 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5401 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5402 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5403 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5404 forget to set that up :-)
5408 @node Marking Articles
5409 @section Marking Articles
5410 @cindex article marking
5411 @cindex article ticking
5414 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5416 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5417 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5418 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5420 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5423 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5424 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5425 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5429 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5433 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5434 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5435 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5439 @node Unread Articles
5440 @subsection Unread Articles
5442 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5447 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5448 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5450 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5451 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5452 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5453 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5454 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5455 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5456 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5459 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5460 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5462 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5463 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5464 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5465 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5469 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5470 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5472 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5477 @subsection Read Articles
5478 @cindex expirable mark
5480 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5485 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5486 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5487 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5490 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5491 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5494 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5495 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5496 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5499 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5500 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5503 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5504 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5507 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5508 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5511 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5512 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5515 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5516 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5519 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5520 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5523 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5524 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5528 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5529 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5530 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5534 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5535 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5537 One more special mark, though:
5541 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5542 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5544 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5545 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5546 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5547 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5553 @subsection Other Marks
5554 @cindex process mark
5557 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5563 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5564 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5565 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5566 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5567 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5570 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5571 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5572 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5573 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5576 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5577 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5578 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5581 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5582 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5583 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5586 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5587 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5588 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5589 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5592 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5593 Articles that according to the back end haven't been seen by the user
5594 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5595 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all back ends support this
5596 mark, in which case it simply never appears.
5599 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5600 Articles that haven't been seen by the user before are marked with a
5601 @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5604 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5605 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5606 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5607 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5608 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5611 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5612 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5613 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5614 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5615 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5616 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5620 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5621 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5622 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5624 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5625 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5626 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5630 @subsection Setting Marks
5631 @cindex setting marks
5633 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5638 @kindex M c (Summary)
5639 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5640 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5641 @cindex mark as unread
5642 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5643 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5649 @kindex M t (Summary)
5650 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5651 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5652 @xref{Article Caching}.
5657 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5658 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5659 Mark the current article as dormant
5660 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5664 @kindex M d (Summary)
5666 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5667 Mark the current article as read
5668 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5672 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5673 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5674 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5679 @kindex M k (Summary)
5680 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5681 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5682 and then select the next unread article
5683 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5687 @kindex M K (Summary)
5688 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5689 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5690 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5691 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5694 @kindex M C (Summary)
5695 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5696 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5697 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5700 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5701 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5702 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5703 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5706 @kindex M H (Summary)
5707 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5708 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5709 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5712 @kindex M h (Summary)
5713 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5714 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5715 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5718 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5719 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5720 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5721 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5724 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5725 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5726 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5727 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5731 @kindex M e (Summary)
5733 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5734 Mark the current article as expirable
5735 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5738 @kindex M b (Summary)
5739 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5740 Set a bookmark in the current article
5741 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5744 @kindex M B (Summary)
5745 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5746 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5747 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5750 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5751 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5752 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5753 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5756 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5757 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5758 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5759 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5762 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5763 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5764 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5765 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5766 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5769 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5770 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5771 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5772 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5773 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5774 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5775 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5776 The default is @code{t}.
5779 @node Generic Marking Commands
5780 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5782 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5783 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5784 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5785 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5786 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5789 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5790 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5793 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5794 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5795 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5796 to list in this manual.
5798 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5799 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5800 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5801 article, you could say something like:
5804 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5805 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5806 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5812 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5813 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5817 @node Setting Process Marks
5818 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5819 @cindex setting process marks
5826 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5827 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5828 Mark the current article with the process mark
5829 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5830 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5834 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5835 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5836 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5837 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5840 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5841 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5842 Remove the process mark from all articles
5843 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5846 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5847 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5848 Invert the list of process marked articles
5849 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5852 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5853 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5854 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5855 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5858 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5859 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5860 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5861 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5864 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5865 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5866 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5869 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5870 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5871 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5872 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5875 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5876 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5877 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5878 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5881 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5882 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5883 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5884 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5887 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5888 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5889 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5892 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5893 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5894 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5895 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5898 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5899 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5900 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5903 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5904 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5905 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5906 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5909 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5910 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5911 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5912 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5915 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5916 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5917 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5918 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5921 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5922 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5923 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5924 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5928 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5929 set process marks based on article body contents.
5936 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5937 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5938 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5941 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5942 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5943 additional articles.
5949 @kindex / / (Summary)
5950 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5951 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5952 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
5956 @kindex / a (Summary)
5957 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5958 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5959 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
5963 @kindex / x (Summary)
5964 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5965 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5966 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5967 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
5972 @kindex / u (Summary)
5974 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5975 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5976 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5977 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5978 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5981 @kindex / m (Summary)
5982 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5983 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5984 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5987 @kindex / t (Summary)
5988 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5989 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5990 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5991 articles younger than that number of days.
5994 @kindex / n (Summary)
5995 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5996 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5997 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5998 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6001 @kindex / w (Summary)
6002 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6003 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6004 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6008 @kindex / v (Summary)
6009 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6010 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6011 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6014 @kindex / p (Summary)
6015 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6016 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6017 group parameter predicate
6018 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6019 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6023 @kindex M S (Summary)
6024 @kindex / E (Summary)
6025 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6026 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6027 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6030 @kindex / D (Summary)
6031 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6032 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6033 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6036 @kindex / * (Summary)
6037 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6038 Include all cached articles in the limit
6039 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6042 @kindex / d (Summary)
6043 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6044 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6045 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6048 @kindex / M (Summary)
6049 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6050 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6053 @kindex / T (Summary)
6054 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6055 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6058 @kindex / c (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6060 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6061 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6064 @kindex / C (Summary)
6065 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6066 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6067 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6068 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6071 @kindex / N (Summary)
6072 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6073 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6074 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6077 @kindex / o (Summary)
6078 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6079 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6080 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6088 @cindex article threading
6090 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6091 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6092 hierarchical fashion.
6094 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6095 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6096 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6097 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6098 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6099 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6100 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6102 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6106 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6109 A tree-like article structure.
6112 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6115 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6116 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6117 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6118 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6119 called loose threads.
6121 @item thread gathering
6122 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6124 @item sparse threads
6125 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6126 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6132 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6133 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6137 @node Customizing Threading
6138 @subsection Customizing Threading
6139 @cindex customizing threading
6142 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6143 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6144 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6145 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6150 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6153 @cindex loose threads
6156 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6157 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6158 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6159 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6160 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6161 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6163 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6164 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6165 There are four possible values:
6169 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6170 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6171 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6172 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6173 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6178 @cindex adopting articles
6183 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6184 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6185 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6186 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6189 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6190 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6191 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6192 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6193 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6194 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6195 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6198 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6199 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6200 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6204 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6205 display them after one another.
6208 Don't gather loose threads.
6211 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6212 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6213 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6214 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6215 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6216 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6217 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6218 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6219 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6220 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6221 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6223 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6224 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6225 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6228 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6229 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6230 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6231 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6232 simplification is used.
6234 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6235 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6236 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6237 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6239 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6241 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6247 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6248 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6249 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6250 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6255 (mapconcat 'identity
6256 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6258 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6261 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6264 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6265 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6266 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6267 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6268 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6269 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6271 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6274 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6275 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6276 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6278 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6279 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6282 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6283 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6284 Remove excessive whitespace.
6287 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6290 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6291 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6292 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6293 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6294 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6295 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6296 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6297 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6299 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6300 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6301 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6302 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6303 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6304 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6305 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6306 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6307 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6311 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6312 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6313 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6314 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6316 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6317 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6318 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6321 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6325 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6326 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6332 @node Filling In Threads
6333 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6336 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6337 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6338 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6339 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6340 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6341 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6342 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6343 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6344 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6345 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6346 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6347 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6350 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6351 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6352 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6354 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6355 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6356 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6357 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6358 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6359 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6360 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6361 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6362 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6363 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6364 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6365 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6366 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6367 @code{nil} by default.
6369 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6370 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6371 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6372 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6373 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6374 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6375 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6377 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6378 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6379 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6384 @node More Threading
6385 @subsubsection More Threading
6388 @item gnus-show-threads
6389 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6390 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6391 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6392 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6393 slower and more awkward.
6395 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6396 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6397 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6400 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6401 Avaliable predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6402 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6407 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6408 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6409 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6412 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6413 unread, but you get my drift.)
6416 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6417 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6418 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6419 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6420 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6421 threads are expunged.
6423 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6424 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6425 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6428 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6429 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6430 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6431 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6432 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6433 result in a new thread.
6435 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6436 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6437 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6440 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6441 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6442 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6443 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6444 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6445 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6446 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6447 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6448 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6449 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6450 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6455 @node Low-Level Threading
6456 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6460 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6461 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6462 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6464 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6465 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6466 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6467 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6468 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6469 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6470 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6471 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6472 meaningful. Here's one example:
6475 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6477 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6478 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6480 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6482 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6489 @node Thread Commands
6490 @subsection Thread Commands
6491 @cindex thread commands
6497 @kindex T k (Summary)
6498 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6499 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6500 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6501 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6502 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6507 @kindex T l (Summary)
6508 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6509 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6510 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6511 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6514 @kindex T i (Summary)
6515 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6516 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6517 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6520 @kindex T # (Summary)
6521 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6522 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6523 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6526 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6527 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6528 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6529 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6532 @kindex T T (Summary)
6533 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6534 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6537 @kindex T s (Summary)
6538 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6539 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6540 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6543 @kindex T h (Summary)
6544 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6545 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6548 @kindex T S (Summary)
6549 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6550 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6553 @kindex T H (Summary)
6554 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6555 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6558 @kindex T t (Summary)
6559 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6560 Re-thread the current article's thread
6561 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6562 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6565 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6566 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6567 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6568 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6572 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6573 understand the numeric prefix.
6578 @kindex T n (Summary)
6580 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6582 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6583 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6584 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6587 @kindex T p (Summary)
6589 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6591 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6592 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6593 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6596 @kindex T d (Summary)
6597 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6598 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6601 @kindex T u (Summary)
6602 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6603 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6606 @kindex T o (Summary)
6607 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6608 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6611 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6612 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6613 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6614 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6615 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6616 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6617 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6618 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6619 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6620 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6621 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6622 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6626 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6627 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6629 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6630 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6631 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6632 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6633 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6634 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6635 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6636 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6637 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6638 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6639 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6640 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6642 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6643 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6644 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6645 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6646 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6647 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date} and
6648 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6650 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6651 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6652 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6654 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6655 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6656 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6657 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6658 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6659 ascending article order.
6661 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6662 by number, you could do something like:
6665 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6666 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6667 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6668 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6671 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6672 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6673 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6674 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6675 which the articles arrived.
6677 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6681 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6683 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6684 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6687 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6688 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6689 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6690 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6693 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6694 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6695 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6696 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6697 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6698 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6699 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6700 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6701 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6702 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6703 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6704 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6705 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6707 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6711 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6712 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6713 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6718 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6719 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6720 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6721 @cindex article pre-fetch
6724 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6725 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6726 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6727 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6728 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6730 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6731 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6733 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6734 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6735 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6736 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6737 connection is blocked.
6739 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6740 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6741 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6742 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6744 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6745 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6746 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6747 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6750 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6753 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6754 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6755 happen automatically.
6757 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6758 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6759 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6760 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6761 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6762 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6763 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6765 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6766 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6767 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6768 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6769 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6770 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6771 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6772 data structure as the only parameter.
6774 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6777 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6778 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6779 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6780 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6783 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6786 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6787 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6788 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6790 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6791 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6792 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6793 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6797 Remove articles when they are read.
6800 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6803 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6805 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6806 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6807 @c from the next group.
6810 @node Article Caching
6811 @section Article Caching
6812 @cindex article caching
6815 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6816 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6817 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6818 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6819 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6821 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6823 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6824 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6825 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6826 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6827 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6828 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6829 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6830 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6832 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6833 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6834 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6835 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6836 as dormant, and don't worry.
6838 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6840 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6841 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6842 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6843 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6844 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6845 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6846 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6847 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6848 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6849 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6851 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6852 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6853 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6854 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6855 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6856 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6857 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6858 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6859 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6860 not then be downloaded by this command.
6862 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6863 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6864 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6865 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6866 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6867 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6869 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6870 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6871 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6872 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6873 variables, the group is not cached.
6875 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6876 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6877 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6878 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6879 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6880 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6881 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6882 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6883 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6886 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
6887 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
6888 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
6889 where, isn't that cool?
6891 @node Persistent Articles
6892 @section Persistent Articles
6893 @cindex persistent articles
6895 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6896 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6897 useful in my opinion.
6899 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6900 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6901 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6902 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6903 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6904 the expiry going on at the news server.
6906 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6907 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6908 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6914 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6915 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6918 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6919 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6920 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6921 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6925 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6927 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6928 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6929 interested in persistent articles:
6932 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6936 @node Article Backlog
6937 @section Article Backlog
6939 @cindex article backlog
6941 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6942 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6943 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6944 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6945 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6946 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6947 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6948 increase memory usage some.
6950 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6951 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6952 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6953 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6954 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6955 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6956 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6958 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6961 @node Saving Articles
6962 @section Saving Articles
6963 @cindex saving articles
6965 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6966 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6967 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6968 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6969 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6971 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
6972 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
6973 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
6975 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6976 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6977 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6979 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6980 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6981 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6982 deleted before saving.
6988 @kindex O o (Summary)
6990 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6991 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6992 Save the current article using the default article saver
6993 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6996 @kindex O m (Summary)
6997 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6998 Save the current article in mail format
6999 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7002 @kindex O r (Summary)
7003 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7004 Save the current article in rmail format
7005 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7008 @kindex O f (Summary)
7009 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7010 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7011 Save the current article in plain file format
7012 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7015 @kindex O F (Summary)
7016 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7017 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7018 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7021 @kindex O b (Summary)
7022 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7023 Save the current article body in plain file format
7024 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7027 @kindex O h (Summary)
7028 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7029 Save the current article in mh folder format
7030 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7033 @kindex O v (Summary)
7034 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7035 Save the current article in a VM folder
7036 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7040 @kindex O p (Summary)
7042 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7043 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7044 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7047 @kindex O P (Summary)
7048 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7049 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7050 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7051 external program Muttprint (see
7052 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7053 options to use is controlled by the variable
7054 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7058 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7059 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7060 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7061 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7062 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7063 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7064 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7065 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7066 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7067 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7068 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7069 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7073 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7074 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7075 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7076 functions below, or you can create your own.
7080 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7081 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7082 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7083 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7084 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7085 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7086 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7088 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7089 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7090 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7091 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7092 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7093 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7095 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7096 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7097 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7098 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7099 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7100 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7101 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7103 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7104 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7105 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7106 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7107 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7108 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7110 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7111 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7112 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7113 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7114 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7116 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7117 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7118 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7119 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7120 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7123 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7124 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7125 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7126 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7127 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7129 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7130 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7131 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7132 reader to use this setting.
7135 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7136 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7137 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7138 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7141 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7142 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7143 available functions that generate names:
7147 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7148 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7149 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7151 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7152 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7153 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7155 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7156 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7157 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7159 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7160 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7161 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7163 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7164 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7165 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7168 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7169 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7170 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7171 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7172 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7176 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7177 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7178 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7179 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7182 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7183 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7184 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7185 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7186 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7187 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7188 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7189 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7190 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7192 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7193 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7194 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7195 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7197 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7198 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7199 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7202 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7203 lots of mail groups called things like
7204 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7205 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7206 following will do just that:
7209 (defun my-save-name (group)
7210 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7211 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7213 (setq gnus-split-methods
7214 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7219 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7220 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7221 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7222 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7223 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7224 all the files in the top level directory
7225 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7226 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7227 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7228 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7230 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7231 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7232 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7233 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7234 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7237 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7241 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7242 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7243 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7246 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7247 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7248 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7249 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7252 @node Decoding Articles
7253 @section Decoding Articles
7254 @cindex decoding articles
7256 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7257 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7260 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7261 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7262 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7263 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7264 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7265 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7269 @cindex article series
7270 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7271 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7272 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7273 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7274 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7276 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7277 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7278 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7280 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7281 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7282 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7284 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7285 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7286 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7289 @node Uuencoded Articles
7290 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7292 @cindex uuencoded articles
7297 @kindex X u (Summary)
7298 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7299 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7300 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7303 @kindex X U (Summary)
7304 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7305 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7306 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7309 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7310 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7311 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7314 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7315 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7316 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7317 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7321 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7322 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7323 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7324 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7325 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7327 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7328 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7329 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7330 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7333 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7334 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7335 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7336 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7337 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7338 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7342 @node Shell Archives
7343 @subsection Shell Archives
7345 @cindex shell archives
7346 @cindex shared articles
7348 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7349 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7350 some commands to deal with these:
7355 @kindex X s (Summary)
7356 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7357 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7360 @kindex X S (Summary)
7361 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7362 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7365 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7366 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7367 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7370 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7371 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7372 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7373 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7377 @node PostScript Files
7378 @subsection PostScript Files
7384 @kindex X p (Summary)
7385 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7386 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7389 @kindex X P (Summary)
7390 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7391 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7392 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7395 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7396 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7397 View the current PostScript series
7398 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7401 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7402 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7403 View and save the current PostScript series
7404 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7409 @subsection Other Files
7413 @kindex X o (Summary)
7414 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7415 Save the current series
7416 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7419 @kindex X b (Summary)
7420 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7421 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7422 doesn't really work yet.
7426 @node Decoding Variables
7427 @subsection Decoding Variables
7429 Adjective, not verb.
7432 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7433 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7434 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7438 @node Rule Variables
7439 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7440 @cindex rule variables
7442 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7443 variables are of the form
7446 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7453 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7454 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7456 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7457 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7460 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7461 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7464 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7465 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7466 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7467 user and default view rules.
7469 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7470 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7471 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7476 @node Other Decode Variables
7477 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7480 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7482 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7483 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7484 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7485 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7486 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7490 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7491 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7494 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7495 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7496 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7499 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7500 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7501 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7502 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7503 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7506 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7507 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7508 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7510 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7511 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7512 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7513 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7514 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7517 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7518 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7519 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7521 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7522 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7523 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7524 looking for files to display.
7526 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7527 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7528 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7531 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7532 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7533 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7536 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7537 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7538 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7541 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7542 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7543 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7546 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7547 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7548 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7549 decoded articles as unread.
7551 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7552 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7553 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7554 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7556 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7557 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7558 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7560 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7561 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7563 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7564 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7565 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7566 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7568 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7569 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7570 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7571 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7572 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7573 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7574 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7575 simply dropped them.
7580 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7581 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7585 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7586 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7587 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7588 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7589 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7590 for you when you post the article.
7592 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7593 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7594 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7595 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7597 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7598 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7599 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7600 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7601 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7602 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7603 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7605 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7606 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7607 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7608 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7609 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7610 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7611 Default is @code{t}.
7617 @subsection Viewing Files
7618 @cindex viewing files
7619 @cindex pseudo-articles
7621 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7622 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7623 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7624 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7625 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7626 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7627 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7629 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7630 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7631 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7632 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7634 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7635 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7636 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7638 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7639 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7640 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7641 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7642 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7644 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7645 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7646 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7647 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7648 a list of parameters to that command.
7650 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7651 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7652 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7654 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7655 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7656 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7659 @node Article Treatment
7660 @section Article Treatment
7662 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7663 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7664 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7665 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7666 these articles easier.
7669 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7670 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7671 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7672 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7673 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7674 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7675 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7676 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7677 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7678 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7682 @node Article Highlighting
7683 @subsection Article Highlighting
7684 @cindex highlighting
7686 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7687 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7692 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7693 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7694 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7695 Do much highlighting of the current article
7696 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7697 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7700 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7701 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7702 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7703 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7704 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7705 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7706 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7707 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7708 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7709 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7710 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7711 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7714 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7715 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7716 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7718 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7721 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7723 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7724 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7725 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7727 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7728 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7729 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7731 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7732 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7733 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7734 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7735 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7736 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7738 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7739 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7740 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7742 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7743 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7744 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7746 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7747 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7748 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7749 that it's a citation.
7751 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7752 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7753 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7755 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7756 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7757 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7759 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7760 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7761 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7762 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7768 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7769 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7770 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7771 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7772 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7773 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7774 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7775 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7780 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7783 @node Article Fontisizing
7784 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7786 @cindex article emphasis
7788 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7789 @kindex W e (Summary)
7790 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7791 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7792 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7793 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7795 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7796 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7797 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7798 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7799 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7800 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7801 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7802 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7806 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7807 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7808 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7817 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7818 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7819 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7820 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7821 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7822 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7823 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7824 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7825 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7826 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7827 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7828 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7829 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7831 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7832 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7833 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7837 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7840 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7842 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7843 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7844 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7845 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7847 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7850 @node Article Hiding
7851 @subsection Article Hiding
7852 @cindex article hiding
7854 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7855 too much cruft in most articles.
7860 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7861 @findex gnus-article-hide
7862 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7863 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7864 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7867 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7868 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7869 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7873 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7874 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7875 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7876 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7879 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7880 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7881 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7885 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7886 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7887 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7888 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7889 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7890 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7891 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7892 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7896 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7897 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7898 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7899 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7904 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7905 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7906 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7907 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7908 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7909 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7910 articles that have signatures in them do:
7912 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7914 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7916 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7917 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7919 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7922 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7927 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7928 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7929 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7930 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7933 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7934 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7937 @cindex stripping advertisements
7938 @cindex advertisements
7939 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7940 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7941 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7942 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7943 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7944 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7945 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7946 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7947 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7948 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7952 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7953 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7954 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7955 customizing the hiding:
7959 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7960 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7961 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7962 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7963 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7964 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7965 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7970 Starting point of the hidden text.
7972 Ending point of the hidden text.
7974 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7976 Number of lines of hidden text.
7979 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7980 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7981 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7982 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7983 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7988 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7989 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7991 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7992 following two variables:
7995 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7996 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7997 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7998 50), hide the cited text.
8000 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8001 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8002 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8007 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8008 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8009 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8010 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8011 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8012 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8016 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8017 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8018 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8020 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8021 citation customization.
8023 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8027 @node Article Washing
8028 @subsection Article Washing
8030 @cindex article washing
8032 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8033 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8035 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8036 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8039 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8040 articles by default.
8045 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8046 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8050 @kindex W l (Summary)
8051 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8052 Remove page breaks from the current article
8053 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8057 @kindex W r (Summary)
8058 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8059 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8060 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8061 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8062 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8063 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8065 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8066 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8067 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8068 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8072 @kindex W t (Summary)
8074 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8075 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8076 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8079 @kindex W v (Summary)
8080 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8081 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8082 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8085 @kindex W o (Summary)
8086 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8087 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8090 @kindex W d (Summary)
8091 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8092 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8094 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8096 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8097 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8098 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8099 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8102 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8103 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8104 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8105 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8108 @kindex W k (Summary)
8109 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8110 @cindex Outlook Express
8111 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles and redisplay
8112 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8115 @kindex W w (Summary)
8116 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8117 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8119 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8123 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8124 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8125 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8128 @kindex W C (Summary)
8129 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8130 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8131 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8134 @kindex W c (Summary)
8135 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8136 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8137 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8138 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8139 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8142 @kindex W q (Summary)
8143 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8144 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8145 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8146 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8147 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8148 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8149 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8150 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8151 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8154 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8155 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8156 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8157 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8158 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8159 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8160 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8162 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8165 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8166 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8167 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8168 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8169 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8172 @kindex W u (Summary)
8173 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8174 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8175 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8176 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8177 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8180 @kindex W h (Summary)
8181 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8182 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8183 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8184 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8186 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8188 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8189 The default is to use the function specified by
8190 @code{mm-inline-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Customization, , , emacs-mime})
8191 to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8192 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8200 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8204 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8207 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8210 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8215 @kindex W b (Summary)
8216 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8217 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8218 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8221 @kindex W B (Summary)
8222 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8223 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8224 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8227 @kindex W p (Summary)
8228 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8229 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8230 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8231 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8232 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8233 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8234 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8237 @kindex W s (Summary)
8238 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8239 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8240 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8243 @kindex W a (Summary)
8244 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8245 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8246 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8249 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8250 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8251 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8252 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8255 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8256 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8257 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8258 lines with a single empty line.
8259 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8262 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8263 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8264 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8265 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8268 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8269 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8270 Do all the three commands above
8271 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8274 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8275 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8276 Remove all blank lines
8277 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8280 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8281 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8282 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8283 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8286 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8287 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8288 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8289 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8293 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8296 @node Article Header
8297 @subsection Article Header
8299 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8304 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8305 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8306 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8309 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8310 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8311 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8312 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8315 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8316 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-header
8317 Fold all the message headers
8318 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8322 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8323 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8324 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8329 @node Article Buttons
8330 @subsection Article Buttons
8333 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8334 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8335 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8336 button on these references.
8338 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8339 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
8340 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
8345 @item gnus-button-alist
8346 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8347 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8350 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8356 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8357 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8358 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a variable containing a
8359 regexp, useful variables to use include @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8362 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8363 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8364 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8367 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8368 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8369 avoid false matches.
8372 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8375 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8376 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8380 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8383 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8386 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8387 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8388 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8389 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8390 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8393 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8396 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8398 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8399 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8400 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8401 default values of the variables above.
8403 @item gnus-article-button-face
8404 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8405 Face used on buttons.
8407 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8408 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8409 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8413 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8417 @subsection Article Date
8419 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8420 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8421 when the article was sent.
8426 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8427 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8428 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8429 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8432 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8433 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8435 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8436 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8439 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8440 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8441 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8444 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8445 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8446 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8447 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8450 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8451 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8452 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8453 @findex format-time-string
8454 Display the date using a user-defined format
8455 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8456 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8457 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8458 for a list of possible format specs.
8461 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8462 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8463 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8464 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8465 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8466 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8469 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8472 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8473 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8476 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8477 into wonderful absurdities.
8479 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8482 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8485 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8486 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8490 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8491 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8492 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8493 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8494 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8495 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8496 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8500 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8501 preferred format automatically.
8504 @node Article Display
8505 @subsection Article Display
8510 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8511 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8513 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8514 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8516 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8517 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8519 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8520 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8522 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8527 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8528 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8529 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8530 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8533 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8534 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8535 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8538 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8539 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8540 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8543 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8544 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8545 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8546 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8549 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8550 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8551 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8552 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8555 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8556 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8557 Remove all images from the article buffer
8558 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8564 @node Article Signature
8565 @subsection Article Signature
8567 @cindex article signature
8569 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8570 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8571 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8572 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8573 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8574 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8575 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8576 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8577 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8580 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8581 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8582 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8583 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8584 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8585 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8586 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8587 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8590 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8593 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8594 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8595 signature when displaying articles.
8599 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8602 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8605 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8606 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8608 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8609 in question is not a signature.
8612 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8613 listed above. Here's an example:
8616 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8617 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8620 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8621 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8622 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8623 signature after all.
8626 @node Article Miscellania
8627 @subsection Article Miscellania
8631 @kindex A t (Summary)
8632 @findex gnus-article-babel
8633 Translate the article from one language to another
8634 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8640 @section MIME Commands
8641 @cindex MIME decoding
8643 @cindex viewing attachments
8645 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8646 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8652 @kindex K v (Summary)
8653 View the @sc{mime} part.
8656 @kindex K o (Summary)
8657 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8660 @kindex K c (Summary)
8661 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8664 @kindex K e (Summary)
8665 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8668 @kindex K i (Summary)
8669 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8672 @kindex K | (Summary)
8673 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8676 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8681 @kindex K b (Summary)
8682 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8683 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8687 @kindex K m (Summary)
8688 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8689 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8690 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8691 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8692 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8695 @kindex X m (Summary)
8696 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8697 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8698 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8699 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8702 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8703 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
8704 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8705 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8708 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8709 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8710 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8713 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8714 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8715 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8717 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8718 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8719 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8720 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8721 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8722 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8725 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8726 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8727 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8734 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8735 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8736 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8737 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8740 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8743 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8747 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8748 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8749 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8750 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8751 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8752 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8755 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8756 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8757 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8758 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8759 displayed. This variable overrides
8760 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8762 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8763 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8764 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8766 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8767 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8768 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8769 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8770 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8771 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8772 save all jpegs into some directory).
8774 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8777 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8778 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8780 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8781 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8782 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8783 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8784 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8787 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8788 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8789 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8791 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8792 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8793 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8794 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8796 Ready-made functions include@*
8797 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8798 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8799 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8800 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8801 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8802 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8803 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8804 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8805 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8806 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8807 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8808 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8810 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8811 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8813 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8814 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8815 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8818 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8819 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8820 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8821 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8825 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8834 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8835 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8836 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8837 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8838 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8839 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8840 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8842 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8843 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8844 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8845 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8847 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8848 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8849 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8850 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8851 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8852 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8853 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8854 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8856 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8857 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8858 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8859 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8860 quoted-printable header encoding.
8862 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8863 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8864 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8868 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8871 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8872 means encode all charsets),
8874 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8875 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8876 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8883 @cindex coding system aliases
8884 @cindex preferred charset
8886 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8888 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8889 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8892 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8893 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8896 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8897 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8899 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8902 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8905 This will almost do the right thing.
8907 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8911 (codepage-setup 1251)
8912 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8916 @node Article Commands
8917 @section Article Commands
8924 @kindex A P (Summary)
8925 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8926 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8927 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8928 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
8929 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
8930 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
8935 @node Summary Sorting
8936 @section Summary Sorting
8937 @cindex summary sorting
8939 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8940 can't really see why you'd want that.
8945 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8946 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8947 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8950 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8951 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8952 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8955 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8956 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8957 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8960 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8961 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8962 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8965 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8966 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8967 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8970 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8971 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8972 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8975 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8976 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8977 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8980 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8981 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8982 Sort using the default sorting method
8983 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8986 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8987 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8988 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8989 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8990 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8994 @node Finding the Parent
8995 @section Finding the Parent
8996 @cindex parent articles
8997 @cindex referring articles
9002 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9003 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9004 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9005 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9006 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9007 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9008 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9009 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9010 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9012 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9013 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9014 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9015 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9016 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9020 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9021 @kindex A R (Summary)
9022 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9023 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9026 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9027 @kindex A T (Summary)
9028 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9029 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9030 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9031 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9032 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9033 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9034 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9036 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9037 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9038 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9039 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9040 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9041 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9044 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9045 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9047 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9048 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9049 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9050 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9051 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9052 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9053 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9056 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9057 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9058 by giving this command a prefix.
9060 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9061 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9062 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9063 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9064 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9065 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9068 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9069 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9070 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9073 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9074 then ask Deja if that fails:
9077 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9079 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
9082 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9083 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9084 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9085 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9086 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9087 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9088 support this at all.
9091 @node Alternative Approaches
9092 @section Alternative Approaches
9094 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9095 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9098 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9099 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9104 @subsection Pick and Read
9105 @cindex pick and read
9107 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9108 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9109 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9110 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9112 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9113 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9114 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9115 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9116 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9117 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9119 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9124 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9125 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9126 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9127 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9128 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9129 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9130 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9131 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9134 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9135 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9136 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9137 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9141 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9142 Unpick the thread or article
9143 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9144 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9145 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9146 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9147 the thread or article at that line.
9151 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9152 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9153 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9154 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9155 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9156 will still be visible when you are reading.
9160 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9161 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9162 which is mapped to the same function
9163 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9165 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9168 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9171 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9172 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9174 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9175 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9176 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9178 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9179 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9180 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9181 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9182 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9183 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9184 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9188 @subsection Binary Groups
9189 @cindex binary groups
9191 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9192 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9193 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9194 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9195 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9196 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9197 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9200 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9201 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9202 command, when you have turned on this mode
9203 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9205 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9206 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9210 @section Tree Display
9213 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9214 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9215 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9216 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9219 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9222 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9223 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9224 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9226 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9227 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9228 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9229 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9230 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9232 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9233 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9234 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9235 default is @code{modeline}.
9237 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9238 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9239 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9240 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9241 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9242 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9243 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9249 The name of the poster.
9251 The @code{From} header.
9253 The number of the article.
9255 The opening bracket.
9257 The closing bracket.
9262 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9264 Variables related to the display are:
9267 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9268 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9269 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9270 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9271 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9272 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9274 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9275 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9276 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9277 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9281 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9282 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9283 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9284 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9285 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9286 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9287 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9288 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9289 other windows displayed next to it.
9291 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9295 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9296 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9299 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9300 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9301 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9302 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9303 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9304 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9305 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9309 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9312 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9322 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9326 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9327 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9329 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9331 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9336 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9337 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9338 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9341 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9342 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9343 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9344 (gnus-add-configuration
9348 (summary 0.75 point)
9353 @xref{Window Layout}.
9356 @node Mail Group Commands
9357 @section Mail Group Commands
9358 @cindex mail group commands
9360 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9361 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9363 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9364 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9369 @kindex B e (Summary)
9370 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9371 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9372 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9373 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9374 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9377 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9378 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9379 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9380 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9381 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9382 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9385 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9386 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9387 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9388 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9389 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9390 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9393 @kindex B m (Summary)
9395 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9396 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9397 Move the article from one mail group to another
9398 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9399 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9402 @kindex B c (Summary)
9404 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9405 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9406 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9407 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9408 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9411 @kindex B B (Summary)
9412 @cindex crosspost mail
9413 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9414 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9415 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9416 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9417 be properly updated.
9420 @kindex B i (Summary)
9421 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9422 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9423 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9424 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9427 @kindex B I (Summary)
9428 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9429 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9430 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9431 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9434 @kindex B r (Summary)
9435 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9436 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9437 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9438 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9439 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9440 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9441 (which is the default).
9445 @kindex B w (Summary)
9447 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9448 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9449 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9450 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9451 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9452 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9453 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9456 @kindex B q (Summary)
9457 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9458 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9459 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9460 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9463 @kindex B t (Summary)
9464 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9465 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9466 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9469 @kindex B p (Summary)
9470 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9471 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9472 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9473 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9474 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9475 article from your news server (or rather, from
9476 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9477 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9478 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9479 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9480 just not have arrived yet.
9483 @kindex K E (Summary)
9484 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9485 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9486 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9487 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9488 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9492 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9493 @cindex moving articles
9494 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9495 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9496 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9497 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9498 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9499 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9500 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9503 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9504 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9505 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9506 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9510 @node Various Summary Stuff
9511 @section Various Summary Stuff
9514 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9515 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9516 * Summary Generation Commands::
9517 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9521 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9522 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9523 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9525 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9526 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9527 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9528 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9529 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9530 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9533 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9534 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9535 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9536 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9537 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9539 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9540 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9541 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9544 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9545 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9546 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9547 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9548 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9549 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9550 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9551 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9552 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9553 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9555 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9556 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9557 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9558 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9559 list of articles to be selected.
9561 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9562 the list in one particular group:
9565 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9566 (if (string= group "some.group")
9567 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9571 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9572 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9573 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9574 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9575 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9576 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9577 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9578 buffers. For example:
9581 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9582 '(message-use-followup-to
9583 (gnus-visible-headers .
9584 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9590 @node Summary Group Information
9591 @subsection Summary Group Information
9596 @kindex H f (Summary)
9597 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9598 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9599 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9600 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9601 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9602 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9603 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9604 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9605 be used for fetching the file.
9608 @kindex H d (Summary)
9609 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9610 Give a brief description of the current group
9611 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9612 rereading the description from the server.
9615 @kindex H h (Summary)
9616 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9617 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9618 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9621 @kindex H i (Summary)
9622 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9623 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9627 @node Searching for Articles
9628 @subsection Searching for Articles
9633 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9634 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9635 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9636 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9639 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9640 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9641 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9642 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9646 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9647 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9648 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9649 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9650 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9651 search backward instead.
9653 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9654 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9657 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9658 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9659 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9660 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9663 @node Summary Generation Commands
9664 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9669 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9670 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9671 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9674 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9675 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9676 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9677 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9682 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9683 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9689 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9690 @kindex A D (Summary)
9691 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9692 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9693 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9694 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9695 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9696 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9697 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9698 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9702 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9703 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9704 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9705 several documents into one biiig group
9706 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9707 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9708 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9709 command understands the process/prefix convention
9710 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9713 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9714 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9715 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9716 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9717 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9718 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9722 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9723 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9724 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9727 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9728 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9729 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9730 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9733 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9734 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9735 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9736 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9741 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9742 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9743 @cindex summary exit
9744 @cindex exiting groups
9746 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9747 group and return you to the group buffer.
9753 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9755 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9756 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9757 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9758 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9759 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9760 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9761 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9762 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9763 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9764 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9765 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9769 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9771 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9772 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9773 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9777 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9779 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9780 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9781 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9782 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9785 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9786 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9787 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9788 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9791 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9792 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9793 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9794 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9797 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9798 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9799 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9800 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9801 all articles, both read and unread.
9805 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9806 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9807 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9808 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9809 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9810 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9811 articles, both read and unread.
9814 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9815 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9816 Exit the group and go to the next group
9817 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9820 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9821 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9822 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9823 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9826 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9827 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9828 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9829 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9830 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9831 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9834 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9835 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9836 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9837 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9839 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9840 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9841 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9842 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9843 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9844 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9845 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9846 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9847 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9848 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9849 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9850 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9852 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9854 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9855 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9856 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9857 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9858 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9859 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9860 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9861 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9862 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9865 @node Crosspost Handling
9866 @section Crosspost Handling
9870 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9871 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9872 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9873 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9874 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9875 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9878 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9879 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9880 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9881 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9882 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9884 @cindex cross-posting
9887 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9888 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9889 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9890 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9891 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9892 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9893 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9894 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9895 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9896 the cross reference mechanism.
9898 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9899 @cindex overview.fmt
9900 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9901 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9902 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9903 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9904 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9905 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9908 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9909 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9910 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9915 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9918 @node Duplicate Suppression
9919 @section Duplicate Suppression
9921 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9922 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9923 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9924 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9929 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9930 is evil and not very common.
9933 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9934 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9937 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9938 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9941 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9944 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9945 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9947 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9948 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9949 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9950 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9951 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9952 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9953 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9956 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9957 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9958 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9959 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9960 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9964 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9965 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9966 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9968 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9969 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9970 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9971 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9972 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9973 session are suppressed.
9975 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9976 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9977 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9978 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9980 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9981 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9982 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9983 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9986 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9987 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9988 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9989 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9990 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9991 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9992 to you to figure out, I think.
9997 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
9998 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
9999 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10003 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10004 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10007 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10008 or newer is recommended.
10012 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10013 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10016 @item mm-verify-option
10017 @vindex mm-verify-option
10018 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10019 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10020 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10022 @item mm-decrypt-option
10023 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10024 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10025 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10026 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10031 @section Mailing List
10033 @kindex A M (summary)
10034 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10035 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10036 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10037 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10038 summary buffer, or say:
10041 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10044 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10049 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10050 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10051 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10054 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10055 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10056 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10059 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10060 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10061 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10065 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10066 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10067 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10070 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10071 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10072 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10075 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10076 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10077 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10081 @node Article Buffer
10082 @chapter Article Buffer
10083 @cindex article buffer
10085 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10086 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10087 tell Gnus otherwise.
10090 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10091 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10092 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10093 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10094 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10098 @node Hiding Headers
10099 @section Hiding Headers
10100 @cindex hiding headers
10101 @cindex deleting headers
10103 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10104 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10106 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10107 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10108 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10109 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10110 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10111 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10112 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10113 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10114 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10116 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10120 @item gnus-visible-headers
10121 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10122 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10123 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10124 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10126 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10127 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10130 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10133 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10136 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10137 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10138 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10139 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10140 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10141 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10143 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10144 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10147 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10150 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10153 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10154 variable will have no effect.
10158 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10159 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10160 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10161 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10162 the headers are to be displayed.
10164 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10165 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10168 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10171 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10172 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10174 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10175 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10176 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10177 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10178 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10179 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10180 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10183 These conditions are:
10186 Remove all empty headers.
10188 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10189 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10191 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10192 @code{From} header.
10194 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10197 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10198 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10200 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10203 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10205 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10208 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10211 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10212 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10215 This is also the default value for this variable.
10219 @section Using MIME
10222 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10223 while people stand around yawning.
10225 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10226 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10228 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10229 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10230 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10232 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10233 @findex gnus-display-mime
10234 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10235 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10236 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10237 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10239 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10243 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10244 @item RET (Article)
10245 @kindex RET (Article)
10246 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10247 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10248 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10249 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10250 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10251 object is displayed inline.
10253 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10254 @item M-RET (Article)
10255 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10257 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10258 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10260 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10262 @kindex t (Article)
10263 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10264 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10266 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10268 @kindex C (Article)
10269 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10270 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10272 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10274 @kindex o (Article)
10275 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10276 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10278 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10279 @item C-o (Article)
10280 @kindex C-o (Article)
10281 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10282 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10283 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10284 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10285 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10286 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10288 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10290 @kindex c (Article)
10291 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10292 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
10294 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10296 @kindex p (Article)
10297 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10298 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10299 @file{.mailcap} file.
10301 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10303 @kindex i (Article)
10304 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10305 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10306 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10307 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10308 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10311 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10313 @kindex E (Article)
10314 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10315 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10316 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10318 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10320 @kindex e (Article)
10321 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10322 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10324 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10326 @kindex | (Article)
10327 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10329 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10331 @kindex . (Article)
10332 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10333 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10337 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10338 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10341 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10342 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10343 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10344 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10345 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10346 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10347 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10348 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10349 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10351 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10353 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10356 @node Customizing Articles
10357 @section Customizing Articles
10358 @cindex article customization
10360 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10361 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10362 called automatically when you select the articles.
10364 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10365 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10366 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10367 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10369 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10370 for sensible values.
10374 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10377 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10380 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10383 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10386 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10390 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10391 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10392 regexps in the list.
10395 A list where the first element is not a string:
10397 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10398 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10399 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10403 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10408 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10409 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10410 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10411 considered to contain just a single part.
10413 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10414 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10415 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10416 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10417 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10418 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10419 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10421 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10422 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10423 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10424 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10427 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10428 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10430 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10432 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10433 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10434 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10435 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10436 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10437 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10438 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10439 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10440 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10441 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10443 @xref{Article Washing}.
10445 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10446 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10447 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10448 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10449 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10450 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10451 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10453 @xref{Article Date}.
10455 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10456 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10457 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10461 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10463 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10465 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10466 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10467 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10471 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10475 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10476 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10477 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10478 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10479 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10480 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10481 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10482 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10484 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10486 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10487 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10488 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10490 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10492 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10493 @item gnus-treat-translate
10494 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10496 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10497 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10498 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10499 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10501 @xref{Article Header}.
10506 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10507 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10508 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10509 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10510 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10514 @node Article Keymap
10515 @section Article Keymap
10517 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10518 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10519 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10520 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10523 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10528 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10529 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10530 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10533 @kindex DEL (Article)
10534 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10535 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10538 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10539 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10540 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10541 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10542 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10545 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10546 @findex gnus-article-mail
10547 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10548 given a prefix, include the mail.
10551 @kindex s (Article)
10552 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10553 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10554 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10557 @kindex ? (Article)
10558 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10559 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10560 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10563 @kindex TAB (Article)
10564 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10565 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10566 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10569 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10570 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10571 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10574 @kindex R (Article)
10575 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10576 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10577 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10578 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10582 @kindex F (Article)
10583 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10584 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10585 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10586 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10594 @section Misc Article
10598 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10599 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10600 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10601 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10604 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10605 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10607 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10608 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10610 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10611 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10612 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10613 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10614 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10615 the contents of the article buffer.
10617 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10618 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10619 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10621 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10622 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10623 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10624 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10626 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10627 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10628 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10629 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10630 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10636 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10637 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10638 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10643 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10646 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10649 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10650 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10651 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10654 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10657 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10660 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10665 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10669 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10671 @item gnus-break-pages
10672 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10673 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10674 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10675 paging will not be done.
10677 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10678 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10679 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10684 @node Composing Messages
10685 @chapter Composing Messages
10686 @cindex composing messages
10689 @cindex sending mail
10694 @cindex using s/mime
10695 @cindex using smime
10697 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10698 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10699 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10700 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10701 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10702 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10705 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10706 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10707 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10708 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10709 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10710 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10711 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10712 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10715 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10716 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10722 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10725 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10726 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10727 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10728 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10730 @item gnus-add-to-list
10731 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10732 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10733 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10738 @node Posting Server
10739 @section Posting Server
10741 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10742 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10744 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10746 It can be quite complicated.
10748 @vindex gnus-post-method
10749 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10750 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10751 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10752 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10753 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10754 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10755 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10756 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10757 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10760 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10763 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10764 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10765 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10766 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10768 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10769 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10771 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10772 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10775 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10776 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10778 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
10779 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
10780 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
10781 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
10782 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
10783 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
10784 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
10785 package correctly. An example:
10788 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
10789 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
10792 Other possible choises for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
10793 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
10794 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
10796 @node Mail and Post
10797 @section Mail and Post
10799 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10803 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10804 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10805 @cindex mailing lists
10807 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10808 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10809 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10810 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10811 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10812 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10813 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10814 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10815 still a pain, though.
10819 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10820 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10821 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10824 @findex ispell-message
10826 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10829 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10830 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10833 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10837 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10838 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10840 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10843 Modify to suit your needs.
10846 @node Archived Messages
10847 @section Archived Messages
10848 @cindex archived messages
10849 @cindex sent messages
10851 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10852 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10853 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10854 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10857 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
10858 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
10861 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10862 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
10863 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10866 (nnfolder "archive"
10867 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10868 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10869 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10870 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10873 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10874 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10875 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10876 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10879 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10880 '(nnfolder "archive"
10881 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10882 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10883 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10886 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10888 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10889 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10890 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10892 This variable can be used to do the following:
10897 Messages will be saved in that group.
10899 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10900 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10901 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10902 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10903 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10904 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10905 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10906 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10910 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10912 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10913 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10916 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10921 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10923 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10926 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10928 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10931 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10933 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10934 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10935 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10936 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10939 More complex stuff:
10941 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10942 '((if (message-news-p)
10947 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10948 messages in one file per month:
10951 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10952 '((if (message-news-p)
10954 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10957 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10958 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10960 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10961 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10962 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10963 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10964 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10965 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10966 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10967 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10968 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10969 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10971 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10972 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10973 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10974 this will disable archiving.
10977 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10978 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10979 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10980 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10981 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
10984 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
10985 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
10986 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
10989 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
10990 but the latter is the preferred method.
10992 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
10993 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
10994 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
10996 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
10997 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
10998 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
10999 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11000 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11001 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11002 changed in the future.
11007 @node Posting Styles
11008 @section Posting Styles
11009 @cindex posting styles
11012 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11014 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11015 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11016 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11019 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11020 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11021 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11022 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11023 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11028 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11029 (organization "What me?"))
11031 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11032 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11033 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11036 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11037 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11038 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11039 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11040 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11041 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11042 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11043 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11045 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11046 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11047 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11048 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11049 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. If it's a function symbol, that
11050 function will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol,
11051 then the variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list
11052 will be @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil}
11053 value, then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
11055 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11056 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11057 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11058 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11059 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11060 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11061 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11062 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11063 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11064 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11067 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11068 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11069 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11070 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11071 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11072 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11073 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11074 references chars lines xref extra.
11076 @vindex message-reply-headers
11078 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11079 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11080 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11082 @findex message-mail-p
11083 @findex message-news-p
11085 So here's a new example:
11088 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11090 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11092 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11093 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11095 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11096 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11097 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11098 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11099 (signature my-news-signature))
11100 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11101 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11102 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11103 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
11104 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11105 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11106 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11107 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11108 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11109 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11111 (From (save-excursion
11112 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11113 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11115 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11118 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11119 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11120 if you fill many roles.
11127 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11128 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11129 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11130 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11131 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11133 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11134 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11135 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11136 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11137 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11141 @vindex nndraft-directory
11142 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11143 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11144 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11145 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11146 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11147 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11149 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11150 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11153 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11154 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11155 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11156 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11157 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11158 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11159 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11160 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11161 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11162 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11163 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11164 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11165 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11166 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11168 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11169 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11170 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11172 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11173 @kindex D e (Draft)
11174 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11175 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11176 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11178 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11181 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11182 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11183 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11184 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11185 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11186 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11187 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11190 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11191 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11192 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11195 @node Rejected Articles
11196 @section Rejected Articles
11197 @cindex rejected articles
11199 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11200 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11201 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11202 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11204 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11205 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11206 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11207 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11208 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11210 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11211 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11212 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11214 @node Signing and encrypting
11215 @section Signing and encrypting
11217 @cindex using s/mime
11218 @cindex using smime
11220 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11221 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11222 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11223 (@pxref{Security}).
11225 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11226 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11227 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11229 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11230 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11231 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11236 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11237 @findex mml-secure-sign-smime
11239 Digitally sign current @sc{mime} part using @sc{s/mime}.
11242 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11243 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
11245 Digitally sign current @sc{mime} part using PGP.
11248 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11249 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
11251 Digitally sign current @sc{mime} part using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11254 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11255 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-smime
11257 Digitally encrypt current @sc{mime} part using @sc{s/mime}.
11260 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11261 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgp
11263 Digitally encrypt current @sc{mime} part using PGP.
11266 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11267 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgpmime
11269 Digitally encrypt current @sc{mime} part using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11272 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11273 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11274 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11278 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11280 @node Select Methods
11281 @chapter Select Methods
11282 @cindex foreign groups
11283 @cindex select methods
11285 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11286 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11287 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11288 personal mail group.
11290 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11291 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11292 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11293 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11294 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11295 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11297 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11298 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11300 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11303 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11304 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11305 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11306 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11307 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11309 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11312 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11313 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11314 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11315 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11316 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11317 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11318 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11319 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11323 @node Server Buffer
11324 @section Server Buffer
11326 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11327 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11328 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11329 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11330 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11331 back end represents a virtual server.
11333 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11334 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11335 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11336 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11338 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11339 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11340 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11341 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11342 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11343 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11344 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11346 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11347 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11350 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11351 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11352 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11353 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11354 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11355 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11356 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11359 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11360 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11363 @node Server Buffer Format
11364 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11365 @cindex server buffer format
11367 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11368 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11369 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11370 variable, with some simple extensions:
11375 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11378 The name of this server.
11381 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11384 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11387 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11388 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11389 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11390 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11400 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11403 @node Server Commands
11404 @subsection Server Commands
11405 @cindex server commands
11411 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11412 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11416 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11417 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11420 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11421 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11422 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11426 @findex gnus-server-exit
11427 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11431 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11432 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11436 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11437 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11441 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11442 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11446 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11447 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11451 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11452 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11453 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11458 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11459 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11460 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11461 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11466 @node Example Methods
11467 @subsection Example Methods
11469 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11472 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11475 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11481 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11482 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11485 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11486 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11488 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11489 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11493 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11496 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11497 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11499 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11500 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11501 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11505 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11508 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11511 Here's the method for a public spool:
11515 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11516 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11522 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11523 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11524 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11525 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11526 should probably look something like this:
11530 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11531 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11532 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11533 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11536 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11537 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11538 configuration to the example above:
11541 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11544 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11545 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11546 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11550 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11551 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11552 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11553 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11556 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11557 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11558 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11559 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11562 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11563 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11565 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11566 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11568 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11569 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11570 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11572 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11574 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11575 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11576 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11577 will contain the following:
11587 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11588 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11589 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11592 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11593 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11594 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11597 @node Server Variables
11598 @subsection Server Variables
11600 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11601 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11602 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11603 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11604 won't change the "derived" variables.
11606 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11607 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11608 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11609 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11610 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11611 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11612 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11613 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11614 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11618 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11619 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11620 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11624 @node Servers and Methods
11625 @subsection Servers and Methods
11627 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11628 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11629 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11630 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11634 @node Unavailable Servers
11635 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11637 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11638 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11639 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11640 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11641 actually the case or not.
11643 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11644 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11645 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11646 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11647 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11648 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11649 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11650 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11652 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11653 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11655 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11656 with the following commands:
11662 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11663 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11664 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11668 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11669 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11670 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11674 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11675 Mark the current server as unreachable
11676 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11679 @kindex M-o (Server)
11680 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11681 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11682 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11685 @kindex M-c (Server)
11686 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11687 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11688 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11692 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11693 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11694 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11698 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11699 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11705 @section Getting News
11706 @cindex reading news
11707 @cindex news back ends
11709 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11710 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11711 or it can read from a local spool.
11714 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11715 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11723 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11724 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11725 server as the, uhm, address.
11727 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11728 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11729 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11730 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11732 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11733 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11734 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11736 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11741 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11742 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11743 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11745 @cindex authentification
11746 @cindex nntp authentification
11747 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11748 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11749 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11750 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11751 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11752 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11753 present in this hook.
11755 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11756 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11757 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11758 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11759 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11760 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11761 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11762 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11763 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11764 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11765 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11766 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11770 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11773 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11775 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11776 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11777 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11778 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11779 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11780 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11781 @samp{force} is explained below.
11785 Here's an example file:
11788 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11789 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11792 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11793 have to be first, for instance.
11795 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11796 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11797 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11798 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11799 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11800 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11801 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11803 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11804 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11810 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11811 previously mentioned.
11813 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11815 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11816 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11817 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11818 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11819 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11822 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11823 '(("innd" (ding))))
11826 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11828 The default value is
11831 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11832 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11833 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11836 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11837 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11839 @item nntp-maximum-request
11840 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11841 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11842 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11843 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11844 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11845 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11846 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11848 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11849 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11850 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11851 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11852 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11853 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11854 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11855 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11856 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11857 no timeouts are done.
11859 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11860 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11861 @c @cindex PPP connections
11862 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11863 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11864 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11865 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11866 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11867 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11868 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11869 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11870 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11871 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11873 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11874 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11875 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11876 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11877 @c described above.
11879 @item nntp-server-hook
11880 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11881 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11884 @item nntp-buggy-select
11885 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11886 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11888 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11889 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
11890 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
11891 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
11894 @item nntp-xover-commands
11895 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
11898 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
11899 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
11903 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
11904 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
11905 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
11906 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
11907 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
11908 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
11909 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
11910 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
11911 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
11912 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
11913 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
11915 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
11916 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
11917 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
11919 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11920 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11921 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
11922 server closes connection.
11924 @item nntp-record-commands
11925 @vindex nntp-record-commands
11926 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
11927 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
11928 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
11929 that doesn't seem to work.
11931 @item nntp-open-connection-function
11932 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
11933 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
11934 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
11935 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
11936 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
11937 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
11938 indirect ones (two pre-made).
11940 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
11941 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
11942 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
11943 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
11944 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
11945 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
11946 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
11949 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
11952 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
11953 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
11957 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
11958 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
11959 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
11963 @node Direct Functions
11964 @subsubsection Direct Functions
11965 @cindex direct connection functions
11967 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
11968 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
11969 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
11970 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11973 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
11974 @item nntp-open-network-stream
11975 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
11978 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
11979 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
11980 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
11981 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
11982 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
11983 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
11984 define a server as follows:
11987 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
11989 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
11991 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
11992 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
11993 (nntp-port-number "snews")
11994 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
11997 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
11998 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
11999 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12000 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12001 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12002 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12003 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12004 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12008 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12009 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12010 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12013 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12014 session, which is not a good idea.
12018 @node Indirect Functions
12019 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12020 @cindex indirect connection functions
12022 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12023 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12024 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12025 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12026 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12027 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12030 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12031 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12032 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12033 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12034 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12036 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12039 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12040 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12041 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12042 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12045 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12046 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12047 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12048 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12050 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12053 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12054 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12055 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12058 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12059 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12060 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12061 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12063 @item nntp-via-user-password
12064 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12065 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12067 @item nntp-via-envuser
12068 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12069 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12070 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12071 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12073 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12074 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12075 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12076 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12083 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12088 @item nntp-via-user-name
12089 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12090 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12092 @item nntp-via-address
12093 @vindex nntp-via-address
12094 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12099 @node Common Variables
12100 @subsubsection Common Variables
12102 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12103 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12108 @item nntp-pre-command
12109 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12110 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12111 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12112 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12113 wrapper for instance.
12116 @vindex nntp-address
12117 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12119 @item nntp-port-number
12120 @vindex nntp-port-number
12121 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12123 @item nntp-end-of-line
12124 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12125 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12126 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12127 using a non native connection function.
12129 @item nntp-telnet-command
12130 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12131 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12132 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12133 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12135 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12136 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12137 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12144 @subsection News Spool
12148 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12149 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12150 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12153 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12154 anything else) as the address.
12156 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12157 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12158 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12159 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12163 @item nnspool-inews-program
12164 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12165 Program used to post an article.
12167 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12168 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12169 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12171 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12172 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12173 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12174 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12176 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12177 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12178 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12179 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12181 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12182 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12183 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12185 @item nnspool-active-file
12186 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12187 The path to the active file.
12189 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12190 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12191 The path to the group descriptions file.
12193 @item nnspool-history-file
12194 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12195 The path to the news history file.
12197 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12198 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12199 The path to the active date file.
12201 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12202 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12203 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12206 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12207 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12209 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12210 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12211 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12217 @section Getting Mail
12218 @cindex reading mail
12221 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12225 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12226 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12227 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12228 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12229 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12230 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12231 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12232 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12233 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12234 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12235 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12236 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12237 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12241 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12242 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12244 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12245 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12246 of a culture shock.
12248 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12249 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12251 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12252 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12253 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12254 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12256 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12258 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12259 deleted? How awful!
12261 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12262 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12263 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12264 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12267 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12268 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12269 they want to treat a message.
12271 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12272 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12273 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12274 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12275 archived somewhere else.
12277 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12278 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12279 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12280 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12281 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12283 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12284 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12285 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12287 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12288 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12291 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12292 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12293 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12294 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12295 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12297 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12298 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12299 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12300 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12301 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12302 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12306 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12307 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12309 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12310 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12311 and things will happen automatically.
12313 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12314 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12317 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12320 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12321 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12322 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12323 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12324 like any other group.
12326 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12329 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12330 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12331 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12335 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12336 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12337 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12340 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12341 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12342 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12345 @node Splitting Mail
12346 @subsection Splitting Mail
12347 @cindex splitting mail
12348 @cindex mail splitting
12350 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12351 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12352 to be split into groups.
12355 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12356 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12357 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12358 ("mail.other" "")))
12361 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12362 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12363 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12364 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12365 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12366 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12367 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12370 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12373 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12374 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12375 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12376 mail belongs in that group.
12378 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12379 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12380 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12381 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12382 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12383 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12385 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12386 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12387 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12388 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12389 thinks should carry this mail message.
12391 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12392 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12393 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12394 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12396 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12397 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12398 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12399 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12400 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12402 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12405 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12406 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12407 links. If that's the case for you, set
12408 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12409 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12411 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12412 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12413 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12414 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12415 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12416 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12419 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12420 Header lines longer than the value of
12421 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12424 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12425 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12426 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12427 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12428 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12429 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12430 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12431 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12432 month's rent money.
12436 @subsection Mail Sources
12438 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12439 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12443 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12444 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12445 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12449 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12450 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12452 @cindex mail server
12455 @cindex mail source
12457 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12458 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12463 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12466 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12467 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12468 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12471 The following mail source types are available:
12475 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12481 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12482 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
12485 An example file mail source:
12488 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12491 Or using the default path:
12497 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12498 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12499 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12502 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12506 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12509 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12513 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12516 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12518 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12521 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12525 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
12526 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
12527 That is, mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in the
12528 group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12529 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12530 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus
12531 to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you
12532 want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12538 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12542 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12546 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12547 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12548 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12549 predicate are considered.
12553 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12557 An example directory mail source:
12560 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12565 Get mail from a POP server.
12571 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12572 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12575 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12576 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12577 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12578 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12579 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12582 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12586 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12590 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12591 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12594 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12597 The valid format specifier characters are:
12601 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12602 included in this string.
12605 The name of the server.
12608 The port number of the server.
12611 The user name to use.
12614 The password to use.
12617 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12618 corresponding keywords.
12621 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12622 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12625 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12626 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12629 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12630 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12633 @item :authentication
12634 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12635 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12640 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12641 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12643 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12644 default user name, and default fetcher:
12650 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12653 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12654 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12657 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12660 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12664 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12665 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12666 contains exactly one mail.
12672 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12673 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12676 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12677 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12679 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12680 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12681 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12684 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12685 from locking problems).
12689 Two example maildir mail sources:
12692 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12693 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12697 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12702 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12703 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12704 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12705 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12708 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12709 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12715 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12716 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12719 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12720 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12723 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12727 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12731 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12732 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12733 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12734 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12736 @item :authentication
12737 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12738 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12739 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12740 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12743 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12744 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12745 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12751 The valid format specifier characters are:
12755 The name of the server.
12758 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12761 The port number of the server.
12764 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12765 corresponding keywords.
12768 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12769 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12772 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12773 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12774 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12775 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
12776 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12777 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
12780 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12781 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12782 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12783 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
12786 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12787 after finishing the fetch.
12791 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12794 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12796 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12800 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
12801 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
12802 @uref{www.my-deja.com}.
12804 NOTE: Now @uref{mail.yahoo.com} provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
12807 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12808 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12810 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
12816 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12817 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
12820 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
12824 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
12828 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
12829 folder after finishing the fetch.
12833 An example webmail source:
12836 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
12838 :password "secret")
12843 @item Common Keywords
12844 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
12850 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
12851 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
12855 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
12860 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
12861 useful when you use local mail and news.
12866 @subsubsection Function Interface
12868 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
12869 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
12870 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
12871 consider the following mail-source setting:
12874 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
12875 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
12878 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
12879 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
12880 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
12881 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
12882 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
12884 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
12887 @node Mail Source Customization
12888 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
12890 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
12891 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
12895 @item mail-source-crash-box
12896 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
12897 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
12898 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
12900 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
12901 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
12902 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
12904 @item mail-source-directory
12905 @vindex mail-source-directory
12906 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
12907 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
12908 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
12911 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12912 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12913 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
12914 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
12915 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
12916 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
12918 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
12919 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
12920 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
12922 @item mail-source-movemail-program
12923 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
12924 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
12925 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
12930 @node Fetching Mail
12931 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
12933 @vindex mail-sources
12934 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
12935 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
12936 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
12937 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
12939 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
12940 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
12943 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
12944 mail server, you'd say something like:
12949 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12950 :password "secret")))
12953 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
12957 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
12958 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12961 :password "secret")))
12965 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
12966 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
12967 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
12968 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
12969 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
12970 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
12974 @node Mail Back End Variables
12975 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
12977 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
12981 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12982 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12983 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
12984 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
12986 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
12987 @item nnmail-split-hook
12988 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
12989 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
12990 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
12991 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
12992 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
12993 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
12994 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
12995 in the buffer will show up in any files.
12996 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
12999 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13000 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13001 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13002 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13003 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13004 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13005 starting to handle the new mail) and
13006 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13007 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13008 default file modes the new mail files get:
13011 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13012 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13014 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13015 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13018 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13019 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13020 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13021 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13022 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13023 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13024 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13026 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13027 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13028 @findex delete-file
13029 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13031 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13032 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13033 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13034 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13035 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13040 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13041 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13042 @cindex mail splitting
13043 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13045 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13046 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13047 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13048 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13049 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13050 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13052 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13055 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13056 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13057 ;; from real errors.
13058 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13060 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13061 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13062 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13063 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13064 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13065 ;; Other mailing lists...
13066 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13067 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13068 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13069 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13070 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13071 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13072 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13073 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13075 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13076 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13080 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13081 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13082 the five possible split syntaxes:
13087 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13088 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13092 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13093 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13094 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13095 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13096 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13097 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13098 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13099 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13102 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13103 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13104 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13105 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13108 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13109 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13112 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13113 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13116 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13117 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13118 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13119 function should return a @var{split}.
13122 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13123 body of the messages:
13126 (defun split-on-body ()
13128 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13129 (goto-char (point-min))
13130 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13134 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13135 when the @code{:} function is run.
13138 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13139 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13140 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13144 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13148 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13149 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13150 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13151 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13152 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13154 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13155 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13156 are expanded as specified by the variable
13157 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13158 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13161 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13162 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13163 when all this splitting is performed.
13165 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13166 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13167 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13170 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13173 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13174 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13176 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13177 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13178 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13179 groupings 1 through 9.
13181 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13182 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13183 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13184 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13185 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13186 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13187 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13188 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13189 it once per thread.
13191 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13192 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13193 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13196 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13197 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13198 ;; other splits go here
13202 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13203 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13204 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13205 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13206 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13207 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13208 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13209 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13210 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13211 unless the group name matches the regexp
13212 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13213 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13214 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13215 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13216 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13217 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13218 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13219 messages goes into the new group.
13222 @node Group Mail Splitting
13223 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13224 @cindex mail splitting
13225 @cindex group mail splitting
13227 @findex gnus-group-split
13228 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13229 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13230 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13231 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13232 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13233 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13234 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13235 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13237 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13238 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13239 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13240 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13242 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13243 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13244 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13245 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13246 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13247 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13248 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13250 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13251 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13252 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13253 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13254 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13255 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13256 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13258 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13259 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13260 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13261 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13262 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13263 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13264 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13265 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13266 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13267 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13268 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13269 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13270 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13272 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13277 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13278 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13280 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13281 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13282 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13283 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13285 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13288 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13289 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13290 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13293 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13294 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13295 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13299 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13300 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13301 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13305 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13308 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13309 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13310 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13311 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13312 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13313 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13314 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13315 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13316 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13318 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13319 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13320 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13321 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13322 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13323 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13324 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13325 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13326 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13328 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13329 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13330 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13331 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13332 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13333 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13336 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13339 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13340 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13341 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13342 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13343 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13346 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13347 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13348 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13349 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13351 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13352 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13353 @cindex incorporating old mail
13354 @cindex import old mail
13356 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13357 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13358 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13361 Doing so can be quite easy.
13363 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13364 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13365 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13366 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13367 your @code{nnml} groups.
13373 Go to the group buffer.
13376 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13377 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13380 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13383 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13384 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13387 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13388 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13391 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13392 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13393 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13394 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13395 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13397 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13398 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13399 using the new mail back end.
13402 @node Expiring Mail
13403 @subsection Expiring Mail
13404 @cindex article expiry
13406 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13407 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13408 different approach to mail reading.
13410 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13411 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13412 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13413 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13414 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13415 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13418 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13419 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
13420 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13421 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13422 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13423 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13424 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13425 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13427 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13428 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
13429 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
13430 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
13431 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
13432 column in the summary buffer.
13434 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13435 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13436 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13437 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13440 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13442 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13443 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13444 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13447 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13448 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13449 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13450 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13451 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13453 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13454 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13457 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13458 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13461 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13462 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13464 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13465 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13466 don't really mix very well.
13468 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13469 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13470 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13471 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13474 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13475 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13476 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13477 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13480 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13482 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13484 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13486 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13488 ((string= group "important")
13494 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13495 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13497 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13498 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13499 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13502 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13503 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13505 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13506 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13507 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13508 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13509 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13510 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13511 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13512 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13513 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13514 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13515 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13516 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13517 name or @code{delete}.
13519 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13521 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13524 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13525 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13526 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13527 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13528 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13531 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13532 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13533 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13534 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13535 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13538 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13539 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13540 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13541 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13542 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13543 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13545 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13546 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13547 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13548 easier for procmail users.
13550 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13551 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13552 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13553 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13554 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13555 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13556 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13557 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13558 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13559 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13560 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13561 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13562 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13565 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13567 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13568 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13569 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13570 auto-expire turned on.
13574 @subsection Washing Mail
13575 @cindex mail washing
13576 @cindex list server brain damage
13577 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13579 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13580 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13581 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13582 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13583 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13584 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13586 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13587 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13588 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13591 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13592 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13593 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13594 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13597 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13598 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13599 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13600 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13601 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13604 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13605 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13606 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13607 Emacs running on MS machines.
13611 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13612 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13613 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13614 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13617 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13618 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13619 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13620 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13622 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13623 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13624 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13625 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13626 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13627 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13628 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13631 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13632 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13635 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13636 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13639 This can also be done non-destructively with
13640 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13642 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13643 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13644 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13646 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13647 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13649 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13650 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13651 @code{References} headers.
13655 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13656 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13657 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13661 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13662 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13663 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13670 @subsection Duplicates
13672 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13673 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13674 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13675 @cindex duplicate mails
13676 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13677 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13678 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13679 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13680 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13681 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13682 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13683 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13684 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13685 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13686 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13687 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13688 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13690 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13691 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13692 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13693 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13695 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13698 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13699 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13703 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13704 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13705 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13706 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13707 (any mail "mail.misc")
13714 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13715 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13720 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13721 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13722 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13723 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13724 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13727 @node Not Reading Mail
13728 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13730 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13731 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13732 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13734 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13735 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13736 mail, which should help.
13738 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13739 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13740 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13741 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13742 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13743 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13744 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13745 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13746 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13747 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13748 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13750 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13751 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13755 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13756 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13758 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13759 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13760 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13762 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13763 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13764 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
13765 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
13766 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
13767 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
13768 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
13771 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13772 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13773 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13774 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13775 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13776 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13780 @node Unix Mail Box
13781 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13783 @cindex unix mail box
13785 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13786 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13787 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13788 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13789 which group it belongs in.
13791 Virtual server settings:
13794 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
13795 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13796 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
13799 @item nnmbox-active-file
13800 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13801 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
13802 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
13804 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
13805 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13806 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
13807 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
13812 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
13816 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13817 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13818 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
13819 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
13820 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
13822 Virtual server settings:
13825 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
13826 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13827 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
13829 @item nnbabyl-active-file
13830 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13831 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
13832 @file{~/.rmail-active}
13834 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13835 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13836 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
13842 @subsubsection Mail Spool
13844 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
13846 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
13847 format. It should be used with some caution.
13849 @vindex nnml-directory
13850 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
13851 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
13852 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
13853 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
13855 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
13858 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
13859 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
13860 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
13861 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
13862 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
13863 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
13864 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
13865 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
13867 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
13868 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
13869 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
13870 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
13872 @cindex self contained nnml servers
13874 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
13875 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13876 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13877 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
13878 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
13879 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
13880 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
13881 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
13884 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
13885 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
13886 them next time it starts.
13888 Virtual server settings:
13891 @item nnml-directory
13892 @vindex nnml-directory
13893 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
13894 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
13897 @item nnml-active-file
13898 @vindex nnml-active-file
13899 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
13900 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
13902 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
13903 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
13904 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13905 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
13907 @item nnml-get-new-mail
13908 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13909 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
13912 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
13913 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
13914 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13915 default is @code{nil}.
13917 @item nnml-nov-file-name
13918 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
13919 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
13921 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13922 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13923 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
13925 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
13926 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
13927 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13928 default is @code{nil}.
13930 @item nnml-marks-file-name
13931 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
13932 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
13934 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
13935 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
13936 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
13941 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
13942 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
13943 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
13944 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
13945 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
13946 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
13947 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
13952 @subsubsection MH Spool
13954 @cindex mh-e mail spool
13956 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
13957 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
13958 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
13959 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
13961 Virtual server settings:
13964 @item nnmh-directory
13965 @vindex nnmh-directory
13966 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
13967 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13970 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
13971 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13972 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
13976 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
13977 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
13978 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
13979 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
13980 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
13981 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
13982 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
13987 @subsubsection Mail Folders
13989 @cindex mbox folders
13990 @cindex mail folders
13992 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
13993 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
13994 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
13997 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
13999 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14000 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14001 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14002 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14003 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14004 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14005 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14006 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14007 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14008 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14010 Virtual server settings:
14013 @item nnfolder-directory
14014 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14015 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14016 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14019 @item nnfolder-active-file
14020 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14021 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14023 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14024 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14025 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14026 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14028 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14029 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14030 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14033 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14034 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14035 @cindex backup files
14036 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14037 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14038 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14039 your @file{.emacs} file:
14042 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14043 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14045 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14048 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14049 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14050 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14051 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14052 extract some information from it before removing it.
14054 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14055 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14056 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14057 default is @code{nil}.
14059 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14060 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14061 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14063 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14064 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14065 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14066 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14068 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14069 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14070 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14071 default is @code{nil}.
14073 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14074 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14075 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14077 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14078 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14079 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14080 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14085 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14086 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14087 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14088 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14089 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14090 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14093 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14094 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14096 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14097 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14098 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14099 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14100 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14102 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14103 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14104 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14105 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14106 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14107 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14108 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14109 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14112 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14113 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14114 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14115 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14120 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14121 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14122 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14123 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14124 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14125 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14126 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14127 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14128 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14129 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14130 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14131 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14132 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14137 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14138 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14139 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14140 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14141 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14142 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14143 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14144 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14145 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14146 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14147 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14148 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14149 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14150 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14152 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14153 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14158 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14159 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14160 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14161 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14162 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14163 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14164 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14165 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14166 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14167 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14168 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14169 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14170 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14171 provided by the active file and overviews.
14173 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14174 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
14175 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14176 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14177 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14180 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14181 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14186 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14187 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14188 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14189 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14190 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14191 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14192 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14196 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14197 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14198 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14199 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14200 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14201 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14202 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14203 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14204 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14206 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14207 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14208 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14209 friendly mail back end all over.
14213 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14214 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14215 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14216 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14217 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14218 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14219 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14220 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14223 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14224 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14225 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14226 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14227 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14228 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14229 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14230 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14231 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14232 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14233 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14235 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14236 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14237 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14238 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14239 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14240 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14241 This will probably be changed in the future.
14243 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14244 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14245 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14246 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14247 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14250 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14251 parameters slightly different from those of other mail backends.
14253 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14254 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14255 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14256 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14257 parameter to somthing small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14258 would) to make it use less memory.
14260 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14261 with other backends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14262 depending in part on your filesystem.
14264 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14265 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived backend.
14270 @node Browsing the Web
14271 @section Browsing the Web
14273 @cindex browsing the web
14277 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14278 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14279 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14280 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14281 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14282 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14283 even know what a news group is.
14285 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14286 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14287 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14288 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14289 you mad in the end.
14291 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14294 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14295 interfaces to these sources.
14299 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14300 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14301 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14302 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14303 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14304 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14307 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14309 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14310 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14311 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14312 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14313 though, you should be ok.
14315 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14316 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14317 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14318 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14319 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14321 @node Archiving Mail
14322 @subsection Archiving Mail
14323 @cindex archiving mail
14324 @cindex backup of mail
14326 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14327 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14328 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14329 marks is fairly simple.
14331 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14332 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14335 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14336 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14337 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14338 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14339 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14340 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14341 might interfer with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14342 before you restore the data.
14344 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14345 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14346 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14347 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14348 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14349 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14350 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14351 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14352 is unnecessary in that case.
14355 @subsection Web Searches
14359 @cindex InReference
14360 @cindex Usenet searches
14361 @cindex searching the Usenet
14363 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14364 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14365 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14366 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14367 searches without having to use a browser.
14369 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14370 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14371 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14372 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14373 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14375 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14376 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14377 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14378 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14379 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14380 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14381 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14382 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14383 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14384 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14387 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14388 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14389 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14390 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14391 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14392 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14394 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14395 to use @code{nnweb}.
14397 Virtual server variables:
14402 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14403 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
14407 @vindex nnweb-search
14408 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14410 @item nnweb-max-hits
14411 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14412 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14415 @item nnweb-type-definition
14416 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14417 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14418 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14423 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14427 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14430 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14433 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14437 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14444 @subsection Slashdot
14448 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14449 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14450 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14452 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14453 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14456 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14457 '((nnslashdot "")))
14460 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14461 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14462 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14463 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14464 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14467 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14468 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14470 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14471 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14472 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14473 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14474 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14475 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14478 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14481 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14482 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14483 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14484 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14485 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14486 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14487 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14489 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14490 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14491 The login name to use when posting.
14493 @item nnslashdot-password
14494 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14495 The password to use when posting.
14497 @item nnslashdot-directory
14498 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14499 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14500 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14502 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14503 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14504 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14505 news articles and comments. The default is
14506 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14508 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14509 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14510 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14512 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14514 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14515 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14516 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14518 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14520 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14521 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14522 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14524 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14525 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14526 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14527 updated. The default is 0.
14534 @subsection Ultimate
14536 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14538 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14539 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14540 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14541 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14543 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14544 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14545 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14546 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14547 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14548 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14549 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14551 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14554 @item nnultimate-directory
14555 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14556 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14557 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14562 @subsection Web Archive
14564 @cindex Web Archive
14566 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14567 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14568 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14569 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14572 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14573 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14574 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14575 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14576 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14577 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14578 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14580 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14583 @item nnwarchive-directory
14584 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14585 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14586 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14588 @item nnwarchive-login
14589 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14590 The account name on the web server.
14592 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14593 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14594 The password for your account on the web server.
14602 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14603 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14604 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14607 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14608 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14611 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14614 @item nnrss-directory
14615 @vindex nnrss-directory
14616 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14617 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14621 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14622 the summary buffer.
14625 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14626 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14628 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14630 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14631 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14634 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14637 (require 'browse-url)
14639 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14641 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14644 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14645 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14647 (browse-url (cdr url))
14648 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14650 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14651 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14652 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14653 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14656 @node Customizing w3
14657 @subsection Customizing w3
14663 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14664 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14665 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14667 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14668 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14669 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14672 (eval-after-load "w3"
14674 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14675 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14676 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14677 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14679 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14682 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14683 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14692 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14693 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14694 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14695 specify the network address of the server.
14697 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14698 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14699 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14700 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
14701 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
14703 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
14704 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
14705 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
14706 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
14708 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14709 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
14710 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14711 usage explained in this section.
14713 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14714 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
14715 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
14718 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14719 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14720 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14722 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14723 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14724 ; a UW server running on localhost
14726 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14727 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14728 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14729 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14730 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14731 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14732 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14733 (nnimap-stream network))
14734 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14736 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14737 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14738 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14741 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14746 @item nnimap-address
14747 @vindex nnimap-address
14749 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14750 server name if not specified.
14752 @item nnimap-server-port
14753 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14754 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14756 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
14759 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14760 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14763 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14764 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14765 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14766 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14767 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14768 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14769 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14771 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14772 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14773 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14776 Example server specification:
14779 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14780 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14781 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14784 @item nnimap-stream
14785 @vindex nnimap-stream
14786 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14787 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14788 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
14789 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
14791 Example server specification:
14794 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14795 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14798 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14802 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
14803 @samp{imtest} program.
14805 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14807 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14808 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14811 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
14812 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
14813 library @samp{ssl.el}.
14815 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14817 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14820 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14821 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
14822 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
14823 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
14824 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
14825 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
14826 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
14827 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
14828 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14831 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14832 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14833 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14834 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
14835 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14836 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14837 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14838 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
14839 distribution, for instance).
14841 @vindex imap-shell-program
14842 @vindex imap-shell-host
14843 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14844 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14846 @item nnimap-authenticator
14847 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14849 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14850 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14852 Example server specification:
14855 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14856 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14859 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
14863 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
14864 external program @code{imtest}.
14866 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
14869 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
14870 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
14872 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
14874 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
14876 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
14879 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
14881 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
14882 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
14883 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
14884 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
14885 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
14886 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
14889 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
14890 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
14891 running in circles yet?
14893 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
14894 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
14897 The possible options are:
14902 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
14905 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
14906 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
14907 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
14908 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
14910 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
14915 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
14916 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
14918 If non-nil, marks dormant articles as ticked (as well), for other
14919 @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will naturally still
14920 (only) be marked as ticked. This is to make dormant articles stand
14921 out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap} clients. (In other
14922 words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap} has only one.)
14924 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
14925 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
14928 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
14929 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14930 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
14931 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14934 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
14935 as ticked for other users.
14937 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
14939 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
14941 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
14942 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
14943 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
14944 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
14946 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
14947 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
14948 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
14949 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
14951 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
14952 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14954 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14955 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14956 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14962 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14963 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14964 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14969 @node Splitting in IMAP
14970 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
14971 @cindex splitting imap mail
14973 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14974 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14975 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14976 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14977 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14981 Here are the variables of interest:
14985 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14986 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14988 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14990 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14991 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14993 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14995 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14996 @cindex splitting, inbox
14998 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15000 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15001 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15005 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15006 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15009 No nnmail equivalent.
15011 @item nnimap-split-rule
15012 @cindex Splitting, rules
15013 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15015 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15018 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15019 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15020 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15021 Neither did I, we need examples.
15024 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15026 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15027 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15028 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15031 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15032 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15033 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15035 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15036 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15040 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15043 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15044 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15045 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15046 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15048 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15049 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15050 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15051 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15052 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15053 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15055 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15056 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15057 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15059 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15060 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15061 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15063 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15065 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15066 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15067 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15070 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15071 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15072 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15073 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15074 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15075 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15078 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15079 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15080 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15081 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15082 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15083 group/function elements.
15085 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15087 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15089 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15091 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15092 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15094 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15095 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15096 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15099 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15100 @cindex splitting, fancy
15101 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15102 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15104 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15105 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15106 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15108 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15109 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15110 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15111 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15116 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15117 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15120 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15124 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15125 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15126 @cindex editing imap acls
15127 @cindex Access Control Lists
15128 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15130 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15132 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15133 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15134 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15137 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15138 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15139 editing window with detailed instructions.
15141 Some possible uses:
15145 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15146 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15147 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15149 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15150 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15151 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15155 @node Expunging mailboxes
15156 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15160 @cindex Manual expunging
15162 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15164 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15165 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15166 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15168 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15173 @node Other Sources
15174 @section Other Sources
15176 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15177 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15181 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15182 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15183 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15184 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15185 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15189 @node Directory Groups
15190 @subsection Directory Groups
15192 @cindex directory groups
15194 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15195 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15198 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15199 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15200 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15201 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15203 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15204 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15205 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15206 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15207 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15209 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15211 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15212 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15213 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15214 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15217 @node Anything Groups
15218 @subsection Anything Groups
15221 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15222 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15223 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15226 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15227 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15228 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15229 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15230 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15231 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15232 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15233 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15234 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15235 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15238 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15239 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15240 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15241 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15243 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15244 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15245 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15246 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15248 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15249 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15250 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15251 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15252 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15253 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15254 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15255 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15260 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15261 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15262 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15263 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15265 @item nneething-exclude-files
15266 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15267 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15268 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15270 @item nneething-include-files
15271 @vindex nneething-include-files
15272 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15273 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15275 @item nneething-map-file
15276 @vindex nneething-map-file
15277 Name of the map files.
15281 @node Document Groups
15282 @subsection Document Groups
15284 @cindex documentation group
15287 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15288 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15295 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15300 The standard Unix mbox file.
15302 @cindex MMDF mail box
15304 The MMDF mail box format.
15307 Several news articles appended into a file.
15310 @cindex rnews batch files
15311 The rnews batch transport format.
15312 @cindex forwarded messages
15315 Forwarded articles.
15318 Netscape mail boxes.
15321 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15323 @item standard-digest
15324 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15327 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15329 @item lanl-gov-announce
15330 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15332 @item rfc822-forward
15333 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15336 The Outlook mail box.
15339 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15342 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15345 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15348 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15354 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15357 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15363 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15364 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15365 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15368 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15369 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15370 group. And that's it.
15372 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15373 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15374 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15375 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15376 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15377 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15378 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15379 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15380 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15381 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15383 Virtual server variables:
15386 @item nndoc-article-type
15387 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15388 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15389 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15390 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15391 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15392 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15394 @item nndoc-post-type
15395 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15396 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15397 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15402 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15406 @node Document Server Internals
15407 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15409 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15410 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15411 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15412 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15414 First, here's an example document type definition:
15418 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15419 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15422 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15423 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15424 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15425 types can be defined with very few settings:
15428 @item first-article
15429 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15430 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15433 @item article-begin
15434 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15435 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15437 @item head-begin-function
15438 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15441 @item nndoc-head-begin
15442 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15445 @item nndoc-head-end
15446 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15447 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15449 @item body-begin-function
15450 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15454 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15457 @item body-end-function
15458 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15462 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15465 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15466 regexp will be totally ignored.
15470 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15471 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15472 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15473 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15474 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15477 @item prepare-body-function
15478 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15479 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15480 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15482 @item article-transform-function
15483 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15484 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15485 body of the article.
15487 @item generate-head-function
15488 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15489 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15490 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15491 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15495 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15500 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15501 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15502 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15503 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15504 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15505 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15506 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15507 (subtype digest guess))
15510 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15511 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15512 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15513 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15514 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15516 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15517 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15518 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15519 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15520 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
15521 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15522 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15523 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15524 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15525 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15533 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15534 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15535 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15537 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15538 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15539 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15542 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15543 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15544 that interested in doing things properly.
15546 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15547 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15550 First some terminology:
15555 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15556 get news and/or mail from.
15559 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15560 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15563 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15567 @item message packets
15568 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15569 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15570 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15572 @item response packets
15573 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15574 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15575 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15585 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15586 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15587 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15588 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15591 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15594 You put the packet in your home directory.
15597 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15598 the native or secondary server.
15601 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15602 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15605 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15609 You transfer this packet to the server.
15612 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15615 You then repeat until you die.
15619 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15620 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15623 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15624 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15625 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15629 @node SOUP Commands
15630 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15632 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15636 @kindex G s b (Group)
15637 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15638 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15639 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15640 process/prefix convention.
15643 @kindex G s w (Group)
15644 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15645 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15648 @kindex G s s (Group)
15649 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15650 Send all replies from the replies packet
15651 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15654 @kindex G s p (Group)
15655 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
15656 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
15659 @kindex G s r (Group)
15660 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
15661 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
15664 @kindex O s (Summary)
15665 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
15666 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
15667 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
15668 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15673 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
15678 @item gnus-soup-directory
15679 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
15680 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
15681 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
15683 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
15684 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
15685 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
15686 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
15688 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
15689 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
15690 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
15691 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
15693 @item gnus-soup-packer
15694 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
15695 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15696 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
15698 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
15699 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
15700 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15701 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15703 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
15704 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
15705 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
15707 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15708 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15709 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
15710 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
15716 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
15719 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
15720 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
15721 you can read them at leisure.
15723 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
15727 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
15728 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
15729 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
15730 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
15732 @item nnsoup-directory
15733 @vindex nnsoup-directory
15734 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
15735 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
15737 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
15738 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
15739 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
15740 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
15742 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
15743 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
15744 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
15745 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
15746 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
15748 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
15749 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
15750 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
15751 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
15753 @item nnsoup-active-file
15754 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
15755 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
15756 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
15757 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
15758 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
15760 @item nnsoup-packer
15761 @vindex nnsoup-packer
15762 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
15763 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
15765 @item nnsoup-unpacker
15766 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
15767 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
15768 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15770 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
15771 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
15772 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
15775 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
15776 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
15777 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
15780 @item nnsoup-always-save
15781 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
15782 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
15788 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
15790 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
15791 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
15792 more for that to happen.
15794 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
15795 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
15796 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
15799 In specific, this is what it does:
15802 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
15803 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
15806 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
15807 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
15808 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
15811 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
15812 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
15813 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
15816 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
15817 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
15818 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
15820 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
15826 @item nngateway-address
15827 @vindex nngateway-address
15828 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
15830 @item nngateway-header-transformation
15831 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
15832 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
15833 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
15834 transformation should be called, and defaults to
15835 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
15836 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
15839 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
15840 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
15841 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
15844 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
15847 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
15850 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
15853 The following pre-defined functions exist:
15855 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15858 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15859 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15860 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
15862 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15864 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15865 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15866 @code{nngateway-address}.
15871 (setq gnus-post-method
15873 "mail2news@@replay.com"
15874 (nngateway-header-transformation
15875 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
15883 So, to use this, simply say something like:
15886 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
15891 @node Combined Groups
15892 @section Combined Groups
15894 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
15898 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
15899 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
15903 @node Virtual Groups
15904 @subsection Virtual Groups
15906 @cindex virtual groups
15907 @cindex merging groups
15909 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
15912 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
15913 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
15914 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
15916 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
15917 regexp to match component groups.
15919 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
15920 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
15921 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
15922 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
15923 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
15924 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
15925 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
15926 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
15928 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
15929 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
15932 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
15935 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
15936 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
15938 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
15939 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
15940 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
15941 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
15944 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
15947 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
15948 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
15949 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
15951 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
15952 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
15953 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
15954 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
15955 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
15957 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
15958 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
15959 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
15961 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
15962 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
15963 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
15964 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15965 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
15966 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
15967 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
15968 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
15969 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
15970 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
15971 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
15973 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
15974 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
15975 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
15976 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
15977 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
15978 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
15979 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
15981 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
15982 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
15984 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
15985 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
15989 @node Kibozed Groups
15990 @subsection Kibozed Groups
15994 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
15995 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
15996 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
15997 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
15999 @kindex G k (Group)
16000 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16003 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16004 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16005 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16006 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16008 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16009 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16010 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16012 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16013 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16014 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16015 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16016 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16017 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16018 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16019 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16021 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16022 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16023 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16024 Stranger things have happened.
16026 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16027 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16029 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16030 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16031 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16032 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16033 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16034 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16036 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16037 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16040 @node Gnus Unplugged
16041 @section Gnus Unplugged
16046 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16048 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16049 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16050 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16051 read news. Believe it or not.
16053 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16054 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16055 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16056 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16057 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16059 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16060 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16061 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16062 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16063 reading news on a machine.
16065 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
16069 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
16070 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
16074 Then, put the following magical incantation in your @file{.gnus.el}
16078 (setq gnus-agent t)
16082 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
16084 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16087 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16088 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16089 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16090 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16091 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16092 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16093 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16094 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16095 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16096 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16101 @subsection Agent Basics
16103 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16105 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16106 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16107 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16108 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16110 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16111 connected to the net continuously.
16113 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16114 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16116 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16121 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16122 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16123 already fetched while in this mode.
16126 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16127 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16128 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16129 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16130 Source Specifiers}).
16133 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16134 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16135 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16136 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16137 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16140 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16141 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16142 then you read the news offline.
16145 And then you go to step 2.
16148 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16154 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16155 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16156 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16157 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16158 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
16159 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
16162 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16169 @node Agent Categories
16170 @subsection Agent Categories
16172 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16173 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16174 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16175 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16176 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16177 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16178 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16180 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16181 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16182 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16183 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16184 managing categories.
16187 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16188 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16189 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16193 @node Category Syntax
16194 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16196 A category consists of two things.
16200 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16201 are eligible for downloading; and
16204 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16205 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16206 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16209 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16210 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16211 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16212 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16214 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16215 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16216 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16218 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16219 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16220 operators sprinkled in between.
16222 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16224 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16225 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16231 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16232 short (for some value of ``short'').
16234 Here's a more complex predicate:
16243 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16244 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16247 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16248 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16249 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16251 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16252 you want to do, you can write your own.
16256 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16257 lines; default 100.
16260 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16261 lines; default 200.
16264 True iff the article has a download score less than
16265 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16268 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16269 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16272 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16273 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16274 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16283 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16284 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16285 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16288 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16289 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16290 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16291 something along the lines of the following:
16294 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16295 "Say whether an article is old."
16296 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16297 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16300 with the predicate then defined as:
16303 (not my-article-old-p)
16306 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16307 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16311 (require 'gnus-agent)
16312 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16313 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16314 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16317 and simply specify your predicate as:
16323 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16324 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16325 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16326 just don't give a damn.
16328 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16329 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16330 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16331 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16332 parameters like so:
16335 (agent-predicate . short)
16338 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16339 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16340 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16342 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16345 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16348 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16349 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16350 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16353 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16354 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16355 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16356 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16357 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16358 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16360 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16361 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16362 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16363 if it's to be specific to that group.
16365 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16372 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16373 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16379 Category specification
16383 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16389 Group Parameter specification
16392 (agent-score ("from"
16393 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16398 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16404 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16411 Category specification
16414 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16420 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16424 Group Parameter specification
16427 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16430 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16435 Use @code{normal} score files
16437 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16438 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16439 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16440 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16442 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16443 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16444 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16445 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16449 Category Specification
16456 Group Parameter specification
16459 (agent-score . file)
16464 @node Category Buffer
16465 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16467 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16468 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16469 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16471 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16475 @kindex q (Category)
16476 @findex gnus-category-exit
16477 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16480 @kindex k (Category)
16481 @findex gnus-category-kill
16482 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16485 @kindex c (Category)
16486 @findex gnus-category-copy
16487 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16490 @kindex a (Category)
16491 @findex gnus-category-add
16492 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16495 @kindex p (Category)
16496 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16497 Edit the predicate of the current category
16498 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16501 @kindex g (Category)
16502 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16503 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16504 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16507 @kindex s (Category)
16508 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16509 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16510 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16513 @kindex l (Category)
16514 @findex gnus-category-list
16515 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16519 @node Category Variables
16520 @subsubsection Category Variables
16523 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16524 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16525 Hook run in category buffers.
16527 @item gnus-category-line-format
16528 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16529 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16530 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16534 The name of the category.
16537 The number of groups in the category.
16540 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16541 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16542 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16544 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16545 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16546 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16548 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16549 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16550 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16552 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16553 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16554 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16557 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16558 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16559 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16565 @node Agent Commands
16566 @subsection Agent Commands
16568 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16569 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16570 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16574 * Group Agent Commands::
16575 * Summary Agent Commands::
16576 * Server Agent Commands::
16579 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
16580 following incantation:
16582 @cindex gnus-agent-batch
16584 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch
16589 @node Group Agent Commands
16590 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16594 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16595 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16596 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16597 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16600 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16601 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16602 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16605 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16606 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16607 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16608 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16611 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16612 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
16613 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
16614 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
16617 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16618 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16619 Add the current group to an Agent category
16620 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16621 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16624 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16625 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16626 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16627 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16628 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16631 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16632 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16633 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16639 @node Summary Agent Commands
16640 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16644 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16645 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16646 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16649 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16650 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16651 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16652 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16655 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16656 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16657 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16660 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16661 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16662 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16665 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16666 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16667 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16668 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
16673 @node Server Agent Commands
16674 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
16678 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
16679 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
16680 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
16681 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
16684 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
16685 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
16686 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
16687 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
16693 @subsection Agent Expiry
16695 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
16696 @findex gnus-agent-expire
16697 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
16698 @cindex Agent expiry
16699 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
16702 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
16703 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
16704 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
16705 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
16706 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
16707 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
16709 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
16710 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
16711 expiry in different groups.
16714 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
16720 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
16721 method---it must always match all groups.
16723 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
16724 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
16725 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
16726 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
16727 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
16729 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
16730 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
16731 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
16732 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
16734 @node Agent and IMAP
16735 @subsection Agent and IMAP
16737 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
16738 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
16739 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
16740 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
16742 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
16743 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
16744 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
16745 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
16747 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
16748 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
16749 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
16750 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
16751 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
16753 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16754 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
16755 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
16756 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
16757 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
16758 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
16760 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
16761 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
16762 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
16763 in the group buffer by default.
16765 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
16766 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
16771 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
16774 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
16778 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
16779 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
16780 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
16781 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
16782 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
16783 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
16784 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
16785 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
16788 @node Outgoing Messages
16789 @subsection Outgoing Messages
16791 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
16792 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
16793 after posting, and edit them at will.
16795 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
16796 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
16797 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
16798 messages in the draft group.
16802 @node Agent Variables
16803 @subsection Agent Variables
16806 @item gnus-agent-directory
16807 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
16808 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
16809 @file{~/News/agent/}.
16811 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
16812 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
16813 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
16814 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
16815 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
16818 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16819 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16820 Hook run when connecting to the network.
16822 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16823 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16824 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
16826 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
16827 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
16828 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
16830 @item gnus-agent-cache
16831 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
16832 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and articles when
16835 @item gnus-agent-go-online
16836 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
16837 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
16838 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
16839 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
16840 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
16841 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
16847 @node Example Setup
16848 @subsection Example Setup
16850 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
16851 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
16852 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
16855 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
16856 ;;; from your ISP's server.
16857 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
16859 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
16860 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
16861 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
16863 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
16864 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
16866 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
16867 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
16868 (setq gnus-agent t)
16871 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
16872 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
16875 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
16876 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
16877 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
16878 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
16879 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
16882 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
16883 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
16884 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
16885 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
16886 back all the killed groups.)
16888 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
16889 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
16890 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
16893 @node Batching Agents
16894 @subsection Batching Agents
16896 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
16897 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
16898 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
16902 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
16906 @node Agent Caveats
16907 @subsection Agent Caveats
16909 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
16910 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
16914 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
16918 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
16920 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
16924 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
16925 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
16926 locally stored articles.
16933 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
16934 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
16935 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
16938 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
16939 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
16940 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
16941 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
16942 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
16944 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
16945 before generating the summary buffer.
16947 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
16948 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
16949 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
16951 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
16952 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
16953 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
16954 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
16957 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
16958 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
16959 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
16960 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
16961 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
16962 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
16963 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
16964 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
16965 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
16966 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
16967 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
16968 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
16969 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
16970 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
16971 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
16972 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
16973 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
16977 @node Summary Score Commands
16978 @section Summary Score Commands
16979 @cindex score commands
16981 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
16982 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
16983 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
16984 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
16985 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
16987 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
16988 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
16989 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
16990 score file the current one.
16992 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
16997 @kindex V s (Summary)
16998 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
16999 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17002 @kindex V S (Summary)
17003 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17004 Display the score of the current article
17005 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17008 @kindex V t (Summary)
17009 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17010 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17011 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17014 @kindex V w (Summary)
17015 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17016 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17019 @kindex V R (Summary)
17020 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17021 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17022 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17023 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17024 effect you're having.
17027 @kindex V c (Summary)
17028 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17029 Make a different score file the current
17030 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17033 @kindex V e (Summary)
17034 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17035 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17036 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17040 @kindex V f (Summary)
17041 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17042 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17043 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17046 @kindex V F (Summary)
17047 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17048 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17049 after editing score files.
17052 @kindex V C (Summary)
17053 @findex gnus-score-customize
17054 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17055 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17059 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17064 @kindex V m (Summary)
17065 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17066 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17067 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17070 @kindex V x (Summary)
17071 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17072 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17073 expunge all articles below this score
17074 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17077 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17078 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17081 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17082 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17086 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17087 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17089 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17090 keys are available:
17094 Score on the author name.
17097 Score on the subject line.
17100 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17103 Score on the @code{References} line.
17109 Score on the number of lines.
17112 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17115 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17116 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17119 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17120 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17121 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17130 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17136 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17137 what headers you are scoring on.
17149 Substring matching.
17152 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17181 Greater than number.
17186 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17187 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17188 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17193 Temporary score entry.
17196 Permanent score entry.
17199 Immediately scoring.
17203 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17204 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17205 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17209 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17210 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17211 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17212 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17214 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17215 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17216 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17217 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17218 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17220 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17221 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17222 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17223 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17224 current score file.
17226 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17227 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17228 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17231 @node Group Score Commands
17232 @section Group Score Commands
17233 @cindex group score commands
17235 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17240 @kindex W f (Group)
17241 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17242 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17243 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17244 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17248 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17250 @findex gnus-batch-score
17251 @cindex batch scoring
17253 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17257 @node Score Variables
17258 @section Score Variables
17259 @cindex score variables
17263 @item gnus-use-scoring
17264 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17265 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17266 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17268 @item gnus-kill-killed
17269 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17270 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17271 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17272 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17273 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17274 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17275 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17277 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17278 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17279 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17280 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17281 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17283 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17284 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17285 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17286 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17288 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17289 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17290 @cindex score cache
17291 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17292 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17293 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
17294 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17295 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17296 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17299 @item gnus-save-score
17300 @vindex gnus-save-score
17301 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17302 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17303 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17305 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17306 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17307 across group visits.
17309 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17310 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17311 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17312 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17313 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17314 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17315 manually entered data.
17317 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17318 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17319 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17321 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17322 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17323 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17324 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17325 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17326 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17328 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17329 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17330 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17331 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17333 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17334 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17335 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17336 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17338 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17339 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17340 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17341 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17343 Predefined functions available are:
17346 @item gnus-score-find-single
17347 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17348 Only apply the group's own score file.
17350 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17351 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17352 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17353 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17354 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17355 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17356 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17357 then a regexp match is done.
17359 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17360 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17362 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17363 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17364 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17365 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17367 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17368 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17369 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17370 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17371 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17375 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17376 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17377 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17378 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17379 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17380 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17381 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17384 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17385 overall score file, you could use the value
17387 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17388 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17391 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17392 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17393 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17394 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17395 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17397 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17398 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17399 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17400 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17401 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17402 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17403 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17404 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17406 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17407 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17408 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17410 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17411 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17412 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17413 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17414 threading---according to the current value of
17415 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17416 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17417 simplified in this manner.
17422 @node Score File Format
17423 @section Score File Format
17424 @cindex score file format
17426 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17427 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17428 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17430 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17434 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17436 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17438 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17440 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17445 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17449 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17450 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17451 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17452 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17456 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17457 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17459 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17460 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17461 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17463 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17468 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17469 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17470 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17471 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17472 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17473 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17474 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17475 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17476 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17477 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17478 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17479 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17480 to articles that matches these score entries.
17482 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17483 score entry has one to four elements.
17487 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17488 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17492 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17493 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17494 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17495 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17496 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17497 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17500 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17501 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17502 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17503 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17504 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17507 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17508 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17509 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17510 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17513 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17514 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17515 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17516 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17517 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17518 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17519 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17520 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17521 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17522 instead, if you feel like.
17525 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
17526 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
17527 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
17528 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
17529 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
17530 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
17533 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
17537 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17538 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17540 These predicates are true if
17543 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17546 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17547 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17554 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17555 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17556 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17557 it's not. I think.)
17559 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17560 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17561 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17562 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17565 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17566 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17567 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17568 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17569 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17570 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17571 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17575 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17576 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17577 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17578 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17579 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17580 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17581 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17582 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17585 @item Head, Body, All
17586 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17590 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17591 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17592 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17593 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17594 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17595 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17596 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17600 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17601 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17602 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17603 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17604 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17605 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17606 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17607 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17608 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17609 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17610 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17614 @cindex Score File Atoms
17616 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17617 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17620 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17621 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17623 @item mark-and-expunge
17624 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17625 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
17628 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
17629 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
17630 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
17631 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
17632 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
17635 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
17636 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
17639 @item exclude-files
17640 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
17641 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
17645 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
17646 ignored when handling global score files.
17649 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
17650 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
17651 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
17652 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
17655 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
17656 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
17657 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
17658 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
17660 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
17664 (mark-and-expunge -100)
17667 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
17668 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
17669 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
17670 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
17671 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
17673 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
17674 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
17675 scoring rules exist.
17678 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
17679 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
17680 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
17681 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
17682 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
17683 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
17684 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17685 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
17686 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
17687 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
17688 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
17692 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
17693 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
17694 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
17695 file for a number of groups.
17698 @cindex local variables
17699 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
17700 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
17701 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
17702 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
17703 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
17707 @node Score File Editing
17708 @section Score File Editing
17710 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
17711 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
17712 with a mode for that.
17714 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
17715 additional commands:
17720 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
17721 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
17722 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
17723 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
17726 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
17727 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
17728 Insert the current date in numerical format
17729 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
17730 you were wondering.
17733 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
17734 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
17735 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
17736 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
17737 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
17742 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
17744 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
17745 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
17747 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
17748 e} to begin editing score files.
17751 @node Adaptive Scoring
17752 @section Adaptive Scoring
17753 @cindex adaptive scoring
17755 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
17756 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
17757 stupidity, to be precise.
17759 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
17760 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
17761 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
17762 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
17763 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17764 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
17765 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
17766 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
17767 variable to @code{(word line)}.
17769 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17770 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
17771 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
17772 might look something like this:
17775 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17776 '((gnus-unread-mark)
17777 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
17778 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
17779 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
17780 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
17781 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
17782 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
17783 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
17784 (gnus-ancient-mark)
17785 (gnus-low-score-mark)
17786 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
17789 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
17790 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
17791 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
17792 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
17793 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
17794 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
17797 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
17798 will be applied to each article.
17800 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
17801 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
17802 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
17803 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
17805 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
17806 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
17807 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
17808 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
17810 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
17811 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
17812 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
17813 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
17815 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
17816 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
17817 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
17818 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
17819 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
17820 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
17822 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
17823 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
17824 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
17825 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
17826 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
17827 aspirins afterwards.)
17829 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
17830 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
17831 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
17833 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
17834 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
17835 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
17837 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
17838 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
17839 let you use different rules in different groups.
17841 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
17842 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
17843 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
17846 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
17847 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
17848 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
17849 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
17850 the length of the match is less than
17851 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
17852 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
17855 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17856 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
17857 headers. If you adapt on words, the
17858 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
17859 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
17862 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17863 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
17864 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
17865 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
17866 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
17869 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
17870 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
17871 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
17872 score with 30 points.
17874 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
17875 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
17876 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
17877 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
17878 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
17880 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
17881 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
17882 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
17883 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
17884 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
17886 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
17887 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
17888 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
17889 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
17891 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
17892 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
17893 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
17894 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
17896 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
17897 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
17898 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
17899 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
17900 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
17902 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
17903 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
17904 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
17906 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
17907 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
17908 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
17909 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
17912 @node Home Score File
17913 @section Home Score File
17915 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
17916 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
17917 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
17918 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
17920 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
17921 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
17922 could perhaps use the same home score file.
17924 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
17925 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
17930 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
17934 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
17935 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
17939 A list. The elements in this list can be:
17943 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
17944 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
17947 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
17948 the home score file.
17951 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
17954 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
17959 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
17962 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17963 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
17966 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
17967 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
17969 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
17971 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17972 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
17975 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
17976 Other functions include
17979 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
17980 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
17981 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
17982 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
17986 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
17987 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
17988 their own home score files:
17991 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17992 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
17993 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
17994 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
17995 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
17998 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
17999 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18000 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18001 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18002 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18004 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18005 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18006 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18007 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18008 precedence over this variable.
18011 @node Followups To Yourself
18012 @section Followups To Yourself
18014 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18015 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18016 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18017 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18018 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18019 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18023 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18024 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18025 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18028 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18029 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18030 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18034 @vindex message-sent-hook
18035 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18036 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18038 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18042 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18043 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18047 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18048 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18051 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18052 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18057 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18061 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18062 is system-dependent.
18065 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18066 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18067 @cindex scoring on other headers
18069 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18070 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18071 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18072 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18073 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18075 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18076 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18077 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18078 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18079 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18081 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18084 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18085 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18088 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18089 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18090 time if you have much mail.
18092 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18093 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18099 @section Scoring Tips
18100 @cindex scoring tips
18106 @cindex scoring crossposts
18107 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18108 the @code{Xref} header.
18110 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18113 @item Multiple crossposts
18114 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18115 more than, say, 3 groups:
18118 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18122 @item Matching on the body
18123 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18124 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18125 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18126 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18127 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18128 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18129 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18132 @item Marking as read
18133 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18134 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18135 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18139 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18141 @item Negated character classes
18142 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18143 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18144 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18148 @node Reverse Scoring
18149 @section Reverse Scoring
18150 @cindex reverse scoring
18152 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18153 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18154 like this in your score file:
18158 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18163 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18164 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18167 @node Global Score Files
18168 @section Global Score Files
18169 @cindex global score files
18171 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18172 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18173 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18175 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18176 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18177 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18179 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18180 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18181 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18182 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18183 files are applicable to which group.
18185 To use the score file
18186 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18187 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18191 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18192 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18193 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18196 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18198 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18199 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18200 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18201 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18203 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18204 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18206 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18207 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18208 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18209 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18210 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18211 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18213 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18219 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18221 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18223 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18225 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18226 lowered out of existence.
18228 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18229 articles completely.
18232 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18233 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18234 old articles for a long time.
18237 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18238 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18239 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18240 holding our breath yet?
18244 @section Kill Files
18247 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18248 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18249 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18251 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18252 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18253 files into score files.
18255 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18256 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18257 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18258 that isn't a very good idea.
18260 Normal kill files look like this:
18263 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18264 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18268 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18269 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18271 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18272 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18275 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18280 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18281 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18282 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18285 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18286 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18287 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18290 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18295 @kindex M-k (Group)
18296 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18297 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18300 @kindex M-K (Group)
18301 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18302 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18305 Kill file variables:
18308 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18309 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18310 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18311 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18312 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18313 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18314 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18316 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18317 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18318 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18319 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18322 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18323 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18324 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18325 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18326 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18327 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18328 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18329 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18330 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18332 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18333 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18334 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18339 @node Converting Kill Files
18340 @section Converting Kill Files
18342 @cindex converting kill files
18344 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18345 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18346 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18349 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18350 You can fetch it from
18351 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18353 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18354 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18355 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18363 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18364 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18365 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18366 news articles generated every day.
18368 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18369 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18370 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18371 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18372 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18373 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18374 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18375 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18378 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18379 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18382 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18383 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18384 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18385 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18389 @node Using GroupLens
18390 @subsection Using GroupLens
18392 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18394 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18395 better bit in town at the moment.
18397 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18401 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18402 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18403 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18404 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18406 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18407 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18408 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18409 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18411 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18412 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18413 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18417 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18418 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18419 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18420 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18421 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18422 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18425 @node Rating Articles
18426 @subsection Rating Articles
18428 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18429 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18430 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18431 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18434 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18439 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18440 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18441 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18444 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18445 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18446 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18447 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18448 threads in rec.humor.
18452 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18453 the score of the article you're reading.
18458 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18459 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18460 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18463 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18464 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18465 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18469 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18470 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18473 @node Displaying Predictions
18474 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18476 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18477 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18478 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18479 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18480 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18482 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18483 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18484 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18485 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18486 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18487 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18488 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18489 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18490 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18491 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18492 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18493 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18494 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18496 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18497 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18498 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18499 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18501 The following are valid values for that variable.
18504 @item prediction-spot
18505 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18508 @item confidence-interval
18509 A numeric confidence interval.
18511 @item prediction-bar
18512 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18514 @item confidence-bar
18515 Numerical confidence.
18517 @item confidence-spot
18518 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18520 @item prediction-num
18521 Plain-old numeric value.
18523 @item confidence-plus-minus
18524 Prediction +/- confidence.
18529 @node GroupLens Variables
18530 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18534 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18535 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18536 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18537 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18540 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18541 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18544 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18545 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18547 @item grouplens-score-offset
18548 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18549 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18552 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18553 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18554 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18559 @node Advanced Scoring
18560 @section Advanced Scoring
18562 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18563 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18564 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18565 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18566 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18568 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18572 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18573 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18574 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18578 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18579 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18581 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18582 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18583 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18584 non-@code{nil} value.
18586 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18587 operator, and various match operators.
18594 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18595 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18596 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18601 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18602 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18603 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18608 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18609 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18613 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18614 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18615 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18616 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18617 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18618 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18619 the ancestry you want to go.
18621 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18622 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18623 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18624 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18625 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
18628 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
18629 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
18631 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
18632 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
18635 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
18636 when he's talking about Gnus:
18640 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18641 ("subject" "Gnus"))
18647 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
18651 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18658 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
18659 really don't want to read what he's written:
18663 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18664 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
18668 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
18669 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
18670 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
18677 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
18678 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
18679 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
18680 ("body" "white.*socks"))
18684 The possibilities are endless.
18687 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
18688 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
18690 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
18691 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
18692 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
18693 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
18694 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
18695 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
18696 @samp{subject}) first.
18698 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
18699 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
18710 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
18711 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
18717 ("subject" "Gnus")))
18724 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
18725 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
18730 @section Score Decays
18731 @cindex score decays
18734 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
18735 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
18736 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
18737 use them in any sensible way.
18739 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
18740 @findex gnus-decay-score
18741 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
18742 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
18743 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
18744 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
18745 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
18746 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
18747 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
18748 definition of that function:
18751 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
18753 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
18754 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
18757 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
18759 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
18761 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
18764 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
18765 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
18766 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
18767 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
18771 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
18774 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
18777 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
18781 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
18782 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
18783 the new score, which should be an integer.
18785 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
18786 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
18791 @include message.texi
18792 @chapter Emacs MIME
18793 @include emacs-mime.texi
18795 @include sieve.texi
18803 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
18804 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
18805 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
18806 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
18807 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
18808 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
18809 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
18810 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
18811 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
18812 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
18813 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
18814 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
18815 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
18816 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
18817 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
18818 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
18819 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
18820 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
18821 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
18825 @node Process/Prefix
18826 @section Process/Prefix
18827 @cindex process/prefix convention
18829 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
18830 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
18832 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
18833 command to be performed on.
18837 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
18838 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
18839 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
18840 with the current one.
18842 @vindex transient-mark-mode
18843 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
18844 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
18846 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
18847 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
18850 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
18851 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
18853 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
18856 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
18857 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
18858 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
18859 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
18861 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
18862 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
18863 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
18864 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
18865 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
18866 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
18867 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
18868 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
18870 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
18871 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
18872 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
18873 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
18874 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
18878 @section Interactive
18879 @cindex interaction
18883 @item gnus-novice-user
18884 @vindex gnus-novice-user
18885 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
18886 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
18887 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
18888 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
18891 @item gnus-expert-user
18892 @vindex gnus-expert-user
18893 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
18894 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
18895 matter how strange.
18897 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
18898 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
18899 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
18900 is @code{t} by default.
18902 @item gnus-interactive-exit
18903 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
18904 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18909 @node Symbolic Prefixes
18910 @section Symbolic Prefixes
18911 @cindex symbolic prefixes
18913 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
18914 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
18915 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
18916 rule of 900 to the current article.
18918 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
18919 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
18920 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
18921 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
18922 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
18923 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
18924 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
18926 @kindex M-i (Summary)
18927 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
18928 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
18929 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
18930 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
18931 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
18932 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
18933 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
18934 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
18936 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
18937 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
18938 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
18940 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
18944 @node Formatting Variables
18945 @section Formatting Variables
18946 @cindex formatting variables
18948 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
18949 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
18950 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
18951 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
18952 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
18955 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
18956 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
18957 lots of percentages everywhere.
18960 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
18961 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
18962 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
18963 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
18964 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
18965 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
18966 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
18967 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
18970 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
18971 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
18972 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
18973 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
18974 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
18975 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
18976 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
18977 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
18979 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
18980 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
18982 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
18983 @findex gnus-update-format
18984 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
18985 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
18986 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
18987 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
18991 @node Formatting Basics
18992 @subsection Formatting Basics
18994 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
18995 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
18996 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
18998 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
18999 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19000 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19001 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19002 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19005 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19006 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19007 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19008 less than 4 characters wide.
19010 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19011 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19014 @node Mode Line Formatting
19015 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19017 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19018 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19019 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19020 with the following two differences:
19025 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19028 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19029 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19030 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19031 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19032 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19033 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19034 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19039 @node Advanced Formatting
19040 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19042 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19043 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19044 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19045 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19047 These are the valid modifiers:
19052 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19056 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19061 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19064 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19069 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19072 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19075 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19078 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19084 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19089 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19090 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19091 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19092 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19093 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19094 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19095 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19097 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19098 last operation, padding.
19100 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
19101 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
19102 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
19103 @xref{Compilation}.
19106 @node User-Defined Specs
19107 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19109 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19110 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19111 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19112 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19113 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19114 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19115 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19116 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19117 should protect against that.
19119 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19120 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19122 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19123 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19124 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19125 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19129 @node Formatting Fonts
19130 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19132 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19133 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19134 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19135 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19138 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19139 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19140 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19141 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19142 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19143 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19145 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
19146 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
19147 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
19148 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
19149 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
19150 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
19151 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
19152 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
19154 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19157 ;; Create three face types.
19158 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19159 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19161 ;; We want the article count to be in
19162 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19163 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19164 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19166 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19167 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19169 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19170 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19171 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19174 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19175 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19177 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19178 mode-line variables.
19180 @node Positioning Point
19181 @subsection Positioning Point
19183 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19184 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19185 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19187 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19189 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19190 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19191 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19193 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19194 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
19195 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19200 @subsection Tabulation
19202 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19203 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19204 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19205 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19207 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19208 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19210 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19211 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19212 This is the soft tabulator.
19214 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19215 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19216 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19219 @node Wide Characters
19220 @subsection Wide Characters
19222 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19223 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19224 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19226 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19227 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19228 these coutries, that's not true.
19230 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19231 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19232 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19233 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
19237 @node Window Layout
19238 @section Window Layout
19239 @cindex window layout
19241 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19243 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19244 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19245 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19246 @code{t} by default.
19248 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19249 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19251 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19252 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19253 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19256 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19257 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19258 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19262 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19263 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19264 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19265 possible names is listed below.
19267 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19268 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19271 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19275 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19276 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19277 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19278 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19279 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19280 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19281 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19282 size spec per split.
19284 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19285 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19286 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19287 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19288 present) gets focus.
19290 Here's a more complicated example:
19293 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19294 (summary 0.25 point)
19295 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19299 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19300 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19301 occupy, not a percentage.
19303 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19304 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19305 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19306 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19307 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19310 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19313 (article (horizontal 1.0
19318 (summary 0.25 point)
19323 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19324 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19326 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19327 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19328 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19329 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19330 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19332 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19333 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19334 lines from the splits.
19336 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19340 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19341 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19342 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19343 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19344 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19345 size = number | frame-params
19346 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19349 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19350 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19351 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19352 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19354 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19355 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19356 @cindex window height
19357 @cindex window width
19358 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19359 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19360 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19361 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19362 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19363 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19365 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19366 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19367 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19368 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19370 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19371 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19372 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19373 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19374 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19375 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19376 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19377 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19378 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19379 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19380 configuration list.
19383 (gnus-configure-frame
19387 (article 0.3 point))
19395 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19396 @code{frame} split:
19399 (gnus-configure-frame
19402 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19404 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19405 (user-position . t)
19406 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19411 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19412 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19413 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19414 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19415 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19416 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19417 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19418 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19420 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19421 be found in its default value.
19423 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19424 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19425 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19429 (message (horizontal 1.0
19430 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19432 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19437 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19438 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19439 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19444 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19445 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19446 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19447 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19448 (name . "Message"))
19449 (message 1.0 point))))
19452 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19453 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19454 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19455 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19456 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19459 (gnus-add-configuration
19460 '(article (vertical 1.0
19462 (summary .25 point)
19466 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19467 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19468 Gnus has been loaded.
19470 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19471 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19472 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19473 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19474 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19476 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19477 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19478 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19481 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19485 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19486 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19501 (gnus-add-configuration
19504 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19506 (summary 0.16 point)
19509 (gnus-add-configuration
19512 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19513 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19519 @node Faces and Fonts
19520 @section Faces and Fonts
19525 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19526 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19527 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19532 @section Compilation
19533 @cindex compilation
19534 @cindex byte-compilation
19536 @findex gnus-compile
19538 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19539 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19540 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
19541 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19542 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19543 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19546 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19547 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19548 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19549 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
19550 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
19551 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
19552 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
19556 @section Mode Lines
19559 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19560 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19561 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
19562 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
19563 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
19564 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
19565 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
19568 @cindex display-time
19570 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
19571 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
19572 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
19573 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
19574 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
19575 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
19576 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
19577 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19580 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19582 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19583 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19585 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19586 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19587 (length display-time-string)))))
19590 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19591 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19592 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19593 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19594 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19597 @node Highlighting and Menus
19598 @section Highlighting and Menus
19600 @cindex highlighting
19603 @vindex gnus-visual
19604 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19605 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19606 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19609 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19610 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19613 @item group-highlight
19614 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19615 @item summary-highlight
19616 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19617 @item article-highlight
19618 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19620 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
19622 Create menus in the group buffer.
19624 Create menus in the summary buffers.
19626 Create menus in the article buffer.
19628 Create menus in the browse buffer.
19630 Create menus in the server buffer.
19632 Create menus in the score buffers.
19634 Create menus in all buffers.
19637 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
19638 buffers, you could say something like:
19641 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
19644 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
19647 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
19650 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
19651 in all Gnus buffers.
19653 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
19656 @item gnus-mouse-face
19657 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
19658 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
19659 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
19663 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
19667 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
19668 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
19669 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
19671 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
19672 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
19673 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
19675 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
19676 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
19677 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
19679 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
19680 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
19681 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
19683 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
19684 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
19685 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
19687 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
19688 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
19689 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
19700 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
19701 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
19702 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
19703 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
19704 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
19708 @vindex gnus-carpal
19709 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
19710 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
19711 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
19716 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19717 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19718 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
19720 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
19721 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
19722 Face used on buttons.
19724 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
19725 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
19726 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
19728 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19729 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19730 Buttons in the group buffer.
19732 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19733 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19734 Buttons in the summary buffer.
19736 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19737 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19738 Buttons in the server buffer.
19740 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19741 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19742 Buttons in the browse buffer.
19745 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
19746 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
19747 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
19755 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
19756 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
19757 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
19758 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
19759 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
19761 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
19762 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
19763 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
19765 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
19766 been idle for thirty minutes:
19769 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
19772 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
19776 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
19779 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
19780 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
19781 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19783 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
19784 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
19785 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
19786 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19788 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
19789 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
19790 @var{idle} minutes.
19792 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
19793 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
19796 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
19797 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
19798 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
19800 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
19801 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
19802 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
19803 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
19805 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
19806 your @file{.gnus} file:
19808 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
19810 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
19813 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
19814 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
19815 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
19816 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
19817 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
19818 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
19819 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
19820 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
19821 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
19822 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
19823 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
19825 @findex gnus-demon-init
19826 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
19827 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
19828 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
19829 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
19830 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
19832 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
19833 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
19834 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
19843 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
19844 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
19846 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
19847 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
19848 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
19849 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
19852 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
19853 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
19854 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
19855 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
19857 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
19858 this will make spam disappear.
19860 There are some variables to customize, of course:
19863 @item gnus-use-nocem
19864 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
19865 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
19868 @item gnus-nocem-groups
19869 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
19870 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
19871 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
19872 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
19874 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
19875 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
19876 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
19877 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
19878 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
19879 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
19881 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
19882 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
19884 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
19885 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
19886 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
19887 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
19888 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
19889 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
19890 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
19891 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
19892 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
19893 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
19895 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
19896 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
19899 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
19902 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
19903 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
19906 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
19909 The specs are applied left-to-right.
19912 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
19913 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
19915 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
19916 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
19917 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
19918 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
19920 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
19921 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
19924 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
19926 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
19934 This might be dangerous, though.
19936 @item gnus-nocem-directory
19937 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
19938 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
19939 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
19941 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19942 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19943 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
19944 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
19945 might then see old spam.
19947 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
19948 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
19949 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
19950 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
19951 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
19954 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19955 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19956 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
19957 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
19961 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
19962 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
19963 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
19964 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
19971 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
19972 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
19973 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
19975 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
19976 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
19977 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
19978 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
19979 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
19980 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
19981 @code{undo} function.
19983 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
19984 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
19985 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
19986 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
19987 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
19988 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
19989 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
19990 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
19991 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
19992 never be totally undoable.
19994 @findex gnus-undo-mode
19995 @vindex gnus-use-undo
19997 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
19998 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
19999 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20000 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20004 @node Predicate Specifiers
20005 @section Predicate Specifiers
20006 @cindex predicate specifiers
20008 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20009 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20010 to type all that much.
20012 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20017 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20018 gnus-article-unread-p)
20021 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20022 functions all take one parameter.
20024 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20025 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20026 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20027 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20032 @section Moderation
20035 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20036 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20037 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20040 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20044 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20047 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20049 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20054 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20055 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20056 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20059 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20060 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20063 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20064 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20068 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20071 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20072 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20076 @node Image Enhancements
20077 @section Image Enhancements
20079 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20080 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20083 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20084 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20085 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20086 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20087 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20100 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20101 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20102 over your shoulder as you read news.
20105 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20106 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20107 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20108 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20109 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20114 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20116 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20125 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20126 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20127 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20128 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20129 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20130 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20131 @code{GIF} formats.
20134 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20135 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20136 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20137 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20138 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20140 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20141 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20142 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20143 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20144 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20145 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20147 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20148 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20151 @node Picon Requirements
20152 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20154 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20155 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20156 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20157 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20159 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20160 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20161 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20162 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20163 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20164 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20167 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20169 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20170 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20173 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20174 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20177 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20178 containing the Picons databases.
20180 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20183 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20184 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20189 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20197 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20198 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20199 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20200 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20201 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20206 @item gnus-picons-database
20207 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20208 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20209 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20210 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20211 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20212 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20214 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20215 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20216 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20217 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20218 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20219 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20220 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20222 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20223 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20224 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20225 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20226 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20227 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20228 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20229 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20231 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20232 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20233 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20238 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20239 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20241 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20242 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20245 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20247 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20248 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20249 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20250 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20252 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20253 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20254 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20255 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20261 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20262 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20270 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20271 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20272 don't need to worry about.
20276 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20277 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20278 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20279 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20281 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20282 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20283 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20284 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20286 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20287 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20288 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20289 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20290 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20292 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20293 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20294 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20295 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20296 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20297 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20298 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20299 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20301 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20302 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20303 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20304 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20305 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20307 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20308 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20309 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20310 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20311 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20312 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20313 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20315 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20316 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20317 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20318 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20320 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20321 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20322 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20323 Defaults to @code{t}.
20325 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20326 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20327 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20328 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20330 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20331 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20332 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20334 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20335 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20336 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20337 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20339 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20340 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20342 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20343 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20344 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20345 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20346 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20347 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20348 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20349 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20360 @subsection Smileys
20365 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20370 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20371 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20373 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20374 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20377 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20380 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20381 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20382 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20383 text and maps that to file names.
20385 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20386 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20387 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20388 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20389 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20390 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20392 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20393 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20395 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20396 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20397 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20399 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20400 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20404 @item smiley-data-directory
20405 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20406 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20408 @item smiley-flesh-color
20409 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20410 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20412 @item smiley-features-color
20413 @vindex smiley-features-color
20414 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20416 @item smiley-tongue-color
20417 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20418 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20420 @item smiley-circle-color
20421 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20422 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20424 @item smiley-mouse-face
20425 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20426 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20435 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20436 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20437 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20441 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20442 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20443 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20444 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20452 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20453 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20454 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20455 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20457 The variable that controls this is the
20458 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20459 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20460 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20461 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20462 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20464 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20465 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20466 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20467 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20470 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20471 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20472 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20473 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20474 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20475 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20476 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20477 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20479 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20482 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20483 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20485 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20486 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20487 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20488 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20489 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20490 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20492 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a file as the parameter, and then
20493 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20494 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20496 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20497 like the folllowing in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20500 (setq message-required-news-headers
20501 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20502 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20505 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20508 (setq message-required-news-headers
20509 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20510 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20511 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20512 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20517 @subsection Toolbar
20527 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20528 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20529 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20530 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20531 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20533 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20534 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20535 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20537 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20538 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20539 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20541 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20542 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20543 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20549 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20552 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20553 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20554 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20555 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20556 unusual directory structure.
20558 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20559 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20560 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20561 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20563 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20564 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20565 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20566 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20567 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20568 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20570 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20571 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20572 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20586 @node Fuzzy Matching
20587 @section Fuzzy Matching
20588 @cindex fuzzy matching
20590 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20591 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20593 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
20594 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
20595 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
20597 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
20598 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
20599 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
20600 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
20601 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
20604 @node Thwarting Email Spam
20605 @section Thwarting Email Spam
20609 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20611 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
20612 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
20613 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
20614 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
20615 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
20616 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
20617 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
20618 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
20621 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
20622 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
20623 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
20624 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
20625 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
20626 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
20630 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
20631 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
20633 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
20634 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
20635 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
20636 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
20637 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
20638 part of the mail address.)
20641 (setq message-default-news-headers
20642 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
20645 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
20646 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20651 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
20652 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
20653 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
20659 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
20660 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
20661 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
20662 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
20664 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
20665 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
20666 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
20667 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
20668 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
20669 your fancy split rule in this way:
20674 (to "larsi" "misc")
20678 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
20679 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
20680 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
20681 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
20682 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
20684 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
20685 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
20686 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
20687 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
20688 cosmic balance somewhat.
20690 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
20691 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
20692 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
20693 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
20696 @node Various Various
20697 @section Various Various
20703 @item gnus-home-directory
20704 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
20705 defaults to @file{~/}.
20707 @item gnus-directory
20708 @vindex gnus-directory
20709 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
20710 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
20711 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
20713 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
20714 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
20715 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
20716 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
20718 @item gnus-default-directory
20719 @vindex gnus-default-directory
20720 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
20721 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
20722 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
20723 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
20724 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
20725 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
20728 @vindex gnus-verbose
20729 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
20730 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
20731 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
20732 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
20733 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
20735 @item gnus-verbose-backends
20736 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
20737 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
20738 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
20740 @item nnheader-max-head-length
20741 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
20742 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
20743 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
20744 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
20745 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
20746 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
20747 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
20748 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
20749 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
20751 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
20752 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
20753 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
20754 read when doing the operation described above.
20756 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
20757 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
20759 @cindex invalid characters in file names
20760 @cindex characters in file names
20761 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
20762 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
20763 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
20766 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
20770 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
20771 Windows (phooey) systems.
20773 @item gnus-hidden-properties
20774 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
20775 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
20776 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
20777 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
20779 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
20780 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
20781 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
20782 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
20783 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
20785 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
20786 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
20787 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
20789 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
20790 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
20792 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
20793 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
20794 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
20795 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
20798 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
20806 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
20807 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
20809 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
20811 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
20817 Not because of victories @*
20820 but for the common sunshine,@*
20822 the largess of the spring.
20826 but for the day's work done@*
20827 as well as I was able;@*
20828 not for a seat upon the dais@*
20829 but at the common table.@*
20834 @chapter Appendices
20837 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
20838 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
20839 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
20840 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
20841 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
20842 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
20843 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
20844 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
20845 * Frequently Asked Questions::
20852 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
20854 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
20855 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
20856 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
20857 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
20858 @samp{xemacs-base}, and @samp{fsf-compat}.
20865 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
20866 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
20868 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
20869 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
20870 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
20871 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
20872 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
20874 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
20875 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
20876 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
20877 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
20878 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
20879 appropriate name, don't you think?)
20881 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
20882 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
20883 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
20884 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
20887 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
20888 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
20889 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
20890 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
20891 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
20892 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
20893 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
20894 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
20895 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
20899 @node Gnus Versions
20900 @subsection Gnus Versions
20902 @cindex September Gnus
20904 @cindex Quassia Gnus
20905 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
20909 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
20910 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
20911 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
20913 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
20914 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
20916 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
20917 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
20919 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
20920 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
20922 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
20923 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
20926 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
20928 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
20929 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
20930 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
20931 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
20932 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
20933 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
20936 @node Other Gnus Versions
20937 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
20940 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
20941 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
20942 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
20943 @sc{mime} capabilities.
20945 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
20946 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
20947 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
20948 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
20955 What's the point of Gnus?
20957 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
20958 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
20959 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
20960 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
20961 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
20962 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
20963 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
20964 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
20965 keep track of millions of people who post?
20967 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
20968 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
20969 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
20970 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
20971 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
20972 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
20973 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
20974 every one of you to explore and invent.
20976 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
20977 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
20980 @node Compatibility
20981 @subsection Compatibility
20983 @cindex compatibility
20984 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
20985 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
20986 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
20991 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
20995 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
20998 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
21001 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
21002 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
21003 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
21004 important variables have their values copied into their global
21005 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
21006 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
21008 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
21009 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
21010 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
21011 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
21012 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
21016 @cindex highlighting
21017 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
21018 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
21019 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
21020 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
21021 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
21022 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
21025 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
21026 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
21027 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
21028 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
21030 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
21031 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
21032 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
21033 to stop doing it the old way.
21035 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
21037 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21039 @cindex reporting bugs
21041 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
21042 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
21043 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
21045 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
21046 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
21047 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
21048 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
21053 @subsection Conformity
21055 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
21056 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
21064 There are no known breaches of this standard.
21068 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
21070 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
21071 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
21072 We do have some breaches to this one.
21078 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
21079 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
21080 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
21081 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
21082 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
21087 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
21088 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
21089 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
21090 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
21092 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
21094 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
21096 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
21097 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
21099 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
21102 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
21103 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
21104 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
21105 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
21106 decoding (verification and decryption).
21108 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
21109 RFC 2015 (superceded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
21110 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
21111 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
21113 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
21114 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
21116 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
21117 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
21118 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
21119 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
21120 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
21121 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
21122 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
21126 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
21127 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
21132 @subsection Emacsen
21138 Gnus should work on :
21146 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
21150 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
21151 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
21154 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
21155 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
21156 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
21160 @node Gnus Development
21161 @subsection Gnus Development
21163 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
21164 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
21165 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
21166 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
21167 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
21168 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
21169 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
21170 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
21172 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
21173 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
21174 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
21175 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
21176 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
21179 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
21180 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
21181 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
21182 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
21183 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
21185 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
21186 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
21187 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
21188 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
21189 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
21190 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
21191 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
21192 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
21193 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
21194 can't be assumed to do so.
21199 @subsection Contributors
21200 @cindex contributors
21202 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
21203 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
21204 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
21205 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
21206 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
21207 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
21208 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
21209 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
21210 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
21211 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
21213 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
21219 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
21222 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
21223 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
21224 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
21225 functionality and stuff.
21228 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
21229 well as numerous other things).
21232 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
21235 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
21238 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
21241 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
21244 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
21245 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
21248 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
21251 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
21252 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
21255 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
21258 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
21261 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
21264 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
21267 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
21268 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
21271 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
21274 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
21277 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
21280 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
21284 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
21287 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
21290 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
21293 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
21294 well as autoconf support.
21298 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
21299 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
21301 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
21310 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
21314 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
21324 Alexei V. Barantsev,
21339 Massimo Campostrini,
21344 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
21345 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
21349 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
21352 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
21358 Michael Welsh Duggan,
21363 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
21367 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
21375 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
21377 Michelangelo Grigni,
21381 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
21383 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
21385 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
21392 François Felix Ingrand,
21393 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
21394 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
21396 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
21407 Peter Skov Knudsen,
21408 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
21410 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
21411 Thor Kristoffersen,
21414 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
21432 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
21433 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
21440 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
21445 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
21449 John McClary Prevost,
21455 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
21460 Christian von Roques,
21463 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
21470 Philippe Schnoebelen,
21472 Randal L. Schwartz,
21486 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
21491 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
21507 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
21512 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
21513 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
21514 (550kB and counting).
21516 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
21519 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
21520 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
21524 @subsection New Features
21525 @cindex new features
21528 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
21529 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
21530 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
21531 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
21532 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
21535 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
21536 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
21537 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
21540 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
21542 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
21547 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
21548 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
21551 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
21552 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
21555 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
21558 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
21559 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
21560 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
21563 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
21564 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
21565 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
21566 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
21569 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
21570 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21573 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
21574 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
21575 (@pxref{The Active File}).
21578 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
21579 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
21582 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
21583 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
21584 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
21587 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
21588 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
21589 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
21592 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
21593 the @file{.emacs} file.
21596 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
21597 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
21600 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
21601 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
21604 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
21605 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21608 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
21609 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
21612 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
21613 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
21616 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
21619 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
21620 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
21623 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
21624 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
21627 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
21628 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
21631 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
21634 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
21635 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
21638 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
21642 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
21646 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
21647 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
21650 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
21656 @node September Gnus
21657 @subsubsection September Gnus
21661 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
21665 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
21670 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
21671 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
21675 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
21676 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
21680 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
21684 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
21685 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
21688 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
21692 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
21695 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
21698 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
21701 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
21705 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
21706 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
21709 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
21713 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
21717 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
21721 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
21725 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
21728 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
21729 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
21732 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
21736 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
21737 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
21740 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
21743 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
21744 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
21745 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
21748 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
21752 The Gnus cache is much faster.
21755 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
21759 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
21760 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
21763 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
21764 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
21767 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
21768 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
21771 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
21772 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
21773 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
21776 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
21777 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
21780 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
21783 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
21786 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
21789 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
21792 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
21793 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
21796 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
21800 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
21803 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
21808 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
21811 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
21815 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21818 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
21822 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
21825 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
21828 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
21829 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
21832 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
21833 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
21837 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
21838 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
21841 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
21845 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
21846 buffer to allow easier treatment.
21849 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
21852 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
21856 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
21860 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
21861 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
21864 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
21868 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
21869 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
21872 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
21873 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
21876 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
21880 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
21883 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
21886 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
21892 @subsubsection Red Gnus
21894 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
21898 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
21905 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
21908 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
21909 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
21912 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
21913 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
21917 Article washing status can be displayed in the
21918 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
21921 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
21924 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
21925 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
21928 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
21932 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
21933 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
21937 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
21938 Server Internals}).
21941 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
21945 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
21948 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
21949 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
21952 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
21953 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
21954 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
21957 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
21958 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
21961 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
21962 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
21965 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
21969 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
21970 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
21973 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
21974 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
21977 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
21981 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
21984 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
21988 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
21989 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
21992 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
21993 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
21996 A new command for reading collections of documents
21997 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
21998 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
22001 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
22005 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
22006 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
22009 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
22010 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
22011 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
22014 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
22015 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
22019 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
22023 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
22027 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
22032 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
22036 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
22040 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
22041 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
22044 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
22050 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
22052 New features in Gnus 5.6:
22057 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
22058 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
22059 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
22062 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
22063 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
22064 group, which is created automatically.
22067 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
22071 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
22074 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
22075 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
22078 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
22082 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
22085 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
22086 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
22089 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
22092 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
22093 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
22096 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
22097 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
22100 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
22101 control over simplification.
22104 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
22107 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
22111 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
22114 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
22117 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
22118 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
22119 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
22122 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
22123 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
22126 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
22130 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
22131 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
22134 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
22135 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
22138 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
22142 A history of where mails have been split is available.
22145 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
22148 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
22149 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
22152 A new function for citing in Message has been
22153 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
22156 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
22159 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
22163 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
22164 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
22167 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
22168 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
22171 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
22174 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
22178 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
22179 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
22181 New features in Gnus 5.8:
22186 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
22187 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
22189 If you used procmail like in
22192 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
22193 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
22194 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
22195 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
22198 this now has changed to
22202 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
22206 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
22207 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
22210 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
22211 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
22214 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
22215 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
22218 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
22219 called to position point.
22222 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
22223 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
22226 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
22227 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
22230 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
22231 subtly different manner.
22234 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
22235 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
22236 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
22239 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
22247 @section The Manual
22251 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
22252 either @code{texi2dvi}
22254 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
22255 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
22257 to get what you hold in your hands now.
22259 The following conventions have been used:
22264 This is a @samp{string}
22267 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
22270 This is a @file{file}
22273 This is a @code{symbol}
22277 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
22281 (setq flargnoze "yes")
22284 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
22287 (setq flumphel 'yes)
22290 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
22291 ever get them confused.
22295 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
22296 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
22297 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
22298 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
22299 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
22300 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
22301 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
22307 @node On Writing Manuals
22308 @section On Writing Manuals
22310 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
22311 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
22312 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
22313 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
22314 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
22315 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
22318 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
22319 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
22320 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
22323 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
22324 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
22329 @section Terminology
22331 @cindex terminology
22336 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
22337 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
22338 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
22339 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
22340 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
22344 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
22345 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
22346 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
22347 not posting, and replying is not following up.
22351 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
22355 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
22360 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of back ends, both news and mail
22361 back ends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
22362 is all done by the back ends.
22366 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
22367 default, way of getting news.
22371 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
22372 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
22377 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
22378 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
22382 A message that has been posted as news.
22385 @cindex mail message
22386 A message that has been mailed.
22390 A mail message or news article
22394 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
22399 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
22404 A line from the head of an article.
22408 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
22409 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
22413 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
22414 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
22415 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
22416 normal @sc{head} format.
22420 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
22421 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
22422 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
22423 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
22424 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
22425 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
22427 @item killed groups
22428 @cindex killed groups
22429 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
22430 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
22432 @item zombie groups
22433 @cindex zombie groups
22434 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
22437 @cindex active file
22438 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
22439 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
22440 is rather large, as you might surmise.
22443 @cindex bogus groups
22444 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
22445 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
22446 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
22449 @cindex activating groups
22450 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
22451 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
22452 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
22456 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
22458 @item select method
22459 @cindex select method
22460 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
22463 @item virtual server
22464 @cindex virtual server
22465 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
22466 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
22467 whole is a virtual server.
22471 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
22472 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
22475 @item ephemeral groups
22476 @cindex ephemeral groups
22477 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
22478 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
22479 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
22482 @cindex solid groups
22483 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
22484 group buffer are solid groups.
22486 @item sparse articles
22487 @cindex sparse articles
22488 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
22489 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
22493 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
22494 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
22498 @cindex thread root
22499 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
22500 articles in the thread.
22504 An article that has responses.
22508 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
22512 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
22513 specified by RFC 1153.
22519 @node Customization
22520 @section Customization
22521 @cindex general customization
22523 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
22524 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
22525 for some quite common situations.
22528 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
22529 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
22530 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
22531 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
22535 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
22536 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
22538 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
22539 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
22540 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
22544 @item gnus-read-active-file
22545 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
22546 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
22547 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
22548 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
22549 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
22551 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
22552 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
22553 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
22554 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
22558 @node Slow Terminal Connection
22559 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
22561 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
22562 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
22563 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
22567 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
22568 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
22569 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
22570 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
22571 horizontal and vertical recentering.
22573 @item gnus-visible-headers
22574 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
22575 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
22576 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
22577 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
22579 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
22581 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
22582 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
22583 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
22586 @item gnus-use-full-window
22587 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
22588 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
22589 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
22590 want to read them anyway.
22592 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
22593 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
22597 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
22598 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
22599 lines, which might save some time.
22603 @node Little Disk Space
22604 @subsection Little Disk Space
22607 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
22608 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
22612 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
22613 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
22614 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
22615 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
22618 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
22619 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
22620 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
22621 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
22624 @item gnus-save-killed-list
22625 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
22626 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
22627 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
22628 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
22634 @subsection Slow Machine
22635 @cindex slow machine
22637 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
22638 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
22640 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
22641 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
22643 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
22644 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
22645 summary buffer faster.
22649 @node Troubleshooting
22650 @section Troubleshooting
22651 @cindex troubleshooting
22653 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
22661 Make sure your computer is switched on.
22664 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
22665 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
22669 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
22670 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
22671 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
22672 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
22675 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
22679 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
22680 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
22681 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
22682 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
22683 something like that.
22686 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
22689 @cindex reporting bugs
22691 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
22693 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
22694 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
22695 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
22696 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
22698 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
22699 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
22700 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
22701 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
22704 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
22705 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
22706 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
22707 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
22708 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
22709 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
22711 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
22712 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
22713 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
22717 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
22718 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
22720 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
22721 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
22723 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
22724 @cindex ding mailing list
22725 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
22726 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
22730 @node Gnus Reference Guide
22731 @section Gnus Reference Guide
22733 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
22734 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
22735 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
22736 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
22739 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
22740 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
22741 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
22742 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
22743 and general methods of operation.
22746 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
22747 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
22748 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
22749 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
22750 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
22751 * Group Info:: The group info format.
22752 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
22753 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
22754 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
22758 @node Gnus Utility Functions
22759 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
22760 @cindex Gnus utility functions
22761 @cindex utility functions
22763 @cindex internal variables
22765 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
22766 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
22767 Below is a list of the most common ones.
22771 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
22772 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
22773 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
22775 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
22776 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
22777 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
22779 @item gnus-group-real-name
22780 @findex gnus-group-real-name
22781 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
22784 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
22785 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
22786 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
22787 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
22789 @item gnus-get-info
22790 @findex gnus-get-info
22791 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
22793 @item gnus-group-unread
22794 @findex gnus-group-unread
22795 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
22799 @findex gnus-active
22800 The active entry for @var{group}.
22802 @item gnus-set-active
22803 @findex gnus-set-active
22804 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
22806 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
22807 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
22808 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
22811 @item gnus-continuum-version
22812 @findex gnus-continuum-version
22813 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
22814 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
22817 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
22818 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
22819 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
22821 @item gnus-news-group-p
22822 @findex gnus-news-group-p
22823 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
22825 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22826 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22827 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
22829 @item gnus-server-to-method
22830 @findex gnus-server-to-method
22831 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
22833 @item gnus-server-equal
22834 @findex gnus-server-equal
22835 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
22837 @item gnus-group-native-p
22838 @findex gnus-group-native-p
22839 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
22841 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
22842 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
22843 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
22845 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
22846 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
22847 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
22849 @item group-group-find-parameter
22850 @findex group-group-find-parameter
22851 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
22852 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
22854 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
22855 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
22856 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
22858 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
22859 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
22860 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
22862 @item gnus-check-backend-function
22863 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
22864 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
22865 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
22868 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
22872 @item gnus-read-method
22873 @findex gnus-read-method
22874 Prompts the user for a select method.
22879 @node Back End Interface
22880 @subsection Back End Interface
22882 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
22883 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
22884 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
22885 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
22886 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
22887 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
22889 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
22890 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
22891 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
22892 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
22893 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
22894 been opened, the function should fail.
22896 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
22897 name. Take this example:
22901 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
22902 (nntp-port-number 4324))
22905 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
22906 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
22908 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
22909 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
22910 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
22912 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
22913 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
22914 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
22916 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
22917 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
22918 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
22919 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
22920 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
22921 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
22924 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
22925 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
22926 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
22927 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
22930 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
22931 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
22932 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
22933 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
22934 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
22935 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
22936 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
22937 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
22938 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
22939 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
22941 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
22942 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
22943 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
22944 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
22945 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
22946 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
22947 of numbers as long as possible.
22949 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
22952 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
22955 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
22956 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
22957 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
22958 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
22959 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
22960 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
22964 @node Required Back End Functions
22965 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
22969 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
22971 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
22972 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
22973 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
22974 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
22976 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
22977 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
22978 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
22979 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
22981 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
22982 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
22983 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
22984 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
22985 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
22986 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
22987 number, do maximum fetches.
22989 Here's an example HEAD:
22992 221 1056 Article retrieved.
22993 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
22994 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
22995 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
22996 Subject: Re: Something very droll
22997 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
22998 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
23000 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
23001 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
23002 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
23006 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
23007 these in the data buffer.
23009 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
23013 head = error / valid-head
23014 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
23015 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
23016 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
23017 header = <text> eol
23020 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
23021 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
23025 nov-buffer = *nov-line
23026 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
23027 field = <text except TAB>
23030 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
23034 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
23036 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
23037 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
23039 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
23040 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
23041 server. In fact, it should do so.
23043 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
23044 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
23047 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
23049 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
23050 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
23053 There should be no data returned.
23056 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
23058 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
23059 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
23060 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
23061 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
23063 There should be no data returned.
23066 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
23068 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
23069 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
23070 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
23071 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
23073 There should be no data returned.
23076 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
23078 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
23080 There should be no data returned.
23083 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
23085 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
23086 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
23087 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
23088 it would be nice if that were possible.
23090 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
23091 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
23092 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
23093 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
23094 into its article buffer.
23096 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
23097 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
23098 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
23099 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
23100 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
23101 on successful article retrieval.
23104 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
23106 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
23107 making @var{group} the current group.
23109 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
23112 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
23115 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
23118 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
23119 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
23120 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
23121 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
23122 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
23123 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
23124 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
23125 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
23126 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
23130 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
23131 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
23132 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
23136 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23138 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
23139 a no-op on most back ends.
23141 There should be no data returned.
23144 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
23146 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
23149 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
23152 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
23153 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
23156 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
23157 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
23158 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
23159 and the highest as 0.
23162 active-file = *active-line
23163 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
23165 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
23168 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
23169 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
23170 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
23173 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
23175 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
23176 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
23177 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
23178 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
23179 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
23180 clear if the posting could not be completed.
23182 There should be no result data from this function.
23187 @node Optional Back End Functions
23188 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
23192 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
23194 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
23195 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
23196 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
23198 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
23199 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
23200 former is in the same format as the data from
23201 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
23202 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
23205 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
23209 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
23211 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
23212 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
23213 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
23214 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
23215 should return the (altered) group info.
23217 There should be no result data from this function.
23220 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
23222 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
23223 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
23224 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
23225 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
23226 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
23227 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
23228 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
23229 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
23231 There should be no result data from this function.
23234 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
23236 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
23237 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
23238 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
23239 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
23240 propagate the mark information to the server.
23242 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
23245 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
23248 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
23249 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
23250 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
23251 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
23252 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
23253 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
23254 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
23255 possible, not limit itself to these.
23257 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
23258 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
23259 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
23260 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
23262 An example action list:
23265 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
23266 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
23267 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
23270 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
23271 mark on (currently not used for anything).
23273 There should be no result data from this function.
23275 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
23277 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
23278 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
23279 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
23280 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
23281 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
23283 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
23284 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
23285 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
23288 There should be no result data from this function.
23291 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
23293 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
23294 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
23295 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
23296 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
23297 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
23298 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
23299 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
23301 There should be no result data from this function.
23304 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
23306 The result data from this function should be a description of
23310 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
23312 description = <text>
23315 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
23317 The result data from this function should be the description of all
23318 groups available on the server.
23321 description-buffer = *description-line
23325 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
23327 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
23328 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
23329 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
23330 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
23331 in the active buffer format.
23333 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
23334 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
23335 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
23336 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
23337 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
23338 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
23339 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
23342 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23344 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
23346 There should be no return data.
23349 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
23351 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
23352 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
23353 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
23354 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
23355 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
23358 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
23361 There should be no result data returned.
23364 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
23367 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
23368 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
23370 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
23371 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
23372 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
23373 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
23374 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
23375 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
23377 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
23378 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
23381 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23382 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23384 There should be no data returned.
23387 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
23389 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
23390 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
23391 this function in short order.
23393 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23394 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23396 There should be no data returned.
23399 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
23401 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
23402 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
23404 There should be no data returned.
23407 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
23409 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
23410 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
23411 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
23413 There should be no data returned.
23416 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
23418 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
23419 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
23421 There should be no data returned.
23426 @node Error Messaging
23427 @subsubsection Error Messaging
23429 @findex nnheader-report
23430 @findex nnheader-get-report
23431 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
23432 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
23433 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
23434 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
23435 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
23436 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
23439 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
23441 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
23444 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
23445 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
23446 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
23447 takes one argument---the server symbol.
23449 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
23450 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
23451 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
23454 @node Writing New Back Ends
23455 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
23457 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
23458 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
23459 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
23460 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
23461 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
23464 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
23465 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
23466 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
23468 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
23469 package called @code{nnoo}.
23471 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
23472 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
23478 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
23479 parameters. For instance:
23482 (nnoo-declare nndir
23486 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
23487 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
23490 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
23491 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
23492 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
23494 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
23495 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
23496 a function in those back ends.
23499 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23500 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23501 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23504 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
23505 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
23506 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
23508 @item nnoo-define-basics
23509 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
23513 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23517 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
23518 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
23519 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
23521 @item nnoo-map-functions
23522 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
23523 functions from the parent back ends.
23526 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
23527 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23528 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
23531 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
23532 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
23533 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
23534 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
23537 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
23538 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
23539 haven't already been defined.
23545 nnmh-request-newgroups)
23549 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
23550 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
23551 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
23556 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
23559 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
23560 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23564 (require 'nnheader)
23568 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
23570 (nnoo-declare nndir
23573 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23574 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23575 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23577 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
23578 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
23581 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
23583 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
23584 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
23585 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
23587 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
23588 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
23590 ;;; Interface functions.
23592 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23594 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
23595 (setq nndir-directory
23596 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
23598 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
23599 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
23600 (push `(nndir-current-group
23601 ,(file-name-nondirectory
23602 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
23604 (push `(nndir-top-directory
23605 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
23607 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
23609 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
23610 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23611 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
23612 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
23613 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
23617 nnmh-status-message
23619 nnmh-request-newgroups))
23625 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
23626 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
23628 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
23629 @findex gnus-declare-backend
23630 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
23631 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
23632 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
23634 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
23635 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
23640 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
23643 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
23645 The abilities can be:
23649 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
23651 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
23653 This back end supports both mail and news.
23655 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
23658 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
23659 articles and groups.
23661 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
23662 true for almost all back ends.
23663 @item prompt-address
23664 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
23665 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
23666 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
23670 @node Mail-like Back Ends
23671 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
23673 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
23674 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
23675 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
23676 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
23679 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
23680 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
23681 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
23684 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
23685 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
23688 This function takes four parameters.
23692 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
23695 @item exit-function
23696 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
23698 @item temp-directory
23699 Where the temporary files should be stored.
23702 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
23703 performed for one group only.
23706 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
23707 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
23708 find the article number assigned to this article.
23710 The function also uses the following variables:
23711 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
23712 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
23713 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
23714 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
23718 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
23719 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
23723 @node Score File Syntax
23724 @subsection Score File Syntax
23726 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
23727 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
23728 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
23730 Here's a typical score file:
23734 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
23741 BNF definition of a score file:
23744 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
23745 element = rule / atom
23746 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
23747 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
23748 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
23749 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
23751 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
23752 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
23753 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
23754 date-header = "date"
23755 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
23756 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23757 score = "nil" / <integer>
23758 date = "nil" / <natural number>
23759 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
23760 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
23761 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
23762 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
23763 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
23764 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23765 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
23766 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
23767 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
23768 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
23769 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
23770 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
23771 exclude-files / read-only / touched
23772 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
23773 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
23774 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
23775 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
23776 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
23777 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
23778 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
23779 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
23780 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
23781 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
23782 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
23783 eval = "eval" space <form>
23784 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
23787 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
23790 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
23791 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
23792 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
23793 one looong line, then that's ok.
23795 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
23796 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23800 @subsection Headers
23802 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
23803 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
23804 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
23805 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
23807 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
23808 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
23809 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
23810 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
23811 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
23812 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
23813 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
23815 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
23816 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
23817 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
23818 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
23819 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
23821 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
23822 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
23828 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
23829 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
23831 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
23832 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
23833 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
23834 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
23836 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
23840 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
23843 is transformed into
23846 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
23849 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
23850 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
23853 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
23856 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
23857 is slightly tricky:
23860 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
23866 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
23869 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
23875 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
23882 and is equal to the previous range.
23884 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
23885 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
23886 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
23890 range = simple-range / normal-range
23891 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
23892 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
23893 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
23894 number *[ " " contents ]
23897 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
23898 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
23899 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
23900 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
23901 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
23906 @subsection Group Info
23908 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
23909 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
23910 describes the group.
23912 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
23913 second is a more complex one:
23916 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
23918 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
23919 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
23921 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
23924 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
23925 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
23926 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
23927 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
23928 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
23929 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
23930 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
23931 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
23932 this section is about.
23934 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
23935 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
23936 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
23938 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
23941 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
23942 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
23943 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23944 group = quote <string> quote
23945 ralevel = rank / level
23946 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23947 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
23948 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23950 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
23951 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
23952 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
23953 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
23956 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
23957 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
23960 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
23961 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
23964 @item gnus-info-group
23965 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
23966 @findex gnus-info-group
23967 @findex gnus-info-set-group
23968 Get/set the group name.
23970 @item gnus-info-rank
23971 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
23972 @findex gnus-info-rank
23973 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
23974 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
23976 @item gnus-info-level
23977 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
23978 @findex gnus-info-level
23979 @findex gnus-info-set-level
23980 Get/set the group level.
23982 @item gnus-info-score
23983 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
23984 @findex gnus-info-score
23985 @findex gnus-info-set-score
23986 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
23988 @item gnus-info-read
23989 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
23990 @findex gnus-info-read
23991 @findex gnus-info-set-read
23992 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
23994 @item gnus-info-marks
23995 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
23996 @findex gnus-info-marks
23997 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
23998 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
24000 @item gnus-info-method
24001 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
24002 @findex gnus-info-method
24003 @findex gnus-info-set-method
24004 Get/set the group select method.
24006 @item gnus-info-params
24007 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
24008 @findex gnus-info-params
24009 @findex gnus-info-set-params
24010 Get/set the group parameters.
24013 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
24014 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
24016 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
24017 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
24018 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
24019 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
24022 @node Extended Interactive
24023 @subsection Extended Interactive
24024 @cindex interactive
24025 @findex gnus-interactive
24027 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
24028 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
24029 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
24032 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
24033 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
24038 The best thing to do would have been to implement
24039 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
24040 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
24041 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
24042 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
24043 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
24044 @code{interactive}.
24046 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
24051 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
24052 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
24056 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
24057 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
24058 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
24061 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
24065 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
24069 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
24075 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
24076 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
24080 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
24081 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
24082 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
24084 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
24085 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
24086 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
24087 Gnus, that's very useful.
24089 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
24090 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
24091 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
24092 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
24093 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
24094 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
24095 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
24096 following function:
24099 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
24103 (,function ,@@args))
24107 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
24108 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
24109 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
24112 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
24113 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
24114 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
24116 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
24117 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
24118 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
24121 @node Various File Formats
24122 @subsection Various File Formats
24125 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
24126 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
24130 @node Active File Format
24131 @subsubsection Active File Format
24133 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
24134 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
24137 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
24140 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
24141 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
24142 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
24143 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
24144 no.general 1000 900 y
24147 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
24150 active = *group-line
24151 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
24152 group = <non-white-space string>
24154 high-number = <non-negative integer>
24155 low-number = <positive integer>
24156 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
24159 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
24160 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
24163 @node Newsgroups File Format
24164 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
24166 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
24167 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
24168 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
24171 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
24172 Here's the definition:
24176 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
24177 group = <non-white-space string>
24179 description = <string>
24184 @node Emacs for Heathens
24185 @section Emacs for Heathens
24187 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
24188 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
24189 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
24190 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
24191 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
24192 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
24193 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
24197 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
24198 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
24203 @subsection Keystrokes
24207 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
24210 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
24213 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
24214 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
24215 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
24216 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
24217 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
24218 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
24220 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
24221 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
24222 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
24223 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
24224 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
24225 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
24226 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
24228 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
24229 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
24230 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
24231 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
24232 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
24233 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
24234 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
24236 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
24237 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
24238 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
24239 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
24240 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
24246 @subsection Emacs Lisp
24248 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
24249 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
24250 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
24251 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
24253 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
24254 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
24255 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
24256 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
24257 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
24258 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
24259 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
24262 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
24263 write the following:
24266 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
24269 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
24270 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
24271 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
24274 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
24275 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
24276 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
24277 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
24278 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
24280 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
24281 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
24282 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
24286 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
24290 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
24293 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
24294 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
24297 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
24300 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
24301 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
24304 @include gnus-faq.texi
24324 @c Local Variables:
24326 @c coding: iso-8859-1
24328 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
24329 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
24330 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
24331 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
24332 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref