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4 @settitle Pterodactyl Gnus 0.97 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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265 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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274 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
276 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
277 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
278 are preserved on all copies.
280 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
281 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
282 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
283 permission notice identical to this one.
285 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
286 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
295 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
297 Copyright (C) 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
299 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
300 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
301 are preserved on all copies.
304 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
305 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
306 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
307 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
310 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
311 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
312 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
313 permission notice identical to this one.
315 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
316 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
322 @title Pterodactyl Gnus 0.97 Manual
324 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
327 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
328 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
330 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
331 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
332 are preserved on all copies.
334 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
335 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
336 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
337 permission notice identical to this one.
339 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
340 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
349 @top The Gnus Newsreader
353 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
354 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
355 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
358 This manual corresponds to Pterodactyl Gnus 0.97.
369 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
370 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
372 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
373 being accused of plagiarism:
375 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
376 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
377 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
378 even read news with it!
380 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
381 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
382 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
383 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
384 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
391 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
392 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
393 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
394 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
395 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
396 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
397 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
398 * Various:: General purpose settings.
399 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
400 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
401 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
402 * Key Index:: Key Index.
406 @chapter Starting Gnus
411 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
412 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
415 @findex gnus-other-frame
416 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
417 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
418 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
420 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
421 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
422 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
424 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
425 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
428 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
429 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
430 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
431 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
432 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
433 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
434 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
435 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
436 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
437 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
438 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
442 @node Finding the News
443 @section Finding the News
446 @vindex gnus-select-method
448 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
449 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
450 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
451 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
454 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
455 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
458 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
461 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
464 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
467 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
468 certainly be much faster.
470 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
472 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
473 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
474 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
475 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
476 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
477 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
479 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
480 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
481 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
482 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
484 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
485 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
486 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
487 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
488 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
489 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
490 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
491 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
492 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
495 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
497 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
498 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
499 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
500 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
501 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
502 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
504 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
506 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
507 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
508 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
509 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
510 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
511 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
514 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
515 would typically set this variable to
518 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
523 @section The First Time
524 @cindex first time usage
526 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
527 be subscribed by default.
529 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
530 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
531 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
532 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
535 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
536 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
537 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
539 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
540 help you with most common problems.
542 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
543 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
547 @node The Server is Down
548 @section The Server is Down
549 @cindex server errors
551 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
552 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
553 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
555 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
556 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
557 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
558 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
559 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
560 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
561 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
563 @findex gnus-no-server
564 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
566 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
567 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
568 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
569 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
570 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
571 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
576 @section Slave Gnusae
579 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
580 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
581 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
582 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
584 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
587 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
588 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
589 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
590 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
591 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
592 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
593 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
595 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
596 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
597 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
598 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
599 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
600 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
601 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
602 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
604 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
605 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
608 @node Fetching a Group
609 @section Fetching a Group
610 @cindex fetching a group
612 @findex gnus-fetch-group
613 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
614 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
615 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
616 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
617 It takes the group name as a parameter.
625 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
626 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
627 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
628 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
629 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
630 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
631 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
632 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
633 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
636 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
637 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
638 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
642 @node Checking New Groups
643 @subsection Checking New Groups
645 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
646 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
647 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
648 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
649 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
650 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
651 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
652 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
653 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
654 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
656 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
657 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
658 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
659 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
660 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
661 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
662 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
663 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
664 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
665 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
666 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
668 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
669 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
670 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
671 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
672 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
673 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
676 @node Subscription Methods
677 @subsection Subscription Methods
679 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
680 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
681 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
683 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
684 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
686 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
690 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
691 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
692 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
693 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
694 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
696 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
697 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
698 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
699 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
701 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
702 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
703 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
705 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
706 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
707 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
708 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
709 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
710 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
711 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
712 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
713 up. Or something like that.
715 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
716 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
717 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
718 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
719 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
721 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
722 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
727 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
728 A closely related variable is
729 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
730 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
731 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
732 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
735 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
736 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
737 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
738 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
741 @node Filtering New Groups
742 @subsection Filtering New Groups
744 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
745 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
746 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
749 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
752 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
753 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
754 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
755 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
756 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
757 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
758 subscribing these groups.
759 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
760 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
762 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
763 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
764 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
765 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
766 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
767 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
768 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
769 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
771 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
772 Yet another variable that meddles here is
773 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
774 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
775 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
776 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
777 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
778 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
779 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
780 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
782 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
783 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
786 @node Changing Servers
787 @section Changing Servers
788 @cindex changing servers
790 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
791 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
792 very flaky and you want to use another.
794 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
795 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
799 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
800 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
801 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
802 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
805 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
806 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
807 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
808 functions more than absolutely necessary.
810 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
811 @findex gnus-change-server
812 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
813 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
814 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
815 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
816 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
818 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
819 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
820 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
821 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
822 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
824 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
825 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
826 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
827 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
828 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
829 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
831 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
832 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
833 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
837 @section Startup Files
838 @cindex startup files
843 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
844 information is traditionally stored in this file.
846 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
847 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
848 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
849 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
850 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
851 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
852 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
854 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
855 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
856 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
857 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
858 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
859 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
861 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
862 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
863 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
864 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
865 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
866 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
867 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
868 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
869 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
870 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
872 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
873 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
874 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
875 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
876 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
877 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
878 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
879 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
880 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
881 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
882 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
883 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
885 @vindex gnus-startup-file
886 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
887 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
888 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
890 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
891 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
892 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
893 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
894 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
895 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
896 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
897 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
898 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
899 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
902 (defun turn-off-backup ()
903 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
905 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
906 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
909 @vindex gnus-init-file
910 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
911 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
912 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
913 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
914 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
915 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
916 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
917 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
918 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
927 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
928 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
929 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
930 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
931 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
934 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
935 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
938 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
939 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
940 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
942 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
943 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
944 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
945 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
946 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
947 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
949 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
950 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
951 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
954 @node The Active File
955 @section The Active File
957 @cindex ignored groups
959 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
960 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
961 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
963 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
964 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
965 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
966 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
967 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
968 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
969 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
972 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
973 @c if you set it to anything else.
975 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
977 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
978 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
979 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
981 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
982 you actually subscribe to.
984 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
985 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
986 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
987 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
989 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
990 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
991 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
992 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
993 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
994 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
996 Some news servers (Leafnode and old versions of INN, for instance) do
997 not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these servers, @code{nil}
998 is probably the most efficient value for this variable.
1000 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1001 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1002 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1003 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1004 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1005 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1007 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1008 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1010 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1011 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1013 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1014 secondary select methods.
1017 @node Startup Variables
1018 @section Startup Variables
1022 @item gnus-load-hook
1023 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1024 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1025 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1026 times you start Gnus.
1028 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1029 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1030 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1032 @item gnus-startup-hook
1033 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1034 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1036 @item gnus-started-hook
1037 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1038 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1041 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1042 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1043 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1044 generating the group buffer.
1046 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1047 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1048 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1049 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1050 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1051 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1052 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1053 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1055 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1056 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1057 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1058 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1059 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1060 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1062 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1063 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1064 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1066 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1067 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1068 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1070 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1071 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1072 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1073 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1078 @node The Group Buffer
1079 @chapter The Group Buffer
1080 @cindex group buffer
1082 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1083 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1084 long as Gnus is active.
1088 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1089 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1090 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1091 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1092 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1093 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1094 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1095 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1101 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1102 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1103 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1104 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1105 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1106 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1107 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1108 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1109 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1110 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1111 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1112 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1113 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1114 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1115 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1116 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1117 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1121 @node Group Buffer Format
1122 @section Group Buffer Format
1125 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1126 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1127 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1131 @node Group Line Specification
1132 @subsection Group Line Specification
1133 @cindex group buffer format
1135 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1136 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1138 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1141 25: news.announce.newusers
1142 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1147 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1148 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1149 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1150 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1152 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1153 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1154 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1155 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1156 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1157 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1159 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1161 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1162 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1163 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1164 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1167 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1168 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1169 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1171 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1176 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1179 Whether the group is subscribed.
1182 Level of subscribedness.
1185 Number of unread articles.
1188 Number of dormant articles.
1191 Number of ticked articles.
1194 Number of read articles.
1197 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1198 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1201 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1204 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1213 Newsgroup description.
1216 @samp{m} if moderated.
1219 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1228 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1232 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1235 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1236 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1237 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1238 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1239 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1242 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1244 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1248 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1252 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1253 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1254 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1255 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1256 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1257 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1262 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1263 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1264 group, or a bogus native group.
1267 @node Group Modeline Specification
1268 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1269 @cindex group modeline
1271 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1272 The mode line can be changed by setting
1273 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1274 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1278 The native news server.
1280 The native select method.
1284 @node Group Highlighting
1285 @subsection Group Highlighting
1286 @cindex highlighting
1287 @cindex group highlighting
1289 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1290 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1291 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1292 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1293 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1295 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1299 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1
1300 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1301 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2
1302 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1303 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3
1304 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1305 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4
1306 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1307 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5
1308 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1310 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1311 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1312 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1313 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1314 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1315 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1318 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1320 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1327 The number of unread articles in the group.
1331 Whether the group is a mail group.
1333 The level of the group.
1335 The score of the group.
1337 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1339 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1340 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1342 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1343 topic being inserted.
1346 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1347 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1348 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1350 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1351 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1352 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1353 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1354 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1357 @node Group Maneuvering
1358 @section Group Maneuvering
1359 @cindex group movement
1361 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1362 expected, hopefully.
1368 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1369 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1370 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1376 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1377 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1378 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1382 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1383 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1387 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1388 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1392 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1393 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1394 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1398 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1399 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1400 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1403 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1409 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1410 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1411 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1416 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1417 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1418 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1422 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1423 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1424 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1427 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1428 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1429 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1430 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1434 @node Selecting a Group
1435 @section Selecting a Group
1436 @cindex group selection
1441 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1442 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1443 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1444 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1445 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1446 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1447 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1448 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1449 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1450 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1454 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1455 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1456 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1457 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1458 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1462 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1463 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1464 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1465 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1466 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1467 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1468 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1469 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1470 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1471 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1474 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1475 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1476 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1477 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1478 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1481 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1482 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1483 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1484 doing any processing of its contents
1485 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1486 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1487 manner will have no permanent effects.
1491 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1492 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1493 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1494 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1495 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1496 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1497 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1498 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1501 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1502 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1503 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1504 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1509 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1510 full summary buffer.
1513 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1516 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1521 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
1522 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
1523 Useful functions include:
1526 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
1527 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
1528 don't select the article.
1530 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
1531 Select the first unread article.
1533 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
1534 Select the highest-scored unread article.
1538 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1539 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1540 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1544 @node Subscription Commands
1545 @section Subscription Commands
1546 @cindex subscription
1554 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1555 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1556 Toggle subscription to the current group
1557 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1563 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1564 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1565 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1566 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1572 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1573 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1574 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1580 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1581 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1584 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1585 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1586 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1587 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1588 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1594 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1595 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1599 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1600 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1603 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1604 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1605 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1606 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1607 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1608 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1609 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1610 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1611 @file{.newsrc} file.
1615 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1625 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1626 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1627 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1628 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1629 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1630 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1635 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1636 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1637 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1641 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1642 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1643 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1645 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1646 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1647 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1648 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1649 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1650 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1657 @section Group Levels
1661 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1662 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1663 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1664 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1665 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1667 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1673 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1674 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1675 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1676 prompted for a level.
1679 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1680 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1681 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1682 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1683 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1684 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1685 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1686 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1687 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1688 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1689 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1690 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1691 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1692 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1693 reasons of efficiency.
1695 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1696 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1698 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1699 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1700 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1702 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1703 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1704 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1705 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1706 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1707 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1708 relevant valid ranges.
1710 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1711 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1712 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1713 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1714 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1715 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1718 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1719 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1720 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1723 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1724 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1725 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1726 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1729 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1730 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1731 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1732 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1734 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1735 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1736 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1737 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1738 to 5. The default is 6.
1742 @section Group Score
1747 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1748 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1749 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1752 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
1753 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
1754 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
1755 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
1756 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
1757 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
1758 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
1759 least significant part.))
1761 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1762 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1763 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1764 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1765 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1766 action after each summary exit, you can add
1767 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1768 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1769 slow things down somewhat.
1772 @node Marking Groups
1773 @section Marking Groups
1774 @cindex marking groups
1776 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1777 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1778 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1779 bidding on those groups.
1781 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1782 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1783 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1791 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1792 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1798 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1799 Remove the mark from the current group
1800 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1804 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1805 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1809 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1810 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1814 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1815 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1819 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1820 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1821 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1824 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1826 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1827 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1828 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1829 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1830 the command to be executed.
1833 @node Foreign Groups
1834 @section Foreign Groups
1835 @cindex foreign groups
1837 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1838 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1839 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1840 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1847 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1848 @cindex making groups
1849 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1850 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1851 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1855 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1856 @cindex renaming groups
1857 Rename the current group to something else
1858 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1859 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1865 @findex gnus-group-customize
1866 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1870 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1871 @cindex renaming groups
1872 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1873 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1877 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1878 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1879 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1883 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1884 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1885 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1889 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1891 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1892 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1897 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1898 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1902 @cindex (ding) archive
1903 @cindex archive group
1904 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1905 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1906 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1907 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1908 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1909 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1910 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1914 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1916 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1917 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1918 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1919 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1923 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1925 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1926 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1927 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1931 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1932 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1934 Make a group based on some file or other
1935 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1936 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1937 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1938 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1939 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
1940 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
1941 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
1945 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
1946 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
1947 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
1948 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
1952 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1957 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1958 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1959 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1960 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1961 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1962 @xref{Web Searches}.
1964 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1965 to a particular group by using a match string like
1966 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1969 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1970 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1971 This function will delete the current group
1972 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1973 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1974 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1975 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1976 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1980 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1981 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1982 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1986 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1987 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1988 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1991 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
1994 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1995 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1996 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1997 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1998 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
1999 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2003 @node Group Parameters
2004 @section Group Parameters
2005 @cindex group parameters
2007 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2008 Here's an example group parameter list:
2011 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2015 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2016 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2017 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2018 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2020 The following group parameters can be used:
2025 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2028 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2031 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2032 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2033 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2034 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2035 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2037 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2038 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2039 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2040 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2041 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2042 list address instead.
2046 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2049 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2052 It is totally ignored
2053 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2054 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2056 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2057 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2058 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2059 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2060 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2062 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2063 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2064 sending the message.
2068 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2069 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2070 of whether it has any unread articles.
2072 @item broken-reply-to
2073 @cindex broken-reply-to
2074 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2075 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2076 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2077 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2078 broken behavior. So there!
2082 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2083 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2087 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2088 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2089 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2094 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2095 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2096 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2097 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2098 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2099 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2100 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2104 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2105 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2106 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2109 @cindex total-expire
2110 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2111 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2112 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2113 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2118 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2119 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2120 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2121 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2122 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2123 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2126 @cindex score file group parameter
2127 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2128 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2129 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2132 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2133 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2134 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2135 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2138 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2139 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2140 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2141 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2144 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2145 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2149 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2152 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2157 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2158 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2159 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2163 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2164 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2165 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2167 @item @var{(variable form)}
2168 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2169 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2170 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2171 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2172 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2173 @code{eval}ed there.
2175 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2176 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2177 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2178 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2179 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2182 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2183 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2184 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2185 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2186 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2188 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2189 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2190 like this in the group parameters:
2195 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2200 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2201 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2205 @node Listing Groups
2206 @section Listing Groups
2207 @cindex group listing
2209 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2217 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2218 List all groups that have unread articles
2219 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2220 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2221 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2222 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2229 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2230 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2231 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2232 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2233 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2234 unsubscribed groups).
2238 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2239 List all unread groups on a specific level
2240 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2241 with no unread articles.
2245 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2246 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2247 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2248 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2253 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2254 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2258 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2259 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2260 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2264 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2265 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2269 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2270 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2271 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2272 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2273 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2274 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2275 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2276 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2280 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2281 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2282 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2286 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2287 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2288 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2292 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2293 @cindex visible group parameter
2294 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2295 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2296 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2297 get the same effect.
2299 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2300 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2301 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2302 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2303 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2306 @node Sorting Groups
2307 @section Sorting Groups
2308 @cindex sorting groups
2310 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2311 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2312 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2313 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2314 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2315 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2320 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2321 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2322 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2324 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2325 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2326 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2328 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2329 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2330 Sort by group level.
2332 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2333 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2334 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2336 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2337 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2338 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2339 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2341 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2342 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2343 Sort by number of unread articles.
2345 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2346 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2347 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2352 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2353 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2357 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2358 some sorting criteria:
2362 @kindex G S a (Group)
2363 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2364 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2365 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2368 @kindex G S u (Group)
2369 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2370 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2371 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2374 @kindex G S l (Group)
2375 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2376 Sort the group buffer by group level
2377 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2380 @kindex G S v (Group)
2381 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2382 Sort the group buffer by group score
2383 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2386 @kindex G S r (Group)
2387 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2388 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2389 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2392 @kindex G S m (Group)
2393 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2394 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2395 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2399 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2400 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2402 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2403 commands will sort in reverse order.
2405 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2409 @kindex G P a (Group)
2410 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2411 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2412 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2415 @kindex G P u (Group)
2416 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2417 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2418 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2421 @kindex G P l (Group)
2422 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2423 Sort the groups by group level
2424 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2427 @kindex G P v (Group)
2428 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2429 Sort the groups by group score
2430 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2433 @kindex G P r (Group)
2434 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2435 Sort the groups by group rank
2436 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2439 @kindex G P m (Group)
2440 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2441 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2442 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2448 @node Group Maintenance
2449 @section Group Maintenance
2450 @cindex bogus groups
2455 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2456 Find bogus groups and delete them
2457 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2461 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2462 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2463 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2464 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2465 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2469 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2470 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2471 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2472 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2475 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2476 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2477 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2478 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2483 @node Browse Foreign Server
2484 @section Browse Foreign Server
2485 @cindex foreign servers
2486 @cindex browsing servers
2491 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2492 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2493 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2494 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2497 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2498 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2499 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2500 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2502 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2507 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2508 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2512 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2513 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2516 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2517 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2518 Enter the current group and display the first article
2519 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2522 @kindex RET (Browse)
2523 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2524 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2528 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2529 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2530 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2536 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2537 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2541 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2542 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2543 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2548 @section Exiting Gnus
2549 @cindex exiting Gnus
2551 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2556 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2557 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2558 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2559 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2563 @findex gnus-group-exit
2564 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2565 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2569 @findex gnus-group-quit
2570 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2571 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2574 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2575 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2576 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2577 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2578 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2583 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2584 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2585 trying to customize meta-variables.
2590 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2591 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2592 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2598 @section Group Topics
2601 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2602 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2603 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2604 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2605 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2606 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2610 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2611 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2622 2: alt.religion.emacs
2625 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2627 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2628 13: comp.sources.unix
2631 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2633 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2634 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2635 is a toggling command.)
2637 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2638 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2639 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2640 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2643 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2644 the hook for the group mode:
2647 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2651 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2652 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2653 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2654 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2655 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2659 @node Topic Variables
2660 @subsection Topic Variables
2661 @cindex topic variables
2663 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2664 really neat, I think.
2666 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2667 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2668 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2681 Number of groups in the topic.
2683 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2685 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2688 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2689 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2690 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2693 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2694 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2696 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2697 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2698 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2701 @node Topic Commands
2702 @subsection Topic Commands
2703 @cindex topic commands
2705 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2706 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2707 definitions slightly.
2713 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2714 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2715 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2719 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2720 Move the current group to some other topic
2721 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2722 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2726 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
2727 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
2731 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2732 Copy the current group to some other topic
2733 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2734 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2738 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2739 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2740 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
2741 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
2742 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
2743 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
2744 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
2747 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2748 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2752 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2753 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2754 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2758 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2759 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2760 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2764 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2765 Toggle hiding empty topics
2766 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2770 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2771 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2772 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2775 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2776 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2777 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2778 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2782 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2784 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2785 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2786 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2787 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2790 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
2791 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
2792 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2793 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
2797 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2799 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2800 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2801 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2802 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2803 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2804 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2807 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
2808 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
2809 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
2810 process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
2814 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2815 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2816 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2820 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2821 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2822 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2827 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2828 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2831 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2832 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2833 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2837 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2838 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2839 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2843 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2844 @cindex group parameters
2845 @cindex topic parameters
2847 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2848 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2854 @subsection Topic Sorting
2855 @cindex topic sorting
2857 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2863 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2864 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2865 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2866 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2869 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2870 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2871 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2872 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2875 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2876 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2877 Sort the current topic by group level
2878 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2881 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2882 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2883 Sort the current topic by group score
2884 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2887 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2888 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2889 Sort the current topic by group rank
2890 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2893 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2894 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2895 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2896 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2900 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
2903 @node Topic Topology
2904 @subsection Topic Topology
2905 @cindex topic topology
2908 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2914 2: alt.religion.emacs
2917 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2919 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2920 13: comp.sources.unix
2923 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2924 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2925 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2930 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2931 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2935 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2936 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2937 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2938 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2939 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2940 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2942 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2943 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2944 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2947 @node Topic Parameters
2948 @subsection Topic Parameters
2949 @cindex topic parameters
2951 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2952 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2953 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2955 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2956 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2957 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2958 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2964 2: alt.religion.emacs
2968 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2970 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2971 13: comp.sources.unix
2975 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2976 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2977 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2978 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2979 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2980 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2982 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2983 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2984 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2985 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2986 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2988 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2989 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2990 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2991 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2992 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2993 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2994 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2995 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2998 @node Misc Group Stuff
2999 @section Misc Group Stuff
3002 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3003 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3004 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3005 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3012 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3013 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3014 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
3018 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3019 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3020 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3024 @findex gnus-group-mail
3025 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3029 Variables for the group buffer:
3033 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3034 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3035 is called after the group buffer has been
3038 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3039 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3040 is called after the group buffer is
3041 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3044 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3045 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3046 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3047 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3049 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3050 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3051 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3052 whether they are empty or not.
3057 @node Scanning New Messages
3058 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3059 @cindex new messages
3060 @cindex scanning new news
3066 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3067 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3068 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3069 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3070 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3071 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3076 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3077 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3078 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3079 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3080 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3081 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3082 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3084 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3085 @cindex activating groups
3087 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3088 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3093 @findex gnus-group-restart
3094 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3095 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3096 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3100 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3101 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3103 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3104 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3108 @node Group Information
3109 @subsection Group Information
3110 @cindex group information
3111 @cindex information on groups
3118 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3119 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3122 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3123 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3124 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3125 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3126 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3127 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3128 for fetching the file.
3130 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3131 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3135 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3137 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3138 @cindex describing groups
3139 @cindex group description
3140 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3141 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3142 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3146 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3147 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3148 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3155 @findex gnus-version
3156 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3160 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3161 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3164 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3167 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3168 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3172 @node Group Timestamp
3173 @subsection Group Timestamp
3175 @cindex group timestamps
3177 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3178 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3179 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3182 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3185 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3187 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3188 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3191 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3192 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3195 This will result in lines looking like:
3198 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3199 0: custom 19961002T012713
3202 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3203 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3207 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3208 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3213 @subsection File Commands
3214 @cindex file commands
3220 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3221 @vindex gnus-init-file
3222 @cindex reading init file
3223 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3224 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3228 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3229 @cindex saving .newsrc
3230 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3231 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3232 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3235 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3236 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3237 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3242 @node The Summary Buffer
3243 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3244 @cindex summary buffer
3246 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3247 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3249 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3250 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3252 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3255 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3256 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3257 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3258 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3259 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3260 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3261 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3262 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3263 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3264 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3265 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3266 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3267 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3268 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3269 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3270 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3271 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3272 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3273 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3274 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3275 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3276 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3277 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3278 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3279 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3280 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3281 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3282 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3283 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3287 @node Summary Buffer Format
3288 @section Summary Buffer Format
3289 @cindex summary buffer format
3293 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3294 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3295 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3301 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3302 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3303 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3304 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3307 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3308 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3309 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3310 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3311 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3312 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3313 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3314 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3315 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3316 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3317 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
3320 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3321 'mail-extract-address-components)
3324 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3325 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3326 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3327 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3330 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3331 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3333 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3334 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3335 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3336 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3337 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3339 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3341 The following format specification characters are understood:
3347 Subject string. List identifiers stripped, @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3349 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3350 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3351 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3353 Full @code{From} header.
3355 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3357 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3358 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3360 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3361 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3362 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3363 may be more thorough.
3365 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3368 Number of lines in the article.
3370 Number of characters in the article.
3372 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3374 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3375 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3377 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3378 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3380 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3381 for adopted articles.
3383 One space for each thread level.
3385 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3390 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3391 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3395 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3397 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3398 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3399 default level. If the difference between
3400 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3401 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3409 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3411 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3417 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3418 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3420 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3421 article has any children.
3427 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3428 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3429 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3430 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3431 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3432 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3435 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3436 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3437 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3438 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3439 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3440 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3442 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3443 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3445 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3448 @node To From Newsgroups
3449 @subsection To From Newsgroups
3453 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
3454 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
3455 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
3456 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
3457 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
3461 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
3462 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
3463 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
3467 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3468 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
3471 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
3472 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
3475 @findex gnus-extra-header
3476 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
3477 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
3478 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
3481 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
3485 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
3486 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
3487 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
3488 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
3489 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
3490 headers are used instead.
3494 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
3495 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
3496 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
3497 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
3500 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3501 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
3502 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
3503 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
3505 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
3508 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3510 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
3511 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
3512 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
3513 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
3517 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
3518 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
3525 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
3526 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
3529 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3530 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3532 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3533 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
3534 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
3535 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3537 Here are the elements you can play with:
3543 Unprefixed group name.
3545 Current article number.
3547 Current article score.
3551 Number of unread articles in this group.
3553 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3556 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3557 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3558 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3559 and no unselected ones.
3561 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3562 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3564 Subject of the current article.
3566 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3568 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3570 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3572 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3574 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3576 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3580 @node Summary Highlighting
3581 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3585 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3586 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3587 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3588 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3589 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3591 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3592 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3593 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3594 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3596 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3597 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3598 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3599 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3601 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3602 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3603 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3604 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3605 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3606 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3608 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3609 ((> score default) . bold))
3611 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3612 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3616 @node Summary Maneuvering
3617 @section Summary Maneuvering
3618 @cindex summary movement
3620 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3621 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3623 None of these commands select articles.
3628 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3629 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3630 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3631 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3632 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3636 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3637 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3638 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3639 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3640 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3645 @kindex G j (Summary)
3646 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3647 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3648 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3651 @kindex G g (Summary)
3652 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3653 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3654 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3657 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3658 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3659 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3660 to the group buffer.
3662 Variables related to summary movement:
3666 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3667 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3668 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3669 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3670 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3671 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3672 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3673 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3674 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3675 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3676 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3677 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3678 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3679 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3681 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3682 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3683 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3684 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3685 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3686 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
3687 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
3689 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3691 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3692 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3693 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3694 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3695 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3697 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3698 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3699 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3700 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3701 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3702 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3703 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3704 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3707 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
3708 the given number of lines from the top.
3713 @node Choosing Articles
3714 @section Choosing Articles
3715 @cindex selecting articles
3718 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3719 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3723 @node Choosing Commands
3724 @subsection Choosing Commands
3726 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3727 and they all select and display an article.
3731 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3732 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3733 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3734 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3739 @kindex G n (Summary)
3740 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3741 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3742 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3747 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3748 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3749 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3754 @kindex G N (Summary)
3755 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3756 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3761 @kindex G P (Summary)
3762 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3763 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3766 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3767 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3768 Go to the next article with the same subject
3769 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3772 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3773 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3774 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3775 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3779 @kindex G f (Summary)
3781 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3782 Go to the first unread article
3783 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3787 @kindex G b (Summary)
3789 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3790 Go to the article with the highest score
3791 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3796 @kindex G l (Summary)
3797 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3798 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3801 @kindex G o (Summary)
3802 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3804 @cindex article history
3805 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3806 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3807 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3808 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3809 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3810 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3814 @node Choosing Variables
3815 @subsection Choosing Variables
3817 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3820 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3821 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3822 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3823 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3824 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3825 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3827 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3828 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3829 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3830 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3832 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3833 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3834 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3835 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3836 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3837 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3838 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3839 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3840 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3841 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3842 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3843 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3844 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3845 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3850 @node Paging the Article
3851 @section Scrolling the Article
3852 @cindex article scrolling
3857 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3858 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3859 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3860 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3861 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3864 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3865 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3866 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3869 @kindex RET (Summary)
3870 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3871 Scroll the current article one line forward
3872 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3875 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
3876 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
3877 Scroll the current article one line backward
3878 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
3882 @kindex A g (Summary)
3884 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3885 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3886 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3887 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3888 the way it came from the server.
3893 @kindex A < (Summary)
3894 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3895 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3896 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3901 @kindex A > (Summary)
3902 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3903 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3907 @kindex A s (Summary)
3909 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3910 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3911 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3915 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3916 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3921 @node Reply Followup and Post
3922 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3925 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3926 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3930 @node Summary Mail Commands
3931 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3933 @cindex composing mail
3935 Commands for composing a mail message:
3941 @kindex S r (Summary)
3943 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3944 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3945 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3946 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3947 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3952 @kindex S R (Summary)
3953 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3954 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3955 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3956 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3957 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3960 @kindex S w (Summary)
3961 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3962 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3963 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3964 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3965 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3968 @kindex S W (Summary)
3969 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3970 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3971 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3972 the process/prefix convention.
3975 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3976 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3977 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3978 Forward the current article to some other person
3979 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3980 headers of the forwarded article.
3985 @kindex S m (Summary)
3986 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3987 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3988 Send a mail to some other person
3989 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3992 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3993 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3994 @cindex bouncing mail
3995 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3996 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3997 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3998 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3999 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4000 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4001 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4002 very well fail, though.
4005 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4006 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4007 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4008 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4009 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4010 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4011 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4012 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4013 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4014 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4016 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4017 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4018 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4019 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4020 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4022 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4023 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4026 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4027 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4028 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4029 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4030 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4033 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4034 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4035 @cindex crossposting
4036 @cindex excessive crossposting
4037 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4038 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4040 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4041 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4042 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4043 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4044 command understands the process/prefix convention
4045 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4049 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4052 @node Summary Post Commands
4053 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4055 @cindex composing news
4057 Commands for posting a news article:
4063 @kindex S p (Summary)
4064 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4065 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4066 Post an article to the current group
4067 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4072 @kindex S f (Summary)
4073 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4074 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4075 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4079 @kindex S F (Summary)
4081 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4082 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4083 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4084 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4085 process/prefix convention.
4088 @kindex S n (Summary)
4089 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4090 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4091 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4094 @kindex S N (Summary)
4095 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4096 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4097 message through mail and include the original message
4098 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4099 the process/prefix convention.
4102 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4103 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4104 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4105 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4106 headers of the forwarded article.
4109 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4110 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4112 @cindex making digests
4113 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4114 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4115 process/prefix convention.
4118 @kindex S u (Summary)
4119 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4120 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4121 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4122 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4125 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4128 @node Canceling and Superseding
4129 @section Canceling Articles
4130 @cindex canceling articles
4131 @cindex superseding articles
4133 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4134 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4136 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4138 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4140 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4141 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4142 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4143 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4144 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4145 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4147 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4148 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4151 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4152 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4153 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4155 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4156 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4157 your original article.
4159 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4161 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4162 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4163 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4166 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4167 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4168 have posted almost the same article twice.
4170 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4171 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4172 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4173 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4174 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4175 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4176 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4177 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4178 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4179 canceled/superseded.
4181 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4184 @node Marking Articles
4185 @section Marking Articles
4186 @cindex article marking
4187 @cindex article ticking
4190 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4192 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4193 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4194 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4196 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4199 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4200 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4201 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4205 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4209 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4210 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4211 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4215 @node Unread Articles
4216 @subsection Unread Articles
4218 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4223 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4224 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4226 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4227 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4228 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4229 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4230 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4234 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4235 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4237 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4238 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4239 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4242 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4243 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4245 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4250 @subsection Read Articles
4251 @cindex expirable mark
4253 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4258 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4259 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4260 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4263 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4264 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4267 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4268 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4269 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4272 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4273 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4276 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4277 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4280 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4281 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4284 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4285 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4288 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4289 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4292 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4293 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4296 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4297 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4301 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4302 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4303 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4307 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4308 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4310 One more special mark, though:
4314 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4315 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4317 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4318 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4319 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4320 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4326 @subsection Other Marks
4327 @cindex process mark
4330 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4336 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4337 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4338 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4339 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4340 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4343 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4344 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4345 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4346 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4349 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4350 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4351 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4354 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4355 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4356 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4357 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4360 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4361 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4362 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4363 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4364 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4367 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4368 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4369 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4370 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4371 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4372 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4376 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4377 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4378 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4380 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4381 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4382 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4386 @subsection Setting Marks
4387 @cindex setting marks
4389 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4394 @kindex M c (Summary)
4395 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4396 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4397 @cindex mark as unread
4398 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4399 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4405 @kindex M t (Summary)
4406 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4407 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4408 @xref{Article Caching}.
4413 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4414 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4415 Mark the current article as dormant
4416 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4420 @kindex M d (Summary)
4422 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4423 Mark the current article as read
4424 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4428 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4429 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4430 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4435 @kindex M k (Summary)
4436 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4437 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4438 and then select the next unread article
4439 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4443 @kindex M K (Summary)
4444 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4445 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4446 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4447 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4450 @kindex M C (Summary)
4451 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4452 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4453 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4456 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4457 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4458 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4459 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4462 @kindex M H (Summary)
4463 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4464 Catchup the current group to point
4465 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4468 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4469 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4470 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4471 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4474 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4475 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4476 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4477 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4481 @kindex M e (Summary)
4483 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4484 Mark the current article as expirable
4485 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4488 @kindex M b (Summary)
4489 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4490 Set a bookmark in the current article
4491 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4494 @kindex M B (Summary)
4495 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4496 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4497 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4500 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4501 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4502 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4503 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4506 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4507 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4508 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4509 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4512 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4513 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4514 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4515 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4516 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4519 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4520 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4521 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4522 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4523 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4524 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4525 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4526 The default is @code{t}.
4529 @node Generic Marking Commands
4530 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
4532 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
4533 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
4534 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
4535 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
4536 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
4539 Multiply these five behaviours with five different marking commands, and
4540 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
4543 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
4544 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
4545 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
4546 to list in this manual.
4548 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
4549 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
4550 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
4551 article, you could say something like:
4554 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
4555 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
4556 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
4562 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
4563 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
4567 @node Setting Process Marks
4568 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4569 @cindex setting process marks
4576 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4577 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4578 Mark the current article with the process mark
4579 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4580 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4584 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4585 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4586 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4587 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4590 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4591 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4592 Remove the process mark from all articles
4593 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4596 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4597 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4598 Invert the list of process marked articles
4599 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4602 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4603 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4604 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4605 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4608 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4609 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4610 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4613 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4614 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4615 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4616 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4619 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4620 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4621 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4622 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4625 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4626 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4627 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4628 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4631 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4632 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4633 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4636 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4637 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4638 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4639 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4642 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4643 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4644 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4647 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4648 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4649 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4650 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4653 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4654 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4655 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4656 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4659 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4660 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4661 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4662 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4665 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4666 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4667 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4668 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4677 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4678 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4679 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4682 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4683 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4684 additional articles.
4690 @kindex / / (Summary)
4691 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4692 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4693 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4696 @kindex / a (Summary)
4697 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4698 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4699 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4702 @kindex / x (Summary)
4703 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
4704 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
4705 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
4706 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4710 @kindex / u (Summary)
4712 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4713 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4714 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4715 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4716 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4719 @kindex / m (Summary)
4720 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4721 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
4722 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4725 @kindex / t (Summary)
4726 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4727 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4728 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4729 articles younger than that number of days.
4732 @kindex / n (Summary)
4733 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4734 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4735 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4736 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4739 @kindex / w (Summary)
4740 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4741 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4742 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4746 @kindex / v (Summary)
4747 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4748 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4749 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4753 @kindex M S (Summary)
4754 @kindex / E (Summary)
4755 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4756 Include all expunged articles in the limit
4757 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4760 @kindex / D (Summary)
4761 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4762 Include all dormant articles in the limit
4763 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4766 @kindex / * (Summary)
4767 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4768 Include all cached articles in the limit
4769 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4772 @kindex / d (Summary)
4773 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4774 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
4775 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4778 @kindex / M (Summary)
4779 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
4780 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
4783 @kindex / T (Summary)
4784 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4785 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
4788 @kindex / c (Summary)
4789 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4790 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
4791 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4794 @kindex / C (Summary)
4795 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4796 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4797 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4798 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4806 @cindex article threading
4808 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4809 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4810 hierarchical fashion.
4812 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4813 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4814 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4815 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
4816 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4817 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4818 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4820 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4824 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4827 A tree-like article structure.
4830 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4833 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4834 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4835 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
4836 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4837 called loose threads.
4839 @item thread gathering
4840 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4842 @item sparse threads
4843 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4844 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4850 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4851 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4855 @node Customizing Threading
4856 @subsection Customizing Threading
4857 @cindex customizing threading
4860 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4861 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4862 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4863 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4868 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4871 @cindex loose threads
4874 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4875 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4876 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4877 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4878 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4879 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4881 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4882 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4883 There are four possible values:
4887 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4888 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4889 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4890 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4891 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4896 @cindex adopting articles
4901 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4902 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4903 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4904 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4907 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4908 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4909 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4910 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4911 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4912 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4913 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4916 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4917 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4918 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4922 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4923 display them after one another.
4926 Don't gather loose threads.
4929 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4930 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4931 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4932 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4933 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4934 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4935 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4936 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4937 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4938 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4939 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4941 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4942 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4943 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4946 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4947 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4948 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4949 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4950 simplification is used.
4952 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4953 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4954 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4955 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4957 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4959 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4965 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4966 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4967 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4968 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4973 (mapconcat 'identity
4974 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4976 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4979 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4982 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4983 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4984 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4985 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4986 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4987 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4989 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4992 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4993 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4994 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4996 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4997 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5000 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5001 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5002 Remove excessive whitespace.
5005 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5008 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5009 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5010 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5011 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5012 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5013 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5014 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5015 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5017 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5018 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5019 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5020 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5021 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5022 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5023 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5024 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5025 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5029 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5030 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5031 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5032 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5034 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5035 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5036 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5039 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5043 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5044 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5050 @node Filling In Threads
5051 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5054 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5055 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5056 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5057 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5058 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5059 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5060 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5061 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5062 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5063 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5064 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5065 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
5067 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5068 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5069 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5071 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5072 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5073 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5074 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5075 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5076 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5077 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
5078 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5079 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
5080 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
5081 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5082 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
5083 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5084 @code{nil} by default.
5089 @node More Threading
5090 @subsubsection More Threading
5093 @item gnus-show-threads
5094 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5095 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5096 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5097 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5098 slower and more awkward.
5100 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5101 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5102 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5105 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5106 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5107 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5108 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5109 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5110 threads are expunged.
5112 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5113 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5114 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5117 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5118 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5119 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5120 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5121 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5124 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5125 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5126 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5129 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5130 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5131 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5132 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5133 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5134 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5135 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to. Setting
5136 this variable to an alternate value
5137 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5138 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5139 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5144 @node Low-Level Threading
5145 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5149 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5150 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5151 Hook run before parsing any headers.
5153 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5154 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5155 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5156 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5157 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5158 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5159 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5160 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5161 meaningful. Here's one example:
5164 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5166 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5167 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5169 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5171 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5178 @node Thread Commands
5179 @subsection Thread Commands
5180 @cindex thread commands
5186 @kindex T k (Summary)
5187 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5188 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5189 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5190 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5191 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5196 @kindex T l (Summary)
5197 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5198 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5199 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5200 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5203 @kindex T i (Summary)
5204 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5205 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5206 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5209 @kindex T # (Summary)
5210 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5211 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5212 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5215 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5216 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5217 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5218 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5221 @kindex T T (Summary)
5222 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5223 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5226 @kindex T s (Summary)
5227 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5228 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5229 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5232 @kindex T h (Summary)
5233 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5234 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5237 @kindex T S (Summary)
5238 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5239 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5242 @kindex T H (Summary)
5243 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5244 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5247 @kindex T t (Summary)
5248 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5249 Re-thread the current article's thread
5250 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5251 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5254 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5255 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5256 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5257 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5261 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5262 understand the numeric prefix.
5267 @kindex T n (Summary)
5268 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5269 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5272 @kindex T p (Summary)
5273 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5274 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5277 @kindex T d (Summary)
5278 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5279 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5282 @kindex T u (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5284 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5287 @kindex T o (Summary)
5288 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5289 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5292 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5293 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5294 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5295 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5296 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5297 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5298 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5299 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5300 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5301 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5302 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5303 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5310 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5311 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5312 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5313 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5314 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5315 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5316 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5317 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5318 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5319 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5320 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5322 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5323 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5324 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5325 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5326 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5328 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5329 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5330 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
5332 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
5333 last function in the list. You should probably always include
5334 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5335 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5336 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5337 ascending article order.
5339 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
5340 by number, you could do something like:
5343 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5344 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5345 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5346 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
5349 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5350 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5351 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5352 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5353 which the articles arrived.
5355 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5359 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5361 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5362 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5365 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5366 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5367 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5368 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5371 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5372 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5373 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5374 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5375 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5376 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5377 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5378 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5379 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5380 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5381 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5382 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5383 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5385 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5389 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5390 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5391 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5396 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5397 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5398 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5399 @cindex article pre-fetch
5402 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5403 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5404 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5405 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5406 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5408 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5409 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5411 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5412 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5413 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5414 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5415 connection is blocked.
5417 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5418 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5419 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5420 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
5422 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5423 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5424 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5425 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5428 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5431 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5432 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5433 happen automatically.
5435 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5436 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5437 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5438 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5439 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5440 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5441 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5443 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5444 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5445 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5446 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5447 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5448 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5449 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5450 data structure as the only parameter.
5452 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5455 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5456 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5457 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5458 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5461 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5464 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5465 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
5466 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5468 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5469 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5470 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5471 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5475 Remove articles when they are read.
5478 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5481 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5483 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5484 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5485 @c from the next group.
5488 @node Article Caching
5489 @section Article Caching
5490 @cindex article caching
5493 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5494 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5495 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5496 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5497 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5499 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5501 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5502 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5503 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5504 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5505 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5506 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5507 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5508 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5510 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5511 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5512 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5513 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5514 as dormant, and don't worry.
5516 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5518 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5519 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5520 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5521 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5522 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5523 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5524 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5525 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5526 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5527 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5529 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5530 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5531 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5532 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5533 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5534 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5535 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5536 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5537 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5538 not then be downloaded by this command.
5540 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5541 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
5542 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
5543 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5544 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5545 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
5547 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
5548 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
5549 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
5550 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
5551 variables, the group is not cached.
5553 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5554 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5555 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5556 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5557 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5558 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
5559 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5560 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5561 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5565 @node Persistent Articles
5566 @section Persistent Articles
5567 @cindex persistent articles
5569 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5570 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5571 useful in my opinion.
5573 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5574 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5575 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5576 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5577 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5578 the expiry going on at the news server.
5580 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5581 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5582 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5588 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5589 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5592 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5593 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5594 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5595 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5599 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5601 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5602 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5603 interested in persistent articles:
5606 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5610 @node Article Backlog
5611 @section Article Backlog
5613 @cindex article backlog
5615 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5616 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5617 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
5618 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5619 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5620 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5621 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5622 increase memory usage some.
5624 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5625 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5626 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5627 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5628 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5629 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5630 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5632 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5635 @node Saving Articles
5636 @section Saving Articles
5637 @cindex saving articles
5639 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5640 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5641 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5642 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5643 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5645 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5646 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5647 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5649 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5650 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5651 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5652 deleted before saving.
5658 @kindex O o (Summary)
5660 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5661 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5662 Save the current article using the default article saver
5663 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5666 @kindex O m (Summary)
5667 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5668 Save the current article in mail format
5669 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5672 @kindex O r (Summary)
5673 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5674 Save the current article in rmail format
5675 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5678 @kindex O f (Summary)
5679 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5680 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5681 Save the current article in plain file format
5682 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5685 @kindex O F (Summary)
5686 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5687 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5688 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5691 @kindex O b (Summary)
5692 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5693 Save the current article body in plain file format
5694 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5697 @kindex O h (Summary)
5698 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5699 Save the current article in mh folder format
5700 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5703 @kindex O v (Summary)
5704 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5705 Save the current article in a VM folder
5706 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5709 @kindex O p (Summary)
5710 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5711 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5712 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5715 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5716 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5717 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5718 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5719 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5720 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5721 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5722 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5723 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5724 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5725 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5726 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5730 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5731 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5732 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
5733 functions below, or you can create your own.
5737 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5738 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5739 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5740 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5741 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5742 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5743 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5745 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5746 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5747 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5748 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5749 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5750 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5752 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5753 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5754 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5755 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5756 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5757 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5758 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5760 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5761 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5762 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5763 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5764 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5766 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5767 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5768 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5769 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5770 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5773 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5774 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5775 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5776 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5777 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5779 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5780 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5781 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5782 reader to use this setting.
5785 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5786 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5787 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5788 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5791 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5792 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5793 available functions that generate names:
5797 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5798 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5799 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5801 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5802 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5803 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5805 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5806 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5807 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5809 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5810 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5811 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5814 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5815 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5816 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5817 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5818 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5822 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5823 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5824 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5825 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5828 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5829 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5830 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5831 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5832 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5833 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5834 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5835 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5836 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5838 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5839 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5840 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5841 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5843 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5844 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5845 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5848 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5849 lots of mail groups called things like
5850 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5851 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5852 following will do just that:
5855 (defun my-save-name (group)
5856 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5857 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5859 (setq gnus-split-methods
5860 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5865 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5866 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5867 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5868 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5869 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5870 all the files in the top level directory
5871 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5872 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5873 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5874 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5876 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5877 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5878 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5879 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5880 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5883 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5887 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5888 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5891 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5892 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5893 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5894 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5897 @node Decoding Articles
5898 @section Decoding Articles
5899 @cindex decoding articles
5901 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5902 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5905 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5906 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5907 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5908 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5909 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5910 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5914 @cindex article series
5915 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5916 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5917 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5918 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5919 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5921 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5922 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5923 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5925 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5926 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5927 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5929 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5930 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5931 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5934 @node Uuencoded Articles
5935 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5937 @cindex uuencoded articles
5942 @kindex X u (Summary)
5943 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5944 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5945 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5948 @kindex X U (Summary)
5949 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5950 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5951 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5954 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5955 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5956 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5959 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5960 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5961 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5962 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5966 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5967 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5968 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5969 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5970 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5972 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5973 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5974 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5975 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5978 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5979 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5980 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5981 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5982 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5983 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5987 @node Shell Archives
5988 @subsection Shell Archives
5990 @cindex shell archives
5991 @cindex shared articles
5993 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5994 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5995 some commands to deal with these:
6000 @kindex X s (Summary)
6001 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6002 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6005 @kindex X S (Summary)
6006 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6007 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6010 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6011 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6012 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6015 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6016 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6017 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6018 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6022 @node PostScript Files
6023 @subsection PostScript Files
6029 @kindex X p (Summary)
6030 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6031 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6034 @kindex X P (Summary)
6035 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6036 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6037 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6040 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6041 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6042 View the current PostScript series
6043 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6046 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6047 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6048 View and save the current PostScript series
6049 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6054 @subsection Other Files
6058 @kindex X o (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6060 Save the current series
6061 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6064 @kindex X b (Summary)
6065 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6066 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6067 doesn't really work yet.
6071 @node Decoding Variables
6072 @subsection Decoding Variables
6074 Adjective, not verb.
6077 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6078 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6079 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6083 @node Rule Variables
6084 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6085 @cindex rule variables
6087 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6088 variables are of the form
6091 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6098 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6099 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6101 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6102 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6105 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6106 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6109 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6110 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6111 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6112 user and default view rules.
6114 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6115 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6116 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6121 @node Other Decode Variables
6122 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6125 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6127 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6128 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6129 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6130 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6131 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6135 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6136 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6139 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6140 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6141 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6144 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6145 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6146 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6147 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6148 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6151 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6152 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6153 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6155 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6156 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6157 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6158 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6159 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6162 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6163 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6164 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6166 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6167 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6168 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6169 looking for files to display.
6171 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6172 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6173 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6176 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6177 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6178 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6181 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6182 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6183 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6186 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6187 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6188 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6191 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6192 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6193 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6194 decoded articles as unread.
6196 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6197 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6198 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6199 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6201 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6202 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6203 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6205 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6206 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6208 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6209 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6210 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6211 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6213 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6214 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6215 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6216 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6217 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6218 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
6219 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6220 simply dropped them.
6225 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6226 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6230 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6231 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6232 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6233 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6234 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6235 for you when you post the article.
6237 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6238 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6239 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6240 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6242 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6243 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6244 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6245 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6246 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6247 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6248 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6250 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6251 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6252 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6253 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6254 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6255 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6256 Default is @code{t}.
6262 @subsection Viewing Files
6263 @cindex viewing files
6264 @cindex pseudo-articles
6266 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
6267 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6268 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6269 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
6270 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6271 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6272 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6274 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6275 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6276 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6277 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6279 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6280 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6281 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6283 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6284 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6285 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6286 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6287 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6289 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6290 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6291 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6292 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6293 a list of parameters to that command.
6295 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6296 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6297 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6299 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6300 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6301 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6304 @node Article Treatment
6305 @section Article Treatment
6307 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6308 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6309 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6310 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6311 these articles easier.
6314 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6315 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6316 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6317 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6318 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6319 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6320 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6321 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
6325 @node Article Highlighting
6326 @subsection Article Highlighting
6327 @cindex highlighting
6329 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6330 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6335 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6336 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6337 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6338 Do much highlighting of the current article
6339 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6340 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6343 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6344 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6345 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6346 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6347 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6348 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6349 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6350 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6351 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6352 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6353 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6356 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6357 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6358 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6360 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6363 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6365 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6366 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6367 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6369 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6370 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6371 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6373 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6374 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6375 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6377 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6378 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6379 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6380 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6381 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6382 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6384 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6385 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6386 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6388 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6389 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6390 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6392 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6393 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6394 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6395 that it's a citation.
6397 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6398 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6399 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6401 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6402 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6403 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6405 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6406 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6407 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6408 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6414 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6415 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6416 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6417 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6418 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6419 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6420 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6421 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6426 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
6429 @node Article Fontisizing
6430 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6432 @cindex article emphasis
6434 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6435 @kindex W e (Summary)
6436 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6437 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
6438 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6439 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6441 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
6442 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6443 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
6444 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6445 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6446 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6447 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6448 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6452 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6453 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6454 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6463 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6464 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6465 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6466 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6467 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6468 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6469 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6470 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6471 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6472 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6473 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6474 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6475 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6477 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6478 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6479 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6483 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6486 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
6488 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
6489 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
6490 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
6491 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
6493 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
6496 @node Article Hiding
6497 @subsection Article Hiding
6498 @cindex article hiding
6500 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6501 too much cruft in most articles.
6506 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6507 @findex gnus-article-hide
6508 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
6509 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
6510 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
6513 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6514 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6515 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6519 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6520 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6521 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6522 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6525 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6526 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6527 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6531 @kindex W W l (Summary)
6532 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
6533 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
6534 Hide list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. Theese
6535 are strings some list servers add to the beginning of all @code{Subject}
6536 headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}.
6540 @item gnus-list-identifiers
6541 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
6542 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
6543 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
6548 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6549 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6550 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6551 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6552 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6553 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
6554 articles that have signatures in them do:
6556 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
6558 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
6560 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
6561 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
6563 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6566 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
6571 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6572 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6573 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6574 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6577 @kindex W W B (Summary)
6578 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
6579 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
6580 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
6581 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
6582 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
6583 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
6584 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
6585 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
6586 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
6587 signature should be removed.
6590 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6591 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6592 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6593 customizing the hiding:
6597 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6598 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6599 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6600 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6601 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6602 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6603 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6608 Starting point of the hidden text.
6610 Ending point of the hidden text.
6612 Number of characters in the hidden region.
6614 Number of lines of hidden text.
6617 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6618 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6619 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6624 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
6625 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
6627 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
6628 following two variables:
6631 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6632 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6633 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6634 50), hide the cited text.
6636 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6637 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6638 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6643 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6644 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6645 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6646 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6647 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6648 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6652 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6653 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6654 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6656 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6657 citation customization.
6659 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
6663 @node Article Washing
6664 @subsection Article Washing
6666 @cindex article washing
6668 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6669 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6671 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6672 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6678 @kindex W l (Summary)
6679 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6680 Remove page breaks from the current article
6681 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
6685 @kindex W r (Summary)
6686 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6687 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6688 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6689 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6690 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6691 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6693 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6694 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6695 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6696 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6699 @kindex W t (Summary)
6700 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6701 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6702 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6705 @kindex W v (Summary)
6706 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6707 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6708 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6711 @kindex W o (Summary)
6712 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6713 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6716 @kindex W d (Summary)
6717 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6718 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
6720 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
6722 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
6723 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
6724 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
6725 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
6729 @kindex W w (Summary)
6730 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6731 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
6733 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6737 @kindex W Q (Summary)
6738 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
6739 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
6742 @kindex W C (Summary)
6743 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
6744 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
6745 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
6748 @kindex W c (Summary)
6749 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6750 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
6751 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
6752 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
6753 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6756 @kindex W q (Summary)
6757 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
6758 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
6759 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
6760 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
6761 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
6762 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
6763 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
6764 header that says that this encoding has been done.
6767 @kindex W f (Summary)
6769 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6770 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6771 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6772 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6778 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6779 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6780 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6781 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6782 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6783 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6784 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6785 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6786 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6787 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6788 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6789 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6790 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6791 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6795 @kindex W b (Summary)
6796 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6797 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6798 @xref{Article Buttons}.
6801 @kindex W B (Summary)
6802 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6803 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6804 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6807 @kindex W W H (Summary)
6808 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
6809 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
6810 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
6813 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6814 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6815 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6816 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6819 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6820 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6821 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6822 lines with a single empty line.
6823 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6826 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6827 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6828 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6829 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6832 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6833 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6834 Do all the three commands above
6835 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6838 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6839 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6840 Remove all blank lines
6841 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6844 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6845 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6846 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6847 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6850 @kindex W E e (Summary)
6851 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
6852 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
6853 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
6857 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
6860 @node Article Buttons
6861 @subsection Article Buttons
6864 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6865 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6866 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6867 button on these references.
6869 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6870 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6871 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6876 @item gnus-button-alist
6877 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6878 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6881 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6887 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6888 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6889 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6892 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6893 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6894 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6897 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6898 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6899 avoid false matches.
6902 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6905 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6906 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6910 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6913 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6916 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6917 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6918 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6919 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6920 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6923 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6926 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6928 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6929 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6930 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6931 default values of the variables above.
6933 @item gnus-article-button-face
6934 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6935 Face used on buttons.
6937 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6938 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6939 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6943 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
6947 @subsection Article Date
6949 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6950 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6951 when the article was sent.
6956 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6957 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6958 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6959 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6962 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6963 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6965 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6966 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6969 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6970 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6971 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6974 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6975 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6976 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6977 @findex format-time-string
6978 Display the date using a user-defined format
6979 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6980 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6981 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6982 for a list of possible format specs.
6985 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6986 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6987 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6988 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6989 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6990 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
6993 X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
6996 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
6997 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7000 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7001 into wonderful absurdities.
7003 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7006 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7009 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7010 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7014 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7015 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7016 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7017 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7018 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7019 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7020 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7024 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7025 preferred format automatically.
7028 @node Article Signature
7029 @subsection Article Signature
7031 @cindex article signature
7033 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7034 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7035 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7036 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7037 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7038 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7039 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7040 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7041 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7044 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7045 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7046 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7047 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7048 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7049 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7050 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7051 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7054 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7057 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7058 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7059 signature when displaying articles.
7063 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7066 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7069 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7070 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7072 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7073 in question is not a signature.
7076 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7077 listed above. Here's an example:
7080 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7081 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7084 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7085 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7086 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7087 signature after all.
7090 @node Article Miscellania
7091 @subsection Article Miscellania
7095 @kindex A t (Summary)
7096 @findex gnus-article-babel
7097 Translate the article from one language to another
7098 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7104 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7105 @cindex MIME decoding
7109 @kindex X m (Summary)
7110 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7111 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
7112 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
7113 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7116 @kindex M-t (Summary)
7117 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
7118 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
7119 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
7122 @kindex W M w (Summary)
7123 Decode RFC2047-encoded words in the article headers
7124 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
7127 @kindex W M c (Summary)
7128 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
7129 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
7131 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
7132 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
7133 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
7134 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
7135 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
7136 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
7139 @kindex W M v (Summary)
7140 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
7141 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
7148 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
7149 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
7150 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7151 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
7154 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
7157 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
7161 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7162 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7163 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7164 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
7165 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
7167 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
7168 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
7169 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
7170 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
7171 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
7172 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
7173 save all jpegs into some directory).
7175 Here's an example function the does the latter:
7178 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
7179 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
7181 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
7182 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
7183 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
7184 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
7185 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
7188 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7189 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7190 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
7199 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
7200 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
7201 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
7202 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
7203 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
7204 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
7205 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
7207 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
7208 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
7209 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
7210 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
7212 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
7213 aren't. These blitely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
7214 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
7215 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
7216 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
7217 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
7218 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
7219 something some agents insist on having in there.
7222 @node Article Commands
7223 @section Article Commands
7230 @kindex A P (Summary)
7231 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
7232 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
7233 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
7234 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
7235 run just before printing the buffer.
7240 @node Summary Sorting
7241 @section Summary Sorting
7242 @cindex summary sorting
7244 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
7245 can't really see why you'd want that.
7250 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
7251 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
7252 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
7255 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
7256 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
7257 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
7260 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
7261 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
7262 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
7265 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
7266 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
7267 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
7270 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
7271 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
7272 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
7275 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
7276 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
7277 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
7280 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
7281 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
7282 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
7285 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
7286 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
7287 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
7288 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
7289 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
7293 @node Finding the Parent
7294 @section Finding the Parent
7295 @cindex parent articles
7296 @cindex referring articles
7301 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
7302 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
7303 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
7304 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
7305 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
7306 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
7307 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
7308 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
7309 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
7311 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
7312 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
7313 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
7314 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
7315 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
7319 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
7320 @kindex A R (Summary)
7321 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
7322 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
7325 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
7326 @kindex A T (Summary)
7327 Display the full thread where the current article appears
7328 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
7329 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
7330 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
7331 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
7332 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
7333 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
7335 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
7336 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
7337 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
7338 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
7339 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
7340 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
7343 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
7344 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
7346 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
7347 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
7348 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
7349 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
7350 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
7351 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
7352 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
7355 The current select method will be used when fetching by
7356 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
7357 by giving this command a prefix.
7359 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
7360 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
7361 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
7362 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
7363 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
7364 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
7367 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
7368 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
7369 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
7370 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
7371 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
7372 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
7375 @node Alternative Approaches
7376 @section Alternative Approaches
7378 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
7379 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
7382 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
7383 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
7388 @subsection Pick and Read
7389 @cindex pick and read
7391 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
7392 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
7393 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
7394 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
7396 @findex gnus-pick-mode
7397 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
7398 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
7399 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
7400 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
7401 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
7403 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
7408 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
7409 Pick the article or thread on the current line
7410 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7411 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
7412 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
7413 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
7414 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
7415 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
7418 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
7419 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
7420 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
7421 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
7425 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
7426 Unpick the thread or article
7427 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7428 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
7429 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
7430 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
7431 the thread or article at that line.
7435 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
7436 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
7437 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
7438 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
7439 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
7440 will still be visible when you are reading.
7444 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
7445 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
7446 which is mapped to the same function
7447 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
7449 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
7452 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
7455 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
7456 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
7458 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
7459 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
7460 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
7462 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
7463 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
7464 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
7465 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
7466 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
7467 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
7468 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
7472 @subsection Binary Groups
7473 @cindex binary groups
7475 @findex gnus-binary-mode
7476 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
7477 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
7478 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
7479 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
7480 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
7481 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
7484 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
7485 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
7486 command, when you have turned on this mode
7487 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
7489 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
7490 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
7494 @section Tree Display
7497 @vindex gnus-use-trees
7498 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
7499 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
7500 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
7503 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
7506 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
7507 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
7508 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
7510 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7511 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7512 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
7513 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
7514 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
7516 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7517 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7518 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7519 default is @code{modeline}.
7521 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7522 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7523 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7524 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7525 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7526 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7527 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7533 The name of the poster.
7535 The @code{From} header.
7537 The number of the article.
7539 The opening bracket.
7541 The closing bracket.
7546 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7548 Variables related to the display are:
7551 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7552 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7553 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7554 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7555 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7556 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7558 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7559 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7560 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7561 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7565 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7566 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7567 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
7568 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
7569 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7570 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7571 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7572 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7573 other windows displayed next to it.
7575 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7576 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7577 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7578 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7579 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7580 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7581 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7585 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7588 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7598 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7602 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7603 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7605 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7607 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7612 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7613 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7614 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7617 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7618 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7619 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7620 (gnus-add-configuration
7624 (summary 0.75 point)
7629 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7632 @node Mail Group Commands
7633 @section Mail Group Commands
7634 @cindex mail group commands
7636 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7637 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7639 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7640 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7645 @kindex B e (Summary)
7646 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7647 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7648 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7651 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7652 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7653 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7654 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7655 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7656 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7659 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7660 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7661 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7662 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7663 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7664 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7667 @kindex B m (Summary)
7669 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7670 Move the article from one mail group to another
7671 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7674 @kindex B c (Summary)
7676 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7677 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7678 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7679 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7682 @kindex B B (Summary)
7683 @cindex crosspost mail
7684 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7685 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7686 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7687 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7688 be properly updated.
7691 @kindex B i (Summary)
7692 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7693 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7694 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7695 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7698 @kindex B r (Summary)
7699 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7700 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
7701 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7702 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7703 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7707 @kindex B w (Summary)
7709 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7710 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7711 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7712 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7713 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7714 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7717 @kindex B q (Summary)
7718 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7719 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7720 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7721 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7724 @kindex B t (Summary)
7725 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
7726 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
7727 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
7730 @kindex B p (Summary)
7731 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7732 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7733 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7734 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7735 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7736 article from your news server (or rather, from
7737 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7738 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7739 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7740 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7741 just not have arrived yet.
7745 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7746 @cindex moving articles
7747 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
7748 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7749 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7750 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7751 suggestions you find reasonable.
7754 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7755 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7756 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7757 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7761 @node Various Summary Stuff
7762 @section Various Summary Stuff
7765 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7766 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7767 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7768 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7772 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7773 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7774 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7776 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7777 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7778 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7779 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7780 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7781 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7784 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7785 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7786 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7787 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7788 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7790 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7791 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7792 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
7795 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7796 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7797 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7798 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7799 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7800 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7801 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
7802 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7803 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7804 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7809 @node Summary Group Information
7810 @subsection Summary Group Information
7815 @kindex H f (Summary)
7816 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7817 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7818 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7819 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7820 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7821 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7822 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7823 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7824 be used for fetching the file.
7827 @kindex H d (Summary)
7828 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7829 Give a brief description of the current group
7830 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7831 rereading the description from the server.
7834 @kindex H h (Summary)
7835 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7836 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7837 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7840 @kindex H i (Summary)
7841 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7842 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7846 @node Searching for Articles
7847 @subsection Searching for Articles
7852 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7853 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7854 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7855 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7858 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7859 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7860 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7861 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7865 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7866 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7867 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7868 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7872 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7873 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7874 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7875 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7878 @node Summary Generation Commands
7879 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7884 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7885 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7886 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7889 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7890 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7891 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7892 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7897 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7898 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7904 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7905 @kindex A D (Summary)
7906 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7907 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7908 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7909 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7910 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7911 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7912 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7913 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7917 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7918 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7919 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7920 several documents into one biiig group
7921 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7922 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7923 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7924 command understands the process/prefix convention
7925 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7928 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7929 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7930 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7931 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7932 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7933 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7937 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7938 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7939 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7942 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
7943 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
7944 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7945 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
7948 @kindex M-C-g (Summary)
7949 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
7950 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7951 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
7956 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7957 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7958 @cindex summary exit
7959 @cindex exiting groups
7961 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7962 group and return you to the group buffer.
7968 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7970 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7971 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7972 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7973 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7974 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7975 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7976 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7977 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7978 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7979 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7980 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7984 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7986 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7987 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7988 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7992 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7994 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7995 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7996 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7997 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
8000 @kindex Z C (Summary)
8001 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
8002 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
8003 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
8006 @kindex Z n (Summary)
8007 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
8008 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
8009 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
8012 @kindex Z R (Summary)
8013 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
8014 Exit this group, and then enter it again
8015 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
8016 all articles, both read and unread.
8020 @kindex Z G (Summary)
8021 @kindex M-g (Summary)
8022 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
8023 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
8024 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
8025 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
8026 articles, both read and unread.
8029 @kindex Z N (Summary)
8030 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
8031 Exit the group and go to the next group
8032 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
8035 @kindex Z P (Summary)
8036 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
8037 Exit the group and go to the previous group
8038 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
8041 @kindex Z s (Summary)
8042 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
8043 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
8044 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
8045 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
8046 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
8049 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
8050 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
8053 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
8054 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
8055 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
8056 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
8057 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
8058 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
8059 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
8060 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
8061 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
8062 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
8063 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
8064 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
8066 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
8068 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
8069 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
8070 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
8071 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
8072 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
8073 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
8074 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
8075 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
8076 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
8079 @node Crosspost Handling
8080 @section Crosspost Handling
8084 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
8085 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
8086 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
8087 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
8088 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
8089 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
8092 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
8093 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
8094 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
8095 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
8096 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
8098 @cindex cross-posting
8101 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
8102 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
8103 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
8104 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
8105 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
8106 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
8107 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
8108 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
8109 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
8110 the cross reference mechanism.
8112 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
8113 @cindex overview.fmt
8114 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
8115 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
8116 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
8117 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
8118 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
8119 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
8122 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
8123 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
8124 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
8129 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
8132 @node Duplicate Suppression
8133 @section Duplicate Suppression
8135 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
8136 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
8137 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
8138 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
8143 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
8144 is evil and not very common.
8147 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
8148 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
8151 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
8152 different @sc{nntp} servers.
8155 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
8158 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
8159 well, but these four are the most common situations.
8161 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
8162 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
8163 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
8164 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
8165 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
8166 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
8167 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
8170 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
8171 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
8172 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
8173 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
8174 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
8178 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
8179 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
8180 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
8182 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
8183 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
8184 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
8185 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
8186 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
8187 session are suppressed.
8189 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
8190 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
8191 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
8192 suppression list. The default is 10000.
8194 @item gnus-duplicate-file
8195 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
8196 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
8197 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
8200 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
8201 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
8202 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
8203 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
8204 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
8205 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
8206 to you to figure out, I think.
8209 @node The Article Buffer
8210 @chapter The Article Buffer
8211 @cindex article buffer
8213 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
8214 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
8215 tell Gnus otherwise.
8218 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
8219 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
8220 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
8221 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
8222 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
8226 @node Hiding Headers
8227 @section Hiding Headers
8228 @cindex hiding headers
8229 @cindex deleting headers
8231 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
8232 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
8234 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
8235 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
8236 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
8237 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
8238 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
8239 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
8240 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
8241 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
8242 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
8244 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
8248 @item gnus-visible-headers
8249 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
8250 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
8251 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
8252 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
8254 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
8255 the article and the subject, you'd say:
8258 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
8261 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
8264 @item gnus-ignored-headers
8265 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
8266 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
8267 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
8268 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
8269 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
8271 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
8272 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
8275 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
8278 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
8281 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
8282 variable will have no effect.
8286 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
8287 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
8288 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
8289 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
8290 the headers are to be displayed.
8292 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
8293 and then the subject, you might say something like:
8296 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
8299 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
8300 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
8302 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8303 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
8304 You can hide further boring headers by setting
8305 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-header} to @code{head}. What this function
8306 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
8307 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
8308 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
8311 These conditions are:
8314 Remove all empty headers.
8316 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
8317 @code{Newsgroups} header.
8319 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
8322 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
8325 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
8328 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
8330 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
8333 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
8336 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
8337 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
8340 This is also the default value for this variable.
8344 @section Using @sc{mime}
8347 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
8348 while people stand around yawning.
8350 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
8351 while all newsreaders die of fear.
8353 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
8354 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
8355 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
8357 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
8358 @findex gnus-display-mime
8359 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
8360 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
8361 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
8362 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
8364 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
8368 @findex gnus-article-press-button
8370 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
8371 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
8372 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
8374 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
8375 @item M-RET (Article)
8377 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
8378 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
8380 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
8382 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
8383 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
8385 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
8387 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
8388 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
8390 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
8392 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
8393 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}.
8395 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
8397 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
8400 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
8401 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
8404 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
8405 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
8406 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
8407 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
8408 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
8409 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
8410 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
8411 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
8412 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
8414 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
8416 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
8419 @node Customizing Articles
8420 @section Customizing Articles
8421 @cindex article customization
8423 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
8424 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
8425 called automatically when you select the articles.
8427 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
8428 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
8429 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
8430 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
8432 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
8433 for sensible values.
8437 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
8440 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
8443 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
8446 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
8449 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
8453 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
8454 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
8455 regexps in the list.
8458 A list where the first element is not a string:
8460 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
8461 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
8462 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
8466 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
8471 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
8472 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
8473 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
8474 considered to contain just a single part.
8476 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
8477 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
8478 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
8479 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
8480 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
8481 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
8482 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
8484 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
8485 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
8486 group. Values in brackets are suggested sensible values. Others are possible
8487 but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
8490 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
8491 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
8492 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
8493 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
8494 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
8495 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
8496 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
8497 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
8498 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
8499 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
8500 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
8501 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
8502 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
8503 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
8504 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
8505 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
8506 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
8507 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
8508 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
8509 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
8510 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
8511 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
8512 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
8513 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
8514 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
8515 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
8516 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
8517 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
8518 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
8519 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
8520 @item gnus-treat-translate
8523 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
8524 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
8525 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
8526 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
8527 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
8528 everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead make
8529 them invisible if you want to make them go away.
8532 @node Article Keymap
8533 @section Article Keymap
8535 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
8536 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
8537 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
8538 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
8541 A few additional keystrokes are available:
8546 @kindex SPACE (Article)
8547 @findex gnus-article-next-page
8548 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
8551 @kindex DEL (Article)
8552 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
8553 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
8556 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
8557 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
8558 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
8559 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
8560 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
8563 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
8564 @findex gnus-article-mail
8565 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
8566 given a prefix, include the mail.
8570 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
8571 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
8572 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
8576 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
8577 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
8578 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
8581 @kindex TAB (Article)
8582 @findex gnus-article-next-button
8583 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
8584 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
8587 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
8588 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
8589 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
8595 @section Misc Article
8599 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
8600 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
8601 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
8602 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
8605 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
8606 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
8608 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
8609 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
8611 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
8612 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
8613 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
8614 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
8615 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
8616 the contents of the article buffer.
8618 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
8619 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
8620 Hook called in article mode buffers.
8622 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8623 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8624 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
8625 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
8627 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
8628 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
8629 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
8630 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
8631 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with one
8636 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
8637 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
8640 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
8643 @vindex gnus-break-pages
8645 @item gnus-break-pages
8646 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
8647 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
8648 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8649 paging will not be done.
8651 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8652 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8653 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8658 @node Composing Messages
8659 @chapter Composing Messages
8660 @cindex composing messages
8663 @cindex sending mail
8668 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8669 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8670 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
8671 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
8672 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
8673 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
8674 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
8677 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8678 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8679 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8680 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8681 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8682 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
8683 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8684 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8687 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8688 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8694 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8697 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8698 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8699 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8700 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8702 @item gnus-add-to-list
8703 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8704 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8705 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8713 Variables for composing news articles:
8716 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8717 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8718 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8719 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8720 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8721 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8722 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8723 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8724 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
8727 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8728 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8729 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8730 file. It is 1000 by default.
8735 @node Posting Server
8736 @section Posting Server
8738 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8739 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8741 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8743 @vindex gnus-post-method
8745 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
8746 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8747 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8748 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8749 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8752 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8755 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8756 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8757 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8758 the ``current'' server for posting.
8760 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8761 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8763 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8764 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8767 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8768 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8769 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8774 @section Mail and Post
8776 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8780 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8781 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8782 @cindex mailing lists
8784 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8785 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8786 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8787 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8788 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8789 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8790 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8791 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8792 still a pain, though.
8796 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8797 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8798 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8801 @findex ispell-message
8803 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8807 @node Archived Messages
8808 @section Archived Messages
8809 @cindex archived messages
8810 @cindex sent messages
8812 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8813 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8814 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8815 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8818 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8819 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
8820 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8824 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8825 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8826 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8827 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8830 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8831 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8832 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8833 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8836 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8837 '(nnfolder "archive"
8838 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8839 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8840 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8843 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8845 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8846 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8847 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8849 This variable can be used to do the following:
8853 Messages will be saved in that group.
8854 @item a list of strings
8855 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8856 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8857 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8859 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8864 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8866 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8869 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8871 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8874 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8876 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8877 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8878 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8879 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8884 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8885 '((if (message-news-p)
8890 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8891 messages in one file per month:
8894 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8895 '((if (message-news-p)
8897 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8898 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8901 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8902 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8904 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8905 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8906 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8907 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8908 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8909 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8910 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8911 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8912 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8913 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8915 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8916 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8917 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8918 this will disable archiving.
8921 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8922 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8923 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8924 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8925 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8928 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8929 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8930 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8933 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8934 but the latter is the preferred method.
8938 @node Posting Styles
8939 @section Posting Styles
8940 @cindex posting styles
8943 All them variables, they make my head swim.
8945 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8946 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8947 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8950 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8951 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8952 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8953 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8954 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8959 (signature "Peace and happiness")
8960 (organization "What me?"))
8962 (signature "Death to everybody"))
8963 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8964 (organization "Emacs is it")))
8967 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8968 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8969 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8970 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8971 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8972 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8973 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8974 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8976 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8977 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8978 If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8979 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8980 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8981 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8984 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8985 attribute consists of a @var{(name value)} pair. The attribute name
8986 can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
8987 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
8988 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8989 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8990 article. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated,
8991 and the result is thrown away.
8993 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
8994 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
8995 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
8996 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
8997 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
8998 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
9000 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
9001 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
9002 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
9004 @findex message-mail-p
9005 @findex message-news-p
9007 So here's a new example:
9010 (setq gnus-posting-styles
9012 (signature-file "~/.signature")
9014 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
9015 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
9017 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
9018 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
9019 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
9021 (signature my-news-signature))
9022 ((posting-from-work-p)
9023 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
9024 (address "user@@bar.foo")
9025 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
9026 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
9028 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
9036 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
9037 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
9038 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
9039 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
9040 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
9042 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
9043 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
9044 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
9045 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
9046 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
9050 @vindex nndraft-directory
9051 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
9052 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
9053 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
9054 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
9055 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
9056 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
9058 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
9059 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
9062 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
9063 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
9064 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
9065 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
9066 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
9067 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
9068 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
9069 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
9070 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
9071 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
9072 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
9073 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
9074 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
9075 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
9077 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
9078 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
9079 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
9081 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
9083 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
9084 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
9085 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
9087 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
9090 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
9091 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
9092 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
9093 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
9094 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
9095 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
9096 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
9099 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
9100 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
9101 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
9104 @node Rejected Articles
9105 @section Rejected Articles
9106 @cindex rejected articles
9108 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
9109 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
9110 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
9111 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
9113 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
9114 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
9115 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
9116 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
9117 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
9119 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
9120 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
9121 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
9124 @node Select Methods
9125 @chapter Select Methods
9126 @cindex foreign groups
9127 @cindex select methods
9129 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
9130 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
9131 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
9132 personal mail group.
9134 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
9135 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
9136 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
9137 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
9138 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
9139 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
9141 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
9142 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
9144 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
9147 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
9148 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
9149 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
9150 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
9151 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
9153 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
9156 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
9157 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
9158 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
9159 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
9160 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
9161 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
9165 @node The Server Buffer
9166 @section The Server Buffer
9168 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
9169 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
9170 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
9171 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
9172 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
9173 backend represents a virtual server.
9175 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
9176 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
9177 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
9178 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
9180 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
9181 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
9182 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
9183 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
9184 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
9185 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
9186 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
9188 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
9189 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
9192 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
9193 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
9194 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
9195 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
9196 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
9197 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
9198 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
9201 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
9202 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
9205 @node Server Buffer Format
9206 @subsection Server Buffer Format
9207 @cindex server buffer format
9209 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
9210 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
9211 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
9212 variable, with some simple extensions:
9217 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
9220 The name of this server.
9223 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
9226 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
9229 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
9230 The mode line can also be customized by using the
9231 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
9232 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
9242 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
9245 @node Server Commands
9246 @subsection Server Commands
9247 @cindex server commands
9253 @findex gnus-server-add-server
9254 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
9258 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
9259 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
9262 @kindex SPACE (Server)
9263 @findex gnus-server-read-server
9264 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
9268 @findex gnus-server-exit
9269 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
9273 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
9274 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
9278 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
9279 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
9283 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
9284 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
9288 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
9289 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
9293 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
9294 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
9295 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
9300 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
9301 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
9302 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
9303 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
9308 @node Example Methods
9309 @subsection Example Methods
9311 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
9314 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
9317 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
9323 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
9324 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
9327 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
9328 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
9330 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
9331 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
9335 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
9338 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
9339 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
9341 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
9342 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
9343 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
9347 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
9350 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
9353 Here's the method for a public spool:
9357 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
9358 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
9361 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
9362 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
9363 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
9364 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
9365 should probably look something like this:
9369 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
9370 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
9371 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
9372 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
9373 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
9376 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
9377 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
9378 server that would look something like this:
9382 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
9383 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
9384 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
9385 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
9386 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
9387 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
9390 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
9391 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
9392 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
9393 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
9396 @node Creating a Virtual Server
9397 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
9399 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
9400 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
9402 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
9403 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
9404 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
9406 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
9408 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
9409 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
9410 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
9411 will contain the following:
9421 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
9422 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
9423 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
9426 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
9427 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
9428 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
9431 @node Server Variables
9432 @subsection Server Variables
9434 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
9435 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
9436 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
9437 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
9438 won't change the "derived" variables.
9440 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
9441 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
9442 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
9443 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
9444 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
9445 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
9446 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
9447 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
9448 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
9452 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
9453 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
9454 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
9458 @node Servers and Methods
9459 @subsection Servers and Methods
9461 Wherever you would normally use a select method
9462 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
9463 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
9464 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
9468 @node Unavailable Servers
9469 @subsection Unavailable Servers
9471 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
9472 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
9473 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
9474 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
9475 actually the case or not.
9477 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
9478 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
9479 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
9480 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
9481 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
9482 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
9483 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
9484 it will regard that server as ``down''.
9486 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
9487 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
9489 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
9490 with the following commands:
9496 @findex gnus-server-open-server
9497 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
9498 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
9502 @findex gnus-server-close-server
9503 Close the connection (if any) to the server
9504 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
9508 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
9509 Mark the current server as unreachable
9510 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
9513 @kindex M-o (Server)
9514 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
9515 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
9516 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
9519 @kindex M-c (Server)
9520 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
9521 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
9522 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
9526 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
9527 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
9528 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
9534 @section Getting News
9535 @cindex reading news
9536 @cindex news backends
9538 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
9539 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
9540 or it can read from a local spool.
9543 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
9544 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
9549 @subsection @sc{nntp}
9552 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
9553 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
9554 server as the, uhm, address.
9556 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
9557 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
9558 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
9559 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9561 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
9562 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
9563 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
9565 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
9570 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
9571 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
9572 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
9574 @cindex authentification
9575 @cindex nntp authentification
9576 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9577 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
9578 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
9579 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
9580 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
9581 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
9582 present in this hook.
9584 @item nntp-authinfo-function
9585 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
9586 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9587 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
9588 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
9589 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
9590 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
9591 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
9592 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
9593 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
9594 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
9595 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
9599 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
9602 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
9603 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
9604 @samp{default} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid
9605 @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is the only way the
9606 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
9611 Here's an example file:
9614 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
9615 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
9618 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
9619 have to be first, for instance.
9621 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
9622 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
9623 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
9624 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
9625 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
9626 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
9627 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
9629 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
9630 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
9636 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
9637 previously mentioned.
9639 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
9641 @item nntp-server-action-alist
9642 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
9643 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
9644 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
9645 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
9648 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
9652 You probably don't want to do that, though.
9654 The default value is
9657 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
9658 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
9661 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
9662 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
9664 @item nntp-maximum-request
9665 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
9666 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
9667 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
9668 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
9669 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
9670 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
9671 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
9673 @item nntp-connection-timeout
9674 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
9675 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
9676 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9677 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9678 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9679 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9680 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9681 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9682 no timeouts are done.
9684 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9685 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9686 @c @cindex PPP connections
9687 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9688 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9689 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9690 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9691 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9692 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9693 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9694 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9695 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9696 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9698 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9699 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9700 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9701 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9704 @item nntp-server-hook
9705 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9706 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9709 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9710 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9711 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9712 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9713 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9714 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
9715 functions are supplied:
9718 @item nntp-open-network-stream
9719 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
9722 @item nntp-open-rlogin
9723 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9724 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9727 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9731 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9732 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9733 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9734 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9736 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9737 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9738 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9740 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9741 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9742 User name on the remote system.
9746 @item nntp-open-telnet
9747 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
9748 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
9750 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9753 @item nntp-telnet-command
9754 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9755 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9757 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9758 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9759 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9761 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9762 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9763 User name for log in on the remote system.
9765 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9766 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9767 Password to use when logging in.
9769 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9770 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9771 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9774 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9775 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9776 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9777 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9779 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9780 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9781 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9782 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9783 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9787 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
9788 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
9789 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
9790 you must have SSLay installed
9791 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
9792 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
9793 define a server as follows:
9796 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
9798 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
9800 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
9801 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
9802 (nntp-port-number "snews")
9803 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
9808 @item nntp-end-of-line
9809 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9810 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9811 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9812 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9814 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9815 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9816 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9820 @vindex nntp-address
9821 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9823 @item nntp-port-number
9824 @vindex nntp-port-number
9825 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9828 @item nntp-buggy-select
9829 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9830 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9832 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9833 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9834 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9835 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9838 @item nntp-xover-commands
9839 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9842 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9843 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9847 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9848 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9849 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9850 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9851 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9852 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9853 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9854 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9855 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9856 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9857 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9859 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9860 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9861 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9863 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9864 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9865 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9866 server closes connection.
9868 @item nntp-record-commands
9869 @vindex nntp-record-commands
9870 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
9871 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
9872 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
9873 that doesn't seem to work.
9879 @subsection News Spool
9883 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9884 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9885 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9888 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9889 anything else) as the address.
9891 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9892 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9893 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9894 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9898 @item nnspool-inews-program
9899 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9900 Program used to post an article.
9902 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9903 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9904 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9906 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9907 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9908 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9909 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9911 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9912 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9913 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9914 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9916 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9917 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9918 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9920 @item nnspool-active-file
9921 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9922 The path to the active file.
9924 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9925 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9926 The path to the group descriptions file.
9928 @item nnspool-history-file
9929 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9930 The path to the news history file.
9932 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9933 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9934 The path to the active date file.
9936 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9937 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9938 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9941 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9942 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9944 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9945 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9946 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9952 @section Getting Mail
9953 @cindex reading mail
9956 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9960 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
9961 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9962 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9963 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
9964 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9965 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9966 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
9967 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9968 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9969 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9970 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9971 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9972 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9976 @node Mail in a Newsreader
9977 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
9979 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
9980 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
9983 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
9984 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
9986 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
9987 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
9988 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
9989 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
9991 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
9993 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
9996 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
9997 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
9998 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
9999 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
10002 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
10003 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
10004 they want to treat a message.
10006 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
10007 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
10008 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
10009 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
10010 archived somewhere else.
10012 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
10013 These are transported via NNTP, and are therefore news. But we may need
10014 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
10015 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
10016 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
10018 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
10019 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
10020 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
10022 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
10023 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
10026 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
10027 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
10028 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
10029 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
10030 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
10032 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
10033 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
10034 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
10035 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
10036 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
10037 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
10041 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
10042 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
10044 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
10045 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
10046 and things will happen automatically.
10048 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
10049 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
10052 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
10053 '((nnml "private")))
10056 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
10057 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
10058 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
10059 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
10060 like any other group.
10062 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
10065 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10066 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10067 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10071 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
10072 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
10073 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
10076 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
10077 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
10078 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
10081 @node Splitting Mail
10082 @subsection Splitting Mail
10083 @cindex splitting mail
10084 @cindex mail splitting
10086 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
10087 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
10088 to be split into groups.
10091 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10092 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10093 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10094 ("mail.other" "")))
10097 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
10098 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
10099 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
10100 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
10101 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
10102 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
10103 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
10106 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
10109 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
10110 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
10111 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
10112 mail belongs in that group.
10114 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
10115 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
10116 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
10117 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
10118 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
10119 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
10121 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
10122 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
10123 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
10124 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
10125 thinks should carry this mail message.
10127 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
10128 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
10129 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
10130 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
10132 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
10133 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
10134 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
10135 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
10136 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
10138 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
10141 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
10142 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
10143 links. If that's the case for you, set
10144 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
10145 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
10147 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
10148 @kindex nnmail-split-history
10149 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
10150 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
10152 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
10153 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
10154 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
10155 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
10156 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
10157 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
10158 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
10159 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
10160 month's rent money.
10164 @subsection Mail Sources
10166 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
10167 POP mail server, or from a procmail directory, for instance.
10170 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
10171 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
10172 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
10176 @node Mail Source Specifiers
10177 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
10179 @cindex mail server
10182 @cindex mail source
10184 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
10185 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
10190 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
10193 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
10194 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
10195 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
10198 The following mail source types are available:
10202 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
10208 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
10209 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
10212 An example file mail source:
10215 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
10218 Or using the default path:
10225 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
10226 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
10232 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
10236 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
10240 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
10241 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
10242 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
10243 predicate are considered.
10247 Script run before/after fetching mail.
10251 An example directory mail source:
10254 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
10259 Get mail from a POP server.
10265 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
10266 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
10269 The port number of the POP server. The default is @samp{pop3}.
10272 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
10276 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
10280 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This is should be
10281 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
10284 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
10287 The valid format specifier characters are:
10291 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
10292 included in this string.
10295 The name of the server.
10298 The port number of the server.
10301 The user name to use.
10304 The password to use.
10307 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
10308 corresponding keywords.
10311 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
10312 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
10315 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
10316 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
10319 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
10320 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
10323 @item :authentication
10324 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
10325 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
10330 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
10331 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
10333 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
10334 default user name, and default fetcher:
10340 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
10343 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
10344 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
10347 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
10350 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
10354 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox currently only
10355 supported by qmail, where each file in a special directory contains
10362 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
10363 @samp{~/Maildir/new}.
10365 If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
10366 them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
10367 @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the following example.
10371 An example maildir mail source:
10374 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/cur")
10380 @node Mail Source Customization
10381 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
10383 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
10384 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
10388 @item mail-source-crash-box
10389 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
10390 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
10391 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
10393 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
10394 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
10395 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
10397 @item mail-source-directory
10398 @vindex mail-source-directory
10399 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
10400 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
10401 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
10404 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
10405 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
10406 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
10411 @node Fetching Mail
10412 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
10414 @vindex mail-sources
10415 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
10416 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
10417 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
10418 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
10420 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
10421 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
10424 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
10425 mail server, you'd say something like:
10430 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
10431 :password "secret")))
10434 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
10438 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
10439 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
10442 :password "secret")))
10446 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
10447 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
10448 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
10449 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
10450 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
10451 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
10455 @node Mail Backend Variables
10456 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
10458 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
10462 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
10463 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
10464 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
10465 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
10467 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
10468 @item nnmail-split-hook
10469 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
10470 @findex RFC1522 decoding
10471 @findex RFC2047 decoding
10472 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
10473 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
10474 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
10475 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
10476 in the buffer will show up in any files.
10477 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
10480 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
10481 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
10482 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
10483 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
10484 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
10485 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
10486 starting to handle the new mail) and
10487 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
10488 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
10489 default file modes the new mail files get:
10492 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
10493 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
10495 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
10496 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
10499 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
10500 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
10501 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
10502 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
10503 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
10504 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
10505 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
10507 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
10508 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
10509 @findex delete-file
10510 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
10512 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
10513 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
10514 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
10515 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
10516 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
10521 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
10522 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
10523 @cindex mail splitting
10524 @cindex fancy mail splitting
10526 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
10527 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
10528 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
10529 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
10530 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
10531 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
10533 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
10536 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
10537 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
10538 ;; from real errors.
10539 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
10541 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
10542 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
10543 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
10544 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
10545 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
10546 ;; Other mailing lists...
10547 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
10548 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
10549 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
10550 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
10551 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
10552 ;; message was really cross-posted.
10553 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
10554 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
10556 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
10557 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
10561 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
10562 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
10563 the five possible split syntaxes:
10568 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
10569 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
10573 @var{(FIELD VALUE [- RESTRICT [- RESTRICT [...]]] SPLIT)}: If the split
10574 is a list, the first element of which is a string, then store the
10575 message as specified by SPLIT, if header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE
10576 (also a regexp). If RESTRICT (yet another regexp) matches some string
10577 after FIELD and before the end of the matched VALUE, the SPLIT is
10578 ignored. If none of the RESTRICT clauses match, SPLIT is processed.
10581 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
10582 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
10583 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
10584 be stored in one or more groups.
10587 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
10588 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
10591 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
10592 this message. Use with extreme caution.
10595 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
10596 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
10597 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
10601 @var{(! FUNC SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, and the first element
10602 is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be called as a
10603 function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should return a split.
10606 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
10610 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
10611 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
10612 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
10613 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
10614 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
10616 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
10617 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
10618 are expanded as specified by the variable
10619 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
10620 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
10623 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
10624 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
10625 when all this splitting is performed.
10627 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
10628 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
10629 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
10632 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
10635 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
10636 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
10638 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
10639 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
10640 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
10641 groupings 1 through 9.
10644 @node Group Mail Splitting
10645 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
10646 @cindex mail splitting
10647 @cindex group mail splitting
10649 @findex gnus-group-split
10650 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
10651 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
10652 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
10653 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
10654 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
10655 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
10656 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
10657 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
10659 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
10660 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
10661 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
10662 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
10664 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
10665 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{FIELD} is @samp{any},
10666 the @var{VALUE} is a single regular expression that matches
10667 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
10668 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{SPLIT} is the name of the
10669 group. @var{RESTRICT}s are also supported: just set the
10670 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
10672 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
10673 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
10674 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
10675 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
10676 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
10677 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
10678 @code{gnus-group-split}.
10680 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
10681 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
10682 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
10683 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
10684 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
10685 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
10686 that group is used as the catch-all group. Note that, in this case,
10687 there's no cross-posting, as a @code{|} fancy split encloses the
10688 @code{&} split and the catch-all group.
10690 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
10695 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
10696 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
10698 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
10699 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
10700 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
10701 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
10703 ((split-spec . catch-all))
10706 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
10707 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
10708 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
10711 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
10712 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
10713 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
10717 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
10718 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
10719 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
10723 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
10726 @var{GROUPS} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
10727 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
10728 @var{NO-CROSSPOST} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
10729 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{CATCH-ALL} may be the name
10730 of a group to be used as the default catch-all group. If
10731 @var{CATCH-ALL} is @code{nil}, or if @var{SPLIT-REGEXP} matches the
10732 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
10733 Otherwise, if some group has @var{SPLIT-SPEC} set to @code{catch-all},
10734 this group will override the value of the @var{CATCH-ALL} argument.
10736 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
10737 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
10738 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
10739 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
10740 used to select @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
10741 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
10742 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
10743 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
10744 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
10746 @findex gnus-group-split-update
10747 However, if you change group parameters, you have to update
10748 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
10749 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
10750 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
10751 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
10754 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
10757 If @var{AUTO-UPDATE} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
10758 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
10759 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
10760 don't omit @var{CATCH-ALL} (it's optional),
10761 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
10764 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
10765 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
10766 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
10767 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
10769 @node Incorporating Old Mail
10770 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
10772 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
10773 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
10774 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
10777 Doing so can be quite easy.
10779 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
10780 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
10781 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
10782 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
10783 your @code{nnml} groups.
10789 Go to the group buffer.
10792 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
10793 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10796 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
10799 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
10800 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
10803 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
10804 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
10807 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
10808 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
10809 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
10810 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
10811 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
10813 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
10814 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
10815 using the new mail backend.
10818 @node Expiring Mail
10819 @subsection Expiring Mail
10820 @cindex article expiry
10822 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
10823 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
10824 different approach to mail reading.
10826 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
10827 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
10828 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
10829 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
10830 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
10831 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
10834 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
10835 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
10836 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
10837 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
10838 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
10839 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
10840 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
10841 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
10843 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10844 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
10845 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
10846 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
10847 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
10848 column in the summary buffer.
10850 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
10851 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
10852 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
10853 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
10856 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
10858 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
10859 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
10860 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
10863 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
10864 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
10865 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
10866 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
10867 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
10869 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
10870 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
10873 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10874 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
10877 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
10878 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
10880 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
10881 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
10882 don't really mix very well.
10884 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
10885 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
10886 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
10887 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
10890 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
10891 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
10892 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
10893 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
10896 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10898 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10900 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
10902 ((string= group "mail.junk")
10904 ((string= group "important")
10910 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
10911 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
10913 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
10914 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
10915 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
10918 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
10919 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
10921 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
10922 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
10923 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
10924 easier for procmail users.
10926 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
10927 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
10928 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
10929 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
10930 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
10931 caution. Even more dangerous is the
10932 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
10933 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
10934 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
10935 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
10936 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
10937 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
10938 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
10941 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
10943 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
10944 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
10945 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
10946 auto-expire turned on.
10950 @subsection Washing Mail
10951 @cindex mail washing
10952 @cindex list server brain damage
10953 @cindex incoming mail treatment
10955 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
10956 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
10957 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
10958 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
10959 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
10960 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
10962 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
10963 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
10964 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
10967 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
10968 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
10969 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
10970 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
10973 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10974 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10975 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
10976 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
10977 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
10980 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10981 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10982 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
10983 Emacs running on MS machines.
10987 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10988 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10989 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
10990 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
10993 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10994 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10995 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
10996 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
10998 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10999 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
11000 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
11001 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
11002 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
11003 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
11004 also be a list of regexp.
11006 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
11007 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
11010 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
11011 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
11014 This can also be done non-destructively with
11015 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
11017 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
11018 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
11019 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
11021 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
11022 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
11024 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
11025 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
11026 @code{References} headers.
11030 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
11031 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
11032 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
11036 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
11037 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
11038 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
11045 @subsection Duplicates
11047 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
11048 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
11049 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
11050 @cindex duplicate mails
11051 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
11052 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
11053 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
11054 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
11055 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
11056 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
11057 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
11058 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
11059 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
11060 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
11061 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
11062 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
11063 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
11065 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
11066 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
11067 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
11068 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
11070 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
11073 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
11074 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
11078 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
11079 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
11080 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
11081 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
11082 (any mail "mail.misc")
11089 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11090 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
11095 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
11096 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
11097 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
11098 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
11099 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
11102 @node Not Reading Mail
11103 @subsection Not Reading Mail
11105 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
11106 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
11107 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
11109 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
11110 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
11111 mail, which should help.
11113 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
11114 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
11115 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
11116 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
11117 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
11118 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
11119 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
11120 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
11121 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
11122 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
11123 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
11125 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
11126 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
11130 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
11131 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
11133 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
11134 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
11135 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
11137 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
11138 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
11139 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
11140 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
11143 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
11144 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
11145 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
11146 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
11147 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
11148 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
11152 @node Unix Mail Box
11153 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
11155 @cindex unix mail box
11157 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
11158 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
11159 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
11160 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
11161 which group it belongs in.
11163 Virtual server settings:
11166 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
11167 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
11168 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
11170 @item nnmbox-active-file
11171 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
11172 The name of the active file for the mail box.
11174 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
11175 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
11176 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
11182 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
11186 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
11187 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
11188 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
11189 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
11190 article to say which group it belongs in.
11192 Virtual server settings:
11195 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
11196 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
11197 The name of the rmail mbox file.
11199 @item nnbabyl-active-file
11200 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
11201 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
11203 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
11204 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
11205 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
11210 @subsubsection Mail Spool
11212 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
11214 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
11215 format. It should be used with some caution.
11217 @vindex nnml-directory
11218 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
11219 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
11220 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
11221 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
11223 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
11226 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
11227 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
11228 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
11229 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
11230 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
11231 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
11232 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
11233 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
11235 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
11236 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
11237 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
11238 backend when it comes to reading mail.
11240 Virtual server settings:
11243 @item nnml-directory
11244 @vindex nnml-directory
11245 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
11247 @item nnml-active-file
11248 @vindex nnml-active-file
11249 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
11251 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
11252 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
11253 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
11256 @item nnml-get-new-mail
11257 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
11258 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
11260 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
11261 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
11262 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
11264 @item nnml-nov-file-name
11265 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
11266 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
11268 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
11269 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
11270 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
11274 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
11275 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
11276 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
11277 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
11278 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
11279 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
11280 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
11285 @subsubsection MH Spool
11287 @cindex mh-e mail spool
11289 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
11290 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
11291 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
11292 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
11294 Virtual server settings:
11297 @item nnmh-directory
11298 @vindex nnmh-directory
11299 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
11301 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
11302 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
11303 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
11306 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
11307 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
11308 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
11309 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
11310 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
11311 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
11312 to set this variable to @code{t}.
11317 @subsubsection Mail Folders
11319 @cindex mbox folders
11320 @cindex mail folders
11322 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
11323 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
11324 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
11327 Virtual server settings:
11330 @item nnfolder-directory
11331 @vindex nnfolder-directory
11332 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
11334 @item nnfolder-active-file
11335 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
11336 The name of the active file.
11338 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
11339 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
11340 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
11342 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
11343 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
11344 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
11346 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
11347 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
11348 @cindex backup files
11349 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
11350 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
11351 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
11352 your @file{.emacs} file:
11355 (defun turn-off-backup ()
11356 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
11358 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
11361 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
11362 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
11363 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
11364 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
11365 extract some information from it before removing it.
11370 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
11371 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
11372 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
11373 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
11374 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
11375 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
11378 @node Comparing Mail Backends
11379 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
11381 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
11382 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
11383 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
11384 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
11385 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
11387 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
11388 typically done by NNTP these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
11389 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
11390 articles lay (the machine which today we call an NNTP server), and
11391 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
11392 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
11393 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
11394 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
11397 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
11398 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
11399 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
11400 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
11405 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
11406 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
11407 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
11408 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
11409 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
11410 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
11411 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
11412 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
11413 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
11414 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
11415 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
11416 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
11417 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
11422 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
11423 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
11424 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
11425 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
11426 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
11427 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
11428 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
11429 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
11430 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
11431 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
11432 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
11433 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
11434 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
11435 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
11437 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
11438 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
11443 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
11444 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
11445 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
11446 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
11447 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
11448 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
11449 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
11450 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
11451 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
11452 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
11453 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
11454 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
11455 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
11456 provided by the active file and overviews.
11458 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
11459 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
11460 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
11461 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
11462 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
11465 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
11466 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
11471 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
11472 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
11473 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
11474 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
11475 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
11476 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
11477 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
11481 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
11482 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
11483 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
11484 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
11485 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
11486 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
11487 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
11488 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
11489 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
11491 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
11492 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
11493 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
11494 friendly mail backend all over.
11500 @node Other Sources
11501 @section Other Sources
11503 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
11504 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
11508 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
11509 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
11510 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
11511 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
11512 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
11513 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
11517 @node Directory Groups
11518 @subsection Directory Groups
11520 @cindex directory groups
11522 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
11523 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
11526 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
11527 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
11528 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
11529 backend to read directories. Big deal.
11531 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
11532 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
11533 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
11534 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
11535 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
11537 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
11539 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
11540 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
11541 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
11542 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
11545 @node Anything Groups
11546 @subsection Anything Groups
11549 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
11550 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
11551 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
11554 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
11555 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
11556 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
11557 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
11558 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
11559 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
11560 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
11561 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
11562 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
11563 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
11566 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
11567 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
11568 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
11569 in the article buffer, just as usual.
11571 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
11572 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
11573 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
11574 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
11576 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
11577 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
11578 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
11579 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
11580 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
11581 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
11582 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
11583 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
11588 @item nneething-map-file-directory
11589 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
11590 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
11591 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
11593 @item nneething-exclude-files
11594 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
11595 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
11596 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
11598 @item nneething-include-files
11599 @vindex nneething-include-files
11600 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
11601 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
11603 @item nneething-map-file
11604 @vindex nneething-map-file
11605 Name of the map files.
11609 @node Document Groups
11610 @subsection Document Groups
11612 @cindex documentation group
11615 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
11616 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
11623 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
11628 The standard Unix mbox file.
11630 @cindex MMDF mail box
11632 The MMDF mail box format.
11635 Several news articles appended into a file.
11638 @cindex rnews batch files
11639 The rnews batch transport format.
11640 @cindex forwarded messages
11643 Forwarded articles.
11646 Netscape mail boxes.
11649 MIME multipart messages.
11651 @item standard-digest
11652 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
11655 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
11658 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
11659 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
11660 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
11663 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
11664 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
11665 group. And that's it.
11667 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
11668 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
11669 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
11670 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
11671 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
11672 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
11673 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
11674 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
11675 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
11676 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
11678 Virtual server variables:
11681 @item nndoc-article-type
11682 @vindex nndoc-article-type
11683 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
11684 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
11685 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
11686 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
11688 @item nndoc-post-type
11689 @vindex nndoc-post-type
11690 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
11691 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
11696 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
11700 @node Document Server Internals
11701 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
11703 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
11704 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
11705 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
11706 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
11708 First, here's an example document type definition:
11712 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
11713 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
11716 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
11717 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
11718 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
11719 types can be defined with very few settings:
11722 @item first-article
11723 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
11724 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
11727 @item article-begin
11728 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
11729 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
11731 @item head-begin-function
11732 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
11735 @item nndoc-head-begin
11736 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
11739 @item nndoc-head-end
11740 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
11741 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
11743 @item body-begin-function
11744 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
11748 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
11751 @item body-end-function
11752 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
11756 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
11759 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
11760 regexp will be totally ignored.
11764 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
11765 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
11766 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
11767 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
11768 something that's palatable for Gnus:
11771 @item prepare-body-function
11772 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
11773 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
11774 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
11776 @item article-transform-function
11777 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
11778 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
11779 body of the article.
11781 @item generate-head-function
11782 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
11783 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
11784 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
11785 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
11789 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
11794 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
11795 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
11796 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
11797 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
11798 (head-end . "^ ?$")
11799 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
11800 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
11801 (subtype digest guess))
11804 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
11805 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
11806 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
11807 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
11808 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
11810 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
11811 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
11812 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
11813 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
11814 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
11815 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
11816 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
11817 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
11818 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
11819 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
11827 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
11828 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
11829 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
11831 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
11832 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
11833 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
11836 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
11837 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
11838 that interested in doing things properly.
11840 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
11841 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
11844 First some terminology:
11849 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
11850 get news and/or mail from.
11853 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
11854 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
11857 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
11861 @item message packets
11862 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
11863 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
11864 default, where @var{X} is a number.
11866 @item response packets
11867 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
11868 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
11869 default, where @var{X} is a number.
11879 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
11880 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
11881 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
11882 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
11885 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
11888 You put the packet in your home directory.
11891 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
11892 the native or secondary server.
11895 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
11896 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
11899 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
11903 You transfer this packet to the server.
11906 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
11909 You then repeat until you die.
11913 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
11914 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
11917 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
11918 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
11919 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
11923 @node SOUP Commands
11924 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
11926 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
11930 @kindex G s b (Group)
11931 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
11932 Pack all unread articles in the current group
11933 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
11934 process/prefix convention.
11937 @kindex G s w (Group)
11938 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
11939 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
11942 @kindex G s s (Group)
11943 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
11944 Send all replies from the replies packet
11945 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
11948 @kindex G s p (Group)
11949 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
11950 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
11953 @kindex G s r (Group)
11954 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
11955 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
11958 @kindex O s (Summary)
11959 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
11960 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
11961 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
11962 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11967 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
11972 @item gnus-soup-directory
11973 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
11974 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
11975 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
11977 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
11978 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
11979 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
11980 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
11982 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
11983 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
11984 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
11985 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
11987 @item gnus-soup-packer
11988 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
11989 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
11990 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
11992 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
11993 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
11994 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
11995 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
11997 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
11998 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
11999 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
12001 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
12002 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
12003 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
12004 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
12010 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
12013 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
12014 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
12015 you can read them at leisure.
12017 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
12021 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
12022 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
12023 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
12024 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
12026 @item nnsoup-directory
12027 @vindex nnsoup-directory
12028 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
12029 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
12031 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
12032 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
12033 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
12034 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
12036 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
12037 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
12038 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
12039 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
12040 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
12042 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
12043 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
12044 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
12045 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
12047 @item nnsoup-active-file
12048 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
12049 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
12050 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
12051 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
12052 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
12054 @item nnsoup-packer
12055 @vindex nnsoup-packer
12056 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
12057 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
12059 @item nnsoup-unpacker
12060 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
12061 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
12062 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
12064 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
12065 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
12066 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
12069 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
12070 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
12071 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
12074 @item nnsoup-always-save
12075 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
12076 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
12082 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
12084 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
12085 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
12086 more for that to happen.
12088 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
12089 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
12090 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
12093 In specific, this is what it does:
12096 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
12097 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
12100 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
12101 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
12102 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
12106 @subsection Web Searches
12110 @cindex InReference
12111 @cindex Usenet searches
12112 @cindex searching the Usenet
12114 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
12115 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
12116 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
12117 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
12118 searches without having to use a browser.
12120 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
12121 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
12122 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
12123 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
12124 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
12126 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
12127 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
12128 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
12129 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
12130 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
12131 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
12132 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
12133 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
12134 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
12135 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
12138 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
12139 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
12140 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
12141 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
12142 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
12143 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
12145 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
12146 to use @code{nnweb}.
12148 Virtual server variables:
12153 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
12154 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
12158 @vindex nnweb-search
12159 The search string to feed to the search engine.
12161 @item nnweb-max-hits
12162 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
12163 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
12166 @item nnweb-type-definition
12167 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
12168 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
12169 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
12174 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
12178 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
12181 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
12184 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
12188 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
12195 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
12196 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
12197 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
12200 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
12201 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
12202 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
12204 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
12210 @item nngateway-address
12211 @vindex nngateway-address
12212 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
12214 @item nngateway-header-transformation
12215 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
12216 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
12217 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
12218 transformation should be called, and defaults to
12219 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
12220 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
12223 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
12224 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
12225 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
12228 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
12231 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
12234 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
12237 The following pre-defined functions exist:
12239 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
12242 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
12243 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
12244 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
12246 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
12248 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
12249 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
12250 @code{nngateway-address}.
12255 (setq gnus-post-method
12256 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
12257 (nngateway-header-transformation
12258 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
12266 So, to use this, simply say something like:
12269 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
12273 @node Combined Groups
12274 @section Combined Groups
12276 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
12280 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
12281 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
12285 @node Virtual Groups
12286 @subsection Virtual Groups
12288 @cindex virtual groups
12289 @cindex merging groups
12291 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
12294 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
12295 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
12296 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
12298 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
12299 regexp to match component groups.
12301 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
12302 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
12303 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
12304 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
12305 the virtual group.)
12307 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
12308 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
12311 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
12314 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
12315 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
12317 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
12318 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
12319 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
12320 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
12323 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
12326 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
12327 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
12328 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
12330 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
12331 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
12332 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
12333 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
12334 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
12336 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
12337 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
12338 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
12340 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
12341 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
12342 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
12343 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
12344 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
12345 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
12346 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
12347 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
12348 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
12349 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
12350 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
12352 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
12353 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
12354 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
12355 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
12356 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
12357 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
12358 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
12360 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
12361 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
12365 @node Kibozed Groups
12366 @subsection Kibozed Groups
12370 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
12371 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
12372 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
12373 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
12375 @kindex G k (Group)
12376 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
12379 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
12380 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
12381 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
12382 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
12384 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
12385 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
12386 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
12388 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
12389 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
12390 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
12391 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
12392 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
12393 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
12394 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
12395 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
12397 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
12398 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
12399 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
12400 Stranger things have happened.
12402 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
12403 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
12405 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
12406 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
12407 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
12408 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
12409 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
12410 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
12412 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
12413 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
12416 @node Gnus Unplugged
12417 @section Gnus Unplugged
12422 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
12424 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
12425 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
12426 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
12427 read news. Believe it or not.
12429 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
12430 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
12431 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
12432 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
12433 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
12435 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
12436 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
12437 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
12438 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
12439 reading news on a machine.
12441 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
12445 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
12446 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
12450 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
12451 @file{.gnus.el} file:
12458 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
12460 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
12463 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
12464 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
12465 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
12466 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
12467 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
12468 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
12469 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
12470 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
12471 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
12476 @subsection Agent Basics
12478 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
12480 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
12481 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
12482 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
12483 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
12485 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
12486 connected to the net continuously.
12488 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
12489 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
12491 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
12496 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
12497 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
12498 already fetched while in this mode.
12501 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
12502 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
12503 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
12506 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
12507 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
12508 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
12509 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
12512 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
12513 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
12514 then you read the news offline.
12517 And then you go to step 2.
12520 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
12526 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
12527 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
12528 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
12529 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
12530 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
12531 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
12534 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
12541 @node Agent Categories
12542 @subsection Agent Categories
12544 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
12545 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
12546 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
12547 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
12548 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
12549 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
12550 you're interested in the articles anyway.
12552 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
12553 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
12554 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
12555 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
12556 managing categories.
12559 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
12560 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
12561 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
12565 @node Category Syntax
12566 @subsubsection Category Syntax
12568 A category consists of two things.
12572 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
12573 are eligible for downloading; and
12576 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
12577 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
12578 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
12581 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
12582 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
12583 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
12584 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
12586 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
12587 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
12588 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
12590 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
12591 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
12592 operators sprinkled in between.
12594 Perhaps some examples are in order.
12596 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
12597 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
12603 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
12604 short (for some value of ``short'').
12606 Here's a more complex predicate:
12615 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
12616 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
12619 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
12620 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
12621 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
12623 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
12624 you want to do, you can write your own.
12628 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
12629 lines; default 100.
12632 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
12633 lines; default 200.
12636 True iff the article has a download score less than
12637 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
12640 True iff the article has a download score greater than
12641 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
12644 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
12645 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
12646 checksum and sees whether articles match.
12655 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
12656 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
12657 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
12660 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
12661 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
12662 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
12663 something along the lines of the following:
12666 (defun my-article-old-p ()
12667 "Say whether an article is old."
12668 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
12669 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
12672 with the predicate then defined as:
12675 (not my-article-old-p)
12678 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
12679 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
12680 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
12681 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
12684 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
12685 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
12686 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
12689 and simply specify your predicate as:
12695 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
12696 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
12697 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
12698 just don't give a damm.
12701 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
12702 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
12703 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
12704 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
12705 parameters like so:
12708 (agent-predicate . short)
12711 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category
12712 default. Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this,
12713 the @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair
12716 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
12719 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
12722 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
12723 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
12724 predicate is assumed to be a list.
12727 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
12728 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
12729 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
12730 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
12731 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
12732 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
12734 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
12735 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
12736 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
12737 if it's to be specific to that group.
12739 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
12746 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
12747 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
12753 Category specification
12757 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
12763 Group Parameter specification
12766 (agent-score ("from"
12767 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
12772 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
12778 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
12785 Category specification
12788 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
12794 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
12798 Group Parameter specification
12801 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
12804 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
12809 Use @code{normal} score files
12811 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
12812 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
12813 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
12814 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
12816 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
12817 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
12818 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
12819 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
12823 Category Specification
12830 Group Parameter specification
12833 (agent-score . file)
12838 @node The Category Buffer
12839 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
12841 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
12842 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
12843 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
12845 The following commands are available in this buffer:
12849 @kindex q (Category)
12850 @findex gnus-category-exit
12851 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
12854 @kindex k (Category)
12855 @findex gnus-category-kill
12856 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
12859 @kindex c (Category)
12860 @findex gnus-category-copy
12861 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
12864 @kindex a (Category)
12865 @findex gnus-category-add
12866 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
12869 @kindex p (Category)
12870 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
12871 Edit the predicate of the current category
12872 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
12875 @kindex g (Category)
12876 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
12877 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
12878 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
12881 @kindex s (Category)
12882 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
12883 Edit the download score rule of the current category
12884 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
12887 @kindex l (Category)
12888 @findex gnus-category-list
12889 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
12893 @node Category Variables
12894 @subsubsection Category Variables
12897 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
12898 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
12899 Hook run in category buffers.
12901 @item gnus-category-line-format
12902 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
12903 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
12904 Variables}). Valid elements are:
12908 The name of the category.
12911 The number of groups in the category.
12914 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
12915 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
12916 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
12918 @item gnus-agent-short-article
12919 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
12920 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
12922 @item gnus-agent-long-article
12923 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
12924 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
12926 @item gnus-agent-low-score
12927 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
12928 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
12931 @item gnus-agent-high-score
12932 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
12933 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
12939 @node Agent Commands
12940 @subsection Agent Commands
12942 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
12943 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
12944 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
12948 * Group Agent Commands::
12949 * Summary Agent Commands::
12950 * Server Agent Commands::
12953 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
12954 following incantation:
12956 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
12958 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
12963 @node Group Agent Commands
12964 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
12968 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
12969 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
12970 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
12971 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
12974 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
12975 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
12976 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
12979 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
12980 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
12981 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
12982 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
12985 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
12986 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
12987 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
12988 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
12991 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
12992 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
12993 Add the current group to an Agent category
12994 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
12995 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
12998 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
12999 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
13000 Remove the current group from its category, if any
13001 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
13002 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13007 @node Summary Agent Commands
13008 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
13012 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
13013 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
13014 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
13017 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
13018 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
13019 Remove the downloading mark from the article
13020 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
13023 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
13024 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
13025 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
13028 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
13029 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
13030 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
13035 @node Server Agent Commands
13036 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
13040 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
13041 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
13042 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
13043 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
13046 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
13047 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
13048 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
13049 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
13055 @subsection Agent Expiry
13057 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
13058 @findex gnus-agent-expire
13059 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
13060 @cindex Agent expiry
13061 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
13064 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
13065 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
13066 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
13067 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
13068 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
13069 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
13071 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
13072 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
13073 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
13074 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
13075 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
13078 @node Outgoing Messages
13079 @subsection Outgoing Messages
13081 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
13082 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
13083 after posting, and edit them at will.
13085 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
13086 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
13087 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
13088 messages in the draft group.
13092 @node Agent Variables
13093 @subsection Agent Variables
13096 @item gnus-agent-directory
13097 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
13098 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
13099 @file{~/News/agent/}.
13101 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
13102 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
13103 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
13104 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
13105 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
13108 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
13109 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
13110 Hook run when connecting to the network.
13112 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
13113 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
13114 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
13119 @node Example Setup
13120 @subsection Example Setup
13122 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
13123 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
13124 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
13127 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
13128 ;;; from your ISP's server.
13129 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
13131 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
13132 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
13133 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
13135 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
13136 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13138 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
13142 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
13143 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
13146 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
13147 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
13148 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
13149 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
13150 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
13153 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
13154 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
13155 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
13156 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
13157 back all the killed groups.)
13159 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
13160 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
13161 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
13164 @node Batching Agents
13165 @subsection Batching Agents
13167 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
13168 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
13169 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
13173 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
13177 @node Agent Caveats
13178 @subsection Agent Caveats
13180 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
13181 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
13185 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
13190 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
13191 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
13197 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
13198 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
13205 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
13206 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
13207 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
13210 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
13211 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
13212 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
13213 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
13214 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
13216 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
13217 before generating the summary buffer.
13219 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
13220 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
13221 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
13223 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
13224 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
13225 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
13226 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
13229 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
13230 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
13231 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
13232 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
13233 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
13234 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
13235 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
13236 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
13237 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
13238 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
13239 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
13240 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
13241 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
13242 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
13243 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
13244 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
13248 @node Summary Score Commands
13249 @section Summary Score Commands
13250 @cindex score commands
13252 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
13253 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
13254 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
13255 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
13256 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
13258 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
13259 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
13260 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
13261 score file the current one.
13263 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
13268 @kindex V s (Summary)
13269 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
13270 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
13273 @kindex V S (Summary)
13274 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
13275 Display the score of the current article
13276 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
13279 @kindex V t (Summary)
13280 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
13281 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
13282 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
13285 @kindex V R (Summary)
13286 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
13287 Run the current summary through the scoring process
13288 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
13289 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
13290 effect you're having.
13293 @kindex V c (Summary)
13294 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
13295 Make a different score file the current
13296 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
13299 @kindex V e (Summary)
13300 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
13301 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
13302 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
13306 @kindex V f (Summary)
13307 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
13308 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
13309 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
13312 @kindex V F (Summary)
13313 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
13314 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
13315 after editing score files.
13318 @kindex V C (Summary)
13319 @findex gnus-score-customize
13320 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
13321 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
13325 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
13330 @kindex V m (Summary)
13331 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
13332 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
13333 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
13336 @kindex V x (Summary)
13337 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
13338 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
13339 expunge all articles below this score
13340 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
13343 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
13344 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
13347 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
13348 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
13352 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
13353 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
13355 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
13356 keys are available:
13360 Score on the author name.
13363 Score on the subject line.
13366 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
13369 Score on the @code{References} line.
13375 Score on the number of lines.
13378 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
13381 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
13382 the followups to this author.
13396 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
13397 what headers you are scoring on.
13409 Substring matching.
13412 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
13441 Greater than number.
13446 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
13447 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
13448 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
13452 Temporary score entry.
13455 Permanent score entry.
13458 Immediately scoring.
13463 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
13464 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
13465 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
13466 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
13468 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
13469 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
13470 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
13471 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
13472 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
13474 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
13475 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
13476 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
13477 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
13478 current score file.
13480 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
13481 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
13482 pretend they are keymaps or not.
13485 @node Group Score Commands
13486 @section Group Score Commands
13487 @cindex group score commands
13489 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
13494 @kindex W f (Group)
13495 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
13496 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
13497 all the time. This command will flush the cache
13498 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
13502 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
13504 @findex gnus-batch-score
13505 @cindex batch scoring
13507 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
13511 @node Score Variables
13512 @section Score Variables
13513 @cindex score variables
13517 @item gnus-use-scoring
13518 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
13519 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
13520 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
13522 @item gnus-kill-killed
13523 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
13524 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
13525 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
13526 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
13527 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
13528 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
13529 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
13531 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
13532 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
13533 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
13534 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
13535 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
13537 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
13538 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
13539 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
13540 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
13542 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
13543 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
13544 @cindex score cache
13545 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
13546 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
13547 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
13548 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
13549 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
13550 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
13553 @item gnus-save-score
13554 @vindex gnus-save-score
13555 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
13556 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
13557 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
13559 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
13560 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
13561 across group visits.
13563 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
13564 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
13565 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
13566 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
13567 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
13568 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
13569 manually entered data.
13571 @item gnus-summary-default-score
13572 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
13573 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
13575 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
13576 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
13577 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
13578 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
13579 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
13580 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
13582 @item gnus-score-over-mark
13583 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
13584 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
13585 default. Default is @samp{+}.
13587 @item gnus-score-below-mark
13588 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
13589 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
13590 default. Default is @samp{-}.
13592 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
13593 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
13594 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
13595 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
13597 Predefined functions available are:
13600 @item gnus-score-find-single
13601 @findex gnus-score-find-single
13602 Only apply the group's own score file.
13604 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
13605 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
13606 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
13607 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
13608 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
13609 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
13610 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
13611 then a regexp match is done.
13613 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
13614 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
13616 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
13617 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
13618 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
13619 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
13621 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
13622 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
13623 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
13624 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
13625 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
13628 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
13629 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
13630 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
13631 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
13632 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
13633 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
13636 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
13637 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
13638 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
13639 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
13640 are expired. It's 7 by default.
13642 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
13643 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
13644 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
13645 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
13646 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
13647 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
13648 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
13651 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
13652 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
13653 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
13655 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
13656 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
13657 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
13658 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
13659 threading---according to the current value of
13660 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
13661 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
13662 simplified in this manner.
13667 @node Score File Format
13668 @section Score File Format
13669 @cindex score file format
13671 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
13672 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
13673 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
13675 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
13679 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
13681 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
13683 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
13685 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
13690 (mark-and-expunge -10)
13694 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
13695 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
13696 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
13697 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
13701 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
13702 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
13704 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
13705 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
13706 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
13708 Six keys are supported by this alist:
13713 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
13714 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
13715 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
13716 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
13717 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
13718 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
13719 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
13720 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
13721 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
13722 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
13723 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
13724 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
13725 to articles that matches these score entries.
13727 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
13728 score entry has one to four elements.
13732 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
13733 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
13737 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
13738 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
13739 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
13740 is successful. If this element is not present, the
13741 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
13742 instead. This is 1000 by default.
13745 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
13746 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
13747 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
13748 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
13749 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
13752 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
13753 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
13754 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
13755 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
13758 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
13759 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
13760 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
13761 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
13762 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
13763 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
13764 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
13765 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
13766 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
13767 instead, if you feel like.
13770 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
13771 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
13773 These predicates are true if
13776 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
13779 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
13780 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
13787 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
13788 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
13789 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
13790 it's not. I think.)
13792 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
13793 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
13794 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
13795 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
13798 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
13799 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
13800 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
13801 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
13802 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
13803 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
13804 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
13808 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
13809 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
13810 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
13811 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
13812 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
13813 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
13814 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
13815 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
13818 @item Head, Body, All
13819 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
13823 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
13824 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
13825 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
13826 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
13827 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
13828 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
13829 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
13833 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
13834 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
13835 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
13836 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
13837 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
13838 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
13839 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
13840 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
13841 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
13842 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
13846 @cindex Score File Atoms
13848 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
13849 lower than this number will be marked as read.
13852 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
13853 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
13855 @item mark-and-expunge
13856 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
13857 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
13860 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
13861 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
13862 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
13863 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
13864 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
13867 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
13868 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
13871 @item exclude-files
13872 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
13873 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
13877 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
13878 ignored when handling global score files.
13881 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
13882 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
13883 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
13884 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
13887 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
13888 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
13889 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
13890 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
13892 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
13896 (mark-and-expunge -100)
13899 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
13900 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
13901 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
13902 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
13903 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
13905 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
13906 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
13907 ordinary scoring rules.
13910 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
13911 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
13912 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
13913 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
13914 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
13915 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
13916 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
13917 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
13918 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
13919 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
13920 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
13924 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
13925 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
13926 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
13927 file for a number of groups.
13930 @cindex local variables
13931 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
13932 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
13933 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
13934 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
13935 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
13939 @node Score File Editing
13940 @section Score File Editing
13942 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
13943 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
13944 with a mode for that.
13946 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
13947 additional commands:
13952 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
13953 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
13954 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
13955 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
13958 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
13959 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
13960 Insert the current date in numerical format
13961 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
13962 you were wondering.
13965 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
13966 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
13967 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
13968 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
13969 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
13974 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
13976 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
13977 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
13979 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
13980 e} to begin editing score files.
13983 @node Adaptive Scoring
13984 @section Adaptive Scoring
13985 @cindex adaptive scoring
13987 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
13988 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
13989 stupidity, to be precise.
13991 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
13992 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
13993 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
13994 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
13995 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
13996 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
13997 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
13998 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
13999 variable to @code{(word line)}.
14001 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
14002 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
14003 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
14004 might look something like this:
14007 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
14008 '((gnus-unread-mark)
14009 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
14010 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
14011 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
14012 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
14013 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
14014 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
14015 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
14016 (gnus-ancient-mark)
14017 (gnus-low-score-mark)
14018 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
14021 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
14022 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
14023 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
14024 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
14025 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
14026 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
14029 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
14030 will be applied to each article.
14032 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
14033 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
14034 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
14035 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
14037 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
14038 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
14039 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
14040 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
14042 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
14043 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
14044 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
14045 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
14047 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
14048 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
14049 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
14050 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
14051 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
14052 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
14054 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
14055 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
14056 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
14057 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
14058 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
14059 aspirins afterwards.)
14061 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
14062 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
14063 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
14065 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
14066 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
14067 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
14069 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
14070 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
14071 let you use different rules in different groups.
14073 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
14074 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
14075 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
14078 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
14079 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
14080 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
14081 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
14082 the length of the match is less than
14083 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
14084 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
14087 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
14088 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
14089 headers. If you adapt on words, the
14090 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
14091 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
14094 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
14095 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
14096 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
14097 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
14098 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
14101 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
14102 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
14103 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
14104 score with 30 points.
14106 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
14107 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
14108 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
14109 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
14110 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
14112 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
14113 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
14114 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
14115 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
14117 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
14118 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
14119 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
14120 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
14122 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
14123 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
14124 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
14125 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
14126 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
14128 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
14129 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
14130 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
14132 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
14133 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
14134 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
14135 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
14138 @node Home Score File
14139 @section Home Score File
14141 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
14142 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
14143 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
14144 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
14146 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
14147 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
14148 could perhaps use the same home score file.
14150 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
14151 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
14156 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
14160 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
14161 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
14165 A list. The elements in this list can be:
14169 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
14170 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
14173 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
14174 the home score file.
14177 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
14180 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
14185 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
14188 (setq gnus-home-score-file
14189 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
14192 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
14193 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
14195 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
14197 (setq gnus-home-score-file
14198 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
14201 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
14202 Other functions include
14205 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
14206 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
14207 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
14208 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
14212 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
14213 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
14214 their own home score files:
14217 (setq gnus-home-score-file
14218 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
14219 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
14220 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
14221 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
14224 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
14225 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
14226 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
14227 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
14228 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
14230 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
14231 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
14232 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
14233 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
14234 precedence over this variable.
14237 @node Followups To Yourself
14238 @section Followups To Yourself
14240 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
14241 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
14242 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
14243 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
14244 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
14245 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
14249 @item gnus-score-followup-article
14250 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
14251 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
14254 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
14255 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
14256 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
14260 @vindex message-sent-hook
14261 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
14262 @code{message-sent-hook}.
14264 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
14265 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
14269 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
14270 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
14273 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
14274 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
14279 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
14283 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
14284 is system-dependent.
14288 @section Scoring Tips
14289 @cindex scoring tips
14295 @cindex scoring crossposts
14296 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
14297 the @code{Xref} header.
14299 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
14302 @item Multiple crossposts
14303 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
14304 more than, say, 3 groups:
14306 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
14309 @item Matching on the body
14310 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
14311 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
14312 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
14313 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
14314 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
14315 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
14316 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
14319 @item Marking as read
14320 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
14321 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
14322 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
14326 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
14328 @item Negated character classes
14329 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
14330 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
14331 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
14335 @node Reverse Scoring
14336 @section Reverse Scoring
14337 @cindex reverse scoring
14339 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
14340 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
14341 like this in your score file:
14345 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
14350 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
14351 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
14354 @node Global Score Files
14355 @section Global Score Files
14356 @cindex global score files
14358 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
14359 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
14360 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
14362 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
14363 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
14364 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
14366 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
14367 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
14368 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
14369 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
14370 files are applicable to which group.
14372 Say you want to use the score file
14373 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
14374 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
14377 (setq gnus-global-score-files
14378 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
14379 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
14382 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
14383 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
14384 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
14385 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
14386 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
14388 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
14389 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
14391 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
14392 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
14393 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
14394 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
14395 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
14396 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
14398 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
14404 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
14406 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
14408 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
14410 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
14411 lowered out of existence.
14413 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
14414 articles completely.
14417 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
14418 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
14419 old articles for a long time.
14422 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
14423 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
14424 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
14425 holding our breath yet?
14429 @section Kill Files
14432 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
14433 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
14434 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
14436 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
14437 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
14438 files into score files.
14440 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
14441 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
14442 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
14443 that isn't a very good idea.
14445 Normal kill files look like this:
14448 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14449 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
14453 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
14454 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
14456 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
14457 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
14460 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
14465 @kindex M-k (Summary)
14466 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
14467 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
14470 @kindex M-K (Summary)
14471 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
14472 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
14475 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
14480 @kindex M-k (Group)
14481 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
14482 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
14485 @kindex M-K (Group)
14486 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
14487 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
14490 Kill file variables:
14493 @item gnus-kill-file-name
14494 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
14495 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
14496 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
14497 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
14498 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
14499 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
14501 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
14502 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
14503 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
14504 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
14507 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
14508 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
14509 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
14510 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
14511 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
14512 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
14513 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
14514 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
14515 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
14517 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
14518 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
14519 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
14524 @node Converting Kill Files
14525 @section Converting Kill Files
14527 @cindex converting kill files
14529 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
14530 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
14531 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
14534 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
14535 You can fetch it from
14536 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
14538 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
14539 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
14540 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
14548 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
14549 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
14550 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
14552 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
14553 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
14554 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
14555 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
14556 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
14557 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
14558 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
14559 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
14563 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
14564 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
14565 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
14566 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
14570 @node Using GroupLens
14571 @subsection Using GroupLens
14573 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
14575 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
14576 better bit in town at the moment.
14578 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
14582 @item gnus-use-grouplens
14583 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
14584 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
14585 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
14587 @item grouplens-pseudonym
14588 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
14589 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
14590 with the Better Bit Bureau.
14592 @item grouplens-newsgroups
14593 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
14594 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
14598 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
14599 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
14600 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
14601 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
14602 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
14603 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
14606 @node Rating Articles
14607 @subsection Rating Articles
14609 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
14610 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
14611 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
14612 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
14615 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
14620 @kindex r (GroupLens)
14621 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
14622 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
14625 @kindex k (GroupLens)
14626 @findex grouplens-score-thread
14627 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
14628 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
14629 threads in rec.humor.
14633 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
14634 the score of the article you're reading.
14639 @kindex n (GroupLens)
14640 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
14641 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
14644 @kindex , (GroupLens)
14645 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
14646 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
14650 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
14651 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
14654 @node Displaying Predictions
14655 @subsection Displaying Predictions
14657 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
14658 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
14659 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
14660 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
14661 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
14663 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
14664 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
14665 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
14666 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
14667 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
14668 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
14669 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
14670 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
14671 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
14672 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
14673 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
14674 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
14675 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
14677 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
14678 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
14679 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
14680 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
14682 The following are valid values for that variable.
14685 @item prediction-spot
14686 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
14689 @item confidence-interval
14690 A numeric confidence interval.
14692 @item prediction-bar
14693 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
14695 @item confidence-bar
14696 Numerical confidence.
14698 @item confidence-spot
14699 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
14701 @item prediction-num
14702 Plain-old numeric value.
14704 @item confidence-plus-minus
14705 Prediction +/- confidence.
14710 @node GroupLens Variables
14711 @subsection GroupLens Variables
14715 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
14716 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
14717 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
14718 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
14721 @item grouplens-bbb-host
14722 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
14725 @item grouplens-bbb-port
14726 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
14728 @item grouplens-score-offset
14729 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
14730 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
14733 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
14734 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
14735 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
14740 @node Advanced Scoring
14741 @section Advanced Scoring
14743 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
14744 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
14745 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
14746 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
14747 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
14749 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
14753 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
14754 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
14755 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
14759 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
14760 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
14762 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
14763 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
14764 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
14765 non-@code{nil} value.
14767 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
14768 operator, and various match operators.
14775 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
14776 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
14777 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
14782 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
14783 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
14784 then this operator will return @code{false}.
14789 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
14790 logical negation of the value of its argument.
14794 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
14795 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
14796 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
14797 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
14798 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
14799 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
14800 the ancestry you want to go.
14802 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
14803 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
14804 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
14805 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
14806 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
14809 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
14810 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
14812 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
14813 when he's talking about Gnus:
14817 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14818 ("subject" "Gnus"))
14824 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
14828 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14835 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
14836 really don't want to read what he's written:
14840 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14841 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
14845 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
14846 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
14847 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
14854 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
14855 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
14856 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
14857 ("body" "white.*socks"))
14861 The possibilities are endless.
14864 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
14865 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
14867 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
14868 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
14869 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
14870 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
14871 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
14872 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
14873 @samp{subject}) first.
14875 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
14876 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
14887 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
14888 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
14894 ("subject" "Gnus")))
14901 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
14902 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
14907 @section Score Decays
14908 @cindex score decays
14911 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
14912 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
14913 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
14914 use them in any sensible way.
14916 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
14917 @findex gnus-decay-score
14918 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
14919 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
14920 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
14921 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
14922 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
14923 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
14924 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
14925 definition of that function:
14928 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
14930 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
14931 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
14934 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
14936 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
14938 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
14941 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
14942 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
14943 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
14944 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
14948 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
14951 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
14954 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
14958 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
14959 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
14960 the new score, which should be an integer.
14962 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
14963 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
14970 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
14971 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
14972 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
14973 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
14974 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
14975 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
14976 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
14977 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
14978 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
14979 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
14980 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
14981 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
14982 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
14983 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
14984 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
14985 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
14986 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
14987 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
14991 @node Process/Prefix
14992 @section Process/Prefix
14993 @cindex process/prefix convention
14995 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
14996 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
14998 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
14999 command to be performed on.
15003 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
15004 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
15005 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
15006 with the current one.
15008 @vindex transient-mark-mode
15009 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
15010 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
15012 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
15013 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
15016 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
15017 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
15019 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
15022 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
15023 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
15024 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
15025 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15027 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
15028 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
15029 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
15030 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
15031 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
15032 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
15033 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
15034 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
15038 @section Interactive
15039 @cindex interaction
15043 @item gnus-novice-user
15044 @vindex gnus-novice-user
15045 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
15046 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
15047 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
15048 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
15051 @item gnus-expert-user
15052 @vindex gnus-expert-user
15053 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
15054 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
15055 matter how strange.
15057 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
15058 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
15059 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
15060 is @code{t} by default.
15062 @item gnus-interactive-exit
15063 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
15064 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
15069 @node Symbolic Prefixes
15070 @section Symbolic Prefixes
15071 @cindex symbolic prefixes
15073 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
15074 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
15075 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
15076 rule of 900 to the current article.
15078 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
15079 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
15080 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
15081 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
15082 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
15083 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
15084 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
15086 @kindex M-i (Summary)
15087 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
15088 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
15089 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
15090 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
15091 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
15092 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
15093 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
15094 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
15096 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
15097 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
15098 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
15100 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
15104 @node Formatting Variables
15105 @section Formatting Variables
15106 @cindex formatting variables
15108 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
15109 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
15110 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
15111 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
15112 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
15115 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
15116 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
15117 lots of percentages everywhere.
15120 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
15121 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
15122 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
15123 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
15124 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
15127 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
15128 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
15129 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
15130 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
15131 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
15132 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
15133 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
15134 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
15136 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
15137 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
15139 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
15140 @findex gnus-update-format
15141 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
15142 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
15143 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
15144 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
15148 @node Formatting Basics
15149 @subsection Formatting Basics
15151 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
15152 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
15153 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
15155 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
15156 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
15157 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
15158 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
15159 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
15162 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
15163 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
15164 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
15165 less than 4 characters wide.
15168 @node Mode Line Formatting
15169 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
15171 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
15172 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
15173 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
15174 with the following two differences:
15179 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
15182 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
15183 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
15184 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
15185 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
15186 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
15187 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
15188 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
15193 @node Advanced Formatting
15194 @subsection Advanced Formatting
15196 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
15197 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
15198 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
15199 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
15201 These are the valid modifiers:
15206 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
15210 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
15215 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
15218 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
15223 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
15226 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
15229 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
15232 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
15236 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
15237 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
15238 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
15239 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
15240 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
15241 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
15242 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
15244 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
15245 last operation, padding.
15247 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
15248 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
15249 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
15250 @xref{Compilation}.
15253 @node User-Defined Specs
15254 @subsection User-Defined Specs
15256 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
15257 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
15258 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
15259 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
15260 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
15261 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
15262 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
15263 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
15264 should protect against that.
15266 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
15267 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
15268 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
15269 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
15273 @node Formatting Fonts
15274 @subsection Formatting Fonts
15276 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
15277 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
15278 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
15279 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
15282 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
15283 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
15284 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
15285 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
15286 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
15287 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
15289 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
15290 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say
15291 @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
15292 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
15293 symbols naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
15294 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
15295 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
15296 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
15298 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
15301 ;; Create three face types.
15302 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
15303 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
15305 ;; We want the article count to be in
15306 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
15307 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
15308 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
15310 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
15311 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
15313 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
15314 (setq gnus-group-line-format
15315 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
15318 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
15319 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
15321 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
15322 mode-line variables.
15325 @node Windows Configuration
15326 @section Windows Configuration
15327 @cindex windows configuration
15329 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
15331 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
15332 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
15333 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
15334 @code{t} by default.
15336 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
15337 glitches. Use at your own peril.
15339 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
15340 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
15341 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
15344 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
15345 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
15346 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
15350 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
15351 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
15352 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
15353 possible names is listed below.
15355 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
15356 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
15359 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
15363 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
15364 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
15365 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
15366 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
15367 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
15368 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
15369 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
15370 size spec per split.
15372 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
15373 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
15374 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
15375 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
15376 present) gets focus.
15378 Here's a more complicated example:
15381 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
15382 (summary 0.25 point)
15383 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
15387 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
15388 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
15389 occupy, not a percentage.
15391 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
15392 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
15393 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
15394 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
15395 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
15398 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
15401 (article (horizontal 1.0
15406 (summary 0.25 point)
15411 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
15412 @code{horizontal} thingie?
15414 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
15415 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
15416 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
15417 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
15418 the screen is to be given to this strip.
15420 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
15421 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
15422 lines from the splits.
15424 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
15428 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
15429 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
15430 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
15431 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
15432 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
15433 size = number | frame-params
15434 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
15437 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
15438 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
15439 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
15440 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
15442 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
15443 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
15444 @cindex window height
15445 @cindex window width
15446 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
15447 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
15448 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
15449 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
15450 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
15451 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
15453 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
15454 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
15455 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
15456 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
15458 @findex gnus-configure-frame
15459 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
15460 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
15461 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
15462 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
15463 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
15464 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
15465 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
15466 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
15467 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
15468 configuration list.
15471 (gnus-configure-frame
15475 (article 0.3 point))
15483 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
15484 @code{frame} split:
15487 (gnus-configure-frame
15490 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
15492 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
15493 (user-position . t)
15494 (left . -1) (top . 1))
15499 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
15500 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
15501 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
15502 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
15503 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
15504 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
15505 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
15506 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
15508 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
15509 be found in its default value.
15511 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
15512 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
15513 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
15517 (message (horizontal 1.0
15518 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
15520 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
15525 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
15526 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
15527 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
15530 (message (frame 1.0
15531 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
15532 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
15533 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
15534 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
15535 (name . "Message"))
15536 (message 1.0 point))))
15539 @findex gnus-add-configuration
15540 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
15541 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
15542 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
15543 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
15546 (gnus-add-configuration
15547 '(article (vertical 1.0
15549 (summary .25 point)
15553 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
15554 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
15555 Gnus has been loaded.
15557 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
15558 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
15559 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
15560 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
15561 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
15563 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
15564 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
15565 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
15569 @node Faces and Fonts
15570 @section Faces and Fonts
15575 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
15576 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
15577 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
15582 @section Compilation
15583 @cindex compilation
15584 @cindex byte-compilation
15586 @findex gnus-compile
15588 Remember all those line format specification variables?
15589 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
15590 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
15591 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
15592 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
15593 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
15596 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
15597 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
15598 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
15599 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
15600 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
15601 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
15602 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
15606 @section Mode Lines
15609 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
15610 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
15611 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
15612 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
15613 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
15614 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
15615 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
15618 @cindex display-time
15620 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
15621 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
15622 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
15623 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
15624 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
15625 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
15626 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
15627 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
15630 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
15632 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
15633 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
15635 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
15636 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
15637 (length display-time-string)))))
15640 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
15641 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
15642 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
15643 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
15644 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
15647 @node Highlighting and Menus
15648 @section Highlighting and Menus
15650 @cindex highlighting
15653 @vindex gnus-visual
15654 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
15655 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
15656 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
15659 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
15660 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
15663 @item group-highlight
15664 Do highlights in the group buffer.
15665 @item summary-highlight
15666 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
15667 @item article-highlight
15668 Do highlights in the article buffer.
15670 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
15672 Create menus in the group buffer.
15674 Create menus in the summary buffers.
15676 Create menus in the article buffer.
15678 Create menus in the browse buffer.
15680 Create menus in the server buffer.
15682 Create menus in the score buffers.
15684 Create menus in all buffers.
15687 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
15688 buffers, you could say something like:
15691 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
15694 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
15697 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
15700 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
15701 in all Gnus buffers.
15703 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
15706 @item gnus-mouse-face
15707 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
15708 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
15709 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
15713 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
15717 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
15718 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
15719 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
15721 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
15722 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
15723 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
15725 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
15726 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
15727 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
15729 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
15730 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
15731 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
15733 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
15734 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
15735 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
15737 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
15738 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
15739 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
15750 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
15751 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
15752 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
15753 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
15754 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
15758 @vindex gnus-carpal
15759 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
15760 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
15761 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
15766 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
15767 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
15768 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
15770 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
15771 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
15772 Face used on buttons.
15774 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
15775 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
15776 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
15778 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
15779 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
15780 Buttons in the group buffer.
15782 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
15783 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
15784 Buttons in the summary buffer.
15786 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
15787 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
15788 Buttons in the server buffer.
15790 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
15791 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
15792 Buttons in the browse buffer.
15795 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
15796 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
15797 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
15805 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
15806 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
15807 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
15808 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
15809 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
15811 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
15812 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
15813 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
15815 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
15816 been idle for thirty minutes:
15819 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
15822 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
15826 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
15829 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
15830 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
15831 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
15833 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
15834 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
15835 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
15836 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
15838 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
15839 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
15840 @var{idle} minutes.
15842 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
15843 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
15846 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
15847 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
15848 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
15850 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
15851 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
15852 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
15853 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
15855 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
15856 your @file{.gnus} file:
15858 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
15860 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
15863 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
15864 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
15865 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
15866 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
15867 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
15868 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
15869 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
15870 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
15871 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
15872 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
15873 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
15875 @findex gnus-demon-init
15876 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
15877 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
15878 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
15879 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
15880 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
15882 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
15883 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
15884 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
15893 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
15894 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
15896 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
15897 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
15898 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
15899 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
15902 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
15903 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
15904 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
15905 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
15907 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
15908 this will make spam disappear.
15910 There are some variables to customize, of course:
15913 @item gnus-use-nocem
15914 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
15915 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
15918 @item gnus-nocem-groups
15919 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
15920 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
15921 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
15922 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
15924 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
15925 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
15926 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
15927 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
15928 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
15929 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
15930 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
15932 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
15935 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
15936 @cindex Chris Lewis
15937 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
15938 usenet abuse than anybody else.
15941 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
15942 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
15943 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
15945 @item jem@@xpat.com;
15947 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
15950 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
15951 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
15952 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
15955 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
15956 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
15957 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
15958 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
15959 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
15960 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
15961 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
15962 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
15963 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
15964 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
15966 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
15967 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
15970 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
15973 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
15974 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
15977 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
15980 The specs are applied left-to-right.
15983 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
15984 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
15986 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
15987 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
15988 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
15989 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
15991 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
15992 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
15995 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
15997 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
16005 This might be dangerous, though.
16007 @item gnus-nocem-directory
16008 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
16009 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
16010 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
16012 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
16013 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
16014 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
16015 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
16016 might then see old spam.
16020 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
16021 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
16022 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
16023 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
16030 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
16031 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
16032 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
16034 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
16035 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
16036 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
16037 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
16038 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
16039 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
16040 @code{undo} function.
16042 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
16043 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
16044 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
16045 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
16046 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
16047 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
16048 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
16049 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
16050 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
16051 never be totally undoable.
16053 @findex gnus-undo-mode
16054 @vindex gnus-use-undo
16056 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
16057 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
16058 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
16059 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
16064 @section Moderation
16067 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
16068 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
16069 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
16072 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
16076 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
16079 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
16081 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
16086 You split your incoming mail by matching on
16087 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
16088 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
16091 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
16092 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
16095 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
16096 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
16100 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
16103 (setq gnus-moderated-list
16104 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
16108 @node XEmacs Enhancements
16109 @section XEmacs Enhancements
16112 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
16116 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
16117 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
16118 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
16119 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
16132 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
16133 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
16134 over your shoulder as you read news.
16137 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
16138 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
16139 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
16140 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
16141 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
16146 @subsubsection Picon Basics
16148 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
16157 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
16158 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
16159 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
16160 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
16161 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
16162 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
16163 @code{GIF} formats.
16166 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
16167 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
16168 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
16169 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
16170 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
16172 @vindex gnus-picons-database
16173 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
16174 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
16175 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
16176 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
16177 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
16180 @node Picon Requirements
16181 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
16183 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
16184 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
16187 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
16188 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
16189 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
16191 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
16192 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
16193 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
16194 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
16195 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
16199 @subsubsection Easy Picons
16201 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
16202 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
16205 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
16206 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
16209 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
16210 containing the Picons databases.
16212 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
16215 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
16216 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
16221 @subsubsection Hard Picons
16229 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
16230 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
16231 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
16232 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
16233 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
16238 @item gnus-picons-database
16239 @vindex gnus-picons-database
16240 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
16241 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
16242 subdirectories. This is only useful if
16243 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
16244 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
16246 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
16247 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
16248 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
16249 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
16250 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
16251 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
16252 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
16254 @item gnus-picons-display-where
16255 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
16256 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
16257 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
16258 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
16259 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
16260 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
16261 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
16263 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
16264 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
16265 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
16270 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
16271 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
16273 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
16274 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
16277 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
16279 @item gnus-article-display-picons
16280 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
16281 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
16282 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
16284 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
16285 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
16286 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
16292 @node Picon Useless Configuration
16293 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
16301 The following variables offer further control over how things are
16302 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
16303 don't need to worry about.
16307 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
16308 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
16309 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
16310 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
16312 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
16313 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
16314 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
16315 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
16317 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
16318 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
16319 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
16320 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
16321 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
16323 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
16324 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
16325 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
16326 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
16327 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
16328 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
16329 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
16331 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
16332 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
16333 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
16334 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
16336 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
16337 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
16338 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
16339 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
16340 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
16341 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
16342 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
16344 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
16345 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
16346 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
16347 Defaults to @code{nil}.
16349 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
16350 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
16351 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
16352 Defaults to @code{t}.
16354 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
16355 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
16356 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
16357 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
16359 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
16360 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
16361 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
16363 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
16364 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
16365 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
16366 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
16368 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
16369 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the defailt.
16371 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
16372 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
16373 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
16374 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
16375 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
16376 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
16377 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
16378 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
16389 @subsection Smileys
16394 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
16399 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
16400 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
16402 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
16403 @file{.gnus.el} file:
16406 (setq gnus-treat-display-smiley t)
16409 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
16410 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
16411 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
16412 text and maps that to file names.
16414 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
16415 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
16416 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
16417 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
16418 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
16419 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
16421 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
16422 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
16424 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
16425 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
16426 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
16428 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
16429 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
16433 @item smiley-data-directory
16434 @vindex smiley-data-directory
16435 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
16437 @item smiley-flesh-color
16438 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
16439 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
16441 @item smiley-features-color
16442 @vindex smiley-features-color
16443 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
16445 @item smiley-tongue-color
16446 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
16447 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
16449 @item smiley-circle-color
16450 @vindex smiley-circle-color
16451 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
16453 @item smiley-mouse-face
16454 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
16455 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
16461 @subsection Toolbar
16471 @item gnus-use-toolbar
16472 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
16473 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
16474 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
16475 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
16477 @item gnus-group-toolbar
16478 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
16479 The toolbar in the group buffer.
16481 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
16482 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
16483 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
16485 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
16486 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
16487 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
16493 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
16496 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
16497 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
16498 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
16499 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
16500 unusual directory structure.
16502 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
16503 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
16504 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
16505 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
16507 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
16508 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
16509 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
16510 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
16511 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
16512 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
16514 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
16515 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
16516 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
16530 @node Fuzzy Matching
16531 @section Fuzzy Matching
16532 @cindex fuzzy matching
16534 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
16535 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
16537 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
16538 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
16539 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
16541 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
16542 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
16543 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
16544 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
16545 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
16548 @node Thwarting Email Spam
16549 @section Thwarting Email Spam
16553 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
16555 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
16556 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
16557 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
16558 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
16559 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
16560 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
16561 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
16562 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
16565 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
16566 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
16567 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
16568 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
16569 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
16570 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
16574 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
16575 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
16577 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
16578 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
16579 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
16580 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
16581 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
16582 part of the mail address.)
16585 (setq message-default-news-headers
16586 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
16589 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
16590 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
16595 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
16596 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
16597 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
16603 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
16604 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
16605 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
16606 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
16608 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
16609 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
16610 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
16611 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
16612 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
16613 your fancy split rule in this way:
16618 (to "larsi" "misc")
16622 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
16623 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
16624 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
16625 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
16626 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
16628 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
16629 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
16630 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
16631 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
16632 cosmic balance somewhat.
16634 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
16635 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
16636 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
16637 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
16640 @node Various Various
16641 @section Various Various
16647 @item gnus-home-directory
16648 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
16649 defaults to @file{~/}.
16651 @item gnus-directory
16652 @vindex gnus-directory
16653 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
16654 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
16655 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
16657 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
16658 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
16659 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
16660 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
16662 @item gnus-default-directory
16663 @vindex gnus-default-directory
16664 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
16665 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
16666 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
16667 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16668 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
16669 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
16672 @vindex gnus-verbose
16673 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
16674 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
16675 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
16676 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
16677 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
16679 @item gnus-verbose-backends
16680 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
16681 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
16682 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
16684 @item nnheader-max-head-length
16685 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
16686 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
16687 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
16688 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
16689 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
16690 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
16691 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
16692 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
16693 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
16695 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
16696 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
16697 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
16698 read when doing the operation described above.
16700 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
16701 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
16703 @cindex invalid characters in file names
16704 @cindex characters in file names
16705 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
16706 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
16707 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
16710 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
16714 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
16715 Windows (phooey) systems.
16717 @item gnus-hidden-properties
16718 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
16719 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
16720 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
16721 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
16723 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
16724 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
16725 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
16726 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
16727 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
16729 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
16730 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
16731 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
16740 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
16741 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
16743 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
16745 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
16751 Not because of victories @*
16754 but for the common sunshine,@*
16756 the largess of the spring.
16760 but for the day's work done@*
16761 as well as I was able;@*
16762 not for a seat upon the dais@*
16763 but at the common table.@*
16768 @chapter Appendices
16771 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
16772 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
16773 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
16774 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
16775 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
16776 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
16777 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
16785 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
16786 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
16788 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
16789 can point your (feh!) web browser to
16790 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
16791 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
16792 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
16794 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
16795 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
16796 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
16797 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
16798 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
16799 appropriate name, don't you think?)
16801 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
16802 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
16803 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
16804 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
16806 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
16807 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
16808 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
16810 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
16811 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
16813 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
16814 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
16816 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37
16817 releases. If was released as ``Gnus 5.6 on March 8th 1998.
16819 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
16820 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
16821 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
16822 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
16823 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
16827 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
16828 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
16829 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
16830 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
16831 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
16832 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
16833 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
16834 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
16841 What's the point of Gnus?
16843 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
16844 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
16845 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
16846 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
16847 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
16848 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
16849 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
16850 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
16851 keep track of millions of people who post?
16853 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
16854 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
16855 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
16856 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
16857 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
16858 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
16859 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
16860 every one of you to explore and invent.
16862 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
16863 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
16866 @node Compatibility
16867 @subsection Compatibility
16869 @cindex compatibility
16870 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
16871 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
16872 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
16877 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
16881 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
16884 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
16887 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
16888 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
16889 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
16890 important variables have their values copied into their global
16891 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
16892 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
16894 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
16895 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
16896 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
16897 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
16898 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
16902 @cindex highlighting
16903 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
16904 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
16905 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
16906 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
16907 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
16908 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
16911 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
16912 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
16913 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
16914 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
16916 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
16917 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
16918 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
16919 to stop doing it the old way.
16921 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
16923 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
16925 @cindex reporting bugs
16927 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
16928 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
16929 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
16931 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
16932 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
16933 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
16934 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
16939 @subsection Conformity
16941 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
16942 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
16949 There are no known breaches of this standard.
16953 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
16955 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
16956 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
16957 We do have some breaches to this one.
16963 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
16964 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
16965 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
16966 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
16967 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
16972 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
16973 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
16974 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
16975 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
16979 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
16980 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
16985 @subsection Emacsen
16991 Gnus should work on :
16999 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
17003 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
17004 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
17007 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
17008 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
17009 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
17013 @node Gnus Development
17014 @subsection Gnus Development
17016 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
17017 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
17018 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
17019 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
17020 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
17021 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
17022 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
17023 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
17025 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
17026 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
17027 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
17028 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
17029 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
17032 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
17033 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
17034 In particular, @code{nnmail-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
17035 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
17036 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
17038 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
17039 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
17040 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
17041 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
17042 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
17043 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
17044 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
17045 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
17046 usually keep up with these rapid changes, whille people on the newsgroup
17047 can't be assumed to do so.
17052 @subsection Contributors
17053 @cindex contributors
17055 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
17056 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
17057 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
17058 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
17059 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
17060 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
17061 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
17062 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
17063 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
17064 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
17066 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
17072 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
17075 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
17076 well as numerous other things).
17079 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
17082 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
17085 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el and many other things
17086 connected with @sc{mime} and other types of en/decoding.
17089 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
17090 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
17093 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
17096 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
17097 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
17100 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
17103 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
17106 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
17109 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
17112 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
17113 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
17116 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
17119 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
17122 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
17125 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
17129 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
17132 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
17135 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
17138 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
17139 well as autoconf support.
17143 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
17144 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
17146 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
17155 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
17159 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
17169 Alexei V. Barantsev,
17184 Massimo Campostrini,
17189 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
17190 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
17194 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
17197 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
17203 Michael Welsh Duggan,
17208 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
17212 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
17220 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
17222 Michelangelo Grigni,
17226 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
17228 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
17230 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
17237 François Felix Ingrand,
17238 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
17239 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
17241 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
17252 Peter Skov Knudsen,
17253 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
17255 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
17256 Thor Kristoffersen,
17259 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
17277 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
17278 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
17285 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
17290 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
17294 John McClary Prevost,
17300 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
17305 Christian von Roques,
17308 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
17315 Philippe Schnoebelen,
17317 Randal L. Schwartz,
17332 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
17337 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
17353 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
17358 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
17359 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
17360 (550kB and counting).
17362 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
17365 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
17366 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
17370 @subsection New Features
17371 @cindex new features
17374 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
17375 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
17376 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
17377 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
17380 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
17381 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
17382 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
17386 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
17388 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
17393 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
17394 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
17397 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
17398 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
17401 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
17404 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
17405 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
17406 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
17409 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
17410 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
17411 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
17412 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
17415 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
17416 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
17419 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
17420 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
17421 (@pxref{The Active File}).
17424 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
17425 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
17428 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
17429 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
17430 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
17433 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
17434 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
17435 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
17438 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
17439 the @file{.emacs} file.
17442 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
17443 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17446 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
17447 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
17450 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
17451 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
17454 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
17455 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
17458 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
17459 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
17462 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
17465 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
17466 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
17469 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
17470 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
17473 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
17474 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
17477 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
17480 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
17481 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
17484 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
17488 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
17492 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
17493 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
17496 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
17502 @node September Gnus
17503 @subsubsection September Gnus
17507 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
17511 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
17516 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
17517 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
17521 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
17522 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
17526 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
17530 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
17531 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
17534 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
17538 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
17541 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
17544 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
17547 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
17551 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
17552 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
17555 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
17559 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
17563 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
17567 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
17571 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
17574 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
17575 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
17578 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
17582 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
17583 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
17586 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
17589 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
17590 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
17591 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
17594 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
17598 The Gnus cache is much faster.
17601 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
17605 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
17606 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
17609 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
17610 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
17613 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
17614 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
17617 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
17618 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
17619 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
17622 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
17623 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
17626 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
17629 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
17632 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
17635 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
17638 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
17639 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
17642 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
17646 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
17649 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
17654 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
17657 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
17661 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
17664 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
17668 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
17671 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
17674 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
17675 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
17678 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
17679 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
17683 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
17684 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
17687 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
17691 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
17692 buffer to allow easier treatment.
17695 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
17698 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
17702 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
17706 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
17707 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
17710 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
17714 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
17715 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
17718 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
17719 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
17722 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
17726 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
17729 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
17732 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
17738 @subsubsection Red Gnus
17740 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
17744 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
17751 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
17754 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
17755 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
17758 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
17759 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
17763 Article washing status can be displayed in the
17764 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
17767 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
17770 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
17771 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
17774 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
17778 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
17779 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
17783 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
17784 Server Internals}).
17787 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
17791 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
17794 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
17795 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
17798 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
17799 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
17800 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
17803 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
17804 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
17807 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
17808 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
17811 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
17815 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
17816 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
17819 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
17820 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
17823 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
17827 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
17830 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
17834 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
17835 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
17838 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
17839 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
17842 A new command for reading collections of documents
17843 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
17844 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
17847 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
17851 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
17852 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
17855 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
17856 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
17857 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
17860 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
17861 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
17865 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
17869 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
17873 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
17878 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
17882 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
17886 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
17887 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
17890 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
17896 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
17898 New features in Gnus 5.6:
17903 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
17904 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
17905 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
17908 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
17909 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
17910 group, which is created automatically.
17913 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
17917 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
17920 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
17921 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
17924 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
17928 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
17931 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
17932 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
17935 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
17938 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
17939 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
17942 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
17943 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
17946 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
17947 control over simplification.
17950 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
17953 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
17957 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
17960 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
17963 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
17964 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
17965 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
17968 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
17969 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
17972 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
17976 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
17977 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
17980 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
17981 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
17984 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
17988 A history of where mails have been split is available.
17991 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
17994 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
17995 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
17998 A new function for citing in Message has been
17999 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
18002 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
18005 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
18009 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
18010 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
18013 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
18014 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
18017 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
18020 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
18025 @node Newest Features
18026 @subsection Newest Features
18029 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
18032 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
18034 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
18035 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
18038 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
18043 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
18044 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
18047 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
18050 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
18053 facep is not declared.
18056 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
18057 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
18060 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
18065 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
18066 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
18067 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
18068 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
18069 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
18070 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
18071 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
18076 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
18079 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
18082 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
18084 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
18085 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
18087 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
18089 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
18091 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
18092 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
18094 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
18096 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
18097 be marked as unread.
18099 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
18101 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
18103 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
18104 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
18106 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
18108 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
18110 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
18111 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
18113 topics that contain just groups with ticked
18114 articles aren't displayed.
18116 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
18118 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
18119 make the mail groups killed.
18121 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
18123 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
18124 and articles have to be removed.
18126 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
18129 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
18131 finding short score file names takes forever.
18133 canceling articles in foreign groups.
18135 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
18137 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
18139 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
18141 nnweb doesn't work properly.
18143 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
18145 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
18146 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
18150 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
18152 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
18153 bar and the Gnus bar.
18156 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
18157 `(canonize-message-id id)'
18158 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
18159 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
18160 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
18161 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
18166 nnml .overview directory with splits.
18170 postponed commands.
18172 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
18174 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
18177 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
18178 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
18180 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
18181 inherit copy prompts and save files.
18183 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
18185 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
18186 for backends that support that.
18188 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
18190 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
18191 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
18193 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
18194 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
18196 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
18198 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
18200 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
18202 server mode command: close/open all connections
18204 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
18205 has been changed before using it.
18207 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
18209 hide (sub)threads with low score.
18211 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
18213 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
18215 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
18216 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
18218 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
18219 contain groups that match a regexp.
18221 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
18224 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
18227 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
18228 from subject lines.
18230 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
18232 nntp-ping-before-connect
18234 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
18236 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
18237 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
18239 message annotations.
18241 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
18243 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
18244 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
18246 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
18251 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
18253 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
18255 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
18257 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
18258 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
18260 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
18262 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
18264 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
18265 finds and generate proper active ranges.
18267 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
18268 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
18270 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
18272 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
18274 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
18275 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
18277 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
18279 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
18281 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
18282 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
18285 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
18287 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
18289 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
18290 `C-c C-c' when posting.
18292 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
18295 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
18296 should be marker as expirable.
18298 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
18300 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
18301 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
18303 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
18304 Also consult Date headers.
18306 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
18308 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
18310 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
18311 Message-ID, delete the "original".
18313 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
18314 into a See-Also header.
18316 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
18318 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
18320 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
18321 should be listed as such and not as "K".
18323 generate font names dynamically.
18325 score file mode auto-alist.
18327 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
18328 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
18330 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
18331 absolutely all headers there is.
18333 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
18334 and pipe them to the process.
18336 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
18337 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
18338 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
18340 function for starting to edit a file to put into
18341 the current mail group.
18343 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
18345 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
18346 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
18348 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
18349 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
18351 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
18353 when replying to several process-marked articles,
18354 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
18356 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
18357 groups it has been mailed to.
18359 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
18361 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
18363 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
18365 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
18366 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
18368 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
18369 newlines) should be ignored.
18371 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
18372 groups in subtopics as well.
18374 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
18376 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
18379 add edit and forward secondary marks.
18381 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
18383 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
18385 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
18387 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
18389 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
18391 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
18392 or the formatted article.
18394 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
18396 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
18397 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
18399 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
18401 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
18403 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
18405 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
18406 even unread articles.
18408 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
18410 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
18412 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
18414 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
18416 canceling articles in foreign groups.
18418 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
18421 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
18422 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
18424 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
18425 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
18427 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
18429 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
18431 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
18432 from a particular server? Hm.
18434 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
18435 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
18437 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
18439 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
18440 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
18442 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
18443 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
18445 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
18446 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
18447 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
18450 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
18451 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
18453 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
18455 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
18457 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
18459 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
18462 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
18465 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
18466 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
18468 command to show and edit group scores
18470 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
18473 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
18475 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
18477 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
18478 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
18481 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
18482 that are of that length.
18484 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
18486 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
18488 asynchronous posting under nntp.
18490 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
18492 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
18494 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
18496 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
18497 a score lower than this number.
18499 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
18501 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
18503 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
18504 so that each copy can be edited separately.
18506 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
18508 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
18509 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
18511 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
18514 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
18515 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
18516 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
18517 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
18519 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
18522 command to remove all topic stuff.
18524 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
18525 and splitting the resulting digests.
18527 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
18529 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
18531 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
18532 matches an alist -- before saving.
18534 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
18536 variable to activate each group before entering them
18537 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
18539 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
18540 starting Gnus first if necessary.
18542 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
18543 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
18545 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
18547 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
18548 of several groups at once.
18550 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
18551 matches some regexp(s).
18553 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
18555 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
18557 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
18559 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
18561 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
18563 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
18565 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
18567 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
18568 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
18569 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
18570 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
18572 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
18573 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
18575 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
18577 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
18578 recently cited text.
18580 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
18582 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
18585 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
18586 server and just read the articles in the server
18588 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
18589 value of nnoo variables.
18591 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
18593 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
18594 listed in each group info.
18596 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
18599 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
18600 should only be applied to some groups.
18602 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
18603 mail-copies-to: never.
18605 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
18606 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
18608 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
18610 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
18613 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
18616 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
18618 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
18621 group user-defined meta-parameters.
18625 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
18627 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
18628 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
18629 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
18630 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
18631 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
18633 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
18634 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
18641 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
18642 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
18644 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
18645 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
18647 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
18648 "Return the date the group was last read."
18649 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
18654 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
18655 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
18656 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
18657 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
18661 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
18662 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
18664 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
18667 They could be used like this:
18671 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
18672 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
18673 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
18675 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
18677 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
18680 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
18683 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
18684 affect the summary line format.
18688 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
18690 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
18691 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
18693 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
18696 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
18698 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
18700 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
18702 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
18704 - For other files, just find them normally.
18706 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
18707 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
18710 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
18711 tell him what you are doing.
18714 Currently, I get prompted:
18718 decend into sci.something ?
18722 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
18723 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
18724 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
18725 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
18728 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
18729 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
18730 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
18731 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
18734 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
18735 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
18741 more than n blank lines
18743 more than m identical lines
18744 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
18746 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
18750 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
18751 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
18752 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
18753 "same" subject for threading purposes.
18756 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
18757 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
18758 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
18759 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
18762 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
18765 soup - bowl of soup
18766 score below - dim light bulb
18767 score over - bright light bulb
18770 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
18775 show-list-of-articles-in-group
18776 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
18777 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
18778 if (articles-selected)
18779 start-reading-selected-articles;
18780 junk-unread-articles;
18785 else if (key-pressed = '.')
18786 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
18787 select-thread-under-cursor;
18789 select-article-under-cursor;
18793 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
18794 if (more-pages-in-article)
18796 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
18803 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
18804 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
18805 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
18808 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
18809 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
18810 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
18811 the wildcard expression).
18814 It would be nice if it also handled
18816 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
18818 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
18823 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
18824 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
18825 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
18826 article versions) variable.
18828 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
18830 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
18831 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
18835 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
18838 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
18839 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
18840 (message-sent-hook).
18842 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
18845 * Enhancements to Gnus:
18849 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
18850 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
18853 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
18854 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
18855 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
18858 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
18859 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
18863 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
18866 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
18870 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
18871 the nnmail duplicate checking.
18874 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
18875 value of the signature file.
18878 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
18879 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
18882 (setq message-tab-alist
18883 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
18884 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
18886 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
18890 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
18893 a command to import a buffer into a group.
18896 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
18899 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
18900 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
18903 a command to process mark all unread articles.
18906 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
18907 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
18908 do more gathering by subject.
18911 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
18912 article numerical order.
18915 (gnus-thread-total-score
18916 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
18920 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
18923 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
18924 in the summary buffer.
18927 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
18928 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
18931 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
18932 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
18933 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
18934 and/or newsgroup name.
18937 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
18940 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
18943 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
18946 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
18947 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
18948 will automatically get the process mark.
18951 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
18952 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
18953 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
18956 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
18960 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
18961 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
18964 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
18965 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
18969 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
18970 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
18973 be able to post via DejaNews.
18976 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
18979 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
18980 allow them to be displayed separately.
18983 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
18984 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
18987 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
18988 articles that match a certain From header.
18991 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
18992 saving living summary buffers.
18995 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
18996 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
18999 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
19000 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
19003 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
19004 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
19007 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
19008 (goto-char (point-min))
19009 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
19010 (replace-match "`" t t))
19011 (goto-char (point-min))
19012 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
19013 (replace-match "'" t t))
19014 (goto-char (point-min))
19015 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
19016 (replace-match "\"" t t))
19017 (goto-char (point-min))
19018 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
19019 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
19024 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
19026 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
19027 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
19028 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
19029 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
19033 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
19036 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
19037 numbers and match on the age of the article.
19041 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
19042 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
19043 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
19045 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
19046 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
19048 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
19049 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
19054 all commands that react to the process mark should push
19055 the current process mark set onto the stack.
19058 gnus-article-hide-pgp
19059 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
19061 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
19063 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
19064 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
19067 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
19068 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
19071 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
19075 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
19076 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
19079 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
19082 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
19085 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
19088 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
19092 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
19098 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
19101 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
19105 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
19106 X characters in the body.
19109 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
19112 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
19115 format spec to "tab" to a position.
19118 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
19121 command to display all dormant articles.
19124 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
19127 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
19128 to something someone else has said.
19131 Read Netscape discussion groups:
19132 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
19135 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
19136 the displayed version.
19139 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
19143 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
19146 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
19147 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
19148 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
19152 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
19153 in the head or body.
19156 Allow breaking lengthy NNTP commands.
19159 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
19162 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
19163 in a special, unique buffer.
19166 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
19169 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
19170 is less than a certain number of days old.
19173 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
19176 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
19179 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
19180 file, for instance.
19183 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
19184 in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
19185 dummy root instead of the first article.
19188 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
19189 topics for displaying.
19192 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
19193 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
19196 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
19199 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
19200 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
19201 summary buffer for each article.
19204 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
19207 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
19211 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
19214 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
19218 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
19221 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
19224 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
19225 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
19228 `S D r' should allow expansion of aliases.
19231 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
19232 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
19235 Fetch by Message-ID from dejanews.
19237 <URL:http://search.dejanews.com/msgid.xp?MID=%3C62h9l9$hm4@@basement.replay.com%3E&fmt=raw>
19240 A spec for the group line format to display the number of
19241 agent-downloaded articles in the group.
19244 Some nntp servers never respond when posting, so there should be a
19245 timeout for all commands.
19248 When stading on a topic line and `t'-ing, point goes to the last line.
19249 It should go somewhere else.
19252 I'm having trouble accessing a newsgroup with a "+" in its name with
19253 Gnus. There is a new newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com named
19254 "microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time" that I'm trying to
19256 "nntp+msnews.microsoft.com:microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time"
19257 but it gives an error that it cant access the group.
19259 Is the "+" character illegal in newsgroup names? Is there any way in
19260 Gnus to work around this? (gnus 5.6.45 - XEmacs 20.4)
19267 Subject: Answer to your mails 01.01.1999-01.05.1999
19268 --text follows this line--
19269 Sorry I killfiled you...
19271 Under the subject "foo", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
19273 Under the subject "foo1", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
19278 Allow "orphan" scores in the Agent scoring.
19282 - Edit article's summary line.
19284 - Sort lines in buffer by subject
19286 --> the old subject line appears in Summary buffer, not the one that was
19291 Solve the halting problem.
19300 @section The Manual
19304 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
19305 either @code{texi2dvi}
19307 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
19308 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
19310 to get what you hold in your hands now.
19312 The following conventions have been used:
19317 This is a @samp{string}
19320 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
19323 This is a @file{file}
19326 This is a @code{symbol}
19330 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
19334 (setq flargnoze "yes")
19337 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
19340 (setq flumphel 'yes)
19343 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
19344 ever get them confused.
19348 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
19349 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
19350 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
19351 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
19352 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
19353 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
19354 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
19362 @section Terminology
19364 @cindex terminology
19369 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
19370 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
19371 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
19372 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
19373 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
19377 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
19378 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
19379 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
19380 not posting, and replying is not following up.
19384 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
19388 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
19393 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
19394 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
19395 is all done by the backends.
19399 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
19400 default, way of getting news.
19404 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
19405 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
19410 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
19411 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
19415 A message that has been posted as news.
19418 @cindex mail message
19419 A message that has been mailed.
19423 A mail message or news article
19427 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
19432 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
19437 A line from the head of an article.
19441 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
19442 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
19446 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
19447 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
19448 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
19449 normal @sc{head} format.
19453 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
19454 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
19455 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
19456 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
19457 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
19458 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
19460 @item killed groups
19461 @cindex killed groups
19462 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
19463 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
19465 @item zombie groups
19466 @cindex zombie groups
19467 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
19470 @cindex active file
19471 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
19472 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
19473 is rather large, as you might surmise.
19476 @cindex bogus groups
19477 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
19478 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
19479 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
19482 @cindex activating groups
19483 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
19484 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
19485 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
19489 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
19491 @item select method
19492 @cindex select method
19493 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
19496 @item virtual server
19497 @cindex virtual server
19498 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
19499 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
19500 whole is a virtual server.
19504 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
19505 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
19508 @item ephemeral groups
19509 @cindex ephemeral groups
19510 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
19511 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
19512 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
19515 @cindex solid groups
19516 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
19517 group buffer are solid groups.
19519 @item sparse articles
19520 @cindex sparse articles
19521 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
19522 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
19526 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
19527 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
19531 @cindex thread root
19532 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
19533 articles in the thread.
19537 An article that has responses.
19541 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
19545 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
19546 specified by RFC1153.
19552 @node Customization
19553 @section Customization
19554 @cindex general customization
19556 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
19557 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
19558 for some quite common situations.
19561 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
19562 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
19563 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
19564 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
19568 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
19569 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
19571 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
19572 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
19573 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
19577 @item gnus-read-active-file
19578 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
19579 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
19580 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
19581 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
19582 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
19584 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
19585 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
19586 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
19587 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
19591 @node Slow Terminal Connection
19592 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
19594 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
19595 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
19596 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
19600 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
19601 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
19602 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
19603 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
19604 horizontal and vertical recentering.
19606 @item gnus-visible-headers
19607 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
19608 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
19609 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
19610 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
19612 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
19614 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
19615 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
19616 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
19619 @item gnus-use-full-window
19620 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
19621 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
19622 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
19623 want to read them anyway.
19625 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
19626 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
19629 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
19630 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
19631 lines, which might save some time.
19635 @node Little Disk Space
19636 @subsection Little Disk Space
19639 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
19640 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
19644 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
19645 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
19646 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
19647 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19650 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
19651 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
19652 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
19653 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19656 @item gnus-save-killed-list
19657 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
19658 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
19659 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
19660 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
19666 @subsection Slow Machine
19667 @cindex slow machine
19669 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
19670 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
19672 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
19673 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
19675 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
19676 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
19677 summary buffer faster.
19681 @node Troubleshooting
19682 @section Troubleshooting
19683 @cindex troubleshooting
19685 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
19693 Make sure your computer is switched on.
19696 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
19697 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
19701 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
19702 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
19703 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
19704 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
19707 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
19711 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
19712 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
19713 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
19714 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
19715 something like that.
19718 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
19721 @cindex reporting bugs
19723 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
19725 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
19726 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
19727 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
19728 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
19730 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
19731 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
19732 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
19733 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
19736 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
19737 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
19738 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
19739 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
19740 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
19741 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
19743 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
19744 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
19745 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
19748 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
19749 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
19751 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
19752 @cindex ding mailing list
19753 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
19754 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
19758 @node Gnus Reference Guide
19759 @section Gnus Reference Guide
19761 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
19762 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
19763 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
19764 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
19767 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
19768 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
19769 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
19770 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
19771 and general methods of operation.
19774 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
19775 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
19776 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
19777 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
19778 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
19779 * Group Info:: The group info format.
19780 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
19781 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
19782 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
19786 @node Gnus Utility Functions
19787 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
19788 @cindex Gnus utility functions
19789 @cindex utility functions
19791 @cindex internal variables
19793 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
19794 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
19795 Below is a list of the most common ones.
19799 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
19800 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
19801 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
19803 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
19804 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
19805 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
19807 @item gnus-group-real-name
19808 @findex gnus-group-real-name
19809 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
19812 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
19813 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
19814 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
19815 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
19817 @item gnus-get-info
19818 @findex gnus-get-info
19819 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
19821 @item gnus-group-unread
19822 @findex gnus-group-unread
19823 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
19827 @findex gnus-active
19828 The active entry for @var{group}.
19830 @item gnus-set-active
19831 @findex gnus-set-active
19832 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
19834 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
19835 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
19836 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
19839 @item gnus-continuum-version
19840 @findex gnus-continuum-version
19841 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
19842 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
19845 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
19846 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
19847 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
19849 @item gnus-news-group-p
19850 @findex gnus-news-group-p
19851 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
19853 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
19854 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
19855 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
19857 @item gnus-server-to-method
19858 @findex gnus-server-to-method
19859 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
19861 @item gnus-server-equal
19862 @findex gnus-server-equal
19863 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
19865 @item gnus-group-native-p
19866 @findex gnus-group-native-p
19867 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
19869 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
19870 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
19871 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
19873 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
19874 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
19875 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
19877 @item group-group-find-parameter
19878 @findex group-group-find-parameter
19879 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
19880 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
19882 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
19883 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
19884 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
19886 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
19887 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
19888 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
19890 @item gnus-check-backend-function
19891 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
19892 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
19893 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
19896 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
19900 @item gnus-read-method
19901 @findex gnus-read-method
19902 Prompts the user for a select method.
19907 @node Backend Interface
19908 @subsection Backend Interface
19910 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
19911 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
19912 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
19913 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
19914 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
19915 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
19917 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
19918 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
19919 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
19920 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
19921 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
19922 been opened, the function should fail.
19924 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
19925 name. Take this example:
19929 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
19930 (nntp-port-number 4324))
19933 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
19934 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
19936 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
19937 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
19938 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
19940 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
19941 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
19942 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
19944 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
19945 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
19946 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
19947 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
19948 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
19949 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
19952 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
19953 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
19954 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
19955 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
19958 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
19961 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
19964 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
19965 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
19966 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
19967 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
19968 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
19969 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
19973 @node Required Backend Functions
19974 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
19978 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
19980 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
19981 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
19982 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
19983 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
19985 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
19986 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
19987 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
19988 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
19990 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
19991 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
19992 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
19993 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
19994 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
19995 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
19996 number, do maximum fetches.
19998 Here's an example HEAD:
20001 221 1056 Article retrieved.
20002 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
20003 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
20004 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
20005 Subject: Re: Something very droll
20006 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
20007 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
20009 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
20010 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
20011 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
20015 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
20016 these in the data buffer.
20018 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
20022 head = error / valid-head
20023 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
20024 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
20025 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
20026 header = <text> eol
20029 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
20030 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
20034 nov-buffer = *nov-line
20035 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
20036 field = <text except TAB>
20039 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
20043 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
20045 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
20046 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
20048 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
20049 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
20050 server. In fact, it should do so.
20052 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
20053 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
20056 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
20058 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
20059 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
20062 There should be no data returned.
20065 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
20067 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
20068 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
20069 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
20070 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
20072 There should be no data returned.
20075 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
20077 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
20078 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
20079 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
20080 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
20082 There should be no data returned.
20085 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
20087 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
20089 There should be no data returned.
20092 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
20094 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
20095 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
20096 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
20097 it would be nice if that were possible.
20099 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
20100 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
20101 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
20102 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
20103 into its article buffer.
20105 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
20106 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
20107 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
20108 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
20109 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
20110 on successful article retrieval.
20113 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
20115 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
20116 making @var{group} the current group.
20118 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
20121 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
20124 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
20127 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
20128 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
20129 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
20130 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
20131 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
20132 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
20133 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
20134 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
20137 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
20138 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
20139 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
20143 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
20145 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
20146 a no-op on most backends.
20148 There should be no data returned.
20151 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
20153 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
20156 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
20159 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
20160 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
20163 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
20164 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
20167 active-file = *active-line
20168 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
20170 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
20173 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
20174 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
20175 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
20178 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
20180 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
20181 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
20182 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
20183 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
20184 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
20185 clear if the posting could not be completed.
20187 There should be no result data from this function.
20192 @node Optional Backend Functions
20193 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
20197 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
20199 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
20200 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
20201 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
20203 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
20204 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
20205 former is in the same format as the data from
20206 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
20207 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
20210 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
20214 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
20216 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
20217 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
20218 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
20219 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
20220 should return the (altered) group info.
20222 There should be no result data from this function.
20225 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
20227 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
20228 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
20229 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
20230 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
20231 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
20232 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
20233 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
20234 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
20236 There should be no result data from this function.
20239 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
20241 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
20242 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
20243 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as IMAP) however carry all
20244 information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to propagate
20245 the mark information to the server.
20247 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
20250 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
20253 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
20254 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
20255 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
20256 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
20257 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a
20258 symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
20259 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
20260 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
20261 not limit itself to theese.
20263 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
20264 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
20265 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
20266 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
20268 An example action list:
20271 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
20272 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
20273 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
20276 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
20277 mark on (currently not used for anything).
20279 There should be no result data from this function.
20281 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
20283 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
20284 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
20285 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
20286 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
20287 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
20289 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
20290 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
20291 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
20294 There should be no result data from this function.
20297 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
20299 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
20300 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
20301 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
20302 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
20303 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
20304 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
20305 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
20307 There should be no result data from this function.
20310 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
20312 The result data from this function should be a description of
20316 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
20318 description = <text>
20321 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
20323 The result data from this function should be the description of all
20324 groups available on the server.
20327 description-buffer = *description-line
20331 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
20333 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
20334 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
20335 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
20338 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
20340 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
20342 There should be no return data.
20345 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
20347 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
20348 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
20349 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
20350 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
20351 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
20354 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
20357 There should be no result data returned.
20360 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
20363 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
20364 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
20366 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
20367 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
20368 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
20369 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
20370 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
20371 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
20373 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
20374 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
20377 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
20378 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
20380 There should be no data returned.
20383 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
20385 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
20386 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
20387 this function in short order.
20389 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
20390 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
20392 There should be no data returned.
20395 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
20397 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
20398 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
20400 There should be no data returned.
20403 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
20405 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
20406 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
20407 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
20409 There should be no data returned.
20412 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
20414 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
20415 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
20417 There should be no data returned.
20422 @node Error Messaging
20423 @subsubsection Error Messaging
20425 @findex nnheader-report
20426 @findex nnheader-get-report
20427 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
20428 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
20429 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
20430 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
20431 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
20432 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
20435 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
20437 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
20440 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
20441 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
20442 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
20443 takes one argument---the server symbol.
20445 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
20446 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
20447 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
20450 @node Writing New Backends
20451 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
20453 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
20454 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
20455 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
20456 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
20457 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
20460 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
20461 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
20462 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
20464 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
20465 package called @code{nnoo}.
20467 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
20468 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
20474 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
20475 parameters. For instance:
20478 (nnoo-declare nndir
20482 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
20483 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
20486 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
20487 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
20488 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
20490 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
20491 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
20492 a function in those backends.
20495 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
20496 "Where nndir will look for groups."
20497 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
20500 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
20501 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
20502 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
20504 @item nnoo-define-basics
20505 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
20509 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
20513 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
20514 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
20515 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
20517 @item nnoo-map-functions
20518 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
20519 functions from the parent backends.
20522 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
20523 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
20524 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
20527 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
20528 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
20529 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
20530 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
20533 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
20534 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
20535 haven't already been defined.
20541 nnmh-request-newgroups)
20545 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
20546 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
20547 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
20552 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
20555 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
20556 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
20560 (require 'nnheader)
20564 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
20566 (nnoo-declare nndir
20569 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
20570 "Where nndir will look for groups."
20571 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
20573 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
20574 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
20577 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
20578 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
20579 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
20581 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
20582 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
20584 ;;; Interface functions.
20586 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
20588 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
20589 (setq nndir-directory
20590 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
20592 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
20593 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
20594 (push `(nndir-current-group
20595 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
20597 (push `(nndir-top-directory
20598 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
20600 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
20602 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
20603 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
20604 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
20605 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
20606 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
20610 nnmh-status-message
20612 nnmh-request-newgroups))
20618 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
20619 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
20621 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
20622 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
20623 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
20624 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
20626 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
20627 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
20632 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
20635 The abilities can be:
20639 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
20641 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
20643 This backend supports both mail and news.
20645 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
20648 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
20649 articles and groups.
20651 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
20652 true for almost all backends.
20653 @item prompt-address
20654 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
20655 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
20656 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
20660 @node Mail-like Backends
20661 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
20663 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
20664 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
20665 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
20666 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
20669 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
20670 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
20671 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
20674 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
20675 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
20678 This function takes four parameters.
20682 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
20685 @item exit-function
20686 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
20688 @item temp-directory
20689 Where the temporary files should be stored.
20692 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
20693 performed for one group only.
20696 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
20697 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
20698 find the article number assigned to this article.
20700 The function also uses the following variables:
20701 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
20702 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
20703 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
20704 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
20708 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
20709 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
20713 @node Score File Syntax
20714 @subsection Score File Syntax
20716 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
20717 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
20718 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
20720 Here's a typical score file:
20724 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
20731 BNF definition of a score file:
20734 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
20735 element = rule / atom
20736 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
20737 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
20738 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
20739 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
20741 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
20742 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
20743 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
20744 date-header = "date"
20745 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
20746 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
20747 score = "nil" / <integer>
20748 date = "nil" / <natural number>
20749 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
20750 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
20751 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
20752 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
20753 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
20754 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
20755 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
20756 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
20757 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
20758 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
20759 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
20760 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
20761 exclude-files / read-only / touched
20762 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
20763 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
20764 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
20765 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
20766 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
20767 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
20768 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
20769 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
20770 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
20771 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
20772 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
20773 eval = "eval" space <form>
20774 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
20777 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
20780 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
20781 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
20782 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
20783 one looong line, then that's ok.
20785 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
20786 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20790 @subsection Headers
20792 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
20793 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
20794 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
20795 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
20797 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
20798 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
20799 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
20800 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
20801 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
20802 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
20803 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
20805 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
20806 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
20807 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
20808 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
20809 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
20811 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
20812 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
20818 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
20819 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
20821 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
20822 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
20823 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
20824 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
20826 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
20830 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
20833 is transformed into
20836 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
20839 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
20840 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
20843 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
20846 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
20847 is slightly tricky:
20850 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
20856 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
20859 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
20865 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
20872 and is equal to the previous range.
20874 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
20875 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
20876 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
20880 range = simple-range / normal-range
20881 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
20882 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
20883 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
20884 number *[ " " contents ]
20887 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
20888 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
20889 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
20890 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
20891 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
20896 @subsection Group Info
20898 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
20899 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
20900 describes the group.
20902 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
20903 second is a more complex one:
20906 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
20908 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
20909 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
20911 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
20914 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
20915 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
20916 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
20917 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
20918 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
20919 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
20920 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
20921 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
20922 this section is about.
20924 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
20925 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
20926 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
20928 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
20931 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
20932 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
20933 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
20934 group = quote <string> quote
20935 ralevel = rank / level
20936 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
20937 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
20938 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
20940 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
20941 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
20942 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
20943 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
20946 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
20947 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
20950 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
20951 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
20954 @item gnus-info-group
20955 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
20956 @findex gnus-info-group
20957 @findex gnus-info-set-group
20958 Get/set the group name.
20960 @item gnus-info-rank
20961 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
20962 @findex gnus-info-rank
20963 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
20964 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
20966 @item gnus-info-level
20967 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
20968 @findex gnus-info-level
20969 @findex gnus-info-set-level
20970 Get/set the group level.
20972 @item gnus-info-score
20973 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
20974 @findex gnus-info-score
20975 @findex gnus-info-set-score
20976 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
20978 @item gnus-info-read
20979 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
20980 @findex gnus-info-read
20981 @findex gnus-info-set-read
20982 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
20984 @item gnus-info-marks
20985 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
20986 @findex gnus-info-marks
20987 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
20988 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
20990 @item gnus-info-method
20991 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
20992 @findex gnus-info-method
20993 @findex gnus-info-set-method
20994 Get/set the group select method.
20996 @item gnus-info-params
20997 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
20998 @findex gnus-info-params
20999 @findex gnus-info-set-params
21000 Get/set the group parameters.
21003 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
21004 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
21006 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
21007 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
21008 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
21009 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
21012 @node Extended Interactive
21013 @subsection Extended Interactive
21014 @cindex interactive
21015 @findex gnus-interactive
21017 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
21018 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
21019 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
21022 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
21023 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
21028 The best thing to do would have been to implement
21029 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
21030 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
21031 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
21032 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
21033 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
21034 @code{interactive}.
21036 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
21041 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
21042 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
21046 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
21047 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
21048 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
21051 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
21055 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
21059 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
21065 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
21066 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
21070 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
21071 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
21072 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
21074 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
21075 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
21076 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
21077 Gnus, that's very useful.
21079 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
21080 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
21081 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
21082 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
21083 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
21084 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
21085 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
21086 following function:
21089 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
21093 (,function ,@@args))
21097 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
21098 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
21099 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
21102 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
21103 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
21104 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
21106 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
21107 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
21108 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
21111 @node Various File Formats
21112 @subsection Various File Formats
21115 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
21116 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
21120 @node Active File Format
21121 @subsubsection Active File Format
21123 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
21124 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
21127 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
21130 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
21131 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
21132 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
21133 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
21134 no.general 1000 900 y
21137 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
21140 active = *group-line
21141 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
21142 group = <non-white-space string>
21144 high-number = <non-negative integer>
21145 low-number = <positive integer>
21146 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
21149 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
21150 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
21153 @node Newsgroups File Format
21154 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
21156 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
21157 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
21158 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
21161 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
21162 Here's the definition:
21166 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
21167 group = <non-white-space string>
21169 description = <string>
21174 @node Emacs for Heathens
21175 @section Emacs for Heathens
21177 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
21178 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
21179 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
21180 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
21181 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
21182 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
21183 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
21187 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
21188 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
21193 @subsection Keystrokes
21197 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
21200 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
21203 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
21204 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
21205 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
21206 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
21207 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
21208 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
21210 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
21211 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
21212 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
21213 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
21214 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
21215 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
21216 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
21218 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
21219 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
21220 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
21221 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
21222 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
21223 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
21224 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
21226 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
21227 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
21228 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
21229 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
21230 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
21236 @subsection Emacs Lisp
21238 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
21239 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
21240 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
21241 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
21243 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
21244 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
21245 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
21246 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
21247 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
21248 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
21249 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
21252 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
21253 write the following:
21256 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
21259 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
21260 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
21261 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
21264 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
21265 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
21266 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
21267 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
21268 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
21270 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
21271 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
21272 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
21276 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
21280 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
21283 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
21284 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
21287 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
21290 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
21291 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
21294 @include gnus-faq.texi