1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Pterodactyl Gnus 0.39 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
14 @setchapternewpage odd
18 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright,11pt]{book}
19 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
20 \usepackage{pagestyle}
28 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
29 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
31 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
33 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
34 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
36 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
37 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
39 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\fontfamily{pfu}\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont #1}}
40 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
41 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``{\fontencoding{OT1}\fontfamily{pfu}\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont #1}''}
42 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
43 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
44 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
45 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
46 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
47 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
48 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
49 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{{\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}}
50 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
51 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
52 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
54 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
55 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
56 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
57 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
58 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
59 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
60 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
61 \newcommand{\gnusnot}{$\neg$}
62 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
63 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
64 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
65 \newcommand{\gnusbraceleft}{{$>$}}
66 \newcommand{\gnusbraceright}{{$>$}}
68 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-head.eps,height=1cm}}}
69 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
70 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\gnushead]{\gnushead}
73 \newcommand{\gnuscleardoublepage}{\ifodd\count0\mbox{}\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}\mbox{}\clearpage\else\clearpage\fi}
75 \newcommand{\gnuspagechapter}[1]{
82 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[2]{
84 \ifdim \gnusdimen = 0pt\setcounter{page}{1}\pagestyle{gnus}\pagenumbering{arabic} \gnusdimen 1pt\fi
86 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
87 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#2}
90 \begin{picture}(500,500)(0,0)
91 \put(480,350){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{#1}}
92 \put(40,300){\makebox(500,50)[bl]{{\Huge\bf{#2}}}}
97 \newcommand{\gnusfigure}[3]{
99 \mbox{}\ifodd\count0\hspace*{-0.8cm}\else\hspace*{-3cm}\fi\begin{picture}(440,#2)
106 \newcommand{\gnusicon}[1]{
107 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\raisebox{-1.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/#1-up.ps,height=1.5cm}}]{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/#1-up.ps,height=1cm}}}
110 \newcommand{\gnuspicon}[1]{
111 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=2cm}}
114 \newcommand{\gnusxface}[2]{
115 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=1cm}\epsfig{figure=#2,width=1cm}}
118 \newcommand{\gnussmiley}[2]{
119 \margindex{\makebox[2cm]{\hfill\epsfig{figure=#1,width=0.5cm}\hfill\epsfig{figure=#2,width=0.5cm}\hfill}}
122 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\mbox{}\vspace*{-\itemsep}\vspace*{-\parsep}\item#1}
124 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
125 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
129 \newenvironment{codelist}%
134 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
140 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
145 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
150 \newenvironment{samplist}%
155 \newenvironment{varlist}%
160 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
165 \newlength\gnusheadtextwidth
166 \setlength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{\headtextwidth}
167 \addtolength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{1cm}
169 \newpagestyle{gnuspreamble}%
174 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\mbox{}}\textbf{\hfill\roman{page}}}
178 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\roman{page}\hfill\mbox{}}}
187 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
189 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
194 \newpagestyle{gnusindex}%
199 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\gnuschaptername\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
203 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
211 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
213 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
223 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{3.1cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}} \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}}}}
227 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{-2.95cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}}
235 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
237 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
242 \pagenumbering{roman}
243 \pagestyle{gnuspreamble}
253 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
254 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
256 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
258 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\\
261 \hspace*{0cm}\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=15cm}
264 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
271 \thispagestyle{empty}
273 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
275 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
276 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
277 are preserved on all copies.
279 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
280 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
281 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
282 permission notice identical to this one.
284 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
285 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
294 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
296 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
303 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
304 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
305 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
306 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
309 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
310 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
311 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
312 permission notice identical to this one.
314 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
315 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
321 @title Pterodactyl Gnus 0.39 Manual
323 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
326 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
327 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
329 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
330 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
331 are preserved on all copies.
333 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
334 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
335 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
336 permission notice identical to this one.
338 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
339 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
348 @top The Gnus Newsreader
352 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
353 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
354 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
357 This manual corresponds to Pterodactyl Gnus 0.39.
368 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
369 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
371 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
372 being accused of plagiarism:
374 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
375 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
376 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
377 even read news with it!
379 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
380 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
381 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
382 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
383 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
390 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
391 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
392 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
393 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
394 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
395 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
396 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
397 * Various:: General purpose settings.
398 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
399 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
400 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
401 * Key Index:: Key Index.
405 @chapter Starting Gnus
410 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
411 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
414 @findex gnus-other-frame
415 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
416 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
417 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
419 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
420 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
421 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
423 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
424 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
427 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
428 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
429 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
430 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
431 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
432 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
433 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
434 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
435 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
436 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
437 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
441 @node Finding the News
442 @section Finding the News
445 @vindex gnus-select-method
447 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
448 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
449 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
450 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
453 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
454 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
457 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
460 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
463 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
466 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
467 certainly be much faster.
469 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
471 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
472 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
473 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
474 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
475 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
476 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
478 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
479 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
480 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
481 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
483 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
484 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
485 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
486 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
487 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
488 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
490 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
492 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
493 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
494 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
495 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
496 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
497 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
499 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
501 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
502 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
503 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
504 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
505 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
506 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
509 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
510 would typically set this variable to
513 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
518 @section The First Time
519 @cindex first time usage
521 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
522 be subscribed by default.
524 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
525 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
526 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
527 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
530 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
531 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
532 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
534 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
535 help you with most common problems.
537 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
538 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
542 @node The Server is Down
543 @section The Server is Down
544 @cindex server errors
546 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
547 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
548 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
550 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
551 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
552 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
553 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
554 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
555 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
556 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
558 @findex gnus-no-server
559 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
561 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
562 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
563 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
564 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
565 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
566 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
571 @section Slave Gnusae
574 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
575 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
576 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
577 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
579 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
582 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
583 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
584 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
585 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
586 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
587 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
588 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
590 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
591 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
592 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
593 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
594 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
595 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
596 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
597 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
599 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
600 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
603 @node Fetching a Group
604 @section Fetching a Group
605 @cindex fetching a group
607 @findex gnus-fetch-group
608 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
609 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
610 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
611 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
612 It takes the group name as a parameter.
620 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
621 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
622 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
623 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
624 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
625 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
626 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
627 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
628 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
631 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
632 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
633 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
637 @node Checking New Groups
638 @subsection Checking New Groups
640 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
641 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
642 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
643 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
644 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
645 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
646 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
647 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
648 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
649 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
651 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
652 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
653 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
654 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
655 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
656 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
657 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
658 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
659 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
660 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
661 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
663 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
664 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
665 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
666 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
667 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
668 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
671 @node Subscription Methods
672 @subsection Subscription Methods
674 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
675 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
676 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
678 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
679 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
681 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
685 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
686 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
687 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
688 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
689 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
691 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
692 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
693 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
694 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
696 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
697 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
698 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
700 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
701 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
702 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
703 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
704 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
705 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
706 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
707 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
708 up. Or something like that.
710 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
711 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
712 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
713 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
714 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
716 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
717 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
722 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
723 A closely related variable is
724 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
725 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
726 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
727 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
730 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
731 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
732 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
733 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
736 @node Filtering New Groups
737 @subsection Filtering New Groups
739 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
740 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
741 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
744 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
747 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
748 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
749 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
750 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
751 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
752 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
753 subscribing these groups.
754 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
755 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
757 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
758 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
759 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
760 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
761 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
762 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
763 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
764 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
766 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
767 Yet another variable that meddles here is
768 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
769 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
770 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
771 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
772 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
773 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
774 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
775 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
777 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
778 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
781 @node Changing Servers
782 @section Changing Servers
783 @cindex changing servers
785 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
786 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
787 very flaky and you want to use another.
789 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
790 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
794 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
795 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
796 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
797 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
800 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
801 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
802 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
803 functions more than absolutely necessary.
805 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
806 @findex gnus-change-server
807 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
808 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
809 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
810 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
811 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
813 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
814 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
815 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
816 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
817 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
819 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
820 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
821 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
822 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
823 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
824 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
826 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
827 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
828 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
832 @section Startup Files
833 @cindex startup files
838 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
839 information is traditionally stored in this file.
841 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
842 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
843 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
844 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
845 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
846 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
847 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
849 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
850 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
851 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
852 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
853 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
854 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
856 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
857 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
858 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
859 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
860 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
861 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
863 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
864 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
865 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
866 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
867 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
868 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
869 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
870 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
871 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
872 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
873 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
874 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
876 @vindex gnus-startup-file
877 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
878 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
879 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
881 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
882 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
883 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
884 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
885 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
886 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
887 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
888 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
889 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
890 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
893 (defun turn-off-backup ()
894 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
896 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
897 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
900 @vindex gnus-init-file
901 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
902 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
903 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
904 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
905 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
906 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
907 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
908 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
909 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
918 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
919 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
920 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
921 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
922 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
925 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
926 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
929 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
930 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
931 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
933 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
934 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
935 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
936 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
937 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
938 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
940 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
941 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
942 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
945 @node The Active File
946 @section The Active File
948 @cindex ignored groups
950 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
951 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
952 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
954 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
955 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
956 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
957 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
958 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
959 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
960 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
963 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
964 @c if you set it to anything else.
966 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
968 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
969 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
970 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
972 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
973 you actually subscribe to.
975 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
976 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
977 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
978 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
980 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
981 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
982 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
983 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
984 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
985 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
987 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
988 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
989 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
990 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
991 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
992 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
994 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
995 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
997 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
998 secondary select methods.
1001 @node Startup Variables
1002 @section Startup Variables
1006 @item gnus-load-hook
1007 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1008 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1009 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1010 times you start Gnus.
1012 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1013 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1014 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1016 @item gnus-startup-hook
1017 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1018 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1020 @item gnus-started-hook
1021 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1022 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1025 @item gnus-started-hook
1026 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1027 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1028 generating the group buffer.
1030 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1031 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1032 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1033 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1034 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1035 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1036 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1037 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1039 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1040 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1041 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1042 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1043 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1044 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1046 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1047 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1048 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1050 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1051 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1052 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1054 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1055 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1056 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1057 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1062 @node The Group Buffer
1063 @chapter The Group Buffer
1064 @cindex group buffer
1066 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1067 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1068 long as Gnus is active.
1072 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1073 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1074 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1075 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1076 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1077 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1078 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1079 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1085 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1086 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1087 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1088 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1089 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1090 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1091 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1092 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1093 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1094 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1095 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1096 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1097 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1098 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1099 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1100 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1101 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1105 @node Group Buffer Format
1106 @section Group Buffer Format
1109 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1110 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1111 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1115 @node Group Line Specification
1116 @subsection Group Line Specification
1117 @cindex group buffer format
1119 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1120 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1122 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1125 25: news.announce.newusers
1126 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1131 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1132 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1133 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1134 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1136 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1137 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1138 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1139 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1140 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1141 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1143 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1145 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1146 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1147 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1148 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1151 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1152 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1153 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1155 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1160 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1163 Whether the group is subscribed.
1166 Level of subscribedness.
1169 Number of unread articles.
1172 Number of dormant articles.
1175 Number of ticked articles.
1178 Number of read articles.
1181 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1182 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1185 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1188 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1197 Newsgroup description.
1200 @samp{m} if moderated.
1203 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1212 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1216 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1219 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1220 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1221 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1222 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1223 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1226 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1228 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1232 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1236 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1237 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1238 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1239 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1240 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1241 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1246 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1247 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1248 group, or a bogus native group.
1251 @node Group Modeline Specification
1252 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1253 @cindex group modeline
1255 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1256 The mode line can be changed by setting
1257 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1258 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1262 The native news server.
1264 The native select method.
1268 @node Group Highlighting
1269 @subsection Group Highlighting
1270 @cindex highlighting
1271 @cindex group highlighting
1273 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1274 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1275 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1276 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1277 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1279 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1283 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1
1284 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1285 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2
1286 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1287 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3
1288 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1289 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4
1290 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1291 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5
1292 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1294 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1295 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1296 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1297 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1298 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1299 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1302 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1304 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1311 The number of unread articles in the group.
1315 Whether the group is a mail group.
1317 The level of the group.
1319 The score of the group.
1321 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1323 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1324 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1326 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1327 topic being inserted.
1330 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1331 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1332 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1334 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1335 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1336 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1337 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1338 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1341 @node Group Maneuvering
1342 @section Group Maneuvering
1343 @cindex group movement
1345 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1346 expected, hopefully.
1352 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1353 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1354 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1360 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1361 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1362 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1366 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1367 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1371 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1372 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1376 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1377 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1378 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1382 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1383 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1384 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1387 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1393 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1394 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1395 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1400 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1401 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1402 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1406 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1407 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1408 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1411 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1412 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1413 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1414 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1418 @node Selecting a Group
1419 @section Selecting a Group
1420 @cindex group selection
1425 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1426 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1427 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1428 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1429 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1430 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1431 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1432 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1433 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1434 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1438 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1439 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1440 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1441 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1442 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1446 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1447 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1448 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1449 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1450 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1451 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1452 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1453 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1454 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1455 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1458 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1459 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1460 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1461 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1462 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1465 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1466 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1467 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1468 doing any processing of its contents
1469 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1470 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1471 manner will have no permanent effects.
1475 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1476 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1477 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1478 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1479 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1480 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1481 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1482 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1485 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1486 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1487 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1488 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1493 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1494 full summary buffer.
1497 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1500 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1505 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
1506 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
1507 Useful functions include:
1510 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
1511 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
1512 don't select the article.
1514 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
1515 Select the first unread article.
1517 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
1518 Select the highest-scored unread article.
1522 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1523 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1524 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1528 @node Subscription Commands
1529 @section Subscription Commands
1530 @cindex subscription
1538 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1539 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1540 Toggle subscription to the current group
1541 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1547 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1548 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1549 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1550 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1556 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1557 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1558 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1564 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1565 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1568 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1569 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1570 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1571 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1572 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1578 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1579 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1583 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1584 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1587 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1588 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1589 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1590 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1591 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1592 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1593 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1594 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1595 @file{.newsrc} file.
1599 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1609 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1610 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1611 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1612 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1613 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1614 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1619 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1620 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1621 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1625 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1626 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1627 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1629 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1630 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1631 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1632 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1633 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1634 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1641 @section Group Levels
1645 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1646 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1647 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1648 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1649 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1651 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1657 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1658 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1659 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1660 prompted for a level.
1663 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1664 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1665 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1666 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1667 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1668 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1669 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1670 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1671 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1672 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1673 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1674 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1675 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1676 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1677 reasons of efficiency.
1679 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1680 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1682 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1683 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1684 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1686 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1687 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1688 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1689 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1690 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1691 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1692 relevant valid ranges.
1694 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1695 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1696 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1697 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1698 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1699 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1702 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1703 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1704 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1707 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1708 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1709 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1710 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1713 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1714 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1715 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1716 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1718 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1719 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1720 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1721 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1722 to 5. The default is 6.
1726 @section Group Score
1731 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1732 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1733 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1736 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1737 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1738 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1739 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1740 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1741 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1742 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1744 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1745 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1746 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1747 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1748 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1749 action after each summary exit, you can add
1750 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1751 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1752 slow things down somewhat.
1755 @node Marking Groups
1756 @section Marking Groups
1757 @cindex marking groups
1759 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1760 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1761 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1762 bidding on those groups.
1764 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1765 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1766 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1774 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1775 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1781 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1782 Remove the mark from the current group
1783 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1787 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1788 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1792 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1793 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1797 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1798 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1802 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1803 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1804 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1807 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1809 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1810 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1811 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1812 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1813 the command to be executed.
1816 @node Foreign Groups
1817 @section Foreign Groups
1818 @cindex foreign groups
1820 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1821 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1822 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1823 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1830 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1831 @cindex making groups
1832 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1833 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1834 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1838 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1839 @cindex renaming groups
1840 Rename the current group to something else
1841 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1842 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1848 @findex gnus-group-customize
1849 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1853 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1854 @cindex renaming groups
1855 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1856 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1860 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1861 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1862 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1866 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1867 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1868 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1872 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1874 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1875 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1880 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1881 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1885 @cindex (ding) archive
1886 @cindex archive group
1887 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1888 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1889 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1890 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1891 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1892 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1893 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1897 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1899 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1900 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1901 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1902 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1906 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1908 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1909 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1910 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1914 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1915 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1917 Make a group based on some file or other
1918 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1919 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1920 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1921 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1922 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1923 this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
1924 @xref{Document Groups}.
1928 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
1929 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
1930 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
1931 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
1935 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1940 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1941 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1942 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1943 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1944 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1945 @xref{Web Searches}.
1947 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1948 to a particular group by using a match string like
1949 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1952 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1953 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1954 This function will delete the current group
1955 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1956 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1957 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1958 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1959 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1963 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1964 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1965 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1969 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1970 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1971 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1974 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1977 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1978 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1979 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1980 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1981 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
1982 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
1986 @node Group Parameters
1987 @section Group Parameters
1988 @cindex group parameters
1990 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
1991 Here's an example group parameter list:
1994 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
1998 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
1999 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2000 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2001 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2003 The following group parameters can be used:
2008 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2011 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2014 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2015 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2016 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2017 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2018 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2020 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2021 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2022 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2023 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2024 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2025 list address instead.
2029 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2032 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2035 It is totally ignored
2036 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2037 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2039 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2040 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2041 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2042 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2043 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2045 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2046 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2047 sending the message.
2051 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2052 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2053 of whether it has any unread articles.
2055 @item broken-reply-to
2056 @cindex broken-reply-to
2057 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2058 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2059 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2060 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2061 broken behavior. So there!
2065 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2066 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2070 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2071 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2072 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2077 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2078 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2079 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2080 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2081 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2082 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2083 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2087 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2088 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2089 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2092 @cindex total-expire
2093 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2094 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2095 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2096 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2101 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2102 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2103 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2104 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2105 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2106 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2109 @cindex score file group parameter
2110 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2111 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2112 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2115 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2116 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2117 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2118 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2121 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2122 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2123 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2124 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2127 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2128 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2132 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2135 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2140 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2141 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2142 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2146 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2147 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2148 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2150 @item @var{(variable form)}
2151 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2152 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2153 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2154 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2155 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2156 @code{eval}ed there.
2158 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2159 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2160 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2161 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2162 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2166 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2167 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2171 @node Listing Groups
2172 @section Listing Groups
2173 @cindex group listing
2175 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2183 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2184 List all groups that have unread articles
2185 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2186 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2187 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2188 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2195 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2196 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2197 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2198 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2199 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2200 unsubscribed groups).
2204 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2205 List all unread groups on a specific level
2206 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2207 with no unread articles.
2211 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2212 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2213 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2214 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2219 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2220 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2224 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2225 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2226 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2230 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2231 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2235 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2236 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2237 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2238 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2239 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2240 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2241 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2242 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2246 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2247 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2248 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2252 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2253 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2254 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2258 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2259 @cindex visible group parameter
2260 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2261 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2262 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2263 get the same effect.
2265 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2266 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2267 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2268 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2269 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2272 @node Sorting Groups
2273 @section Sorting Groups
2274 @cindex sorting groups
2276 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2277 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2278 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2279 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2280 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2281 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2286 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2287 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2288 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2290 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2291 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2292 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2294 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2295 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2296 Sort by group level.
2298 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2299 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2300 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2302 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2303 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2304 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2305 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2307 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2308 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2309 Sort by number of unread articles.
2311 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2312 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2313 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2318 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2319 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2323 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2324 some sorting criteria:
2328 @kindex G S a (Group)
2329 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2330 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2331 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2334 @kindex G S u (Group)
2335 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2336 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2337 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2340 @kindex G S l (Group)
2341 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2342 Sort the group buffer by group level
2343 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2346 @kindex G S v (Group)
2347 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2348 Sort the group buffer by group score
2349 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2352 @kindex G S r (Group)
2353 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2354 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2355 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2358 @kindex G S m (Group)
2359 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2360 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2361 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2365 All the commands below obeys the process/prefix convention
2366 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2368 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2369 commands will sort in reverse order.
2371 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2375 @kindex G P a (Group)
2376 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2377 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2378 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2381 @kindex G P u (Group)
2382 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2383 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2384 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2387 @kindex G P l (Group)
2388 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2389 Sort the groups by group level
2390 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2393 @kindex G P v (Group)
2394 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2395 Sort the groups by group score
2396 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2399 @kindex G P r (Group)
2400 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2401 Sort the groups by group rank
2402 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2405 @kindex G P m (Group)
2406 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2407 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2408 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2414 @node Group Maintenance
2415 @section Group Maintenance
2416 @cindex bogus groups
2421 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2422 Find bogus groups and delete them
2423 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2427 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2428 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2429 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2430 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2431 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2435 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2436 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2437 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2438 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2441 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2442 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2443 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2444 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2449 @node Browse Foreign Server
2450 @section Browse Foreign Server
2451 @cindex foreign servers
2452 @cindex browsing servers
2457 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2458 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2459 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2460 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2463 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2464 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2465 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2466 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2468 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2473 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2474 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2478 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2479 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2482 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2483 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2484 Enter the current group and display the first article
2485 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2488 @kindex RET (Browse)
2489 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2490 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2494 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2495 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2496 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2502 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2503 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2507 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2508 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2509 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2514 @section Exiting Gnus
2515 @cindex exiting Gnus
2517 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2522 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2523 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2524 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2525 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2529 @findex gnus-group-exit
2530 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2531 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2535 @findex gnus-group-quit
2536 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2537 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2540 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2541 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2542 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2543 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2544 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2549 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2550 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2551 trying to customize meta-variables.
2556 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2557 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2558 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2564 @section Group Topics
2567 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2568 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2569 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2570 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2571 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2572 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2576 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2577 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2588 2: alt.religion.emacs
2591 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2593 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2594 13: comp.sources.unix
2597 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2599 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2600 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2601 is a toggling command.)
2603 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2604 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2605 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2606 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2609 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2610 the hook for the group mode:
2613 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2617 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2618 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2619 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2620 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2621 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2625 @node Topic Variables
2626 @subsection Topic Variables
2627 @cindex topic variables
2629 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2630 really neat, I think.
2632 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2633 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2634 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2647 Number of groups in the topic.
2649 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2651 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2654 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2655 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2656 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2659 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2660 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2662 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2663 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2664 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2667 @node Topic Commands
2668 @subsection Topic Commands
2669 @cindex topic commands
2671 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2672 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2673 definitions slightly.
2679 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2680 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2681 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2685 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2686 Move the current group to some other topic
2687 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2688 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2692 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2693 Copy the current group to some other topic
2694 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2695 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2699 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2700 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2701 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
2702 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
2703 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
2704 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
2705 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
2708 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2709 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2713 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2714 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2715 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2719 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2720 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2721 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2725 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2726 Toggle hiding empty topics
2727 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2731 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2732 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2733 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2736 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2737 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2738 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2739 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2743 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2745 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2746 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2747 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2748 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2749 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2750 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2754 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2756 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2757 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2758 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2759 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2762 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
2763 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
2764 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2765 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
2769 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2770 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2771 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2775 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2776 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2777 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2782 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2783 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2786 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2787 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2788 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2792 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2793 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2794 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2798 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2799 @cindex group parameters
2800 @cindex topic parameters
2802 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2803 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2809 @subsection Topic Sorting
2810 @cindex topic sorting
2812 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2818 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2819 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2820 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2821 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2824 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2825 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2826 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2827 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2830 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2831 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2832 Sort the current topic by group level
2833 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2836 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2837 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2838 Sort the current topic by group score
2839 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2842 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2843 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2844 Sort the current topic by group rank
2845 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2848 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2849 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2850 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2851 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2855 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2858 @node Topic Topology
2859 @subsection Topic Topology
2860 @cindex topic topology
2863 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2869 2: alt.religion.emacs
2872 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2874 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2875 13: comp.sources.unix
2878 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2879 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2880 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2885 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2886 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2890 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2891 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2892 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2893 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2894 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2895 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2897 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2898 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2899 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2902 @node Topic Parameters
2903 @subsection Topic Parameters
2904 @cindex topic parameters
2906 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2907 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2908 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2910 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2911 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2912 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2913 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2919 2: alt.religion.emacs
2923 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2925 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2926 13: comp.sources.unix
2930 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2931 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2932 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2933 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2934 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2935 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2937 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2938 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2939 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2940 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2941 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2943 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2944 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2945 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2946 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2947 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2948 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2949 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2950 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2953 @node Misc Group Stuff
2954 @section Misc Group Stuff
2957 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2958 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2959 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2960 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2967 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2968 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2969 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2973 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2974 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2975 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2979 @findex gnus-group-mail
2980 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2984 Variables for the group buffer:
2988 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2989 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2990 is called after the group buffer has been
2993 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2994 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2995 is called after the group buffer is
2996 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2999 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3000 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3001 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3002 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3004 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3005 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3006 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3007 whether they are empty or not.
3012 @node Scanning New Messages
3013 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3014 @cindex new messages
3015 @cindex scanning new news
3021 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3022 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3023 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3024 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3025 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3026 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3031 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3032 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3033 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3034 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3035 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3036 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3037 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3039 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3040 @cindex activating groups
3042 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3043 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3048 @findex gnus-group-restart
3049 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3050 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3051 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3055 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3056 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3058 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3059 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3063 @node Group Information
3064 @subsection Group Information
3065 @cindex group information
3066 @cindex information on groups
3073 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3074 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3077 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3078 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3079 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3080 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3081 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3082 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3083 for fetching the file.
3085 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3086 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3090 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3092 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3093 @cindex describing groups
3094 @cindex group description
3095 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3096 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3097 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3101 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3102 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3103 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3110 @findex gnus-version
3111 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3115 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3116 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3119 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3122 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3123 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3127 @node Group Timestamp
3128 @subsection Group Timestamp
3130 @cindex group timestamps
3132 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3133 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3134 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3137 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3140 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3142 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3143 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3146 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3147 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3150 This will result in lines looking like:
3153 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3154 0: custom 19961002T012713
3157 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3158 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3162 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3163 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3168 @subsection File Commands
3169 @cindex file commands
3175 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3176 @vindex gnus-init-file
3177 @cindex reading init file
3178 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3179 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3183 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3184 @cindex saving .newsrc
3185 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3186 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3187 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3190 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3191 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3192 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3197 @node The Summary Buffer
3198 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3199 @cindex summary buffer
3201 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3202 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3204 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3205 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3207 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3210 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3211 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3212 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3213 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3214 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3215 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3216 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3217 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3218 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3219 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3220 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3221 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3222 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3223 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3224 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3225 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3226 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3227 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3228 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3229 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3230 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3231 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3232 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3233 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3234 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3235 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3236 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3237 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3241 @node Summary Buffer Format
3242 @section Summary Buffer Format
3243 @cindex summary buffer format
3247 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3248 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3249 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3255 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3256 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3257 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3258 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3261 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3262 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3263 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3264 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3265 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3266 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3267 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3268 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3269 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3270 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3271 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
3274 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3275 'mail-extract-address-components)
3278 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3279 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3280 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3281 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3284 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3285 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3287 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3288 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3289 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3290 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3291 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3293 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3295 The following format specification characters are understood:
3303 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3304 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3305 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3307 Full @code{From} header.
3309 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3311 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3312 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3314 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3315 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3316 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3317 may be more thorough.
3319 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3322 Number of lines in the article.
3324 Number of characters in the article.
3326 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3328 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3329 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3331 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3332 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3334 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3335 for adopted articles.
3337 One space for each thread level.
3339 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3344 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3345 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3349 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3351 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3352 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3353 default level. If the difference between
3354 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3355 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3363 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3365 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3371 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3372 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3374 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3375 article has any children.
3381 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3382 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3383 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3384 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3385 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3386 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3389 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3390 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3391 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3392 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3393 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3394 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3396 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3397 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3399 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3402 @node To From Newsgroups
3403 @subsection To From Newsgroups
3407 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
3408 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
3409 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
3410 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
3411 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
3415 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
3416 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
3417 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
3421 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3422 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
3425 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
3426 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
3429 @findex gnus-extra-header
3430 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
3431 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
3432 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
3435 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
3439 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
3440 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
3441 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
3442 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
3443 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
3444 headers are used instead.
3448 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
3449 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
3450 to include extra headers when generating active files.
3452 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
3455 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3457 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
3458 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
3459 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
3460 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
3465 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3466 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3468 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3469 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
3470 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
3471 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3473 Here are the elements you can play with:
3479 Unprefixed group name.
3481 Current article number.
3483 Current article score.
3487 Number of unread articles in this group.
3489 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3492 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3493 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3494 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3495 and no unselected ones.
3497 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3498 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3500 Subject of the current article.
3502 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3504 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3506 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3508 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3510 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3512 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3516 @node Summary Highlighting
3517 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3521 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3522 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3523 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3524 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3525 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3527 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3528 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3529 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3530 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3532 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3533 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3534 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3535 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3537 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3538 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3539 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3540 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3541 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3542 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3544 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3545 ((> score default) . bold))
3547 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3548 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3552 @node Summary Maneuvering
3553 @section Summary Maneuvering
3554 @cindex summary movement
3556 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3557 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3559 None of these commands select articles.
3564 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3565 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3566 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3567 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3568 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3572 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3573 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3574 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3575 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3576 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3581 @kindex G j (Summary)
3582 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3583 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3584 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3587 @kindex G g (Summary)
3588 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3589 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3590 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3593 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3594 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3595 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3596 to the group buffer.
3598 Variables related to summary movement:
3602 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3603 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3604 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3605 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3606 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3607 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3608 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3609 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3610 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3611 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3612 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3613 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3614 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3615 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3617 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3618 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3619 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3620 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3621 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3622 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
3623 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
3625 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3627 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3628 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3629 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3630 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3631 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3633 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3634 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3635 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3636 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3637 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3638 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3639 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3640 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3646 @node Choosing Articles
3647 @section Choosing Articles
3648 @cindex selecting articles
3651 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3652 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3656 @node Choosing Commands
3657 @subsection Choosing Commands
3659 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3660 and they all select and display an article.
3664 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3665 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3666 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3667 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3672 @kindex G n (Summary)
3673 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3674 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3675 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3680 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3681 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3682 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3687 @kindex G N (Summary)
3688 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3689 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3694 @kindex G P (Summary)
3695 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3696 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3699 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3700 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3701 Go to the next article with the same subject
3702 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3705 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3706 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3707 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3708 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3712 @kindex G f (Summary)
3714 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3715 Go to the first unread article
3716 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3720 @kindex G b (Summary)
3722 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3723 Go to the article with the highest score
3724 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3729 @kindex G l (Summary)
3730 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3731 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3734 @kindex G o (Summary)
3735 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3737 @cindex article history
3738 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3739 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3740 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3741 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3742 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3743 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3747 @node Choosing Variables
3748 @subsection Choosing Variables
3750 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3753 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3754 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3755 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3756 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3757 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3758 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3760 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3761 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3762 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3763 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3765 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3766 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3767 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3768 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3769 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3770 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3771 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3772 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3773 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3774 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3775 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3776 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3777 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3778 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3783 @node Paging the Article
3784 @section Scrolling the Article
3785 @cindex article scrolling
3790 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3791 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3792 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3793 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3794 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3797 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3798 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3799 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3802 @kindex RET (Summary)
3803 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3804 Scroll the current article one line forward
3805 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3808 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
3809 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
3810 Scroll the current article one line backward
3811 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
3815 @kindex A g (Summary)
3817 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3818 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3819 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3820 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3821 the way it came from the server.
3826 @kindex A < (Summary)
3827 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3828 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3829 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3834 @kindex A > (Summary)
3835 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3836 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3840 @kindex A s (Summary)
3842 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3843 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3844 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3848 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3849 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3854 @node Reply Followup and Post
3855 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3858 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3859 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3863 @node Summary Mail Commands
3864 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3866 @cindex composing mail
3868 Commands for composing a mail message:
3874 @kindex S r (Summary)
3876 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3877 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3878 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3879 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3880 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3885 @kindex S R (Summary)
3886 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3887 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3888 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3889 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3890 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3893 @kindex S w (Summary)
3894 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3895 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3896 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3897 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3898 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3901 @kindex S W (Summary)
3902 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3903 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3904 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3905 the process/prefix convention.
3908 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3909 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3910 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3911 Forward the current article to some other person
3912 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3913 headers of the forwarded article.
3918 @kindex S m (Summary)
3919 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3920 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3921 Send a mail to some other person
3922 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3925 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3926 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3927 @cindex bouncing mail
3928 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3929 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3930 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3931 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3932 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3933 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3934 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3935 very well fail, though.
3938 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3939 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3940 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3941 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3942 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3943 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3944 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3945 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3946 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3947 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3949 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3950 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3951 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3952 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3953 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3955 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3956 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3959 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3960 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3961 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3962 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3963 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3966 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3967 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3968 @cindex crossposting
3969 @cindex excessive crossposting
3970 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3971 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3973 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3974 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
3975 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3976 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3977 command understands the process/prefix convention
3978 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3982 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3985 @node Summary Post Commands
3986 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3988 @cindex composing news
3990 Commands for posting a news article:
3996 @kindex S p (Summary)
3997 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3998 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3999 Post an article to the current group
4000 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4005 @kindex S f (Summary)
4006 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4007 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4008 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4012 @kindex S F (Summary)
4014 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4015 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4016 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4017 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4018 process/prefix convention.
4021 @kindex S n (Summary)
4022 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4023 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4024 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4027 @kindex S N (Summary)
4028 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4029 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4030 message through mail and include the original message
4031 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4032 the process/prefix convention.
4035 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4036 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4037 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4038 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4039 headers of the forwarded article.
4042 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4043 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4045 @cindex making digests
4046 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4047 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4048 process/prefix convention.
4051 @kindex S u (Summary)
4052 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4053 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4054 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4055 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4058 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4061 @node Canceling and Superseding
4062 @section Canceling Articles
4063 @cindex canceling articles
4064 @cindex superseding articles
4066 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4067 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4069 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4071 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4073 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4074 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4075 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4076 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4077 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4078 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4080 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4081 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4084 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4085 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4086 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4088 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4089 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4090 your original article.
4092 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4094 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4095 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4096 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4099 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4100 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4101 have posted almost the same article twice.
4103 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4104 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4105 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4106 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4107 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4108 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4109 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4110 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4111 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4112 canceled/superseded.
4114 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4117 @node Marking Articles
4118 @section Marking Articles
4119 @cindex article marking
4120 @cindex article ticking
4123 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4125 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4126 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4127 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4129 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4132 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4133 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4134 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4138 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4142 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4143 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4147 @node Unread Articles
4148 @subsection Unread Articles
4150 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4155 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4156 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4158 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4159 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4160 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4161 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4162 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4166 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4167 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4169 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4170 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4171 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4174 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4175 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4177 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4182 @subsection Read Articles
4183 @cindex expirable mark
4185 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4190 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4191 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4192 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4195 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4196 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4199 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4200 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4201 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4204 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4205 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4208 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4209 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4212 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4213 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4216 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4217 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4220 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4221 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4224 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4225 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4228 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4229 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4233 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4234 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4235 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4239 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4240 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4242 One more special mark, though:
4246 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4247 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4249 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4250 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4251 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4252 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4258 @subsection Other Marks
4259 @cindex process mark
4262 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4268 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4269 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4270 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4271 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4272 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4275 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4276 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4277 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4278 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4281 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4282 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4283 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4286 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4287 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4288 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4289 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4292 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4293 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4294 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4295 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4296 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4299 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4300 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4301 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4302 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4303 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4304 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4308 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4309 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4310 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4312 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4313 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4314 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4318 @subsection Setting Marks
4319 @cindex setting marks
4321 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4326 @kindex M c (Summary)
4327 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4328 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4329 @cindex mark as unread
4330 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4331 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4337 @kindex M t (Summary)
4338 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4339 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4340 @xref{Article Caching}.
4345 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4346 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4347 Mark the current article as dormant
4348 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4352 @kindex M d (Summary)
4354 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4355 Mark the current article as read
4356 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4360 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4361 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4362 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4367 @kindex M k (Summary)
4368 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4369 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4370 and then select the next unread article
4371 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4375 @kindex M K (Summary)
4376 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4377 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4378 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4379 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4382 @kindex M C (Summary)
4383 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4384 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4385 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4388 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4389 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4390 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4391 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4394 @kindex M H (Summary)
4395 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4396 Catchup the current group to point
4397 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4400 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4401 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4402 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4403 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4406 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4407 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4408 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4409 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4413 @kindex M e (Summary)
4415 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4416 Mark the current article as expirable
4417 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4420 @kindex M b (Summary)
4421 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4422 Set a bookmark in the current article
4423 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4426 @kindex M B (Summary)
4427 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4428 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4429 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4432 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4433 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4434 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4435 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4438 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4439 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4440 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4441 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4444 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4445 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4446 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4447 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4448 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4451 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4452 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4453 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4454 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4455 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4456 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4457 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4458 The default is @code{t}.
4461 @node Setting Process Marks
4462 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4463 @cindex setting process marks
4470 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4471 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4472 Mark the current article with the process mark
4473 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4474 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4478 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4479 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4480 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4481 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4484 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4485 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4486 Remove the process mark from all articles
4487 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4490 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4491 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4492 Invert the list of process marked articles
4493 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4496 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4497 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4498 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4499 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4502 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4503 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4504 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4507 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4508 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4509 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4510 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4513 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4514 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4515 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4516 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4519 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4520 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4521 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4522 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4525 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4526 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4527 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4530 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4531 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4532 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4533 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4536 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4537 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4538 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4541 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4542 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4543 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4544 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4547 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4548 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4549 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4550 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4553 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4554 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4555 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4556 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4559 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4560 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4561 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4562 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4571 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4572 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4573 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4576 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4577 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4578 additional articles.
4584 @kindex / / (Summary)
4585 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4586 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4587 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4590 @kindex / a (Summary)
4591 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4592 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4593 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4597 @kindex / u (Summary)
4599 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4600 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4601 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4602 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4603 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4606 @kindex / m (Summary)
4607 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4608 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
4609 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4612 @kindex / t (Summary)
4613 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4614 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4615 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4616 articles younger than that number of days.
4619 @kindex / n (Summary)
4620 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4621 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4622 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4623 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4626 @kindex / w (Summary)
4627 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4628 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4629 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4633 @kindex / v (Summary)
4634 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4635 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4636 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4640 @kindex M S (Summary)
4641 @kindex / E (Summary)
4642 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4643 Include all expunged articles in the limit
4644 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4647 @kindex / D (Summary)
4648 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4649 Include all dormant articles in the limit
4650 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4653 @kindex / * (Summary)
4654 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4655 Include all cached articles in the limit
4656 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4659 @kindex / d (Summary)
4660 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4661 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
4662 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4665 @kindex / T (Summary)
4666 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4667 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
4670 @kindex / c (Summary)
4671 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4672 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
4673 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4676 @kindex / C (Summary)
4677 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4678 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4679 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4680 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4688 @cindex article threading
4690 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4691 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4692 hierarchical fashion.
4694 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4695 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4696 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4697 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
4698 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4699 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4700 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4702 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4706 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4709 A tree-like article structure.
4712 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4715 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4716 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4717 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
4718 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4719 called loose threads.
4721 @item thread gathering
4722 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4724 @item sparse threads
4725 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4726 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4732 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4733 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4737 @node Customizing Threading
4738 @subsection Customizing Threading
4739 @cindex customizing threading
4742 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4743 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4744 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4745 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4750 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4753 @cindex loose threads
4756 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4757 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4758 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4759 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4760 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4761 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4763 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4764 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4765 There are four possible values:
4769 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4770 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4771 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4772 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4773 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4778 @cindex adopting articles
4783 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4784 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4785 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4786 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4789 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4790 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4791 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4792 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4793 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4794 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4795 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4798 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4799 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4800 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4804 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4805 display them after one another.
4808 Don't gather loose threads.
4811 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4812 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4813 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4814 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4815 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4816 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4817 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4818 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4819 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4820 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4821 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4823 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4824 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4825 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4828 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4829 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4830 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4831 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4832 simplification is used.
4834 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4835 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4836 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4837 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4839 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4841 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4847 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4848 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4849 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4850 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4855 (mapconcat 'identity
4856 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4858 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4861 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4864 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4865 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4866 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4867 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4868 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4869 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4871 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4874 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4875 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4876 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4878 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4879 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4882 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4883 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4884 Remove excessive whitespace.
4887 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4890 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4891 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4892 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4893 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4894 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4895 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4896 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4897 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4899 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4900 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4901 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4902 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4903 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4904 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4905 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4906 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4907 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4911 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4912 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4913 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4914 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4916 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4917 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4918 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4921 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4925 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4926 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4932 @node Filling In Threads
4933 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4936 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4937 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4938 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4939 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
4940 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4941 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4942 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4943 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4944 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4945 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4946 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4947 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4949 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4950 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4951 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4953 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4954 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4955 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4956 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4957 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4958 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4959 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4960 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4961 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4962 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4963 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4964 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4965 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4966 @code{nil} by default.
4971 @node More Threading
4972 @subsubsection More Threading
4975 @item gnus-show-threads
4976 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4977 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4978 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4979 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4980 slower and more awkward.
4982 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4983 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4984 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4987 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4988 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4989 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4990 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4991 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4992 threads are expunged.
4994 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4995 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4996 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4999 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5000 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5001 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5002 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5003 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5006 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5007 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5008 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5014 @node Low-Level Threading
5015 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5019 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5020 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5021 Hook run before parsing any headers.
5023 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5024 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5025 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5026 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5027 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5028 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5029 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5030 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5031 meaningful. Here's one example:
5034 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5036 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5037 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5039 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5041 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5048 @node Thread Commands
5049 @subsection Thread Commands
5050 @cindex thread commands
5056 @kindex T k (Summary)
5057 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5058 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5059 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5060 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5061 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5066 @kindex T l (Summary)
5067 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5068 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5069 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5070 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5073 @kindex T i (Summary)
5074 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5075 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5076 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5079 @kindex T # (Summary)
5080 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5081 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5082 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5085 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5086 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5087 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5088 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5091 @kindex T T (Summary)
5092 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5093 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5096 @kindex T s (Summary)
5097 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5098 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5099 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5102 @kindex T h (Summary)
5103 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5104 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5107 @kindex T S (Summary)
5108 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5109 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5112 @kindex T H (Summary)
5113 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5114 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5117 @kindex T t (Summary)
5118 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5119 Re-thread the current article's thread
5120 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5121 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5124 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5125 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5126 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5127 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5131 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5132 understand the numeric prefix.
5137 @kindex T n (Summary)
5138 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5139 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5142 @kindex T p (Summary)
5143 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5144 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5147 @kindex T d (Summary)
5148 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5149 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5152 @kindex T u (Summary)
5153 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5154 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5157 @kindex T o (Summary)
5158 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5159 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5162 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5163 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5164 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5165 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5166 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5167 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5168 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5169 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5170 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5171 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5172 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5173 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5180 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5181 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5182 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5183 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5184 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5185 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5186 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5187 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5188 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
5189 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5190 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5191 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5192 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5193 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5195 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5196 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5197 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
5198 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
5199 in the list. You should probably always include
5200 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5201 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5202 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5203 ascending article order.
5205 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
5206 number, you could do something like:
5209 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5210 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5211 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5212 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
5215 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5216 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5217 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5218 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5219 which the articles arrived.
5221 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5225 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5227 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5228 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5231 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5232 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5233 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5234 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5237 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5238 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5239 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5240 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5241 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5242 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5243 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5244 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5245 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5246 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5247 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5248 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5249 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5251 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5255 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5256 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5257 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5262 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5263 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5264 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5265 @cindex article pre-fetch
5268 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5269 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5270 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5271 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5272 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5274 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5275 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5277 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5278 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5279 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5280 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5281 connection is blocked.
5283 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5284 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5285 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5286 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
5288 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5289 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5290 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5291 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5294 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5297 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5298 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5299 happen automatically.
5301 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5302 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5303 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5304 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5305 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5306 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5307 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5309 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5310 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5311 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5312 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5313 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5314 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5315 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5316 data structure as the only parameter.
5318 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5321 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5322 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5323 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5324 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5327 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5330 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5331 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
5332 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5334 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5335 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5336 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5337 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5341 Remove articles when they are read.
5344 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5347 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5349 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5350 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5351 @c from the next group.
5354 @node Article Caching
5355 @section Article Caching
5356 @cindex article caching
5359 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5360 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5361 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5362 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5363 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5365 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5367 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5368 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5369 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5370 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5371 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5372 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5373 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5374 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5376 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5377 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5378 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5379 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5380 as dormant, and don't worry.
5382 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5384 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5385 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5386 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5387 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5388 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5389 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5390 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5391 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5392 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5393 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5395 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5396 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5397 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5398 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5399 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5400 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5401 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5402 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5403 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5404 not then be downloaded by this command.
5406 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5407 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
5408 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
5409 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5410 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5411 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
5413 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
5414 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
5415 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
5416 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
5417 variables, the group is not cached.
5419 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5420 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5421 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5422 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5423 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5424 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
5425 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5426 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5427 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5431 @node Persistent Articles
5432 @section Persistent Articles
5433 @cindex persistent articles
5435 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5436 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5437 useful in my opinion.
5439 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5440 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5441 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5442 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5443 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5444 the expiry going on at the news server.
5446 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5447 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5448 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5454 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5455 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5458 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5459 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5460 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5461 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5465 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5467 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5468 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5469 interested in persistent articles:
5472 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5476 @node Article Backlog
5477 @section Article Backlog
5479 @cindex article backlog
5481 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5482 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5483 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
5484 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5485 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5486 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5487 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5488 increase memory usage some.
5490 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5491 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5492 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5493 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5494 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5495 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5496 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5498 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5501 @node Saving Articles
5502 @section Saving Articles
5503 @cindex saving articles
5505 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5506 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5507 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5508 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5509 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5511 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5512 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5513 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5515 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5516 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5517 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5518 deleted before saving.
5524 @kindex O o (Summary)
5526 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5527 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5528 Save the current article using the default article saver
5529 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5532 @kindex O m (Summary)
5533 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5534 Save the current article in mail format
5535 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5538 @kindex O r (Summary)
5539 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5540 Save the current article in rmail format
5541 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5544 @kindex O f (Summary)
5545 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5546 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5547 Save the current article in plain file format
5548 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5551 @kindex O F (Summary)
5552 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5553 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5554 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5557 @kindex O b (Summary)
5558 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5559 Save the current article body in plain file format
5560 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5563 @kindex O h (Summary)
5564 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5565 Save the current article in mh folder format
5566 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5569 @kindex O v (Summary)
5570 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5571 Save the current article in a VM folder
5572 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5575 @kindex O p (Summary)
5576 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5577 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5578 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5581 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5582 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5583 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5584 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5585 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5586 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5587 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5588 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5589 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5590 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5591 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5592 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5596 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5597 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5598 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
5599 functions below, or you can create your own.
5603 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5604 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5605 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5606 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5607 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5608 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5609 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5611 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5612 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5613 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5614 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5615 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5616 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5618 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5619 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5620 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5621 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5622 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5623 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5624 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5626 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5627 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5628 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5629 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5630 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5632 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5633 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5634 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5635 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5636 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5639 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5640 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5641 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5642 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5643 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5645 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5646 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5647 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5648 reader to use this setting.
5651 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5652 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5653 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5654 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5657 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5658 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5659 available functions that generate names:
5663 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5664 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5665 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5667 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5668 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5669 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5671 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5672 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5673 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5675 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5676 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5677 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5680 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5681 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5682 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5683 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5684 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5688 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5689 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5690 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5691 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5694 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5695 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5696 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5697 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5698 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5699 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5700 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5701 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5702 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5704 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5705 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5706 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5707 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5709 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5710 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5711 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5714 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5715 lots of mail groups called things like
5716 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5717 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5718 following will do just that:
5721 (defun my-save-name (group)
5722 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5723 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5725 (setq gnus-split-methods
5726 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5731 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5732 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5733 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5734 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5735 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5736 all the files in the top level directory
5737 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5738 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5739 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5740 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5742 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5743 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5744 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5745 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5746 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5749 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5753 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5754 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5757 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5758 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5759 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5760 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5763 @node Decoding Articles
5764 @section Decoding Articles
5765 @cindex decoding articles
5767 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5768 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5771 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5772 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5773 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5774 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5775 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5776 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5780 @cindex article series
5781 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5782 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5783 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5784 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5785 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5787 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5788 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5789 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5791 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5792 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5793 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5795 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5796 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5797 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5800 @node Uuencoded Articles
5801 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5803 @cindex uuencoded articles
5808 @kindex X u (Summary)
5809 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5810 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5811 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5814 @kindex X U (Summary)
5815 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5816 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5817 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5820 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5821 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5822 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5825 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5826 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5827 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5828 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5832 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5833 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5834 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5835 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5836 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5838 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5839 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5840 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5841 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5844 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5845 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5846 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5847 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5848 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5849 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5853 @node Shell Archives
5854 @subsection Shell Archives
5856 @cindex shell archives
5857 @cindex shared articles
5859 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5860 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5861 some commands to deal with these:
5866 @kindex X s (Summary)
5867 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5868 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5871 @kindex X S (Summary)
5872 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5873 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5876 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5877 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5878 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5881 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5882 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5883 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5884 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5888 @node PostScript Files
5889 @subsection PostScript Files
5895 @kindex X p (Summary)
5896 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5897 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5900 @kindex X P (Summary)
5901 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5902 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5903 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5906 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5907 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5908 View the current PostScript series
5909 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5912 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5913 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5914 View and save the current PostScript series
5915 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5920 @subsection Other Files
5924 @kindex X o (Summary)
5925 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5926 Save the current series
5927 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5930 @kindex X b (Summary)
5931 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5932 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5933 doesn't really work yet.
5937 @node Decoding Variables
5938 @subsection Decoding Variables
5940 Adjective, not verb.
5943 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5944 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5945 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5949 @node Rule Variables
5950 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5951 @cindex rule variables
5953 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5954 variables are of the form
5957 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5964 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5965 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5967 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5968 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5971 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5972 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5975 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5976 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5977 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5978 user and default view rules.
5980 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5981 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5982 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5987 @node Other Decode Variables
5988 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5991 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5993 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5994 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5995 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5996 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5997 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6001 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6002 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6005 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6006 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6007 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6010 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6011 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6012 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6013 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6014 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6017 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6018 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6019 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6021 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6022 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6023 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6024 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6025 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6028 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6029 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6030 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6032 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6033 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6034 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6035 looking for files to display.
6037 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6038 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6039 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6042 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6043 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6044 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6047 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6048 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6049 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6052 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6053 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6054 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6057 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6058 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6059 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6060 decoded articles as unread.
6062 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6063 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6064 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6065 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6067 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6068 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6069 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6071 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6072 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6074 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6075 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6076 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6077 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6079 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6080 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6081 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6082 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6083 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6084 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
6085 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6086 simply dropped them.
6091 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6092 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6096 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6097 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6098 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6099 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6100 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6101 for you when you post the article.
6103 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6104 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6105 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6106 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6108 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6109 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6110 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6111 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6112 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6113 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6114 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6116 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6117 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6118 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6119 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6120 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6121 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6122 Default is @code{t}.
6128 @subsection Viewing Files
6129 @cindex viewing files
6130 @cindex pseudo-articles
6132 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
6133 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6134 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6135 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
6136 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6137 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6138 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6140 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6141 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6142 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6143 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6145 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6146 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6147 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6149 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6150 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6151 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6152 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6153 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6155 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6156 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6157 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6158 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6159 a list of parameters to that command.
6161 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6162 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6163 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6165 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6166 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6167 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6170 @node Article Treatment
6171 @section Article Treatment
6173 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6174 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6175 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6176 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6177 these articles easier.
6180 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6181 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6182 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6183 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6184 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6185 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6186 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6190 @node Article Highlighting
6191 @subsection Article Highlighting
6192 @cindex highlighting
6194 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6195 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6200 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6201 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6202 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6203 Do much highlighting of the current article
6204 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6205 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6207 Most users would prefer using @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} in
6208 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}) instead.
6209 This is a bit less agressive---it highlights only the headers, the
6210 signature and adds buttons.
6213 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6214 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6215 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6216 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6217 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6218 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6219 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6220 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6221 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6222 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6223 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6226 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6227 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6228 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6230 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6233 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6235 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6236 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6237 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6239 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6240 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6241 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6243 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6244 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6245 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6247 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6248 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6249 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6250 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6251 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6252 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6254 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6255 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6256 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6258 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6259 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6260 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6262 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6263 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6264 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6265 that it's a citation.
6267 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6268 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6269 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6271 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6272 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6273 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6275 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6276 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6277 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6278 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6284 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6285 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6286 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6287 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6288 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6289 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6290 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6291 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6296 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to highlight articles automatically.
6299 @node Article Fontisizing
6300 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6302 @cindex article emphasis
6304 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6305 @kindex W e (Summary)
6306 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6307 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6308 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6309 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6311 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
6312 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6313 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
6314 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6315 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6316 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6317 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6318 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6322 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6323 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6324 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6327 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6328 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6329 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6330 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6331 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6332 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6333 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6334 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6335 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6336 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6337 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6338 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6339 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6341 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6342 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6343 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6347 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6350 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to fontize articles automatically.
6353 @node Article Hiding
6354 @subsection Article Hiding
6355 @cindex article hiding
6357 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6358 too much cruft in most articles.
6363 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6364 @findex gnus-article-hide
6365 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
6366 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
6367 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
6370 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6371 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6372 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6376 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6377 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6378 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6379 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6382 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6383 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6384 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6388 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6389 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6390 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6391 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6392 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6393 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
6394 articles that have signatures in them do:
6396 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
6398 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp)
6400 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
6401 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
6403 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6406 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
6411 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6412 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6413 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6414 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6417 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6418 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6419 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6420 customizing the hiding:
6424 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6425 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6426 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6427 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6428 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6429 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6430 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6435 Starting point of the hidden text.
6437 Ending point of the hidden text.
6439 Number of characters in the hidden region.
6441 Number of lines of hidden text.
6444 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6445 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6446 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6451 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
6452 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
6454 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
6455 following two variables:
6458 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6459 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6460 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6461 50), hide the cited text.
6463 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6464 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6465 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6470 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6471 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6472 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6473 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6474 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6475 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6479 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6480 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6481 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6483 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6484 citation customization.
6486 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to hide article elements
6490 @node Article Washing
6491 @subsection Article Washing
6493 @cindex article washing
6495 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6496 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6498 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6499 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6505 @kindex W l (Summary)
6506 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6507 Remove page breaks from the current article
6508 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article} for page
6512 @kindex W r (Summary)
6513 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6514 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6515 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6516 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6517 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6518 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6520 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6521 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6522 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6523 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6526 @kindex W t (Summary)
6527 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6528 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6529 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6532 @kindex W v (Summary)
6533 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6534 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6535 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6538 @kindex W m (Summary)
6539 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6540 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
6541 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6544 @kindex W o (Summary)
6545 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6546 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6549 @kindex W d (Summary)
6550 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6551 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
6553 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
6555 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
6556 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
6557 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6560 @kindex W w (Summary)
6561 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6562 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6563 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6564 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6566 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6570 @kindex W c (Summary)
6571 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6572 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6573 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6576 @kindex W q (Summary)
6577 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
6578 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
6579 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
6580 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
6581 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
6585 @kindex W f (Summary)
6587 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6588 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6589 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6590 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6596 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6597 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6598 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6599 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6600 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6601 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6602 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6603 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6604 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6605 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6606 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6607 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6608 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6609 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6613 @kindex W b (Summary)
6614 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6615 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6616 @xref{Article Buttons}.
6619 @kindex W B (Summary)
6620 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6621 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6622 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6625 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6626 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6627 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6628 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6631 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6632 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6633 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6634 lines with a single empty line.
6635 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6638 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6639 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6640 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6641 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6644 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6645 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6646 Do all the three commands above
6647 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6650 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6651 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6652 Remove all blank lines
6653 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6656 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6657 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6658 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6659 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6663 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to wash articles automatically.
6666 @node Article Buttons
6667 @subsection Article Buttons
6670 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6671 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6672 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6673 button on these references.
6675 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6676 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6677 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6682 @item gnus-button-alist
6683 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6684 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6687 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6693 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6694 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6695 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6698 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6699 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6700 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6703 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6704 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6705 avoid false matches.
6708 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6711 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6712 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6716 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6719 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6722 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6723 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6724 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6725 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6726 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6729 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6732 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6734 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6735 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6736 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6737 default values of the variables above.
6739 @item gnus-article-button-face
6740 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6741 Face used on buttons.
6743 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6744 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6745 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6749 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to buttonize articles automatically.
6753 @subsection Article Date
6755 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6756 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6757 when the article was sent.
6762 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6763 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6764 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6765 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6768 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6769 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6771 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6772 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6775 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6776 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6777 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6780 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6781 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6782 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6783 @findex format-time-string
6784 Display the date using a user-defined format
6785 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6786 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6787 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6788 for a list of possible format specs.
6791 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6792 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6793 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6794 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6795 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6796 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6797 updated continually, you can put
6800 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6803 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6804 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6808 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6809 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6810 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6811 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6812 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6813 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6814 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6818 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to display the date in your
6819 preferred format automatically.
6822 @node Article Signature
6823 @subsection Article Signature
6825 @cindex article signature
6827 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6828 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6829 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6830 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6831 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6832 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6833 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6834 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6835 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6838 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6839 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6840 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6841 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6842 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6843 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6844 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6845 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6848 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6851 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6852 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6857 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6860 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6863 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6864 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6866 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6867 in question is not a signature.
6870 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6871 listed above. Here's an example:
6874 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6875 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6878 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6879 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6880 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6881 signature after all.
6885 @section MIME Commands
6886 @cindex MIME decoding
6890 @kindex W M w (Summary)
6891 Decode RFC2047-encoded words in the article headers
6892 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
6895 @kindex W M c (Summary)
6896 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
6897 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
6899 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
6900 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
6901 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
6902 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
6903 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
6904 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
6907 @kindex W M v (Summary)
6908 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
6909 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
6916 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
6917 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
6918 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
6919 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
6920 @code{("text/x-vcard")}.
6925 @node Article Commands
6926 @section Article Commands
6933 @kindex A P (Summary)
6934 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6935 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6936 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6937 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6938 run just before printing the buffer.
6943 @node Summary Sorting
6944 @section Summary Sorting
6945 @cindex summary sorting
6947 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6948 can't really see why you'd want that.
6953 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6954 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6955 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6958 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6959 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6960 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6963 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6964 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6965 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6968 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6969 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6970 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6973 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6974 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6975 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6978 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6979 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6980 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6983 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6984 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6985 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6986 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6987 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6991 @node Finding the Parent
6992 @section Finding the Parent
6993 @cindex parent articles
6994 @cindex referring articles
6999 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
7000 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
7001 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
7002 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
7003 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
7004 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
7005 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
7006 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
7007 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
7009 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
7010 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
7011 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
7012 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
7013 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
7017 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
7018 @kindex A R (Summary)
7019 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
7020 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
7023 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
7024 @kindex A T (Summary)
7025 Display the full thread where the current article appears
7026 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
7027 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
7028 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
7029 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
7030 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
7031 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
7033 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
7034 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
7035 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
7036 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
7037 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
7038 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
7041 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
7042 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
7044 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
7045 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
7046 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
7047 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
7048 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
7049 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
7050 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
7053 The current select method will be used when fetching by
7054 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
7055 by giving this command a prefix.
7057 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
7058 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
7059 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
7060 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
7061 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
7062 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
7065 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
7066 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
7067 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
7068 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
7069 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
7070 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
7073 @node Alternative Approaches
7074 @section Alternative Approaches
7076 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
7077 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
7080 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
7081 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
7086 @subsection Pick and Read
7087 @cindex pick and read
7089 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
7090 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
7091 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
7092 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
7094 @findex gnus-pick-mode
7095 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
7096 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
7097 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
7098 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
7099 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
7101 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
7106 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
7107 Pick the article or thread on the current line
7108 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7109 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
7110 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
7111 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
7112 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
7113 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
7116 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
7117 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
7118 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
7119 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
7123 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
7124 Unpick the thread or article
7125 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7126 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
7127 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
7128 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
7129 the thread or article at that line.
7133 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
7134 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
7135 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
7136 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
7137 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
7138 will still be visible when you are reading.
7142 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
7143 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
7144 which is mapped to the same function
7145 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
7147 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
7150 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
7153 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
7154 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
7156 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
7157 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
7158 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
7160 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
7161 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
7162 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
7163 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
7164 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
7165 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
7166 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
7170 @subsection Binary Groups
7171 @cindex binary groups
7173 @findex gnus-binary-mode
7174 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
7175 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
7176 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
7177 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
7178 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
7179 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
7182 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
7183 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
7184 command, when you have turned on this mode
7185 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
7187 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
7188 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
7192 @section Tree Display
7195 @vindex gnus-use-trees
7196 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
7197 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
7198 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
7201 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
7204 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
7205 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
7206 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
7208 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7209 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7210 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
7211 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
7212 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
7214 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7215 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7216 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7217 default is @code{modeline}.
7219 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7220 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7221 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7222 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7223 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7224 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7225 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7231 The name of the poster.
7233 The @code{From} header.
7235 The number of the article.
7237 The opening bracket.
7239 The closing bracket.
7244 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7246 Variables related to the display are:
7249 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7250 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7251 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7252 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7253 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7254 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7256 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7257 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7258 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7259 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7263 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7264 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7265 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
7266 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
7267 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7268 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7269 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7270 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7271 other windows displayed next to it.
7273 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7274 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7275 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7276 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7277 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7278 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7279 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7283 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7286 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7296 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7300 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7301 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7303 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7305 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7310 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7311 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7312 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7315 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7316 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7317 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7318 (gnus-add-configuration
7322 (summary 0.75 point)
7327 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7330 @node Mail Group Commands
7331 @section Mail Group Commands
7332 @cindex mail group commands
7334 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7335 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7337 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7338 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7343 @kindex B e (Summary)
7344 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7345 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7346 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7349 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7350 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7351 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7352 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7353 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7354 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7357 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7358 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7359 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7360 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7361 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7362 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7365 @kindex B m (Summary)
7367 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7368 Move the article from one mail group to another
7369 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7372 @kindex B c (Summary)
7374 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7375 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7376 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7377 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7380 @kindex B B (Summary)
7381 @cindex crosspost mail
7382 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7383 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7384 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7385 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7386 be properly updated.
7389 @kindex B i (Summary)
7390 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7391 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7392 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7393 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7396 @kindex B r (Summary)
7397 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7398 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
7399 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7400 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7401 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7405 @kindex B w (Summary)
7407 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7408 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7409 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7410 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7411 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7412 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7415 @kindex B q (Summary)
7416 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7417 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7418 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7419 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7422 @kindex B t (Summary)
7423 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
7424 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
7425 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
7428 @kindex B p (Summary)
7429 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7430 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7431 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7432 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7433 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7434 article from your news server (or rather, from
7435 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7436 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7437 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7438 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7439 just not have arrived yet.
7443 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7444 @cindex moving articles
7445 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
7446 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7447 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7448 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7449 suggestions you find reasonable.
7452 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7453 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7454 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7455 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7459 @node Various Summary Stuff
7460 @section Various Summary Stuff
7463 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7464 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7465 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7466 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7470 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7471 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7472 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7474 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7475 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7476 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7477 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7478 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7479 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7482 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7483 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7484 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7485 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7486 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7488 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7489 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7490 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
7493 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7494 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7495 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7496 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7497 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7498 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7499 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
7500 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7501 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7502 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7507 @node Summary Group Information
7508 @subsection Summary Group Information
7513 @kindex H f (Summary)
7514 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7515 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7516 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7517 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7518 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7519 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7520 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7521 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7522 be used for fetching the file.
7525 @kindex H d (Summary)
7526 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7527 Give a brief description of the current group
7528 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7529 rereading the description from the server.
7532 @kindex H h (Summary)
7533 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7534 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7535 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7538 @kindex H i (Summary)
7539 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7540 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7544 @node Searching for Articles
7545 @subsection Searching for Articles
7550 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7551 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7552 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7553 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7556 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7557 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7558 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7559 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7563 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7564 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7565 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7566 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7570 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7571 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7572 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7573 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7576 @node Summary Generation Commands
7577 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7582 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7583 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7584 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7587 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7588 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7589 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7590 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7595 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7596 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7601 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7602 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7603 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7604 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7605 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7606 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7607 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7608 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7609 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7613 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7614 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7615 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7616 several documents into one biiig group
7617 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7618 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7619 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7620 command understands the process/prefix convention
7621 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7624 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7625 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7626 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7627 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7628 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7629 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7633 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7634 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7635 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7638 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
7639 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
7640 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7641 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
7646 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7647 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7648 @cindex summary exit
7649 @cindex exiting groups
7651 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7652 group and return you to the group buffer.
7658 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7660 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7661 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7662 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7663 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7664 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7665 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7666 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7667 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7668 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7669 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7670 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7674 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7676 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7677 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7678 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7682 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7684 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7685 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7686 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7687 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7690 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7691 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7692 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7693 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7696 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7697 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7698 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7699 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7702 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7703 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7704 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7705 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7706 all articles, both read and unread.
7710 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7711 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7712 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7713 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7714 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7715 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7716 articles, both read and unread.
7719 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7720 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7721 Exit the group and go to the next group
7722 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7725 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7726 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7727 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7728 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7731 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7732 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7733 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7734 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7735 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7736 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7739 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7740 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7743 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7744 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7745 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7746 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7747 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7748 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7749 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7750 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7751 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7752 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7753 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7754 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7756 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7758 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7759 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7760 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7761 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7762 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7763 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7764 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7765 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7766 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7769 @node Crosspost Handling
7770 @section Crosspost Handling
7774 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7775 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7776 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7777 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7778 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7779 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7782 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7783 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7784 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7785 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7786 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7788 @cindex cross-posting
7791 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7792 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7793 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7794 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7795 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7796 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7797 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7798 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7799 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7800 the cross reference mechanism.
7802 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7803 @cindex overview.fmt
7804 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7805 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7806 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7807 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7808 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7809 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7812 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7813 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7814 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7819 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7822 @node Duplicate Suppression
7823 @section Duplicate Suppression
7825 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7826 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7827 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7828 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
7833 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7834 is evil and not very common.
7837 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7838 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7841 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7842 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7845 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7848 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7849 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7851 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7852 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7853 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7854 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7855 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7856 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7857 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7860 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7861 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7862 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7863 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7864 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7868 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7869 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7870 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7872 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7873 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7874 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7875 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7876 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
7877 session are suppressed.
7879 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7880 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7881 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7882 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7884 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7885 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7886 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7887 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7890 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7891 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7892 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7893 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7894 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7895 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7896 to you to figure out, I think.
7899 @node The Article Buffer
7900 @chapter The Article Buffer
7901 @cindex article buffer
7903 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7904 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7905 tell Gnus otherwise.
7908 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7909 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7910 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7911 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7912 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7916 @node Hiding Headers
7917 @section Hiding Headers
7918 @cindex hiding headers
7919 @cindex deleting headers
7921 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7922 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7924 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7925 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7926 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7927 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7928 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7929 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7930 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7931 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7932 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7934 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7938 @item gnus-visible-headers
7939 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7940 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7941 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7942 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7944 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7945 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7948 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7951 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7954 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7955 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7956 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7957 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7958 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7959 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7961 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7962 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7965 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7968 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7971 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7972 variable will have no effect.
7976 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7977 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7978 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7979 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7980 the headers are to be displayed.
7982 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7983 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7986 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7989 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7990 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
7992 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7993 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7994 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7995 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7996 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7997 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7998 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7999 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
8000 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
8002 These conditions are:
8005 Remove all empty headers.
8007 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
8008 @code{Newsgroups} header.
8010 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
8013 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
8016 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
8019 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
8021 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
8024 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
8027 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
8028 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
8031 This is also the default value for this variable.
8035 @section Using @sc{mime}
8038 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
8039 while people stand around yawning.
8041 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
8042 while all newsreaders die of fear.
8044 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
8045 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
8046 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
8048 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
8049 @findex gnus-display-mime
8050 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
8051 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
8052 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
8053 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
8055 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
8059 @findex gnus-article-press-button
8061 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
8062 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
8063 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
8065 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
8066 @item M-RET (Article)
8068 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
8069 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
8071 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
8073 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
8074 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
8076 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
8078 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
8079 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
8081 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
8083 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
8086 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
8087 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
8090 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
8091 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
8092 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
8093 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
8094 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
8095 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
8096 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
8097 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
8098 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
8100 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
8103 @node Customizing Articles
8104 @section Customizing Articles
8105 @cindex article customization
8107 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8108 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
8109 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
8110 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
8112 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8113 @findex gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers
8114 By default this hook just contains
8115 @code{gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers},
8116 @code{gnus-hide-boring-headers}, @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike},
8117 and @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} (and under XEmacs,
8118 @code{gnus-article-display-x-face}), but there are thousands, nay
8119 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
8120 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
8121 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
8122 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
8123 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
8125 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
8126 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
8127 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
8128 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
8129 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
8132 @node Article Keymap
8133 @section Article Keymap
8135 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
8136 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
8137 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
8138 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
8141 A few additional keystrokes are available:
8146 @kindex SPACE (Article)
8147 @findex gnus-article-next-page
8148 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
8151 @kindex DEL (Article)
8152 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
8153 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
8156 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
8157 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
8158 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
8159 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
8160 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
8163 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
8164 @findex gnus-article-mail
8165 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
8166 given a prefix, include the mail.
8170 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
8171 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
8172 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
8176 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
8177 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
8178 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
8181 @kindex TAB (Article)
8182 @findex gnus-article-next-button
8183 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
8184 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
8187 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
8188 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
8189 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
8195 @section Misc Article
8199 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
8200 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
8201 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
8202 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
8205 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
8206 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
8208 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
8209 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
8211 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
8212 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
8213 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
8214 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
8215 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
8216 the contents of the article buffer.
8218 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8219 @item gnus-article-display-hook
8220 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
8221 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
8222 hiding headers, and the like.
8224 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
8225 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
8226 Hook called in article mode buffers.
8228 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8229 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8230 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
8231 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
8233 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
8234 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
8235 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
8236 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
8237 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with one
8242 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
8243 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
8247 @vindex gnus-break-pages
8249 @item gnus-break-pages
8250 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
8251 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
8252 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8253 paging will not be done.
8255 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8256 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8257 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8262 @node Composing Messages
8263 @chapter Composing Messages
8264 @cindex composing messages
8267 @cindex sending mail
8272 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8273 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8274 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
8275 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
8276 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
8277 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
8278 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
8281 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8282 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8283 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8284 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8285 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8286 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
8287 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8288 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8291 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8292 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8298 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8301 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8302 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8303 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8304 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8306 @item gnus-add-to-list
8307 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8308 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8309 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8317 Variables for composing news articles:
8320 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8321 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8322 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8323 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8324 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8325 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8326 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8327 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8328 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
8331 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8332 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8333 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8334 file. It is 1000 by default.
8339 @node Posting Server
8340 @section Posting Server
8342 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8343 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8345 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8347 @vindex gnus-post-method
8349 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
8350 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8351 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8352 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8353 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8356 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8359 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8360 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8361 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8362 the ``current'' server for posting.
8364 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8365 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8367 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8368 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8371 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8372 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8373 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8378 @section Mail and Post
8380 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8384 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8385 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8386 @cindex mailing lists
8388 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8389 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8390 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8391 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8392 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8393 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8394 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8395 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8396 still a pain, though.
8400 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8401 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8402 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8405 @findex ispell-message
8407 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8411 @node Archived Messages
8412 @section Archived Messages
8413 @cindex archived messages
8414 @cindex sent messages
8416 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8417 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8418 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8419 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8422 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8423 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
8424 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8428 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8429 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8430 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8431 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8434 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8435 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8436 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8437 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8440 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8441 '(nnfolder "archive"
8442 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8443 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8444 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8447 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8449 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8450 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8451 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8453 This variable can be used to do the following:
8457 Messages will be saved in that group.
8458 @item a list of strings
8459 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8460 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8461 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8463 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8468 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8470 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8473 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8475 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8478 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8480 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8481 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8482 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8483 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8488 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8489 '((if (message-news-p)
8494 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8495 messages in one file per month:
8498 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8499 '((if (message-news-p)
8501 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8502 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8505 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8506 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8508 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8509 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8510 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8511 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8512 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8513 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8514 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8515 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8516 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8517 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8519 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8520 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8521 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8522 this will disable archiving.
8525 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8526 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8527 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8528 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8529 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8532 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8533 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8534 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8537 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8538 but the latter is the preferred method.
8542 @node Posting Styles
8543 @section Posting Styles
8544 @cindex posting styles
8547 All them variables, they make my head swim.
8549 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8550 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8551 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8554 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8555 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8556 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8557 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8558 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8563 (signature "Peace and happiness")
8564 (organization "What me?"))
8566 (signature "Death to everybody"))
8567 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8568 (organization "Emacs is it")))
8571 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8572 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8573 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8574 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8575 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8576 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8577 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8578 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8580 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8581 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8582 If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8583 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8584 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8585 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8588 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8589 attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8590 can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
8591 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
8592 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8593 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8596 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8597 return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8598 list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8600 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
8601 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
8602 of the two dynamically bound variables @code{message-this-is-news} and
8603 @code{message-this-is-mail}.
8605 @vindex message-this-is-mail
8606 @vindex message-this-is-news
8608 So here's a new example:
8611 (setq gnus-posting-styles
8613 (signature-file "~/.signature")
8615 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8616 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
8618 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8619 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8620 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
8621 (message-this-is-news
8622 (signature my-news-signature))
8623 (posting-from-work-p
8624 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
8625 (address "user@@bar.foo")
8626 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
8627 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
8629 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
8637 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8638 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8639 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8640 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8641 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8643 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8644 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8645 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8646 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8647 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8651 @vindex nndraft-directory
8652 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8653 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8654 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8655 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8656 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8657 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8659 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8660 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8663 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8664 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8665 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8666 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8667 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8668 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8669 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8670 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8671 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8672 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8673 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8674 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8675 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8676 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8678 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8679 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8680 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8682 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8684 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8685 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8686 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8688 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8691 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8692 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8693 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8694 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8695 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8696 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8697 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8700 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8701 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8702 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8705 @node Rejected Articles
8706 @section Rejected Articles
8707 @cindex rejected articles
8709 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8710 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8711 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8712 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8714 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
8715 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8716 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8717 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
8718 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8720 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8721 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8722 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8725 @node Select Methods
8726 @chapter Select Methods
8727 @cindex foreign groups
8728 @cindex select methods
8730 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8731 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8732 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8733 personal mail group.
8735 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8736 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8737 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8738 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8739 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8740 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8742 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8743 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8745 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8748 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8749 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8750 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8751 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8752 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8754 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8757 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8758 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8759 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8760 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8761 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8762 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8766 @node The Server Buffer
8767 @section The Server Buffer
8769 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8770 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8771 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8772 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8773 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8774 backend represents a virtual server.
8776 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8777 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8778 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8779 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8781 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8782 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8783 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8784 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8785 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8786 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8787 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8789 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8790 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8793 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8794 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8795 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8796 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8797 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8798 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8799 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8802 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8803 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8806 @node Server Buffer Format
8807 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8808 @cindex server buffer format
8810 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8811 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8812 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8813 variable, with some simple extensions:
8818 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8821 The name of this server.
8824 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8827 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8830 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8831 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8832 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
8833 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
8843 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8846 @node Server Commands
8847 @subsection Server Commands
8848 @cindex server commands
8854 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8855 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8859 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8860 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8863 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8864 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8865 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8869 @findex gnus-server-exit
8870 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8874 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8875 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8879 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8880 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8884 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8885 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8889 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8890 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8894 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8895 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8896 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8901 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8902 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8903 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8904 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8909 @node Example Methods
8910 @subsection Example Methods
8912 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8915 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8918 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8924 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8925 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8928 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8929 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8931 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8932 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8936 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8939 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8940 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8942 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8943 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8944 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8948 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8951 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8954 Here's the method for a public spool:
8958 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8959 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8962 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8963 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8964 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8965 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8966 should probably look something like this:
8970 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8971 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8972 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8973 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8974 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8977 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
8978 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
8979 server that would look something like this:
8983 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
8984 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
8985 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8986 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8987 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8988 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
8991 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
8992 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
8993 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
8994 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
8997 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8998 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
9000 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
9001 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
9003 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
9004 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
9005 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
9007 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
9009 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
9010 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
9011 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
9012 will contain the following:
9022 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
9023 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
9024 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
9027 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
9028 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
9029 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
9032 @node Server Variables
9033 @subsection Server Variables
9035 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
9036 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
9037 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
9038 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
9039 won't change the "derived" variables.
9041 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
9042 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
9043 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
9044 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
9045 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
9046 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
9047 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
9048 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
9049 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
9053 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
9054 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
9055 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
9059 @node Servers and Methods
9060 @subsection Servers and Methods
9062 Wherever you would normally use a select method
9063 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
9064 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
9065 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
9069 @node Unavailable Servers
9070 @subsection Unavailable Servers
9072 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
9073 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
9074 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
9075 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
9076 actually the case or not.
9078 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
9079 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
9080 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
9081 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
9082 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
9083 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
9084 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
9085 it will regard that server as ``down''.
9087 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
9088 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
9090 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
9091 with the following commands:
9097 @findex gnus-server-open-server
9098 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
9099 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
9103 @findex gnus-server-close-server
9104 Close the connection (if any) to the server
9105 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
9109 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
9110 Mark the current server as unreachable
9111 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
9114 @kindex M-o (Server)
9115 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
9116 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
9117 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
9120 @kindex M-c (Server)
9121 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
9122 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
9123 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
9127 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
9128 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
9129 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
9135 @section Getting News
9136 @cindex reading news
9137 @cindex news backends
9139 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
9140 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
9141 or it can read from a local spool.
9144 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
9145 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
9150 @subsection @sc{nntp}
9153 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
9154 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
9155 server as the, uhm, address.
9157 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
9158 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
9159 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
9160 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9162 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
9163 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
9164 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
9166 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
9171 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
9172 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
9173 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
9175 @cindex authentification
9176 @cindex nntp authentification
9177 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9178 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
9179 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
9180 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
9181 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
9182 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
9183 present in this hook.
9185 @item nntp-authinfo-function
9186 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
9187 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9188 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
9189 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
9190 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
9191 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
9192 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
9193 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
9194 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
9195 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
9196 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
9200 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
9203 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
9204 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
9205 @samp{default} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid
9206 @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is the only way the
9207 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
9212 Here's an example file:
9215 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
9216 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
9219 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
9220 have to be first, for instance.
9222 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
9223 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
9224 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
9225 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
9226 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
9227 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
9228 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
9230 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
9231 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
9237 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
9238 previously mentioned.
9240 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
9242 @item nntp-server-action-alist
9243 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
9244 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
9245 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
9246 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
9249 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
9253 You probably don't want to do that, though.
9255 The default value is
9258 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
9259 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
9262 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
9263 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
9265 @item nntp-maximum-request
9266 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
9267 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
9268 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
9269 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
9270 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
9271 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
9272 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
9274 @item nntp-connection-timeout
9275 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
9276 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
9277 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9278 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9279 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9280 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9281 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9282 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9283 no timeouts are done.
9285 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9286 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9287 @c @cindex PPP connections
9288 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9289 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9290 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9291 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9292 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9293 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9294 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9295 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9296 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9297 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9299 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9300 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9301 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9302 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9305 @item nntp-server-hook
9306 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9307 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9310 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9311 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9312 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9313 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9314 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9315 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
9316 functions are supplied:
9319 @item nntp-open-network-stream
9320 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
9323 @item nntp-open-rlogin
9324 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9325 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9328 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9332 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9333 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9334 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9335 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9337 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9338 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9339 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9341 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9342 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9343 User name on the remote system.
9347 @item nntp-open-telnet
9348 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
9349 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
9351 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9354 @item nntp-telnet-command
9355 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9356 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9358 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9359 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9360 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9362 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9363 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9364 User name for log in on the remote system.
9366 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9367 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9368 Password to use when logging in.
9370 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9371 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9372 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9375 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9376 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9377 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9378 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9380 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9381 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9382 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9383 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9384 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9388 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
9389 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
9390 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
9391 you must have SSLay installed
9392 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
9393 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
9394 define a server as follows:
9397 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
9399 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
9401 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
9402 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
9403 (nntp-port-number "snews")
9404 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
9409 @item nntp-end-of-line
9410 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9411 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9412 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9413 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9415 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9416 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9417 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9421 @vindex nntp-address
9422 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9424 @item nntp-port-number
9425 @vindex nntp-port-number
9426 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9429 @item nntp-buggy-select
9430 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9431 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9433 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9434 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9435 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9436 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9439 @item nntp-xover-commands
9440 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9443 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9444 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9448 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9449 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9450 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9451 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9452 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9453 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9454 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9455 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9456 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9457 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9458 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9460 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9461 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9462 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9464 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9465 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9466 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9467 server closes connection.
9469 @item nntp-record-commands
9470 @vindex nntp-record-commands
9471 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
9472 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
9473 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
9474 that doesn't seem to work.
9480 @subsection News Spool
9484 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9485 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9486 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9489 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9490 anything else) as the address.
9492 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9493 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9494 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9495 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9499 @item nnspool-inews-program
9500 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9501 Program used to post an article.
9503 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9504 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9505 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9507 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9508 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9509 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9510 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9512 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9513 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9514 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9515 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9517 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9518 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9519 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9521 @item nnspool-active-file
9522 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9523 The path to the active file.
9525 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9526 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9527 The path to the group descriptions file.
9529 @item nnspool-history-file
9530 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9531 The path to the news history file.
9533 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9534 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9535 The path to the active date file.
9537 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9538 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9539 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9542 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9543 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9545 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9546 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9547 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9553 @section Getting Mail
9554 @cindex reading mail
9557 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9561 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9562 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9563 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9564 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9565 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9566 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9567 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9568 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9569 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9570 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9571 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9575 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9576 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9578 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9579 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9580 and things will happen automatically.
9582 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9583 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9586 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9587 '((nnml "private")))
9590 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9591 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9592 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9593 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9594 like any other group.
9596 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9599 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9600 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9601 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9605 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9606 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9607 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9610 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9611 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9612 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9615 @node Splitting Mail
9616 @subsection Splitting Mail
9617 @cindex splitting mail
9618 @cindex mail splitting
9620 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9621 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9622 to be split into groups.
9625 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9626 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9627 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9631 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9632 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9633 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9634 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9635 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9636 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9637 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9640 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9643 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9644 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9645 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9646 mail belongs in that group.
9648 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9649 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9650 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9651 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9652 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9653 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9655 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9656 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9657 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9658 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9659 thinks should carry this mail message.
9661 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9662 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9663 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9664 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9666 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9667 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9668 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9669 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9670 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9672 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9675 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9676 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9677 links. If that's the case for you, set
9678 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9679 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9681 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9682 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9683 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9684 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9686 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9687 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9688 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9689 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9690 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9691 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9692 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9693 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9697 @node Mail Backend Variables
9698 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9700 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9704 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9705 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9706 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9707 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9709 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9710 @item nnmail-spool-file
9714 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9715 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9716 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9717 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9718 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9719 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9720 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9721 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9722 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9723 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9724 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9725 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9726 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9727 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9728 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9730 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9732 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9733 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9736 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9737 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9738 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9739 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9740 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9741 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9743 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9744 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9745 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9746 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9747 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9748 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9749 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9752 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9753 @item nnmail-crash-box
9754 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9755 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9756 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9759 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9760 @item nnmail-split-hook
9761 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
9762 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9763 @findex RFC2047 decoding
9764 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9765 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9766 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9767 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9768 in the buffer will show up in any files.
9769 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
9772 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9773 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9774 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9775 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9776 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9777 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9778 starting to handle the new mail) and
9779 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9780 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9781 default file modes the new mail files get:
9784 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9785 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9787 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9788 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9791 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9792 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9793 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9794 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9795 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9796 it will be used instead.
9798 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9799 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9800 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9801 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9803 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9804 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9807 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9808 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9809 @cindex incoming mail files
9810 @cindex deleting incoming files
9811 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9812 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9815 @c This is @code{nil} by
9816 @c default for reasons of security.
9818 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9819 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9820 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9821 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9822 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9825 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9827 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9828 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9829 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9830 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9831 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9832 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9833 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9835 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9836 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9838 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9840 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9841 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9842 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9843 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9844 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9849 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9850 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9851 @cindex mail splitting
9852 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9854 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9855 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9856 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9857 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9858 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9859 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9861 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9864 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9865 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9866 ;; from real errors.
9867 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9869 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9870 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9871 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9872 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9873 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9874 ;; Other mailing lists...
9875 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9876 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9878 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9879 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9883 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9884 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9885 the five possible split syntaxes:
9890 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
9891 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
9895 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9896 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9897 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9900 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9901 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9902 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9903 be stored in one or more groups.
9906 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9907 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9910 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9911 this message. Use with extreme caution.
9914 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9915 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9916 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9920 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
9924 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9925 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9926 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9927 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9928 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9930 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9931 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9932 are expanded as specified by the variable
9933 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9934 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9937 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9938 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9939 when all this splitting is performed.
9941 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9942 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9943 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
9946 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9949 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
9950 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
9951 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
9952 groupings 1 through 9.
9955 @node Mail and Procmail
9956 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9961 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9962 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9963 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9964 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9965 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9967 If you have a combined @code{procmail}/POP/mailbox setup, you can do
9968 something like the following:
9970 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9972 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
9973 (setq nnmail-spool-file
9974 '("/usr/spool/mail/my-name" "po:my-name"))
9977 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9978 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9981 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9982 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9983 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9984 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9985 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9986 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9988 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9991 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9993 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9994 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9996 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9997 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9998 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9999 to include all your mail groups.
10001 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
10002 method will be created automatically.
10004 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
10005 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
10006 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
10007 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
10008 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
10009 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
10010 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
10011 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
10013 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
10014 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
10015 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
10016 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
10017 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
10019 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
10020 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
10021 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
10022 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
10023 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
10024 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
10026 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
10027 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
10028 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
10029 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
10030 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
10033 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
10034 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
10035 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
10036 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
10037 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
10041 @node Incorporating Old Mail
10042 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
10044 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
10045 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
10046 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
10049 Doing so can be quite easy.
10051 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
10052 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
10053 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
10054 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
10055 your @code{nnml} groups.
10061 Go to the group buffer.
10064 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
10065 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10068 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
10071 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
10072 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
10075 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
10076 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
10079 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
10080 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
10081 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
10082 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
10083 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
10085 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
10086 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
10087 using the new mail backend.
10090 @node Expiring Mail
10091 @subsection Expiring Mail
10092 @cindex article expiry
10094 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
10095 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
10096 different approach to mail reading.
10098 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
10099 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
10100 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
10101 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
10102 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
10103 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
10106 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
10107 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
10108 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
10109 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
10110 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
10111 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
10112 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
10113 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
10115 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10116 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
10117 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
10118 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
10119 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
10120 column in the summary buffer.
10122 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
10123 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
10124 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
10125 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
10128 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
10130 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
10131 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
10132 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
10135 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
10136 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
10137 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
10138 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
10139 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
10141 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
10142 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
10145 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10146 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
10149 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
10150 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
10152 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
10153 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
10154 don't really mix very well.
10156 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
10157 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
10158 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
10159 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
10162 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
10163 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
10164 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
10165 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
10168 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10170 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10172 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
10174 ((string= group "mail.junk")
10176 ((string= group "important")
10182 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
10183 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
10185 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
10186 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
10187 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
10190 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
10191 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
10193 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
10194 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
10195 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
10196 easier for procmail users.
10198 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
10199 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
10200 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
10201 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
10202 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
10203 caution. Even more dangerous is the
10204 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
10205 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
10206 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
10207 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
10208 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
10209 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
10210 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
10213 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
10217 @subsection Washing Mail
10218 @cindex mail washing
10219 @cindex list server brain damage
10220 @cindex incoming mail treatment
10222 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
10223 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
10224 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
10225 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
10226 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
10227 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
10229 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
10230 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
10231 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
10234 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
10235 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
10236 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
10237 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
10240 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10241 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10242 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
10243 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
10244 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
10247 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10248 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10249 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
10250 Emacs running on MS machines.
10254 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10255 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10256 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
10257 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
10260 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10261 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10262 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
10263 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
10265 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10266 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10267 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
10268 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
10269 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
10270 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
10271 also be a list of regexp.
10273 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
10274 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
10277 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
10278 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
10281 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
10282 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
10283 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
10287 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10288 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10289 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
10293 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
10294 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
10295 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
10302 @subsection Duplicates
10304 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
10305 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
10306 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
10307 @cindex duplicate mails
10308 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
10309 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
10310 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
10311 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
10312 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
10313 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
10314 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
10315 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
10316 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
10317 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
10318 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
10319 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
10320 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
10322 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
10323 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
10324 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
10325 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
10327 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
10330 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
10331 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
10335 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
10336 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
10337 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
10338 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
10339 (any mail "mail.misc")
10346 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10347 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
10352 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
10353 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
10354 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
10355 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
10356 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
10359 @node Not Reading Mail
10360 @subsection Not Reading Mail
10362 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
10363 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
10364 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
10366 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
10367 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
10369 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10370 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10371 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10372 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10373 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10374 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
10375 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
10376 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
10377 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
10378 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
10379 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
10381 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
10382 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
10386 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
10387 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
10389 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
10390 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
10391 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
10394 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
10395 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
10396 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
10397 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
10398 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
10402 @node Unix Mail Box
10403 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
10405 @cindex unix mail box
10407 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10408 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10409 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
10410 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
10411 which group it belongs in.
10413 Virtual server settings:
10416 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
10417 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10418 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
10420 @item nnmbox-active-file
10421 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10422 The name of the active file for the mail box.
10424 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
10425 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10426 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
10432 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
10436 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10437 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10438 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10439 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10440 article to say which group it belongs in.
10442 Virtual server settings:
10445 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10446 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10447 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10449 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10450 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10451 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10453 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10454 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10455 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10460 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10462 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10464 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10465 format. It should be used with some caution.
10467 @vindex nnml-directory
10468 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10469 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10470 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10471 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10473 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10476 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10477 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10478 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10479 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10480 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10481 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10482 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10483 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10485 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10486 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10487 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10488 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10490 Virtual server settings:
10493 @item nnml-directory
10494 @vindex nnml-directory
10495 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10497 @item nnml-active-file
10498 @vindex nnml-active-file
10499 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10501 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10502 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10503 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10506 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10507 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10508 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10510 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10511 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10512 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10514 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10515 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10516 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10518 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10519 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10520 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10524 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10525 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10526 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10527 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10528 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10529 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10530 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10535 @subsubsection MH Spool
10537 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10539 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10540 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10541 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10542 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10544 Virtual server settings:
10547 @item nnmh-directory
10548 @vindex nnmh-directory
10549 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10551 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10552 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10553 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10556 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10557 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10558 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10559 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10560 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10561 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10562 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10567 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10569 @cindex mbox folders
10570 @cindex mail folders
10572 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10573 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10574 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10577 Virtual server settings:
10580 @item nnfolder-directory
10581 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10582 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10584 @item nnfolder-active-file
10585 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10586 The name of the active file.
10588 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10589 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10590 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10592 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10593 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10594 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10596 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
10597 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
10598 @cindex backup files
10599 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
10600 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
10601 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
10602 your @file{.emacs} file:
10605 (defun turn-off-backup ()
10606 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
10608 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
10611 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
10612 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
10613 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
10614 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
10615 extract some information from it before removing it.
10620 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10621 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10622 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10623 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10624 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10625 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10628 @node Other Sources
10629 @section Other Sources
10631 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10632 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10636 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10637 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10638 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10639 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10640 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10641 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10645 @node Directory Groups
10646 @subsection Directory Groups
10648 @cindex directory groups
10650 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10651 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10654 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10655 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10656 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10657 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10659 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10660 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10661 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10662 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10663 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10665 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10667 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10668 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10669 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10670 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10673 @node Anything Groups
10674 @subsection Anything Groups
10677 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10678 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10679 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10682 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10683 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10684 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10685 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10686 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10687 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10688 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10689 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10690 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10691 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10694 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10695 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10696 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10697 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10699 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10700 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10701 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10702 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10704 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10705 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10706 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10707 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10708 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10709 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10710 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10711 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10716 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10717 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10718 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10719 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10721 @item nneething-exclude-files
10722 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10723 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10724 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10726 @item nneething-map-file
10727 @vindex nneething-map-file
10728 Name of the map files.
10732 @node Document Groups
10733 @subsection Document Groups
10735 @cindex documentation group
10738 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10739 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10746 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10751 The standard Unix mbox file.
10753 @cindex MMDF mail box
10755 The MMDF mail box format.
10758 Several news articles appended into a file.
10761 @cindex rnews batch files
10762 The rnews batch transport format.
10763 @cindex forwarded messages
10766 Forwarded articles.
10769 MIME multipart messages, besides digests.
10773 @cindex MIME digest
10774 @cindex 1153 digest
10775 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10776 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10777 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10779 @item standard-digest
10780 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10783 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10786 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10787 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10788 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10791 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10792 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10793 group. And that's it.
10795 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10796 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10797 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10798 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10799 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10800 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10801 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10802 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10803 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10804 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10806 Virtual server variables:
10809 @item nndoc-article-type
10810 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10811 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10812 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10813 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{mime-digest},
10814 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or
10817 @item nndoc-post-type
10818 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10819 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10820 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10825 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10829 @node Document Server Internals
10830 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10832 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10833 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10834 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10835 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10837 First, here's an example document type definition:
10841 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10842 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10845 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10846 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10847 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10848 types can be defined with very few settings:
10851 @item first-article
10852 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10853 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10856 @item article-begin
10857 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10858 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10860 @item head-begin-function
10861 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10864 @item nndoc-head-begin
10865 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10868 @item nndoc-head-end
10869 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10870 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10872 @item body-begin-function
10873 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10877 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10880 @item body-end-function
10881 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10885 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10888 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10889 regexp will be totally ignored.
10893 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10894 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10895 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10896 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10897 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10900 @item prepare-body-function
10901 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10902 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10903 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10905 @item article-transform-function
10906 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10907 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10908 body of the article.
10910 @item generate-head-function
10911 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10912 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10913 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10914 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10918 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10923 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10924 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10925 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10926 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10927 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10928 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10929 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10930 (subtype digest guess))
10933 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10934 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10935 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10936 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10937 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10939 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10940 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10941 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10942 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10943 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
10944 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10945 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10946 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10947 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10948 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10956 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10957 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10958 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10960 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10961 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10962 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10965 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10966 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10967 that interested in doing things properly.
10969 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10970 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10973 First some terminology:
10978 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10979 get news and/or mail from.
10982 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10983 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10986 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10990 @item message packets
10991 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10992 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10993 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10995 @item response packets
10996 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10997 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10998 default, where @var{X} is a number.
11008 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
11009 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
11010 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
11011 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
11014 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
11017 You put the packet in your home directory.
11020 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
11021 the native or secondary server.
11024 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
11025 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
11028 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
11032 You transfer this packet to the server.
11035 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
11038 You then repeat until you die.
11042 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
11043 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
11046 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
11047 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
11048 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
11052 @node SOUP Commands
11053 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
11055 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
11059 @kindex G s b (Group)
11060 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
11061 Pack all unread articles in the current group
11062 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
11063 process/prefix convention.
11066 @kindex G s w (Group)
11067 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
11068 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
11071 @kindex G s s (Group)
11072 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
11073 Send all replies from the replies packet
11074 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
11077 @kindex G s p (Group)
11078 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
11079 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
11082 @kindex G s r (Group)
11083 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
11084 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
11087 @kindex O s (Summary)
11088 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
11089 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
11090 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
11091 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11096 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
11101 @item gnus-soup-directory
11102 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
11103 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
11104 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
11106 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
11107 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
11108 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
11109 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
11111 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
11112 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
11113 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
11114 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
11116 @item gnus-soup-packer
11117 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
11118 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
11119 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
11121 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
11122 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
11123 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
11124 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
11126 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
11127 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
11128 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
11130 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
11131 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
11132 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
11133 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
11139 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
11142 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
11143 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
11144 you can read them at leisure.
11146 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
11150 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
11151 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
11152 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
11153 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
11155 @item nnsoup-directory
11156 @vindex nnsoup-directory
11157 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
11158 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
11160 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
11161 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
11162 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
11163 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
11165 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
11166 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
11167 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
11168 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
11169 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
11171 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
11172 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
11173 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
11174 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
11176 @item nnsoup-active-file
11177 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
11178 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
11179 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
11180 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
11181 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
11183 @item nnsoup-packer
11184 @vindex nnsoup-packer
11185 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
11186 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
11188 @item nnsoup-unpacker
11189 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
11190 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
11191 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
11193 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
11194 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
11195 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
11198 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
11199 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
11200 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
11203 @item nnsoup-always-save
11204 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
11205 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
11211 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
11213 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
11214 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
11215 more for that to happen.
11217 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
11218 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
11219 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
11222 In specific, this is what it does:
11225 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
11226 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
11229 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
11230 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
11231 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
11235 @subsection Web Searches
11239 @cindex InReference
11240 @cindex Usenet searches
11241 @cindex searching the Usenet
11243 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
11244 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
11245 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
11246 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
11247 searches without having to use a browser.
11249 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
11250 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
11251 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
11252 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
11253 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
11255 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
11256 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
11257 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
11258 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
11259 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
11260 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
11261 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
11262 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
11263 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
11264 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
11267 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
11268 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
11269 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
11270 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
11271 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
11272 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
11274 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
11275 to use @code{nnweb}.
11277 Virtual server variables:
11282 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
11283 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
11287 @vindex nnweb-search
11288 The search string to feed to the search engine.
11290 @item nnweb-max-hits
11291 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
11292 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
11295 @item nnweb-type-definition
11296 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
11297 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
11298 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
11303 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
11307 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
11310 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
11313 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
11317 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
11324 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
11325 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
11326 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
11329 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
11330 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
11331 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
11333 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
11339 @item nngateway-address
11340 @vindex nngateway-address
11341 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
11343 @item nngateway-header-transformation
11344 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
11345 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
11346 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
11347 transformation should be called, and defaults to
11348 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
11349 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
11352 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
11353 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
11354 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
11357 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
11360 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
11363 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
11366 The following pre-defined functions exist:
11368 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11371 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11372 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11373 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
11375 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11377 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11378 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11379 @code{nngateway-address}.
11384 (setq gnus-post-method
11385 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
11386 (nngateway-header-transformation
11387 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
11395 So, to use this, simply say something like:
11398 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
11402 @node Combined Groups
11403 @section Combined Groups
11405 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
11409 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
11410 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
11414 @node Virtual Groups
11415 @subsection Virtual Groups
11417 @cindex virtual groups
11418 @cindex merging groups
11420 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
11423 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
11424 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
11425 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
11427 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
11428 regexp to match component groups.
11430 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
11431 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
11432 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
11433 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
11434 the virtual group.)
11436 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
11437 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
11440 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
11443 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
11444 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
11446 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
11447 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
11448 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
11449 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
11452 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
11455 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
11456 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
11457 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
11459 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
11460 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
11461 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
11462 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
11463 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
11465 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
11466 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
11467 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
11469 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
11470 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
11471 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
11472 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
11473 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
11474 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
11475 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
11476 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
11477 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
11478 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
11479 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
11481 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
11482 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
11483 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
11484 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
11485 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
11486 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
11487 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
11489 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
11490 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
11494 @node Kibozed Groups
11495 @subsection Kibozed Groups
11499 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
11500 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
11501 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
11502 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
11504 @kindex G k (Group)
11505 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
11508 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
11509 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11510 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11511 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11513 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11514 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11515 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11517 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11518 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11519 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11520 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11521 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11522 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11523 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11524 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11526 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11527 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11528 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11529 Stranger things have happened.
11531 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11532 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11534 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11535 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11536 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11537 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11538 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11539 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11541 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11542 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11545 @node Gnus Unplugged
11546 @section Gnus Unplugged
11551 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11553 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11554 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11555 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11556 read news. Believe it or not.
11558 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11559 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11560 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11561 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11562 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11564 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11565 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11566 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11567 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11568 reading news on a machine.
11570 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11574 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11575 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11579 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11580 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11587 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11589 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11592 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11593 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11594 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11595 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
11596 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11597 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11598 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11599 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11600 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
11605 @subsection Agent Basics
11607 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11609 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11610 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11611 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11612 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11614 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11615 connected to the net continuously.
11617 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11618 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11620 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11625 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11626 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11627 already fetched while in this mode.
11630 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11631 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11632 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11635 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11636 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11637 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11638 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11641 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11642 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11643 then you read the news offline.
11646 And then you go to step 2.
11649 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11655 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11656 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11657 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11658 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11659 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11660 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11663 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
11670 @node Agent Categories
11671 @subsection Agent Categories
11673 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11674 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11675 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11676 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11677 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11678 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11679 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11681 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11682 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11683 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11686 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11687 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11688 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11692 @node Category Syntax
11693 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11695 A category consists of two things.
11699 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11700 are eligible for downloading; and
11703 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11704 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11705 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
11708 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
11709 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
11710 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
11711 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
11713 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
11714 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
11715 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
11717 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
11718 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
11719 operators sprinkled in between.
11721 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11723 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11724 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11730 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11731 short (for some value of ``short'').
11733 Here's a more complex predicate:
11742 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11743 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11746 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11747 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11748 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11750 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11751 you want to do, you can write your own.
11755 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11756 lines; default 100.
11759 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11760 lines; default 200.
11763 True iff the article has a download score less than
11764 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11767 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11768 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11771 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11772 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11773 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11782 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11783 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11784 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11787 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
11788 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
11789 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
11790 something along the lines of the following:
11793 (defun my-article-old-p ()
11794 "Say whether an article is old."
11795 (< (time-to-day (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
11796 (- (time-to-day (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
11799 with the predicate then defined as:
11802 (not my-article-old-p)
11805 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
11806 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
11807 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
11808 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
11811 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
11812 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
11813 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
11816 and simply specify your predicate as:
11822 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
11823 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
11824 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
11825 just don't give a damm.
11828 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
11829 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
11830 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
11831 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
11832 parameters like so:
11835 (agent-predicate . short)
11838 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category
11839 default. Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this,
11840 the @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair
11843 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
11846 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
11849 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
11850 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
11851 predicate is assumed to be a list.
11854 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11855 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11856 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11857 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
11858 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
11859 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
11861 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
11862 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
11863 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
11864 if it's to be specific to that group.
11866 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
11873 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
11874 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
11880 Category specification
11884 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
11890 Group Parameter specification
11893 (agent-score ("from"
11894 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
11899 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
11905 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
11912 Category specification
11915 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
11921 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
11925 Group Parameter specification
11928 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
11931 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
11936 Use @code{normal} score files
11938 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
11939 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
11940 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
11941 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
11943 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
11944 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
11945 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
11946 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
11950 Category Specification
11957 Group Parameter specification
11960 (agent-score . file)
11965 @node The Category Buffer
11966 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11968 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11969 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11970 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11972 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11976 @kindex q (Category)
11977 @findex gnus-category-exit
11978 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11981 @kindex k (Category)
11982 @findex gnus-category-kill
11983 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11986 @kindex c (Category)
11987 @findex gnus-category-copy
11988 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11991 @kindex a (Category)
11992 @findex gnus-category-add
11993 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11996 @kindex p (Category)
11997 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11998 Edit the predicate of the current category
11999 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
12002 @kindex g (Category)
12003 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
12004 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
12005 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
12008 @kindex s (Category)
12009 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
12010 Edit the download score rule of the current category
12011 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
12014 @kindex l (Category)
12015 @findex gnus-category-list
12016 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
12020 @node Category Variables
12021 @subsubsection Category Variables
12024 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
12025 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
12026 Hook run in category buffers.
12028 @item gnus-category-line-format
12029 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
12030 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
12031 Variables}). Valid elements are:
12035 The name of the category.
12038 The number of groups in the category.
12041 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
12042 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
12043 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
12045 @item gnus-agent-short-article
12046 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
12047 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
12049 @item gnus-agent-long-article
12050 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
12051 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
12053 @item gnus-agent-low-score
12054 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
12055 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
12058 @item gnus-agent-high-score
12059 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
12060 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
12066 @node Agent Commands
12067 @subsection Agent Commands
12069 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
12070 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
12071 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
12075 * Group Agent Commands::
12076 * Summary Agent Commands::
12077 * Server Agent Commands::
12080 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
12081 following incantation:
12083 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
12085 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
12090 @node Group Agent Commands
12091 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
12095 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
12096 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
12097 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
12098 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
12101 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
12102 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
12103 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
12106 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
12107 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
12108 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
12109 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
12112 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
12113 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
12114 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
12115 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}.
12118 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
12119 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
12120 Add the current group to an Agent category
12121 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
12126 @node Summary Agent Commands
12127 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
12131 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
12132 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
12133 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
12136 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
12137 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
12138 Remove the downloading mark from the article
12139 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
12142 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
12143 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
12144 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
12147 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
12148 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
12149 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
12154 @node Server Agent Commands
12155 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
12159 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
12160 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
12161 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
12162 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
12165 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
12166 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
12167 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
12168 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
12174 @subsection Agent Expiry
12176 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
12177 @findex gnus-agent-expire
12178 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
12179 @cindex Agent expiry
12180 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
12183 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
12184 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
12185 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
12186 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
12187 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
12188 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
12190 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
12191 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
12192 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
12193 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
12194 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
12197 @node Outgoing Messages
12198 @subsection Outgoing Messages
12200 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
12201 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
12202 after posting, and edit them at will.
12204 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
12205 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
12206 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
12207 messages in the draft group.
12211 @node Agent Variables
12212 @subsection Agent Variables
12215 @item gnus-agent-directory
12216 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
12217 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
12218 @file{~/News/agent/}.
12220 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
12221 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
12222 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
12223 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
12224 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
12227 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
12228 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
12229 Hook run when connecting to the network.
12231 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
12232 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
12233 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
12238 @node Example Setup
12239 @subsection Example Setup
12241 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
12242 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
12243 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
12246 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
12247 ;;; from your ISP's server.
12248 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
12250 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
12251 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
12252 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
12253 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
12255 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
12256 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12258 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
12262 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
12263 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
12266 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
12267 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
12268 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
12269 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
12270 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
12273 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
12274 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
12275 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
12276 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
12277 back all the killed groups.)
12279 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
12280 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
12281 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
12284 @node Batching Agents
12285 @subsection Batching Agents
12287 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
12288 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
12289 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
12293 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
12297 @node Agent Caveats
12298 @subsection Agent Caveats
12300 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
12301 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
12305 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
12310 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
12311 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
12317 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
12318 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
12325 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
12326 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
12327 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
12330 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
12331 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
12332 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
12333 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
12334 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
12336 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
12337 before generating the summary buffer.
12339 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
12340 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
12341 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
12343 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
12344 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
12345 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
12346 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
12349 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
12350 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
12351 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
12352 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
12353 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
12354 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
12355 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
12356 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
12357 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
12358 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
12359 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
12360 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
12361 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
12362 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
12363 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
12364 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
12368 @node Summary Score Commands
12369 @section Summary Score Commands
12370 @cindex score commands
12372 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
12373 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
12374 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
12375 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
12376 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
12378 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
12379 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
12380 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
12381 score file the current one.
12383 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
12388 @kindex V s (Summary)
12389 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
12390 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
12393 @kindex V S (Summary)
12394 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
12395 Display the score of the current article
12396 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
12399 @kindex V t (Summary)
12400 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
12401 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
12402 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
12405 @kindex V R (Summary)
12406 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
12407 Run the current summary through the scoring process
12408 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
12409 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
12410 effect you're having.
12413 @kindex V c (Summary)
12414 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
12415 Make a different score file the current
12416 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
12419 @kindex V e (Summary)
12420 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
12421 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
12422 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
12426 @kindex V f (Summary)
12427 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
12428 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
12429 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
12432 @kindex V F (Summary)
12433 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12434 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
12435 after editing score files.
12438 @kindex V C (Summary)
12439 @findex gnus-score-customize
12440 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
12441 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
12445 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
12450 @kindex V m (Summary)
12451 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
12452 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
12453 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
12456 @kindex V x (Summary)
12457 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
12458 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
12459 expunge all articles below this score
12460 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
12463 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
12464 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
12467 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
12468 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
12472 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
12473 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
12475 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
12476 keys are available:
12480 Score on the author name.
12483 Score on the subject line.
12486 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
12489 Score on the References line.
12495 Score on the number of lines.
12498 Score on the Message-ID.
12501 Score on followups.
12515 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
12516 what headers you are scoring on.
12528 Substring matching.
12531 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
12560 Greater than number.
12565 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
12566 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
12567 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
12571 Temporary score entry.
12574 Permanent score entry.
12577 Immediately scoring.
12582 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
12583 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
12584 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
12585 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
12587 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
12588 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
12589 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
12590 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
12591 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
12593 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
12594 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
12595 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
12596 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
12597 current score file.
12599 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
12600 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
12601 pretend they are keymaps or not.
12604 @node Group Score Commands
12605 @section Group Score Commands
12606 @cindex group score commands
12608 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
12613 @kindex W f (Group)
12614 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12615 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
12616 all the time. This command will flush the cache
12617 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
12621 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
12623 @findex gnus-batch-score
12624 @cindex batch scoring
12626 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
12630 @node Score Variables
12631 @section Score Variables
12632 @cindex score variables
12636 @item gnus-use-scoring
12637 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
12638 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
12639 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
12641 @item gnus-kill-killed
12642 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
12643 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
12644 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
12645 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
12646 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
12647 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
12648 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
12650 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
12651 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
12652 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
12653 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
12654 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
12656 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
12657 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
12658 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
12659 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
12661 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12662 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12663 @cindex score cache
12664 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
12665 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
12666 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
12667 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
12668 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
12669 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
12672 @item gnus-save-score
12673 @vindex gnus-save-score
12674 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
12675 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
12676 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
12678 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12679 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12680 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
12681 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
12682 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
12683 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
12684 manually entered data.
12686 @item gnus-summary-default-score
12687 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
12688 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
12690 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
12691 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
12692 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
12693 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
12694 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
12695 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
12697 @item gnus-score-over-mark
12698 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
12699 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
12700 default. Default is @samp{+}.
12702 @item gnus-score-below-mark
12703 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
12704 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
12705 default. Default is @samp{-}.
12707 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12708 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12709 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
12710 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
12712 Predefined functions available are:
12715 @item gnus-score-find-single
12716 @findex gnus-score-find-single
12717 Only apply the group's own score file.
12719 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
12720 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
12721 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
12722 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
12723 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
12724 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
12725 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
12726 then a regexp match is done.
12728 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
12729 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
12731 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
12732 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
12733 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
12734 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
12736 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12737 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12738 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12739 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12740 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12743 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12744 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12745 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12746 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12747 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12748 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12751 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12752 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12753 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12754 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12755 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12757 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12758 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12759 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12760 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12761 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12762 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12763 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12766 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12767 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12768 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12770 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
12771 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
12772 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
12773 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
12774 threading---according to the current value of
12775 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
12776 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
12777 simplified in this manner.
12782 @node Score File Format
12783 @section Score File Format
12784 @cindex score file format
12786 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12787 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12788 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12790 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12794 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12796 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12798 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12800 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12805 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12809 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12810 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12811 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12812 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12816 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12817 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12819 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12820 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12821 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12823 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12828 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12829 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12830 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12831 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12832 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12833 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12834 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12835 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12836 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12837 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12838 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12839 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12840 to articles that matches these score entries.
12842 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12843 score entry has one to four elements.
12847 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12848 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12852 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12853 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12854 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12855 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12856 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12857 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12860 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12861 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12862 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12863 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12864 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12867 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12868 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12869 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12870 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12873 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12874 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12875 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12876 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12877 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12878 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12879 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12880 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12881 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12882 instead, if you feel like.
12885 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12886 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
12888 These predicates are true if
12891 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
12894 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
12895 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
12902 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
12903 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
12904 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
12905 it's not. I think.)
12907 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
12908 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
12909 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
12910 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
12913 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12914 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12915 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12916 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12917 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12918 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12919 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12923 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12924 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12925 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12926 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12927 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12928 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12929 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12930 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12933 @item Head, Body, All
12934 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12938 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12939 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12940 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12941 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12942 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12943 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12944 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12948 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12949 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
12950 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12951 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12952 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12953 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12954 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12955 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12956 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12957 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12961 @cindex Score File Atoms
12963 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12964 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12967 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12968 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12970 @item mark-and-expunge
12971 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12972 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12975 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12976 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12977 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12978 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12979 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12982 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12983 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12986 @item exclude-files
12987 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12988 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12992 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12993 ignored when handling global score files.
12996 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12997 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
12998 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
12999 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
13002 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
13003 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
13004 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
13005 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
13007 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
13011 (mark-and-expunge -100)
13014 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
13015 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
13016 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
13017 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
13018 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
13020 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
13021 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
13022 ordinary scoring rules.
13025 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
13026 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
13027 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
13028 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
13029 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
13030 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
13031 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
13032 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
13033 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
13034 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
13035 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
13039 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
13040 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
13041 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
13042 file for a number of groups.
13045 @cindex local variables
13046 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
13047 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
13048 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
13049 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
13050 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
13054 @node Score File Editing
13055 @section Score File Editing
13057 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
13058 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
13059 with a mode for that.
13061 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
13062 additional commands:
13067 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
13068 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
13069 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
13070 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
13073 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
13074 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
13075 Insert the current date in numerical format
13076 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
13077 you were wondering.
13080 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
13081 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
13082 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
13083 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
13084 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
13089 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
13091 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
13092 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
13094 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
13095 e} to begin editing score files.
13098 @node Adaptive Scoring
13099 @section Adaptive Scoring
13100 @cindex adaptive scoring
13102 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
13103 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
13104 stupidity, to be precise.
13106 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
13107 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
13108 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
13109 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
13110 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
13111 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
13112 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
13113 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
13114 variable to @code{(word line)}.
13116 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
13117 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
13118 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
13119 might look something like this:
13122 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
13123 '((gnus-unread-mark)
13124 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
13125 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
13126 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
13127 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
13128 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
13129 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
13130 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
13131 (gnus-ancient-mark)
13132 (gnus-low-score-mark)
13133 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
13136 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
13137 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
13138 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
13139 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
13140 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
13141 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
13144 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
13145 will be applied to each article.
13147 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
13148 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
13149 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
13150 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
13152 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
13153 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
13154 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
13155 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
13157 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
13158 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
13159 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
13160 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
13162 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
13163 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
13164 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
13165 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
13166 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
13167 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
13169 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
13170 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
13171 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
13172 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
13173 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
13174 aspirins afterwards.)
13176 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
13177 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
13178 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
13180 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
13181 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
13182 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
13184 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
13185 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
13186 let you use different rules in different groups.
13188 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
13189 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
13190 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
13193 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
13194 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
13195 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
13196 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
13197 the length of the match is less than
13198 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
13199 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
13202 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
13203 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
13204 headers. If you adapt on words, the
13205 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
13206 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
13209 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
13210 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
13211 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
13212 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
13213 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
13216 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
13217 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
13218 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
13219 score with 30 points.
13221 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
13222 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
13223 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
13224 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
13225 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
13227 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
13228 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
13229 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
13230 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
13232 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
13233 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
13234 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
13235 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
13237 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
13238 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
13239 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
13240 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
13241 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
13243 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
13244 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
13245 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
13247 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
13248 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
13249 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
13250 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
13253 @node Home Score File
13254 @section Home Score File
13256 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
13257 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
13258 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
13259 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
13261 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
13262 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
13263 could perhaps use the same home score file.
13265 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
13266 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
13271 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
13275 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
13276 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
13280 A list. The elements in this list can be:
13284 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
13285 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
13288 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
13289 the home score file.
13292 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
13295 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
13300 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
13303 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13304 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
13307 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
13308 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
13310 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
13312 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13313 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
13316 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
13317 Other functions include
13320 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
13321 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
13322 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
13323 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
13327 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
13328 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
13329 their own home score files:
13332 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13333 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
13334 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
13335 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
13336 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
13339 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
13340 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
13341 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
13342 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
13343 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
13345 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
13346 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
13347 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
13348 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
13349 precedence over this variable.
13352 @node Followups To Yourself
13353 @section Followups To Yourself
13355 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
13356 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
13357 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
13358 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
13359 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
13360 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
13364 @item gnus-score-followup-article
13365 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
13366 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
13369 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
13370 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
13371 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
13375 @vindex message-sent-hook
13376 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
13377 @code{message-sent-hook}.
13379 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
13380 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
13384 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
13385 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
13388 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
13389 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
13394 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
13398 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
13399 is system-dependent.
13403 @section Scoring Tips
13404 @cindex scoring tips
13410 @cindex scoring crossposts
13411 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
13412 the @code{Xref} header.
13414 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
13417 @item Multiple crossposts
13418 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
13419 more than, say, 3 groups:
13421 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
13424 @item Matching on the body
13425 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
13426 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
13427 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
13428 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
13429 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
13430 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
13431 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
13434 @item Marking as read
13435 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
13436 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
13437 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
13441 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
13443 @item Negated character classes
13444 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
13445 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
13446 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
13450 @node Reverse Scoring
13451 @section Reverse Scoring
13452 @cindex reverse scoring
13454 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
13455 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
13456 like this in your score file:
13460 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
13465 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
13466 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
13469 @node Global Score Files
13470 @section Global Score Files
13471 @cindex global score files
13473 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
13474 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
13475 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
13477 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
13478 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
13479 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
13481 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
13482 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
13483 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
13484 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
13485 files are applicable to which group.
13487 Say you want to use the score file
13488 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
13489 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
13492 (setq gnus-global-score-files
13493 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
13494 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
13497 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
13498 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
13499 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
13500 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
13501 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
13503 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
13504 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
13506 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
13507 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
13508 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
13509 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
13510 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
13511 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
13513 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
13519 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
13521 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
13523 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
13525 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
13526 lowered out of existence.
13528 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
13529 articles completely.
13532 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
13533 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
13534 old articles for a long time.
13537 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
13538 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
13539 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
13540 holding our breath yet?
13544 @section Kill Files
13547 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
13548 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
13549 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
13551 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
13552 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
13553 files into score files.
13555 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
13556 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
13557 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
13558 that isn't a very good idea.
13560 Normal kill files look like this:
13563 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13564 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
13568 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
13569 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
13571 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
13572 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
13575 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
13580 @kindex M-k (Summary)
13581 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
13582 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
13585 @kindex M-K (Summary)
13586 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
13587 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
13590 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
13595 @kindex M-k (Group)
13596 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
13597 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
13600 @kindex M-K (Group)
13601 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
13602 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
13605 Kill file variables:
13608 @item gnus-kill-file-name
13609 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
13610 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
13611 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
13612 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
13613 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
13614 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
13616 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13617 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13618 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
13619 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
13622 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
13623 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
13624 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
13625 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
13626 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
13627 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
13628 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
13629 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
13630 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
13632 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13633 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13634 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
13639 @node Converting Kill Files
13640 @section Converting Kill Files
13642 @cindex converting kill files
13644 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
13645 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
13646 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
13649 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
13650 You can fetch it from
13651 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
13653 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
13654 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
13655 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
13663 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
13664 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
13665 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
13667 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
13668 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
13669 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
13670 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
13671 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
13672 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
13673 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
13674 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
13678 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
13679 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
13680 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
13681 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
13685 @node Using GroupLens
13686 @subsection Using GroupLens
13688 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
13690 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
13691 better bit in town at the moment.
13693 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
13697 @item gnus-use-grouplens
13698 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
13699 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
13700 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
13702 @item grouplens-pseudonym
13703 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
13704 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
13705 with the Better Bit Bureau.
13707 @item grouplens-newsgroups
13708 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
13709 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
13713 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
13714 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
13715 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
13716 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
13717 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
13718 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
13721 @node Rating Articles
13722 @subsection Rating Articles
13724 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
13725 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
13726 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
13727 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
13730 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
13735 @kindex r (GroupLens)
13736 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
13737 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
13740 @kindex k (GroupLens)
13741 @findex grouplens-score-thread
13742 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
13743 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
13744 threads in rec.humor.
13748 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
13749 the score of the article you're reading.
13754 @kindex n (GroupLens)
13755 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
13756 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
13759 @kindex , (GroupLens)
13760 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
13761 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
13765 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
13766 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
13769 @node Displaying Predictions
13770 @subsection Displaying Predictions
13772 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
13773 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
13774 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
13775 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
13776 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
13778 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
13779 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
13780 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
13781 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
13782 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
13783 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13784 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13785 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13786 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13787 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13788 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13789 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13790 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13792 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13793 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13794 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13795 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13797 The following are valid values for that variable.
13800 @item prediction-spot
13801 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13804 @item confidence-interval
13805 A numeric confidence interval.
13807 @item prediction-bar
13808 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13810 @item confidence-bar
13811 Numerical confidence.
13813 @item confidence-spot
13814 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13816 @item prediction-num
13817 Plain-old numeric value.
13819 @item confidence-plus-minus
13820 Prediction +/- confidence.
13825 @node GroupLens Variables
13826 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13830 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13831 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13832 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13833 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13836 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13837 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13840 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13841 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13843 @item grouplens-score-offset
13844 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13845 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13848 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13849 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13850 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13855 @node Advanced Scoring
13856 @section Advanced Scoring
13858 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13859 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13860 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13861 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13862 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13864 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13868 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13869 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13870 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13874 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13875 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13877 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13878 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13879 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13880 non-@code{nil} value.
13882 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13883 operator, and various match operators.
13890 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13891 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13892 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13897 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13898 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13899 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13904 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13905 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13909 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13910 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13911 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13912 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13913 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13914 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13915 the ancestry you want to go.
13917 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13918 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13919 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13920 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13921 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13924 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13925 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13927 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13928 when he's talking about Gnus:
13932 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13933 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13939 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13943 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13950 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13951 really don't want to read what he's written:
13955 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13956 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13960 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13961 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13962 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13969 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13970 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13971 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13972 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13976 The possibilities are endless.
13979 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13980 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13982 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13983 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13984 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13985 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13986 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13987 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13988 @samp{subject}) first.
13990 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13991 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
14002 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
14003 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
14009 ("subject" "Gnus")))
14016 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
14017 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
14022 @section Score Decays
14023 @cindex score decays
14026 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
14027 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
14028 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
14029 use them in any sensible way.
14031 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
14032 @findex gnus-decay-score
14033 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
14034 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
14035 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
14036 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
14037 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
14038 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
14039 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
14040 definition of that function:
14043 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
14045 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
14046 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
14049 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
14051 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
14053 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
14056 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
14057 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
14058 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
14059 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
14063 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
14066 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
14069 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
14073 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
14074 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
14075 the new score, which should be an integer.
14077 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
14078 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
14085 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
14086 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
14087 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
14088 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
14089 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
14090 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
14091 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
14092 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
14093 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
14094 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
14095 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
14096 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
14097 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
14098 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
14099 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
14100 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
14101 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
14102 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
14106 @node Process/Prefix
14107 @section Process/Prefix
14108 @cindex process/prefix convention
14110 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
14111 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
14113 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
14114 command to be performed on.
14118 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
14119 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
14120 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
14121 with the current one.
14123 @vindex transient-mark-mode
14124 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
14125 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
14127 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
14128 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
14131 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
14132 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
14134 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
14137 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
14138 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
14139 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
14140 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14142 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
14143 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
14144 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
14145 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
14146 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
14147 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
14148 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
14149 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
14153 @section Interactive
14154 @cindex interaction
14158 @item gnus-novice-user
14159 @vindex gnus-novice-user
14160 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
14161 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
14162 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
14163 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
14166 @item gnus-expert-user
14167 @vindex gnus-expert-user
14168 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
14169 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
14170 matter how strange.
14172 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
14173 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
14174 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
14175 is @code{t} by default.
14177 @item gnus-interactive-exit
14178 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
14179 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14184 @node Symbolic Prefixes
14185 @section Symbolic Prefixes
14186 @cindex symbolic prefixes
14188 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
14189 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
14190 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
14191 rule of 900 to the current article.
14193 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
14194 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
14195 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
14196 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
14197 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
14198 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
14199 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
14201 @kindex M-i (Summary)
14202 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
14203 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
14204 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
14205 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
14206 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
14207 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
14208 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
14209 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
14211 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
14212 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
14213 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
14215 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
14219 @node Formatting Variables
14220 @section Formatting Variables
14221 @cindex formatting variables
14223 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
14224 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
14225 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
14226 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
14227 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
14230 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
14231 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
14232 lots of percentages everywhere.
14235 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
14236 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
14237 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
14238 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
14239 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
14242 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
14243 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
14244 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
14245 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
14246 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
14247 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
14248 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
14249 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
14251 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
14252 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
14254 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
14255 @findex gnus-update-format
14256 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
14257 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
14258 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
14259 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
14263 @node Formatting Basics
14264 @subsection Formatting Basics
14266 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
14267 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
14268 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
14270 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
14271 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
14272 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
14273 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
14274 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
14277 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
14278 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
14279 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
14280 less than 4 characters wide.
14283 @node Mode Line Formatting
14284 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
14286 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
14287 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
14288 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
14289 with the following two differences:
14294 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
14297 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
14298 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
14299 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
14300 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
14301 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
14302 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
14303 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
14308 @node Advanced Formatting
14309 @subsection Advanced Formatting
14311 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
14312 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
14313 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
14314 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
14316 These are the valid modifiers:
14321 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
14325 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
14330 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
14333 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
14338 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
14341 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
14344 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
14347 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
14351 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
14352 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
14353 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
14354 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
14355 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
14356 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
14357 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
14359 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
14360 last operation, padding.
14362 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
14363 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
14364 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
14365 @xref{Compilation}.
14368 @node User-Defined Specs
14369 @subsection User-Defined Specs
14371 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
14372 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
14373 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
14374 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
14375 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
14376 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
14377 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
14378 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
14379 should protect against that.
14381 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
14382 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
14383 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
14384 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
14388 @node Formatting Fonts
14389 @subsection Formatting Fonts
14391 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
14392 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
14393 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
14394 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
14397 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
14398 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
14399 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
14400 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
14401 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
14402 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
14404 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
14407 ;; Create three face types.
14408 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
14409 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
14411 ;; We want the article count to be in
14412 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
14413 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
14414 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
14416 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
14417 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
14419 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
14420 (setq gnus-group-line-format
14421 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
14424 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
14425 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
14427 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
14428 mode-line variables.
14431 @node Windows Configuration
14432 @section Windows Configuration
14433 @cindex windows configuration
14435 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
14437 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
14438 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
14439 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
14440 @code{t} by default.
14442 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
14443 glitches. Use at your own peril.
14445 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
14446 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
14447 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
14450 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
14451 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
14452 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14456 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
14457 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
14458 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
14459 possible names is listed below.
14461 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
14462 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
14465 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14469 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
14470 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
14471 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
14472 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
14473 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
14474 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
14475 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
14476 size spec per split.
14478 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
14479 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
14480 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
14481 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
14482 present) gets focus.
14484 Here's a more complicated example:
14487 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
14488 (summary 0.25 point)
14489 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
14493 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
14494 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
14495 occupy, not a percentage.
14497 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
14498 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
14499 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
14500 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
14501 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
14504 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
14507 (article (horizontal 1.0
14512 (summary 0.25 point)
14517 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
14518 @code{horizontal} thingie?
14520 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
14521 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
14522 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
14523 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
14524 the screen is to be given to this strip.
14526 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
14527 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
14528 lines from the splits.
14530 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
14534 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
14535 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
14536 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
14537 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
14538 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
14539 size = number | frame-params
14540 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
14543 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
14544 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
14545 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
14546 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
14548 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
14549 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
14550 @cindex window height
14551 @cindex window width
14552 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
14553 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
14554 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
14555 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
14556 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
14557 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
14559 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
14560 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
14561 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
14562 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
14564 @findex gnus-configure-frame
14565 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
14566 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
14567 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
14568 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
14569 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
14570 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
14571 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
14572 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
14573 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
14574 configuration list.
14577 (gnus-configure-frame
14581 (article 0.3 point))
14589 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
14590 @code{frame} split:
14593 (gnus-configure-frame
14596 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
14598 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
14599 (user-position . t)
14600 (left . -1) (top . 1))
14605 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
14606 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
14607 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
14608 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
14609 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
14610 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
14611 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
14612 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
14615 Here's a list of all possible keys for
14616 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
14618 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
14619 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
14620 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
14621 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
14622 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
14623 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
14625 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
14626 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
14627 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
14631 (message (horizontal 1.0
14632 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
14634 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
14639 @findex gnus-add-configuration
14640 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
14641 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
14642 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
14643 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
14646 (gnus-add-configuration
14647 '(article (vertical 1.0
14649 (summary .25 point)
14653 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
14654 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
14655 Gnus has been loaded.
14657 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
14658 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
14659 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
14660 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
14661 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
14663 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
14664 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
14665 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
14669 @node Faces and Fonts
14670 @section Faces and Fonts
14675 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
14676 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
14677 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
14682 @section Compilation
14683 @cindex compilation
14684 @cindex byte-compilation
14686 @findex gnus-compile
14688 Remember all those line format specification variables?
14689 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
14690 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
14691 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
14692 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
14693 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
14696 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
14697 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
14698 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
14699 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
14700 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
14701 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
14702 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
14706 @section Mode Lines
14709 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
14710 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
14711 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
14712 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
14713 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
14714 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
14715 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
14718 @cindex display-time
14720 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
14721 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
14722 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
14723 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
14724 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
14725 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
14726 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
14727 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
14730 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
14732 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
14733 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
14735 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
14736 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
14737 (length display-time-string)))))
14740 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
14741 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
14742 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
14743 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
14744 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
14747 @node Highlighting and Menus
14748 @section Highlighting and Menus
14750 @cindex highlighting
14753 @vindex gnus-visual
14754 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
14755 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
14756 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
14759 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
14760 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
14763 @item group-highlight
14764 Do highlights in the group buffer.
14765 @item summary-highlight
14766 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
14767 @item article-highlight
14768 Do highlights according to @code{gnus-article-display-hook} in the
14771 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
14773 Create menus in the group buffer.
14775 Create menus in the summary buffers.
14777 Create menus in the article buffer.
14779 Create menus in the browse buffer.
14781 Create menus in the server buffer.
14783 Create menus in the score buffers.
14785 Create menus in all buffers.
14788 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
14789 buffers, you could say something like:
14792 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
14795 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
14798 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
14801 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
14802 in all Gnus buffers.
14804 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
14807 @item gnus-mouse-face
14808 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
14809 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
14810 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
14814 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
14818 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
14819 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
14820 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
14822 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
14823 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
14824 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14826 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14827 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14828 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14830 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14831 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14832 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14834 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14835 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14836 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14838 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14839 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14840 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14851 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14852 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14853 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14854 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14855 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14859 @vindex gnus-carpal
14860 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14861 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14862 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14867 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14868 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14869 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14871 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14872 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14873 Face used on buttons.
14875 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14876 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14877 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14879 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14880 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14881 Buttons in the group buffer.
14883 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14884 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14885 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14887 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14888 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14889 Buttons in the server buffer.
14891 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14892 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14893 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14896 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14897 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14898 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14906 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14907 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14908 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14909 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14910 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14912 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14913 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14914 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14916 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14917 been idle for thirty minutes:
14920 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14923 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14927 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14930 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14931 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14932 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14934 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14935 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14936 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14937 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14939 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14940 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14941 @var{idle} minutes.
14943 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14944 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14947 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14948 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14949 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14951 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14952 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14953 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14954 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14956 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14957 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14958 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14960 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14961 your @file{.gnus} file:
14963 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14965 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14968 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14969 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14970 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14971 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14972 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14973 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14974 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14975 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14976 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14977 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14978 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14980 @findex gnus-demon-init
14981 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14982 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14983 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14984 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14985 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14987 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
14988 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14989 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14998 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14999 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
15001 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
15002 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
15003 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
15004 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
15007 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
15008 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
15009 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
15010 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
15012 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
15013 this will make spam disappear.
15015 There are some variables to customize, of course:
15018 @item gnus-use-nocem
15019 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
15020 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
15023 @item gnus-nocem-groups
15024 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
15025 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
15026 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
15027 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
15029 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
15030 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
15031 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
15032 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
15033 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
15034 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
15035 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
15037 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
15040 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
15041 @cindex Chris Lewis
15042 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
15043 usenet abuse than anybody else.
15046 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
15047 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
15048 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
15050 @item jem@@xpat.com;
15052 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
15055 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
15056 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
15057 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
15060 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
15061 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
15062 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
15063 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
15064 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
15065 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
15066 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
15067 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
15068 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
15069 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
15071 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
15072 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
15075 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
15078 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
15079 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
15082 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
15085 The specs are applied left-to-right.
15088 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
15089 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
15091 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
15092 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
15093 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
15094 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
15096 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
15097 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
15100 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
15102 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
15110 This might be dangerous, though.
15112 @item gnus-nocem-directory
15113 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
15114 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
15115 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
15117 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
15118 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
15119 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
15120 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
15121 might then see old spam.
15125 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
15126 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
15127 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
15128 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
15135 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
15136 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
15137 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
15139 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
15140 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
15141 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
15142 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
15143 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
15144 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
15145 @code{undo} function.
15147 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
15148 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
15149 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
15150 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
15151 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
15152 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
15153 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
15154 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
15155 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
15156 never be totally undoable.
15158 @findex gnus-undo-mode
15159 @vindex gnus-use-undo
15161 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
15162 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
15163 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
15164 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
15169 @section Moderation
15172 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
15173 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
15174 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
15177 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
15181 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
15184 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
15186 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
15191 You split your incoming mail by matching on
15192 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
15193 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
15196 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
15197 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
15200 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
15201 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
15205 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
15208 (setq gnus-moderated-list
15209 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
15213 @node XEmacs Enhancements
15214 @section XEmacs Enhancements
15217 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
15221 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
15222 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
15223 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
15224 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
15237 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
15238 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
15239 over your shoulder as you read news.
15242 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
15243 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
15244 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
15245 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
15246 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
15251 @subsubsection Picon Basics
15253 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
15262 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
15263 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
15264 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
15265 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
15266 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
15267 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
15268 @code{GIF} formats.
15271 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15272 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
15273 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
15274 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
15275 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
15277 @vindex gnus-picons-database
15278 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
15279 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
15280 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
15281 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
15282 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
15285 @node Picon Requirements
15286 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
15288 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
15289 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
15292 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
15293 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
15294 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
15296 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15297 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
15298 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
15299 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
15300 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
15304 @subsubsection Easy Picons
15306 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
15307 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
15310 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
15311 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15312 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
15313 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15314 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
15317 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
15318 containing the Picons databases.
15320 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
15323 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15324 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
15329 @subsubsection Hard Picons
15337 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
15338 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
15339 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
15340 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
15341 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
15346 @item gnus-picons-database
15347 @vindex gnus-picons-database
15348 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
15349 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
15350 subdirectories. This is only useful if
15351 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
15352 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
15354 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15355 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15356 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
15357 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
15358 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
15359 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
15360 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
15362 @item gnus-picons-display-where
15363 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
15364 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
15365 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
15366 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
15367 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
15368 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
15369 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
15371 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
15372 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
15373 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
15378 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
15379 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
15381 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
15382 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
15385 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
15386 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
15388 @item gnus-article-display-picons
15389 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
15390 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
15391 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
15392 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
15394 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
15395 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
15396 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
15397 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
15401 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
15402 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
15405 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
15409 @node Picon Useless Configuration
15410 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
15418 The following variables offer further control over how things are
15419 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
15420 don't need to worry about.
15424 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
15425 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
15426 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
15427 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
15429 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
15430 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
15431 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
15432 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
15434 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
15435 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
15436 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
15437 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
15438 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
15440 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15441 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15442 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
15443 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
15444 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
15445 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
15446 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
15448 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
15449 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
15450 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
15451 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
15453 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
15454 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
15455 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
15456 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
15457 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
15458 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
15459 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
15461 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
15462 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
15463 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
15464 Defaults to @code{nil}.
15466 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
15467 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
15468 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
15469 Defaults to @code{t}.
15471 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15472 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15473 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
15474 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
15476 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15477 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15478 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
15479 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
15481 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15482 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15483 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
15484 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
15485 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
15486 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
15487 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
15488 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
15499 @subsection Smileys
15504 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
15509 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
15510 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
15512 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
15513 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15516 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
15519 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
15520 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
15521 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
15522 text and maps that to file names.
15524 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
15525 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
15526 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
15527 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
15528 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
15529 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
15531 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
15532 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
15534 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
15535 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
15536 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
15538 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
15539 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
15543 @item smiley-data-directory
15544 @vindex smiley-data-directory
15545 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
15547 @item smiley-flesh-color
15548 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
15549 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
15551 @item smiley-features-color
15552 @vindex smiley-features-color
15553 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15555 @item smiley-tongue-color
15556 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
15557 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
15559 @item smiley-circle-color
15560 @vindex smiley-circle-color
15561 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15563 @item smiley-mouse-face
15564 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
15565 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
15571 @subsection Toolbar
15581 @item gnus-use-toolbar
15582 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
15583 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
15584 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
15585 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
15587 @item gnus-group-toolbar
15588 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
15589 The toolbar in the group buffer.
15591 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
15592 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
15593 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
15595 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15596 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15597 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
15603 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
15606 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15607 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15608 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
15609 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
15610 unusual directory structure.
15612 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15613 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15614 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
15615 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
15617 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15618 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15619 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
15620 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
15621 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
15622 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
15624 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15625 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15626 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
15640 @node Fuzzy Matching
15641 @section Fuzzy Matching
15642 @cindex fuzzy matching
15644 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
15645 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
15647 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
15648 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
15649 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
15651 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
15652 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
15653 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
15654 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
15655 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
15658 @node Thwarting Email Spam
15659 @section Thwarting Email Spam
15663 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
15665 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
15666 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
15667 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
15668 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
15669 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
15670 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
15671 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
15672 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
15675 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
15676 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
15677 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
15678 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
15679 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
15680 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
15684 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
15685 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
15687 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
15688 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
15689 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
15690 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
15691 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
15692 part of the mail address.)
15695 (setq message-default-news-headers
15696 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
15699 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15700 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
15705 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
15706 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
15707 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
15713 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
15714 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
15715 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
15716 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
15718 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
15719 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
15720 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
15721 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
15722 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
15723 your fancy split rule in this way:
15728 (to "larsi" "misc")
15732 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
15733 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
15734 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
15735 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
15736 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
15738 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
15739 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
15740 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
15741 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
15742 cosmic balance somewhat.
15744 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
15745 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
15746 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
15747 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
15750 @node Various Various
15751 @section Various Various
15757 @item gnus-home-directory
15758 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
15759 defaults to @file{~/}.
15761 @item gnus-directory
15762 @vindex gnus-directory
15763 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
15764 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
15765 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
15767 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
15768 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
15769 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
15770 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
15772 @item gnus-default-directory
15773 @vindex gnus-default-directory
15774 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
15775 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
15776 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
15777 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15778 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
15779 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
15782 @vindex gnus-verbose
15783 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
15784 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
15785 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
15786 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
15787 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
15789 @item gnus-verbose-backends
15790 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
15791 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
15792 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
15794 @item nnheader-max-head-length
15795 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
15796 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
15797 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
15798 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
15799 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
15800 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
15801 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
15802 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
15803 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
15805 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
15806 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
15807 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
15808 read when doing the operation described above.
15810 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15811 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15813 @cindex invalid characters in file names
15814 @cindex characters in file names
15815 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
15816 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
15817 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
15820 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15824 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
15825 Windows (phooey) systems.
15827 @item gnus-hidden-properties
15828 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
15829 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
15830 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
15831 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
15833 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
15834 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
15835 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
15836 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
15837 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
15839 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
15840 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
15841 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
15850 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
15851 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
15853 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
15855 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
15861 Not because of victories @*
15864 but for the common sunshine,@*
15866 the largess of the spring.
15870 but for the day's work done@*
15871 as well as I was able;@*
15872 not for a seat upon the dais@*
15873 but at the common table.@*
15878 @chapter Appendices
15881 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
15882 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
15883 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
15884 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
15885 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
15886 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15887 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15895 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15896 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15898 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15899 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15900 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15901 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15902 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15904 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15905 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15906 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15907 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15908 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15909 appropriate name, don't you think?)
15911 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
15912 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
15913 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
15914 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
15916 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
15917 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
15918 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
15920 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
15921 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
15923 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
15924 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
15926 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37
15927 releases. If was released as ``Gnus 5.6 on March 8th 1998.
15929 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
15930 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
15931 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
15932 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
15933 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
15937 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
15938 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
15939 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
15940 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
15941 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
15942 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
15943 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15950 What's the point of Gnus?
15952 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15953 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15954 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15955 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15956 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15957 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15958 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15959 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15960 keep track of millions of people who post?
15962 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15963 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15964 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15965 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15966 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15967 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15968 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15969 every one of you to explore and invent.
15971 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15972 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
15975 @node Compatibility
15976 @subsection Compatibility
15978 @cindex compatibility
15979 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
15980 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
15981 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
15986 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
15990 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
15993 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
15996 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
15997 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
15998 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
15999 important variables have their values copied into their global
16000 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
16001 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
16003 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
16004 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
16005 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
16006 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
16007 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
16011 @cindex highlighting
16012 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
16013 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
16014 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
16015 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
16016 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
16017 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
16020 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
16021 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
16022 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
16023 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
16025 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
16026 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
16027 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
16028 to stop doing it the old way.
16030 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
16032 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
16034 @cindex reporting bugs
16036 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
16037 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
16038 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
16040 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
16041 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
16042 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
16043 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
16048 @subsection Conformity
16050 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
16051 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
16058 There are no known breaches of this standard.
16062 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
16064 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
16065 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
16066 We do have some breaches to this one.
16071 Gnus does not yet fully handle MIME, and this standard-to-be seems to
16072 think that MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
16075 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
16076 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
16077 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
16078 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
16079 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
16084 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
16085 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
16086 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
16087 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
16091 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
16092 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
16097 @subsection Emacsen
16103 Gnus should work on :
16111 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
16115 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
16116 reliably, at least.
16118 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
16119 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
16120 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
16125 @subsection Contributors
16126 @cindex contributors
16128 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
16129 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
16130 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
16131 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
16132 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
16133 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
16134 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
16135 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
16136 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
16137 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
16139 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
16145 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
16148 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
16149 well as numerous other things).
16152 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
16155 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
16158 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el and many other things
16159 connected with @sc{mime} and other types of en/decoding.
16162 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
16163 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
16166 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
16169 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
16170 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16173 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
16176 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
16179 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
16182 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
16185 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
16186 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
16189 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
16192 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
16195 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
16198 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
16202 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
16205 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
16208 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
16211 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
16212 well as autoconf support.
16216 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
16217 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
16219 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
16228 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
16232 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
16254 Massimo Campostrini,
16262 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
16268 Michael Welsh Duggan,
16271 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
16275 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
16282 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
16284 Michelangelo Grigni,
16287 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
16289 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
16291 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
16296 François Felix Ingrand,
16297 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
16299 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
16308 Peter Skov Knudsen,
16309 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
16310 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
16311 Thor Kristoffersen,
16314 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
16331 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
16332 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
16339 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
16343 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
16346 John McClary Prevost,
16352 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
16357 Christian von Roques,
16359 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
16366 Philippe Schnoebelen,
16368 Randal L. Schwartz,
16398 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka.
16400 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
16401 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
16402 (550kB and counting).
16404 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
16407 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
16408 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
16412 @subsection New Features
16413 @cindex new features
16416 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
16417 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
16418 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
16419 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
16422 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
16423 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
16424 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
16428 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
16430 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
16435 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
16436 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
16439 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
16440 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
16443 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
16446 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
16447 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
16448 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
16451 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
16452 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
16453 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
16454 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16457 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
16458 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16461 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
16462 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
16463 (@pxref{The Active File}).
16466 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
16467 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
16470 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
16471 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
16472 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16475 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
16476 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
16477 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
16480 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
16481 the @file{.emacs} file.
16484 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
16485 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16488 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
16489 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
16492 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
16493 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16496 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
16497 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
16500 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
16501 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16504 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
16507 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
16508 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
16511 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
16512 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
16515 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
16516 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
16519 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
16522 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
16523 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16526 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
16530 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
16534 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
16535 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
16538 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
16544 @node September Gnus
16545 @subsubsection September Gnus
16549 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
16553 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
16558 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
16559 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
16563 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
16564 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
16568 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
16572 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
16573 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
16576 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
16580 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16583 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
16586 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
16589 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
16593 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
16594 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
16597 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
16601 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
16605 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
16609 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
16613 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
16616 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
16617 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
16620 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
16624 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
16625 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
16628 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
16631 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
16632 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
16633 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16636 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
16640 The Gnus cache is much faster.
16643 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
16647 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
16648 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16651 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
16652 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
16655 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
16656 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16659 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
16660 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
16661 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
16664 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
16665 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
16668 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
16671 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16674 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16675 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
16679 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
16682 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
16685 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
16686 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
16689 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
16693 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
16696 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
16701 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
16704 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
16708 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16711 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
16715 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
16718 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
16721 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
16722 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16725 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
16726 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
16730 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
16731 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
16734 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
16738 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
16739 buffer to allow easier treatment.
16742 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
16745 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
16749 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
16753 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
16754 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
16757 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
16761 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
16762 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16765 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
16766 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16769 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
16773 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16776 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16777 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
16781 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
16784 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
16790 @subsubsection Red Gnus
16792 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
16796 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
16803 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
16806 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
16807 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16810 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
16811 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
16815 Article washing status can be displayed in the
16816 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
16819 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
16822 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
16823 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
16826 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
16830 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
16831 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
16835 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
16836 Server Internals}).
16839 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
16843 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
16846 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
16847 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
16850 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
16851 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
16852 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
16855 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
16856 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16859 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
16860 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
16863 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
16867 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
16868 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16871 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
16872 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16875 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
16879 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
16882 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
16886 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
16887 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16890 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
16891 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16894 A new command for reading collections of documents
16895 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
16896 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
16899 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
16903 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
16904 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
16907 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
16908 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
16909 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
16912 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
16913 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
16917 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
16921 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
16925 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
16930 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
16934 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
16938 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
16939 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
16942 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
16945 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16946 'gnus-article-emphasize)
16953 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
16955 New features in Gnus 5.6:
16960 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
16961 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
16962 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
16965 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
16966 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
16967 group, which is created automatically.
16970 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
16974 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
16977 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
16978 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
16981 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
16985 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
16988 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
16989 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
16992 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
16995 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
16996 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
16999 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
17000 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
17003 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
17004 control over simplification.
17007 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
17010 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
17014 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
17017 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
17020 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
17021 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
17022 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
17025 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
17026 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
17029 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
17033 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
17034 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
17037 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
17038 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
17041 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
17045 A history of where mails have been split is available.
17048 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
17051 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
17052 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
17055 A new function for citing in Message has been
17056 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
17059 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
17062 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
17066 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
17067 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
17070 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
17071 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
17074 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
17077 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
17082 @node Newest Features
17083 @subsection Newest Features
17086 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
17089 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
17091 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
17092 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
17095 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
17100 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
17103 Really do unbinhexing.
17106 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
17107 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
17110 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
17113 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
17116 facep is not declared.
17119 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
17120 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
17123 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
17128 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
17129 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
17130 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
17131 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
17132 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
17133 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
17134 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
17139 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
17142 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
17145 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
17147 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
17148 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
17150 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
17152 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
17154 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
17155 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
17157 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
17159 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
17160 be marked as unread.
17162 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
17164 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
17166 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
17167 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
17169 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
17171 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
17173 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
17174 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
17176 topics that contain just groups with ticked
17177 articles aren't displayed.
17179 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
17181 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
17182 make the mail groups killed.
17184 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
17186 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
17187 and articles have to be removed.
17189 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
17192 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
17194 finding short score file names takes forever.
17196 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17198 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
17200 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
17202 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
17204 nnweb doesn't work properly.
17206 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
17208 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
17209 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
17213 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
17215 really unbinhex binhex files.
17217 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
17218 bar and the Gnus bar.
17221 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
17222 `(canonize-message-id id)'
17223 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
17224 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
17225 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
17226 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
17231 nnml .overview directory with splits.
17235 postponed commands.
17237 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
17239 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
17242 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
17243 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
17245 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
17246 inherit copy prompts and save files.
17248 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
17250 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
17251 for backends that support that.
17253 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
17255 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
17256 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
17258 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
17259 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
17261 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
17263 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
17265 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
17267 server mode command: close/open all connections
17269 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
17270 has been changed before using it.
17272 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
17274 hide (sub)threads with low score.
17276 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
17278 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
17280 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
17281 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
17283 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
17284 contain groups that match a regexp.
17286 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
17289 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
17292 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
17293 from subject lines.
17295 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
17297 nntp-ping-before-connect
17299 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
17301 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
17302 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
17304 message annotations.
17306 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
17308 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
17309 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
17311 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
17316 support qmail maildir spools
17318 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
17320 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
17322 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
17324 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
17325 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
17327 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
17329 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
17331 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
17332 finds and generate proper active ranges.
17334 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
17335 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
17337 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
17339 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
17341 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
17342 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
17344 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
17346 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
17348 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
17349 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
17352 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
17354 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
17356 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
17357 `C-c C-c' when posting.
17359 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
17362 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
17363 should be marker as expirable.
17365 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
17367 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
17368 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
17370 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
17371 Also consult Date headers.
17373 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
17375 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
17377 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
17378 Message-ID, delete the "original".
17380 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
17381 into a See-Also header.
17383 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
17385 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
17387 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
17388 should be listed as such and not as "K".
17390 generate font names dynamically.
17392 score file mode auto-alist.
17394 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
17395 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
17397 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
17398 absolutely all headers there is.
17400 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
17401 and pipe them to the process.
17403 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
17404 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
17405 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
17407 function for starting to edit a file to put into
17408 the current mail group.
17410 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
17412 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
17413 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
17415 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
17416 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
17418 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
17420 when replying to several process-marked articles,
17421 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
17423 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
17424 groups it has been mailed to.
17426 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
17428 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
17430 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
17432 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
17433 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
17435 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
17436 newlines) should be ignored.
17438 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
17439 groups in subtopics as well.
17441 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
17443 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
17446 add edit and forward secondary marks.
17448 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
17450 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
17452 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
17454 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
17456 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
17458 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
17459 or the formatted article.
17461 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
17463 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
17464 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
17466 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
17468 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
17470 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
17472 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
17473 even unread articles.
17475 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
17477 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
17479 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
17481 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
17483 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17485 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
17488 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
17489 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
17491 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
17492 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
17494 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
17496 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
17498 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
17499 from a particular server? Hm.
17501 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
17502 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
17504 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
17506 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
17507 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
17509 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
17510 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
17512 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
17513 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
17514 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
17517 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
17518 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
17520 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
17522 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
17524 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
17526 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
17529 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
17532 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
17533 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
17535 command to show and edit group scores
17537 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
17540 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
17542 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
17544 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
17545 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
17548 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
17549 that are of that length.
17551 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
17553 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
17555 asynchronous posting under nntp.
17557 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
17559 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
17561 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
17563 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
17564 a score lower than this number.
17566 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
17568 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
17570 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
17571 so that each copy can be edited separately.
17573 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
17575 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
17576 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
17578 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
17581 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
17582 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
17583 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
17584 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
17586 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
17589 command to remove all topic stuff.
17591 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
17592 and splitting the resulting digests.
17594 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
17596 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
17598 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
17599 matches an alist -- before saving.
17601 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
17603 variable to activate each group before entering them
17604 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
17606 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
17607 starting Gnus first if necessary.
17609 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
17610 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
17612 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
17614 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
17615 of several groups at once.
17617 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
17618 matches some regexp(s).
17620 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
17622 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
17624 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
17626 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
17628 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
17630 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
17632 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
17634 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
17635 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
17636 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
17637 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
17639 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
17640 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
17642 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
17644 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
17645 recently cited text.
17647 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
17649 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
17652 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
17653 server and just read the articles in the server
17655 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
17656 value of nnoo variables.
17658 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
17660 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
17661 listed in each group info.
17663 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
17666 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
17667 should only be applied to some groups.
17669 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
17670 mail-copies-to: never.
17672 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
17673 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
17675 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
17677 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
17680 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
17683 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
17685 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
17688 group user-defined meta-parameters.
17692 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
17694 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
17695 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
17696 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
17697 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
17698 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
17700 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
17701 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
17708 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
17709 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
17711 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
17712 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
17714 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
17715 "Return the date the group was last read."
17716 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
17721 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
17722 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
17723 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
17724 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
17728 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
17729 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
17731 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
17734 They could be used like this:
17738 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
17739 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
17740 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
17742 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
17744 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
17747 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
17750 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
17751 affect the summary line format.
17755 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
17757 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
17758 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
17760 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
17763 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
17765 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
17767 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
17769 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
17771 - For other files, just find them normally.
17773 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
17774 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
17777 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
17778 tell him what you are doing.
17781 Currently, I get prompted:
17785 decend into sci.something ?
17789 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
17790 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
17791 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
17792 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
17795 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
17796 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
17797 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
17798 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
17801 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
17802 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
17808 more than n blank lines
17810 more than m identical lines
17811 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
17813 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
17817 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
17818 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
17819 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
17820 "same" subject for threading purposes.
17823 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
17824 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
17825 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
17826 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
17829 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
17832 soup - bowl of soup
17833 score below - dim light bulb
17834 score over - bright light bulb
17837 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
17842 show-list-of-articles-in-group
17843 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17844 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
17845 if (articles-selected)
17846 start-reading-selected-articles;
17847 junk-unread-articles;
17852 else if (key-pressed = '.')
17853 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
17854 select-thread-under-cursor;
17856 select-article-under-cursor;
17860 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17861 if (more-pages-in-article)
17863 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
17870 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
17871 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
17872 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
17875 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
17876 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
17877 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
17878 the wildcard expression).
17881 It would be nice if it also handled
17883 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
17885 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
17890 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
17891 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
17892 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
17893 article versions) variable.
17895 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
17897 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
17898 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
17902 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
17905 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
17906 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
17907 (message-sent-hook).
17909 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
17912 * Enhancements to Gnus:
17916 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
17917 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
17920 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
17921 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
17922 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
17925 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
17926 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
17930 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
17933 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
17937 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
17938 the nnmail duplicate checking.
17941 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
17942 value of the signature file.
17945 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
17946 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
17949 (setq message-tab-alist
17950 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
17951 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
17953 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
17957 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
17960 a command to import a buffer into a group.
17963 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
17966 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
17967 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
17970 a command to process mark all unread articles.
17973 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
17974 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
17975 do more gathering by subject.
17978 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
17979 article numerical order.
17982 (gnus-thread-total-score
17983 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
17987 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
17990 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
17991 in the summary buffer.
17994 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
17995 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
17998 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
17999 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
18000 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
18001 and/or newsgroup name.
18004 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
18007 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
18010 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
18013 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
18014 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
18015 will automatically get the process mark.
18018 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
18019 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
18020 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
18023 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
18027 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
18028 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
18031 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
18032 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
18036 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
18037 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
18040 be able to post via DejaNews.
18043 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
18046 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
18047 allow them to be displayed separately.
18050 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
18051 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
18054 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
18055 articles that match a certain From header.
18058 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
18059 saving living summary buffers.
18062 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
18063 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
18066 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
18067 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
18070 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
18071 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
18074 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
18075 (goto-char (point-min))
18076 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
18077 (replace-match "`" t t))
18078 (goto-char (point-min))
18079 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
18080 (replace-match "'" t t))
18081 (goto-char (point-min))
18082 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
18083 (replace-match "\"" t t))
18084 (goto-char (point-min))
18085 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
18086 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
18091 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
18093 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
18094 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
18095 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
18096 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
18100 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
18103 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
18104 numbers and match on the age of the article.
18108 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
18109 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
18110 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
18112 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
18113 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
18115 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
18116 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
18121 all commands that react to the process mark should push
18122 the current process mark set onto the stack.
18125 gnus-article-hide-pgp
18126 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
18128 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
18130 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
18131 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
18134 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
18135 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
18138 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
18142 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
18143 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
18146 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
18149 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
18152 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
18155 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
18159 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
18165 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
18168 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
18172 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
18173 X characters in the body.
18176 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
18179 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
18182 format spec to "tab" to a position.
18185 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
18188 command to display all dormant articles.
18191 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
18194 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
18195 to something someone else has said.
18198 Read Netscape discussion groups:
18199 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
18202 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
18203 the displayed version.
18206 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
18210 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
18213 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
18214 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
18215 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
18219 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
18220 in the head or body.
18223 Allow breaking lengthy NNTP commands.
18226 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
18229 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
18230 in a special, unique buffer.
18233 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
18236 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
18237 is less than a certain number of days old.
18240 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
18243 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
18246 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
18247 file, for instance.
18250 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
18251 in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
18252 dummy root instead of the first article.
18255 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
18256 topics for displaying.
18259 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
18260 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
18263 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
18266 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
18267 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
18268 summary buffer for each article.
18271 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
18274 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
18278 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
18281 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
18285 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
18288 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
18291 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
18292 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
18295 `S D r' should allow expansion of aliases.
18298 Solve the halting problem.
18307 @section The Manual
18311 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
18312 either @code{texi2dvi}
18314 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
18315 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
18317 to get what you hold in your hands now.
18319 The following conventions have been used:
18324 This is a @samp{string}
18327 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
18330 This is a @file{file}
18333 This is a @code{symbol}
18337 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
18341 (setq flargnoze "yes")
18344 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
18347 (setq flumphel 'yes)
18350 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
18351 ever get them confused.
18355 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
18356 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
18357 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
18358 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
18359 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
18360 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
18361 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
18369 @section Terminology
18371 @cindex terminology
18376 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
18377 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
18378 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
18379 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
18380 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
18384 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
18385 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
18386 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
18387 not posting, and replying is not following up.
18391 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
18395 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
18400 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
18401 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
18402 is all done by the backends.
18406 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
18407 default, way of getting news.
18411 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
18412 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
18417 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
18418 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
18422 A message that has been posted as news.
18425 @cindex mail message
18426 A message that has been mailed.
18430 A mail message or news article
18434 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
18439 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
18444 A line from the head of an article.
18448 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
18449 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
18453 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
18454 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
18455 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
18456 normal @sc{head} format.
18460 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
18461 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
18462 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
18463 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
18464 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
18465 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
18467 @item killed groups
18468 @cindex killed groups
18469 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
18470 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
18472 @item zombie groups
18473 @cindex zombie groups
18474 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
18477 @cindex active file
18478 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
18479 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
18480 is rather large, as you might surmise.
18483 @cindex bogus groups
18484 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
18485 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
18486 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
18489 @cindex activating groups
18490 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
18491 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
18492 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
18496 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
18498 @item select method
18499 @cindex select method
18500 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
18503 @item virtual server
18504 @cindex virtual server
18505 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
18506 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
18507 whole is a virtual server.
18511 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
18512 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
18515 @item ephemeral groups
18516 @cindex ephemeral groups
18517 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
18518 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
18519 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
18522 @cindex solid groups
18523 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
18524 group buffer are solid groups.
18526 @item sparse articles
18527 @cindex sparse articles
18528 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
18529 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
18533 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
18534 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
18538 @cindex thread root
18539 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
18540 articles in the thread.
18544 An article that has responses.
18548 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
18552 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
18553 specified by RFC1153.
18559 @node Customization
18560 @section Customization
18561 @cindex general customization
18563 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
18564 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
18565 for some quite common situations.
18568 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
18569 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
18570 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
18571 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
18575 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
18576 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
18578 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
18579 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
18580 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
18584 @item gnus-read-active-file
18585 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
18586 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
18587 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18588 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
18589 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
18591 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
18592 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
18593 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
18594 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
18598 @node Slow Terminal Connection
18599 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
18601 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
18602 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
18603 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
18607 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
18608 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
18609 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
18610 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
18611 horizontal and vertical recentering.
18613 @item gnus-visible-headers
18614 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
18615 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
18616 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
18617 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
18619 @item gnus-article-display-hook
18620 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
18622 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
18623 '(gnus-article-hide-headers
18624 gnus-article-hide-signature
18625 gnus-article-hide-citation))
18628 @item gnus-use-full-window
18629 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
18630 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
18631 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
18632 want to read them anyway.
18634 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
18635 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
18638 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
18639 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
18640 lines, which might save some time.
18644 @node Little Disk Space
18645 @subsection Little Disk Space
18648 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
18649 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
18653 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
18654 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
18655 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
18656 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18659 @item gnus-save-killed-list
18660 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
18661 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
18662 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
18663 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
18669 @subsection Slow Machine
18670 @cindex slow machine
18672 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
18673 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
18675 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18676 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
18678 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
18679 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
18680 summary buffer faster.
18682 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
18683 processing a bit faster.
18687 @node Troubleshooting
18688 @section Troubleshooting
18689 @cindex troubleshooting
18691 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
18699 Make sure your computer is switched on.
18702 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
18703 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
18707 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
18708 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
18709 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
18710 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
18713 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
18717 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
18718 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
18719 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
18720 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
18721 something like that.
18724 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
18727 @cindex reporting bugs
18729 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18731 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
18732 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
18733 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
18734 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
18736 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
18737 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
18738 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
18739 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
18742 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
18743 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
18744 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
18745 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
18746 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
18747 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
18749 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
18750 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
18751 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
18754 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
18755 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
18757 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
18758 @cindex ding mailing list
18759 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
18760 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
18764 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
18765 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
18767 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
18768 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
18769 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
18770 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
18773 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
18774 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
18775 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
18776 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
18777 and general methods of operation.
18780 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
18781 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
18782 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
18783 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
18784 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
18785 * Group Info:: The group info format.
18786 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
18787 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
18788 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
18792 @node Gnus Utility Functions
18793 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
18794 @cindex Gnus utility functions
18795 @cindex utility functions
18797 @cindex internal variables
18799 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
18800 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
18801 Below is a list of the most common ones.
18805 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
18806 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
18807 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
18809 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
18810 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
18811 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
18813 @item gnus-group-real-name
18814 @findex gnus-group-real-name
18815 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
18818 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
18819 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
18820 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
18821 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
18823 @item gnus-get-info
18824 @findex gnus-get-info
18825 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
18827 @item gnus-group-unread
18828 @findex gnus-group-unread
18829 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
18833 @findex gnus-active
18834 The active entry for @var{group}.
18836 @item gnus-set-active
18837 @findex gnus-set-active
18838 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
18840 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18841 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18842 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
18845 @item gnus-continuum-version
18846 @findex gnus-continuum-version
18847 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
18848 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
18851 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
18852 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
18853 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
18855 @item gnus-news-group-p
18856 @findex gnus-news-group-p
18857 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
18859 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18860 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18861 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
18863 @item gnus-server-to-method
18864 @findex gnus-server-to-method
18865 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
18867 @item gnus-server-equal
18868 @findex gnus-server-equal
18869 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
18871 @item gnus-group-native-p
18872 @findex gnus-group-native-p
18873 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
18875 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
18876 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
18877 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
18879 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
18880 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
18881 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
18883 @item group-group-find-parameter
18884 @findex group-group-find-parameter
18885 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
18886 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
18888 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
18889 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
18890 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
18892 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
18893 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
18894 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
18896 @item gnus-check-backend-function
18897 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
18898 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
18899 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
18902 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
18906 @item gnus-read-method
18907 @findex gnus-read-method
18908 Prompts the user for a select method.
18913 @node Backend Interface
18914 @subsection Backend Interface
18916 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
18917 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
18918 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
18919 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
18920 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
18921 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
18923 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
18924 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
18925 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
18926 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
18927 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
18928 been opened, the function should fail.
18930 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
18931 name. Take this example:
18935 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
18936 (nntp-port-number 4324))
18939 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
18940 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
18942 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
18943 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
18944 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
18946 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
18947 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
18948 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
18950 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
18951 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
18952 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
18953 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
18954 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
18955 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
18958 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
18959 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
18960 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
18961 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
18964 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
18967 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
18970 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
18971 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
18972 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
18973 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
18974 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
18975 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
18979 @node Required Backend Functions
18980 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
18984 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
18986 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
18987 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
18988 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
18989 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
18991 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
18992 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
18993 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
18994 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
18996 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
18997 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
18998 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
18999 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
19000 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
19001 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
19002 number, do maximum fetches.
19004 Here's an example HEAD:
19007 221 1056 Article retrieved.
19008 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
19009 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
19010 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
19011 Subject: Re: Something very droll
19012 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
19013 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
19015 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
19016 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
19017 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
19021 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
19022 these in the data buffer.
19024 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
19028 head = error / valid-head
19029 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
19030 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
19031 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
19032 header = <text> eol
19035 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
19036 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
19040 nov-buffer = *nov-line
19041 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
19042 field = <text except TAB>
19045 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
19049 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
19051 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
19052 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
19054 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
19055 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
19056 server. In fact, it should do so.
19058 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
19059 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
19062 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
19064 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
19065 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
19068 There should be no data returned.
19071 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
19073 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
19074 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
19075 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
19076 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
19078 There should be no data returned.
19081 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
19083 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
19084 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
19085 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
19086 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
19088 There should be no data returned.
19091 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
19093 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
19095 There should be no data returned.
19098 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
19100 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
19101 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
19102 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
19103 it would be nice if that were possible.
19105 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
19106 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
19107 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
19108 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
19109 into its article buffer.
19111 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
19112 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
19113 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
19114 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
19115 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
19116 on successful article retrieval.
19119 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
19121 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
19122 making @var{group} the current group.
19124 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
19127 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
19130 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
19133 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
19134 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
19135 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
19136 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
19137 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
19138 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
19139 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
19140 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
19143 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
19144 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
19145 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
19149 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
19151 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
19152 a no-op on most backends.
19154 There should be no data returned.
19157 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
19159 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
19162 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
19165 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
19166 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
19169 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
19170 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
19173 active-file = *active-line
19174 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
19176 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
19179 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
19180 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
19181 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
19184 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
19186 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
19187 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
19188 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
19189 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
19190 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
19191 clear if the posting could not be completed.
19193 There should be no result data from this function.
19198 @node Optional Backend Functions
19199 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
19203 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
19205 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
19206 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
19207 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
19209 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
19210 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
19211 former is in the same format as the data from
19212 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
19213 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
19216 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
19220 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
19222 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
19223 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
19224 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
19225 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
19226 should return the (altered) group info.
19228 There should be no result data from this function.
19231 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
19233 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
19234 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
19235 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
19236 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
19237 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
19238 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
19239 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
19240 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
19242 There should be no result data from this function.
19245 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
19247 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
19248 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
19249 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as IMAP) however carry all
19250 information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to propagate
19251 the mark information to the server.
19253 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
19256 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
19259 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
19260 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
19261 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
19262 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
19263 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a
19264 symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
19265 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
19266 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
19267 not limit itself to theese.
19269 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
19270 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
19271 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
19272 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
19274 An example action list:
19277 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
19278 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
19279 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
19282 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
19283 mark on (currently not used for anything).
19285 There should be no result data from this function.
19287 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
19289 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
19290 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
19291 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
19292 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
19293 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
19295 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
19296 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
19297 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
19300 There should be no result data from this function.
19303 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
19305 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
19306 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
19307 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
19308 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
19309 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
19310 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
19311 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
19313 There should be no result data from this function.
19316 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
19318 The result data from this function should be a description of
19322 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
19324 description = <text>
19327 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
19329 The result data from this function should be the description of all
19330 groups available on the server.
19333 description-buffer = *description-line
19337 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
19339 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
19340 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
19341 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
19344 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
19346 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
19348 There should be no return data.
19351 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
19353 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
19354 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
19355 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
19356 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
19357 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
19360 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
19363 There should be no result data returned.
19366 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
19369 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
19370 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
19372 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
19373 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
19374 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
19375 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
19376 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
19377 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
19379 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
19380 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
19383 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
19384 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
19386 There should be no data returned.
19389 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
19391 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
19392 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
19393 this function in short order.
19395 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
19396 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
19398 There should be no data returned.
19401 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
19403 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
19404 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
19406 There should be no data returned.
19409 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
19411 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
19412 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
19413 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
19415 There should be no data returned.
19418 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
19420 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
19421 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
19423 There should be no data returned.
19428 @node Error Messaging
19429 @subsubsection Error Messaging
19431 @findex nnheader-report
19432 @findex nnheader-get-report
19433 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
19434 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
19435 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
19436 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
19437 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
19438 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
19441 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
19443 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
19446 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
19447 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
19448 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
19449 takes one argument---the server symbol.
19451 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
19452 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
19453 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
19456 @node Writing New Backends
19457 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
19459 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
19460 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
19461 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
19462 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
19463 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
19466 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
19467 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
19468 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
19470 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
19471 package called @code{nnoo}.
19473 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
19474 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
19480 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
19481 parameters. For instance:
19484 (nnoo-declare nndir
19488 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
19489 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
19492 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
19493 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
19494 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
19496 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
19497 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
19498 a function in those backends.
19501 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19502 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19503 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19506 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
19507 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
19508 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
19510 @item nnoo-define-basics
19511 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
19515 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19519 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
19520 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
19521 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
19523 @item nnoo-map-functions
19524 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
19525 functions from the parent backends.
19528 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19529 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19530 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
19533 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
19534 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
19535 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
19536 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
19539 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
19540 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
19541 haven't already been defined.
19547 nnmh-request-newgroups)
19551 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
19552 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
19553 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
19558 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
19561 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
19562 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
19566 (require 'nnheader)
19570 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
19572 (nnoo-declare nndir
19575 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19576 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19577 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19579 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
19580 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
19583 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
19584 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
19585 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
19587 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
19588 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
19590 ;;; Interface functions.
19592 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19594 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
19595 (setq nndir-directory
19596 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
19598 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
19599 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
19600 (push `(nndir-current-group
19601 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19603 (push `(nndir-top-directory
19604 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19606 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
19608 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19609 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19610 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19611 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
19612 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
19616 nnmh-status-message
19618 nnmh-request-newgroups))
19624 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19625 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19627 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
19628 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
19629 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
19630 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
19632 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
19633 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
19638 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
19641 The abilities can be:
19645 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
19647 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
19649 This backend supports both mail and news.
19651 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
19654 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
19655 articles and groups.
19657 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
19658 true for almost all backends.
19659 @item prompt-address
19660 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
19661 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
19662 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
19666 @node Mail-like Backends
19667 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
19669 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
19670 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
19671 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
19672 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
19675 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
19676 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
19677 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
19680 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
19681 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
19684 This function takes four parameters.
19688 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
19691 @item exit-function
19692 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
19694 @item temp-directory
19695 Where the temporary files should be stored.
19698 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
19699 performed for one group only.
19702 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
19703 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
19704 find the article number assigned to this article.
19706 The function also uses the following variables:
19707 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
19708 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
19709 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
19710 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
19714 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
19715 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
19719 @node Score File Syntax
19720 @subsection Score File Syntax
19722 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
19723 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
19724 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
19726 Here's a typical score file:
19730 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
19737 BNF definition of a score file:
19740 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
19741 element = rule / atom
19742 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
19743 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
19744 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
19745 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
19747 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
19748 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
19749 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
19750 date-header = "date"
19751 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19752 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19753 score = "nil" / <integer>
19754 date = "nil" / <natural number>
19755 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
19756 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
19757 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
19758 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
19759 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19760 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19761 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
19762 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19763 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
19764 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
19765 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
19766 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
19767 exclude-files / read-only / touched
19768 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
19769 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
19770 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
19771 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
19772 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
19773 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
19774 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
19775 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
19776 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
19777 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
19778 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
19779 eval = "eval" space <form>
19780 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
19783 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
19786 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
19787 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
19788 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
19789 one looong line, then that's ok.
19791 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
19792 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19796 @subsection Headers
19798 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
19799 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
19800 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
19801 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
19803 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
19804 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
19805 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
19806 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
19807 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
19808 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
19809 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
19811 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
19812 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
19813 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
19814 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
19815 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
19817 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
19818 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
19824 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
19825 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
19827 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
19828 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
19829 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
19830 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
19832 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
19836 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
19839 is transformed into
19842 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
19845 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
19846 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
19849 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
19852 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
19853 is slightly tricky:
19856 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
19862 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
19865 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
19871 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
19878 and is equal to the previous range.
19880 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
19881 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
19882 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
19886 range = simple-range / normal-range
19887 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
19888 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
19889 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
19890 number *[ " " contents ]
19893 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
19894 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
19895 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
19896 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
19897 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
19902 @subsection Group Info
19904 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
19905 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
19906 describes the group.
19908 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
19909 second is a more complex one:
19912 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
19914 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
19915 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
19917 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
19920 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
19921 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
19922 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
19923 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
19924 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
19925 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
19926 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
19927 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
19928 this section is about.
19930 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
19931 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
19932 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
19934 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
19937 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
19938 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
19939 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19940 group = quote <string> quote
19941 ralevel = rank / level
19942 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19943 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
19944 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19946 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
19947 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
19948 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
19949 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
19952 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
19953 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
19956 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
19957 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
19960 @item gnus-info-group
19961 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
19962 @findex gnus-info-group
19963 @findex gnus-info-set-group
19964 Get/set the group name.
19966 @item gnus-info-rank
19967 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
19968 @findex gnus-info-rank
19969 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
19970 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
19972 @item gnus-info-level
19973 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
19974 @findex gnus-info-level
19975 @findex gnus-info-set-level
19976 Get/set the group level.
19978 @item gnus-info-score
19979 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
19980 @findex gnus-info-score
19981 @findex gnus-info-set-score
19982 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
19984 @item gnus-info-read
19985 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
19986 @findex gnus-info-read
19987 @findex gnus-info-set-read
19988 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
19990 @item gnus-info-marks
19991 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
19992 @findex gnus-info-marks
19993 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
19994 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
19996 @item gnus-info-method
19997 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
19998 @findex gnus-info-method
19999 @findex gnus-info-set-method
20000 Get/set the group select method.
20002 @item gnus-info-params
20003 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
20004 @findex gnus-info-params
20005 @findex gnus-info-set-params
20006 Get/set the group parameters.
20009 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
20010 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
20012 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
20013 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
20014 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
20015 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
20018 @node Extended Interactive
20019 @subsection Extended Interactive
20020 @cindex interactive
20021 @findex gnus-interactive
20023 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
20024 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
20025 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
20028 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
20029 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
20034 The best thing to do would have been to implement
20035 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
20036 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
20037 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
20038 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
20039 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
20040 @code{interactive}.
20042 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
20047 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
20048 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
20052 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
20053 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
20054 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
20057 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
20061 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
20065 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
20071 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
20072 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
20076 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
20077 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
20078 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
20080 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
20081 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
20082 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
20083 Gnus, that's very useful.
20085 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
20086 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
20087 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
20088 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
20089 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
20090 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
20091 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
20092 following function:
20095 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
20099 (,function ,@@args))
20103 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
20104 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
20105 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
20108 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
20109 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
20110 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
20112 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
20113 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
20114 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
20117 @node Various File Formats
20118 @subsection Various File Formats
20121 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
20122 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
20126 @node Active File Format
20127 @subsubsection Active File Format
20129 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
20130 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
20133 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
20136 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
20137 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
20138 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
20139 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
20140 no.general 1000 900 y
20143 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
20146 active = *group-line
20147 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
20148 group = <non-white-space string>
20150 high-number = <non-negative integer>
20151 low-number = <positive integer>
20152 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
20155 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
20156 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
20159 @node Newsgroups File Format
20160 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
20162 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
20163 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
20164 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
20167 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
20168 Here's the definition:
20172 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
20173 group = <non-white-space string>
20175 description = <string>
20180 @node Emacs for Heathens
20181 @section Emacs for Heathens
20183 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
20184 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
20185 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
20186 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
20187 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
20188 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
20189 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
20193 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
20194 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
20199 @subsection Keystrokes
20203 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
20206 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
20209 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
20210 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
20211 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
20212 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
20213 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
20214 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
20216 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
20217 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
20218 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
20219 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
20220 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
20221 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
20222 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
20224 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
20225 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
20226 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
20227 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
20228 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
20229 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
20230 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
20232 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
20233 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
20234 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
20235 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
20236 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
20242 @subsection Emacs Lisp
20244 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
20245 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
20246 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
20247 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
20249 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
20250 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
20251 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
20252 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
20253 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
20254 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
20255 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
20258 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
20259 write the following:
20262 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
20265 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
20266 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
20267 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
20270 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
20271 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
20272 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
20273 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
20274 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
20276 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
20277 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
20278 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
20282 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
20286 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
20289 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
20290 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
20293 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
20296 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
20297 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
20300 @include gnus-faq.texi