This is gnus, produced by makeinfo version 4.8 from gnus.texi.

INFO-DIR-SECTION The Emacs editor and associated tools
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Gnus: (gnus.info).			The newsreader Gnus.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.

   Copyright (C) 1995,96,97,98,99,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

   Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being "A GNU
Manual", and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.  A copy of the
license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation
License" in the Emacs manual.

   (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: "You have freedom to copy and
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Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development."

   This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
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File: gnus,  Node: Top,  Next: Starting Up,  Up: (dir)

The Gnus Newsreader
*******************

You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus.  The news
can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of--NNTP, local
spool or your mbox file.  All at the same time, if you want to push your
luck.

   This manual corresponds to Gnus 5.8.8.

* Menu:

* Starting Up::           Finding news can be a pain.
* The Group Buffer::      Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
* The Summary Buffer::    Reading, saving and posting articles.
* The Article Buffer::    Displaying and handling articles.
* Composing Messages::    Information on sending mail and news.
* Select Methods::        Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
* Scoring::               Assigning values to articles.
* Various::               General purpose settings.
* The End::               Farewell and goodbye.
* Appendices::            Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
* Index::                 Variable, function and concept index.
* Key Index::             Key Index.

 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---

Starting Gnus

* Finding the News::    Choosing a method for getting news.
* The First Time::      What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
* The Server is Down::  How can I read my mail then?
* Slave Gnusae::        You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
* Fetching a Group::    Starting Gnus just to read a group.
* New Groups::          What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
* Startup Files::       Those pesky startup files---`.newsrc'.
* Auto Save::           Recovering from a crash.
* The Active File::     Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
* Changing Servers::    You may want to move from one server to another.
* Startup Variables::   Other variables you might change.

New Groups

* Checking New Groups::      Determining what groups are new.
* Subscription Methods::     What Gnus should do with new groups.
* Filtering New Groups::     Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.

The Group Buffer

* Group Buffer Format::    Information listed and how you can change it.
* Group Maneuvering::      Commands for moving in the group buffer.
* Selecting a Group::      Actually reading news.
* Group Data::             Changing the info for a group.
* Subscription Commands::  Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
* Group Levels::           Levels? What are those, then?
* Group Score::            A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
* Marking Groups::         You can mark groups for later processing.
* Foreign Groups::         Creating and editing groups.
* Group Parameters::       Each group may have different parameters set.
* Listing Groups::         Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
* Sorting Groups::         Re-arrange the group order.
* Group Maintenance::      Maintaining a tidy `.newsrc' file.
* Browse Foreign Server::  You can browse a server.  See what it has to offer.
* Exiting Gnus::           Stop reading news and get some work done.
* Group Topics::           A folding group mode divided into topics.
* Misc Group Stuff::       Other stuff that you can to do.

Group Buffer Format

* Group Line Specification::       Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
* Group Modeline Specification::   The group buffer modeline.
* Group Highlighting::             Having nice colors in the group buffer.

Group Topics

* Topic Variables::    How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
* Topic Commands::     Interactive E-Z commands.
* Topic Sorting::      Sorting each topic individually.
* Topic Topology::     A map of the world.
* Topic Parameters::   Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.

Misc Group Stuff

* Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
* Group Information::     Information and help on groups and Gnus.
* Group Timestamp::       Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
* File Commands::         Reading and writing the Gnus files.

The Summary Buffer

* Summary Buffer Format::       Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
* Summary Maneuvering::         Moving around the summary buffer.
* Choosing Articles::           Reading articles.
* Paging the Article::          Scrolling the current article.
* Reply Followup and Post::     Posting articles.
* Marking Articles::            Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
* Limiting::                    You can limit the summary buffer.
* Threading::                   How threads are made.
* Sorting::                     How articles and threads are sorted.
* Asynchronous Fetching::       Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
* Article Caching::             You may store articles in a cache.
* Persistent Articles::         Making articles expiry-resistant.
* Article Backlog::             Having already read articles hang around.
* Saving Articles::             Ways of customizing article saving.
* Decoding Articles::           Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
* Article Treatment::           The article buffer can be mangled at will.
* MIME Commands::               Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
* Charsets::                    Character set issues.
* Article Commands::            Doing various things with the article buffer.
* Summary Sorting::             Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
* Finding the Parent::          No child support? Get the parent.
* Alternative Approaches::      Reading using non-default summaries.
* Tree Display::                A more visual display of threads.
* Mail Group Commands::         Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
* Various Summary Stuff::       What didn't fit anywhere else.
* Exiting the Summary Buffer::  Returning to the Group buffer.
* Crosspost Handling::          How crossposted articles are dealt with.
* Duplicate Suppression::       An alternative when crosspost handling fails.

Summary Buffer Format

* Summary Buffer Lines::     You can specify how summary lines should look.
* To From Newsgroups::       How to not display your own name.
* Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
* Summary Highlighting::     Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.

Choosing Articles

* Choosing Commands::        Commands for choosing articles.
* Choosing Variables::       Variables that influence these commands.

Reply, Followup and Post

* Summary Mail Commands::    Sending mail.
* Summary Post Commands::    Sending news.
* Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
* Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''

Marking Articles

* Unread Articles::          Marks for unread articles.
* Read Articles::            Marks for read articles.
* Other Marks::              Marks that do not affect readedness.
* Setting Marks::            How to set and remove marks.
* Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
* Setting Process Marks::    How to mark articles for later processing.

Threading

* Customizing Threading::    Variables you can change to affect the threading.
* Thread Commands::          Thread based commands in the summary buffer.

Customizing Threading

* Loose Threads::        How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
* Filling In Threads::   Making the threads displayed look fuller.
* More Threading::       Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
* Low-Level Threading::  You thought it was over... but you were wrong!

Decoding Articles

* Uuencoded Articles::    Uudecode articles.
* Shell Archives::        Unshar articles.
* PostScript Files::      Split PostScript.
* Other Files::           Plain save and binhex.
* Decoding Variables::    Variables for a happy decoding.
* Viewing Files::         You want to look at the result of the decoding?

Decoding Variables

* Rule Variables::          Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
* Other Decode Variables::  Other decode variables.
* Uuencoding and Posting::  Variables for customizing uuencoding.

Article Treatment

* Article Highlighting::    You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
* Article Fontisizing::     Making emphasized text look nice.
* Article Hiding::          You also want to make certain info go away.
* Article Washing::         Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
* Article Buttons::         Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
* Article Date::            Grumble, UT!
* Article Signature::       What is a signature?
* Article Miscellania::     Various other stuff.

Alternative Approaches

* Pick and Read::               First mark articles and then read them.
* Binary Groups::               Auto-decode all articles.

Various Summary Stuff

* Summary Group Information::         Information oriented commands.
* Searching for Articles::            Multiple article commands.
* Summary Generation Commands::       (Re)generating the summary buffer.
* Really Various Summary Commands::   Those pesky non-conformant commands.

The Article Buffer

* Hiding Headers::        Deciding what headers should be displayed.
* Using MIME::            Pushing articles through MIME before reading them.
* Customizing Articles::  Tailoring the look of the articles.
* Article Keymap::        Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
* Misc Article::          Other stuff.

Composing Messages

* Mail::                 Mailing and replying.
* Post::                 Posting and following up.
* Posting Server::       What server should you post via?
* Mail and Post::        Mailing and posting at the same time.
* Archived Messages::    Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
* Posting Styles::       An easier way to specify who you are.
* Drafts::               Postponing messages and rejected messages.
* Rejected Articles::    What happens if the server doesn't like your article?

Select Methods

* The Server Buffer::     Making and editing virtual servers.
* Getting News::          Reading USENET news with Gnus.
* Getting Mail::          Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
* Browsing the Web::      Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
* Other Sources::         Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
* Combined Groups::       Combining groups into one group.
* Gnus Unplugged::        Reading news and mail offline.

The Server Buffer

* Server Buffer Format::      You can customize the look of this buffer.
* Server Commands::           Commands to manipulate servers.
* Example Methods::           Examples server specifications.
* Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
* Server Variables::          Which variables to set.
* Servers and Methods::       You can use server names as select methods.
* Unavailable Servers::       Some servers you try to contact may be down.

Getting News

* NNTP::               Reading news from an NNTP server.
* News Spool::         Reading news from the local spool.

Getting Mail

* Mail in a Newsreader::         Important introductory notes.
* Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
* Splitting Mail::               How to create mail groups.
* Mail Sources::                 How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
* Mail Backend Variables::       Variables for customizing mail handling.
* Fancy Mail Splitting::         Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
* Group Mail Splitting::         Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
* Incorporating Old Mail::       What about the old mail you have?
* Expiring Mail::                Getting rid of unwanted mail.
* Washing Mail::                 Removing gruft from the mail you get.
* Duplicates::                   Dealing with duplicated mail.
* Not Reading Mail::             Using mail backends for reading other files.
* Choosing a Mail Backend::      Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.

Mail Sources

* Mail Source Specifiers::       How to specify what a mail source is.
* Mail Source Customization::    Some variables that influence things.
* Fetching Mail::                Using the mail source specifiers.

Choosing a Mail Backend

* Unix Mail Box::               Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
* Rmail Babyl::                 Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
* Mail Spool::                  Store your mail in a private spool?
* MH Spool::                    An mhspool-like backend.
* Mail Folders::                Having one file for each group.
* Comparing Mail Backends::     An in-depth looks at pros and cons.

Browsing the Web

* Web Searches::          Creating groups from articles that match a string.
* Slashdot::              Reading the Slashdot comments.
* Ultimate::              The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
* Web Archive::           Reading mailing list archived on web.

Other Sources

* Directory Groups::      You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
* Anything Groups::       Dired?  Who needs dired?
* Document Groups::       Single files can be the basis of a group.
* SOUP::                  Reading SOUP packets ``offline''.
* Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
* IMAP::                  Using Gnus as a IMAP client.

Document Groups

* Document Server Internals::   How to add your own document types.

SOUP

* SOUP Commands::     Commands for creating and sending SOUP packets
* SOUP Groups::       A backend for reading SOUP packets.
* SOUP Replies::      How to enable `nnsoup' to take over mail and news.

IMAP

* Splitting in IMAP::     Splitting mail with nnimap.
* Editing IMAP ACLs::     Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
* Expunging mailboxes::   Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.

Combined Groups

* Virtual Groups::     Combining articles from many groups.
* Kibozed Groups::     Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.

Gnus Unplugged

* Agent Basics::           How it all is supposed to work.
* Agent Categories::       How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
* Agent Commands::         New commands for all the buffers.
* Agent Expiry::           How to make old articles go away.
* Agent and IMAP::         How to use the Agent with IMAP.
* Outgoing Messages::      What happens when you post/mail something?
* Agent Variables::        Customizing is fun.
* Example Setup::          An example `.gnus.el' file for offline people.
* Batching Agents::        How to fetch news from a `cron' job.
* Agent Caveats::          What you think it'll do and what it does.

Agent Categories

* Category Syntax::       What a category looks like.
* The Category Buffer::   A buffer for maintaining categories.
* Category Variables::    Customize'r'Us.

Agent Commands

* Group Agent Commands::
* Summary Agent Commands::
* Server Agent Commands::

Scoring

* Summary Score Commands::   Adding score entries for the current group.
* Group Score Commands::     General score commands.
* Score Variables::          Customize your scoring.  (My, what terminology).
* Score File Format::        What a score file may contain.
* Score File Editing::       You can edit score files by hand as well.
* Adaptive Scoring::         Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
* Home Score File::          How to say where new score entries are to go.
* Followups To Yourself::    Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
* Scoring Tips::             How to score effectively.
* Reverse Scoring::          That problem child of old is not problem.
* Global Score Files::       Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
* Kill Files::               They are still here, but they can be ignored.
* Converting Kill Files::    Translating kill files to score files.
* GroupLens::                Getting predictions on what you like to read.
* Advanced Scoring::         Using logical expressions to build score rules.
* Score Decays::             It can be useful to let scores wither away.

GroupLens

* Using GroupLens::          How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
* Rating Articles::          Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
* Displaying Predictions::   Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
* GroupLens Variables::      Customizing GroupLens.

Advanced Scoring

* Advanced Scoring Syntax::     A definition.
* Advanced Scoring Examples::   What they look like.
* Advanced Scoring Tips::       Getting the most out of it.

Various

* Process/Prefix::             A convention used by many treatment commands.
* Interactive::                Making Gnus ask you many questions.
* Symbolic Prefixes::          How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
* Formatting Variables::       You can specify what buffers should look like.
* Windows Configuration::      Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
* Faces and Fonts::            How to change how faces look.
* Compilation::                How to speed Gnus up.
* Mode Lines::                 Displaying information in the mode lines.
* Highlighting and Menus::     Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
* Buttons::                    Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
* Daemons::                    Gnus can do things behind your back.
* NoCeM::                      How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
* Undo::                       Some actions can be undone.
* Moderation::                 What to do if you're a moderator.
* XEmacs Enhancements::        There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
* Fuzzy Matching::             What's the big fuzz?
* Thwarting Email Spam::       A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
* Various Various::            Things that are really various.

Formatting Variables

* Formatting Basics::     A formatting variable is basically a format string.
* Mode Line Formatting::  Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
* Advanced Formatting::   Modifying output in various ways.
* User-Defined Specs::    Having Gnus call your own functions.
* Formatting Fonts::      Making the formatting look colorful and nice.

XEmacs Enhancements

* Picons::    How to display pictures of what your reading.
* Smileys::   Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
* Toolbar::   Click'n'drool.
* XVarious::  Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.

Picons

* Picon Basics::           What are picons and How do I get them.
* Picon Requirements::     Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
* Easy Picons::            Displaying Picons---the easy way.
* Hard Picons::            The way you should do it.  You'll learn something.
* Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.

Appendices

* History::                        How Gnus got where it is today.
* On Writing Manuals::             Why this is not a beginner's guide.
* Terminology::                    We use really difficult, like, words here.
* Customization::                  Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
* Troubleshooting::                What you might try if things do not work.
* Gnus Reference Guide::           Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
* Emacs for Heathens::             A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
* Frequently Asked Questions::     A question-and-answer session.

History

* Gnus Versions::       What Gnus versions have been released.
* Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
* Why?::                What's the point of Gnus?
* Compatibility::       Just how compatible is Gnus with GNUS?
* Conformity::          Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
* Emacsen::             Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
* Gnus Development::    How Gnus is developed.
* Contributors::        Oodles of people.
* New Features::        Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
* Newest Features::     Features so new that they haven't been written yet.

New Features

* ding Gnus::          New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
* September Gnus::     The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
* Red Gnus::           Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
* Quassia Gnus::       Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.

Customization

* Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
* Slow Terminal Connection::  You run a remote Emacs.
* Little Disk Space::         You feel that having large setup files is icky.
* Slow Machine::              You feel like buying a faster machine.

Gnus Reference Guide

* Gnus Utility Functions::   Common functions and variable to use.
* Backend Interface::        How Gnus communicates with the servers.
* Score File Syntax::        A BNF definition of the score file standard.
* Headers::                  How Gnus stores headers internally.
* Ranges::                   A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
* Group Info::               The group info format.
* Extended Interactive::     Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
* Emacs/XEmacs Code::        Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
* Various File Formats::     Formats of files that Gnus use.

Backend Interface

* Required Backend Functions::        Functions that must be implemented.
* Optional Backend Functions::        Functions that need not be implemented.
* Error Messaging::                   How to get messages and report errors.
* Writing New Backends::              Extending old backends.
* Hooking New Backends Into Gnus::    What has to be done on the Gnus end.
* Mail-like Backends::                Some tips on mail backends.

Various File Formats

* Active File Format::      Information on articles and groups available.
* Newsgroups File Format::  Group descriptions.

Emacs for Heathens

* Keystrokes::      Entering text and executing commands.
* Emacs Lisp::      The built-in Emacs programming language.


File: gnus,  Node: Starting Up,  Next: The Group Buffer,  Prev: Top,  Up: Top

1 Starting Gnus
***************

If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
and reading news is extremely easy--you just type `M-x gnus' in your
Emacs.

   If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the
command `M-x gnus-other-frame' instead.

   If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
variables in your `~/.gnus' file.  This file is similar to `~/.emacs',
but is read when gnus starts.

   If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
terminology section (*note Terminology::).

* Menu:

* Finding the News::    Choosing a method for getting news.
* The First Time::      What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
* The Server is Down::  How can I read my mail then?
* Slave Gnusae::        You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
* Fetching a Group::    Starting Gnus just to read a group.
* New Groups::          What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
* Startup Files::       Those pesky startup files---`.newsrc'.
* Auto Save::           Recovering from a crash.
* The Active File::     Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
* Changing Servers::    You may want to move from one server to another.
* Startup Variables::   Other variables you might change.


File: gnus,  Node: Finding the News,  Next: The First Time,  Up: Starting Up

1.1 Finding the News
====================

The `gnus-select-method' variable says where Gnus should look for news.
This variable should be a list where the first element says "how" and
the second element says "where".  This method is your native method.
All groups not fetched with this method are foreign groups.

   For instance, if the `news.somewhere.edu' NNTP server is where you
want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:

     (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))

   If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:

     (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))

   If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
certainly be much faster.

   If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
`NNTPSERVER' environment variable.  If that variable isn't set, Gnus
will see whether `gnus-nntpserver-file' (`/etc/nntpserver' by default)
has any opinions on the matter.  If that fails as well, Gnus will try
to use the machine running Emacs as an NNTP server.  That's a long
shot, though.

   If `gnus-nntp-server' is set, this variable will override
`gnus-select-method'.  You should therefore set `gnus-nntp-server' to
`nil', which is what it is by default.

   You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
NNTP server.  If you give a non-numerical prefix to `gnus' (i.e., `C-u
M-x gnus'), Gnus will let you choose between the servers in the
`gnus-secondary-servers' list (if any).  You can also just type in the
name of any server you feel like visiting.  (Note that this will set
`gnus-nntp-server', which means that if you then `M-x gnus' later in
the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same server.)

   However, if you use one NNTP server regularly and are just
interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
better served by using the `B' command in the group buffer.  It will
let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
to any of the groups you want to.  This also makes `.newsrc'
maintenance much tidier.  *Note Foreign Groups::.

   A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
`gnus-secondary-select-methods' variable.  The select methods listed in
this variable are in many ways just as native as the
`gnus-select-method' server.  They will also be queried for active
files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
groups are.

   For instance, if you use the `nnmbox' backend to read your mail, you
would typically set this variable to

     (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))


File: gnus,  Node: The First Time,  Next: The Server is Down,  Prev: Finding the News,  Up: Starting Up

1.2 The First Time
==================

If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
be subscribed by default.

   If the variable `gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups' is set, Gnus
will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
killed.  Your system administrator should have set this variable to
something useful.

   Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
picked groups (i.e., `*.newusers').  ("Arbitrary" is defined here as
"whatever Lars thinks you should read".)

   You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which
should help you with most common problems.

   If `gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups' is `t', Gnus will just use
the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
special.


File: gnus,  Node: The Server is Down,  Next: Slave Gnusae,  Prev: The First Time,  Up: Starting Up

1.3 The Server is Down
======================

If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
problems starting.  However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.

   Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
without a native select method if that server can't be contacted.  This
will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
for some reason or other.  If you decide to continue and have no foreign
groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
buffer.  But, hey, that's your problem.  Blllrph!

   If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to
read your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
`gnus-no-server' command to start Gnus.  That might come in handy if
you're in a hurry as well.  This command will not attempt to contact
your primary server--instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1 and 2.  (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
levels.)


File: gnus,  Node: Slave Gnusae,  Next: Fetching a Group,  Prev: The Server is Down,  Up: Starting Up

1.4 Slave Gnusae
================

You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
same time.  If you are using different `.newsrc' files (e.g., if you
are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
that is no problem whatsoever.  You just do it.

   The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
`.newsrc' file.

   To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the
Gnus Towers have come up with a new concept: "Masters" and "slaves".
(We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have taken out a
copyright on those words.  If you wish to use those words in
conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
me.  Usage of the patent ("Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
Applications") will be much more expensive, of course.)

   Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with `M-x gnus' (or
however you do it).  Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
`M-x gnus-slave'.  These slaves won't save normal `.newsrc' files, but
instead save "slave files" that contain information only on what groups
have been read in the slave session.  When a master Gnus starts, it
will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all information
from them.  (The slave files will be read in the sequence they were
created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)

   Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
information in the normal (i.e., master) `.newsrc' file.


File: gnus,  Node: Fetching a Group,  Next: New Groups,  Prev: Slave Gnusae,  Up: Starting Up

1.5 Fetching a Group
====================

It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say "I want to read this
group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not".  This is
perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
command `gnus-fetch-group' provides this functionality in any case.  It
takes the group name as a parameter.


File: gnus,  Node: New Groups,  Next: Startup Files,  Prev: Fetching a Group,  Up: Starting Up

1.6 New Groups
==============

If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
you can set `gnus-check-new-newsgroups' to `nil'.  This will also save
you some time at startup.  Even if this variable is `nil', you can
always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing `U' in the group
buffer (*note Group Maintenance::).  This variable is `ask-server' by
default.  If you set this variable to `always', then Gnus will query
the backends for new groups even when you do the `g' command (*note
Scanning New Messages::).

* Menu:

* Checking New Groups::      Determining what groups are new.
* Subscription Methods::     What Gnus should do with new groups.
* Filtering New Groups::     Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.


File: gnus,  Node: Checking New Groups,  Next: Subscription Methods,  Up: New Groups

1.6.1 Checking New Groups
-------------------------

Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
dead groups.  This isn't a particularly fast method.  If
`gnus-check-new-newsgroups' is `ask-server', Gnus will ask the server
for new groups since the last time.  This is both faster and cheaper.
This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed groups
altogether, so you may set `gnus-save-killed-list' to `nil', which will
save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.  Saves disk space,
too.  Why isn't this the default, then?  Unfortunately, not all servers
support this command.

   I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
server supports `ask-server'?  No?  Good, because I don't have a
fail-safe answer.  I would suggest just setting this variable to
`ask-server' and see whether any new groups appear within the next few
days.  If any do, then it works.  If none do, then it doesn't work.  I
could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server supports
`ask-server', but it would just be a guess.  So I won't.  You could
`telnet' to the server and say `HELP' and see whether it lists
`NEWGROUPS' among the commands it understands.  If it does, then it
might work.  (But there are servers that lists `NEWGROUPS' without
supporting the function properly.)

   This variable can also be a list of select methods.  If so, Gnus will
issue an `ask-server' command to each of the select methods, and
subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods.  This might be handy
if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups.  A side effect is
that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
Use the mantra "dingnusdingnusdingnus" to achieve permanent bliss.


File: gnus,  Node: Subscription Methods,  Next: Filtering New Groups,  Prev: Checking New Groups,  Up: New Groups

1.6.2 Subscription Methods
--------------------------

What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
`gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method' variable.

   This variable should contain a function.  This function will be
called with the name of the new group as the only parameter.

   Some handy pre-fab functions are:

`gnus-subscribe-zombies'
     Make all new groups zombies.  This is the default.  You can browse
     the zombies later (with `A z') and either kill them all off
     properly (with `S z'), or subscribe to them (with `u').

`gnus-subscribe-randomly'
     Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order.  This really means
     that all new groups will be added at "the top" of the group buffer.

`gnus-subscribe-alphabetically'
     Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.

`gnus-subscribe-hierarchically'
     Subscribe all new groups hierarchically.  The difference between
     this function and `gnus-subscribe-alphabetically' is slight.
     `gnus-subscribe-alphabetically' will subscribe new groups in a
     strictly alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter
     groups into its hierarchy.  So if you want to have the `rec'
     hierarchy before the `comp' hierarchy, this function will not mess
     that configuration up.  Or something like that.

`gnus-subscribe-interactively'
     Subscribe new groups interactively.  This means that Gnus will ask
     you about *all* new groups.  The groups you choose to subscribe to
     will be subscribed hierarchically.

`gnus-subscribe-killed'
     Kill all new groups.

`gnus-subscribe-topics'
     Put the groups into the topic that has a matching `subscribe' topic
     parameter (*note Topic Parameters::).  For instance, a `subscribe'
     topic parameter that looks like

          "nnslashdot"

     will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed
     under that topic.

     If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
     top-level topic.


   A closely related variable is
`gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive'.  (That's quite a mouthful.)
If this variable is non-`nil', Gnus will ask you in a hierarchical
fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not.  Gnus will ask you
for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the hierarchy or not.

   One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
(`gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method') to
`gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive'.  This is an error.  This
will not work.  This is ga-ga.  So don't do it.


File: gnus,  Node: Filtering New Groups,  Prev: Subscription Methods,  Up: New Groups

1.6.3 Filtering New Groups
--------------------------

A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
subscribed (or ignored) is to put an "options" line at the start of the
`.newsrc' file.  Here's an example:

     options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all

   This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual
scientific person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it
says that all groups that have names beginning with `alt' and `rec'
should be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with `sci' should
be subscribed.  Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
subscribing these groups.  `gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method' is
used instead.  This variable defaults to
`gnus-subscribe-alphabetically'.

   If you don't want to mess with your `.newsrc' file, you can just set
the two variables `gnus-options-subscribe' and
`gnus-options-not-subscribe'.  These two variables do exactly the same
as the `.newsrc' `options -n' trick.  Both are regexps, and if the new
group matches the former, it will be unconditionally subscribed, and if
it matches the latter, it will be ignored.

   Yet another variable that meddles here is
`gnus-auto-subscribed-groups'.  It works exactly like
`gnus-options-subscribe', and is therefore really superfluous, but I
thought it would be nice to have two of these.  This variable is more
meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
more for user fiddling.  By default this variable makes all new groups
that come from mail backends (`nnml', `nnbabyl', `nnfolder', `nnmbox',
and `nnmh') subscribed.  If you don't like that, just set this variable
to `nil'.

   New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
`gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method'.


File: gnus,  Node: Changing Servers,  Next: Startup Variables,  Prev: The Active File,  Up: Starting Up

1.7 Changing Servers
====================

Sometimes it is necessary to move from one NNTP server to another.
This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
very flaky and you want to use another.

   Changing the server is pretty easy, right?  You just change
`gnus-select-method' to point to the new server?

   _Wrong!_

   Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between
different NNTP servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what
articles you have read is by keeping track of article numbers.  So when
you change `gnus-select-method', your `.newsrc' file becomes worthless.

   Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a `.newsrc'
file from one server to another.  They all have one thing in
common--they take a looong time to run.  You don't want to use these
functions more than absolutely necessary.

   If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for
all the articles you have read and compare `Message-ID's and map the
article numbers of the read articles and article marks.  The `M-x
gnus-change-server' command will do this for all your native groups.  It
will prompt for the method you want to move to.

   You can also move individual groups with the `M-x
gnus-group-move-group-to-server' command.  This is useful if you want to
move a (foreign) group from one server to another.

   If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your
marks and read ranges have become worthless.  You can use the `M-x
gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups' command to clear out all data
that you have on your native groups.  Use with caution.

   After changing servers, you *must* move the cache hierarchy away,
since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.


File: gnus,  Node: Startup Files,  Next: Auto Save,  Prev: New Groups,  Up: Starting Up

1.8 Startup Files
=================

Now, you all know about the `.newsrc' file.  All subscription
information is traditionally stored in this file.

   Things got a bit more complicated with GNUS.  In addition to keeping
the `.newsrc' file updated, it also used a file called `.newsrc.el' for
storing all the information that didn't fit into the `.newsrc' file.
(Actually, it also duplicated everything in the `.newsrc' file.)  GNUS
would read whichever one of these files was the most recently saved,
which enabled people to swap between GNUS and other newsreaders.

   That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
`.newsrc' and `.newsrc.el' files, Gnus also has a file called
`.newsrc.eld'.  It will read whichever of these files that are most
recent, but it will never write a `.newsrc.el' file.  You should never
delete the `.newsrc.eld' file--it contains much information not stored
in the `.newsrc' file.

   You can turn off writing the `.newsrc' file by setting
`gnus-save-newsrc-file' to `nil', which means you can delete the file
and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.  However,
this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than Gnus.  But
hey, who would want to, right?  Similarly, setting
`gnus-read-newsrc-file' to `nil' makes Gnus ignore the `.newsrc' file
and any `.newsrc-SERVER' files, which is convenient if you have a
tendency to use Netscape once in a while.

   If `gnus-save-killed-list' (default `t') is `nil', Gnus will not
save the list of killed groups to the startup file.  This will save
both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk).  It will
also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old, so the
automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.  You
should always set `gnus-check-new-newsgroups' to `nil' or `ask-server'
if you set this variable to `nil' (*note New Groups::).  This variable
can also be a regular expression.  If that's the case, remove all
groups that do not match this regexp before saving.  This can be useful
in certain obscure situations that involve several servers where not
all servers support `ask-server'.

   The `gnus-startup-file' variable says where the startup files are.
The default value is `~/.newsrc', with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup file
being whatever that one is, with a `.eld' appended.

   `gnus-save-newsrc-hook' is called before saving any of the newsrc
files, while `gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook' is called just before saving
the `.newsrc.eld' file, and `gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook' is called
just before saving the `.newsrc' file.  The latter two are commonly
used to turn version control on or off.  Version control is on by
default when saving the startup files.  If you want to turn backup
creation off, say something like:

     (defun turn-off-backup ()
       (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))

     (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
     (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)

   When Gnus starts, it will read the `gnus-site-init-file'
(`.../site-lisp/gnus' by default) and `gnus-init-file' (`~/.gnus' by
default) files.  These are normal Emacs Lisp files and can be used to
avoid cluttering your `~/.emacs' and `site-init' files with Gnus stuff.
Gnus will also check for files with the same names as these, but with
`.elc' and `.el' suffixes.  In other words, if you have set
`gnus-init-file' to `~/.gnus', it will look for `~/.gnus.elc',
`~/.gnus.el', and finally `~/.gnus' (in this order).


File: gnus,  Node: Auto Save,  Next: The Active File,  Prev: Startup Files,  Up: Starting Up

1.9 Auto Save
=============

Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
special "dribble buffer".  This buffer is auto-saved the normal Emacs
way.  If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the `.newsrc'
files, all changes you have made can be recovered from this file.

   If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
read it.  The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file
is saved.

   If `gnus-use-dribble-file' is `nil', Gnus won't create and maintain
a dribble buffer.  The default is `t'.

   Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in `gnus-dribble-directory'.  If
this variable is `nil', which it is by default, Gnus will dribble into
the directory where the `.newsrc' file is located.  (This is normally
the user's home directory.)  The dribble file will get the same file
permissions as the `.newsrc' file.

   If `gnus-always-read-dribble-file' is non-`nil', Gnus will read the
dribble file on startup without querying the user.


File: gnus,  Node: The Active File,  Next: Changing Servers,  Prev: Auto Save,  Up: Starting Up

1.10 The Active File
====================

When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
articles have arrived, it reads the active file.  This is a very large
file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.

   Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match
the regexp `gnus-ignored-newsgroups'.  This is done primarily to reject
any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in.  However, this is not
recommended.  In fact, it's highly discouraged.  Instead, *note New
Groups:: for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.

   The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network,
you can set `gnus-read-active-file' to `nil' to prevent Gnus from
reading the active file.  This variable is `some' by default.

   Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups
that you actually subscribe to.

   Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
variable to `nil' will probably make Gnus slower, not faster.  At
present, having this variable `nil' will slow Gnus down considerably,
unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.

   This variable can also have the value `some'.  Gnus will then
attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups.  On some
servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
support the `LIST ACTIVE group' command), on others this isn't fast at
all.  In any case, `some' should be faster than `nil', and is certainly
faster than `t' over slow lines.

   Some news servers (Leafnode and old versions of INN, for instance) do
not support the `LIST ACTIVE group'.  For these servers, `nil' is
probably the most efficient value for this variable.

   If this variable is `nil', Gnus will ask for group info in total
lock-step, which isn't very fast.  If it is `some' and you use an NNTP
server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and read all the
replies in one swoop.  This will normally result in better performance,
but if the server does not support the aforementioned `LIST ACTIVE
group' command, this isn't very nice to the server.

   If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
different values for this variable and see what works best for you.

   In any case, if you use `some' or `nil', you should definitely kill
all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.

   Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
secondary select methods.


File: gnus,  Node: Startup Variables,  Prev: Changing Servers,  Up: Starting Up

1.11 Startup Variables
======================

`gnus-load-hook'
     A hook run while Gnus is being loaded.  Note that this hook will
     normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
     times you start Gnus.

`gnus-before-startup-hook'
     A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.

`gnus-startup-hook'
     A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus

`gnus-started-hook'
     A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
     successfully.

`gnus-setup-news-hook'
     A hook that is run after reading the `.newsrc' file(s), but before
     generating the group buffer.

`gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups'
     If non-`nil', Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
     startup.  A "bogus group" is a group that you have in your
     `.newsrc' file, but doesn't exist on the news server.  Checking for
     bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources
     it's best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus
     groups once in a while from the group buffer instead (*note Group
     Maintenance::).

`gnus-inhibit-startup-message'
     If non-`nil', the startup message won't be displayed.  That way,
     your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news
     instead of doing your job.  Note that this variable is used before
     `.gnus.el' is loaded, so it should be set in `.emacs' instead.

`gnus-no-groups-message'
     Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.

`gnus-play-startup-jingle'
     If non-`nil', play the Gnus jingle at startup.

`gnus-startup-jingle'
     Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-`nil'.  The
     default is `Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au'.



File: gnus,  Node: The Group Buffer,  Next: The Summary Buffer,  Prev: Starting Up,  Up: Top

2 The Group Buffer
******************

The "group buffer" lists all (or parts) of the available groups.  It is
the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
long as Gnus is active.

* Menu:

* Group Buffer Format::    Information listed and how you can change it.
* Group Maneuvering::      Commands for moving in the group buffer.
* Selecting a Group::      Actually reading news.
* Group Data::             Changing the info for a group.
* Subscription Commands::  Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
* Group Levels::           Levels? What are those, then?
* Group Score::            A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
* Marking Groups::         You can mark groups for later processing.
* Foreign Groups::         Creating and editing groups.
* Group Parameters::       Each group may have different parameters set.
* Listing Groups::         Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
* Sorting Groups::         Re-arrange the group order.
* Group Maintenance::      Maintaining a tidy `.newsrc' file.
* Browse Foreign Server::  You can browse a server.  See what it has to offer.
* Exiting Gnus::           Stop reading news and get some work done.
* Group Topics::           A folding group mode divided into topics.
* Misc Group Stuff::       Other stuff that you can to do.


File: gnus,  Node: Group Buffer Format,  Next: Group Maneuvering,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.1 Group Buffer Format
=======================

* Menu:

* Group Line Specification::       Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
* Group Modeline Specification::   The group buffer modeline.
* Group Highlighting::             Having nice colors in the group buffer.


File: gnus,  Node: Group Line Specification,  Next: Group Modeline Specification,  Up: Group Buffer Format

2.1.1 Group Line Specification
------------------------------

The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.

   Here's a couple of example group lines:

          25: news.announce.newusers
      *    0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin

   Quite simple, huh?

   You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
`news.announce.newusers'.  There are no unread articles, but some
ticked articles, in `alt.fan.andrea-dworkin' (see that little asterisk
at the beginning of the line?).

   You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
`gnus-group-line-format' variable.  This variable works along the lines
of a `format' specification, which is pretty much the same as a
`printf' specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.  *Note
Formatting Variables::.

   `%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n' is the value that produced those lines above.

   There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves
to the colon after performing an operation.  Nothing else is
required--not even the group name.  All displayed text is just window
dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.  Gnus stores all real
information it needs using text properties.

   (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
instead of wasting time reading news.)

   Here's a list of all available format characters:

`M'
     An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.

`S'
     Whether the group is subscribed.

`L'
     Level of subscribedness.

`N'
     Number of unread articles.

`I'
     Number of dormant articles.

`T'
     Number of ticked articles.

`R'
     Number of read articles.

`t'
     Estimated total number of articles.  (This is really MAX-NUMBER
     minus MIN-NUMBER plus 1.)

`y'
     Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.

`i'
     Number of ticked and dormant articles.

`g'
     Full group name.

`G'
     Group name.

`D'
     Newsgroup description.

`o'
     `m' if moderated.

`O'
     `(m)' if moderated.

`s'
     Select method.

`n'
     Select from where.

`z'
     A string that looks like `<%s:%n>' if a foreign select method is
     used.

`P'
     Indentation based on the level of the topic (*note Group Topics::).

`c'
     Short (collapsed) group name.  The `gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels'
     variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group
     name.  The default is 1--this will mean that group names like
     `gnu.emacs.gnus' will be shortened to `g.e.gnus'.

`m'
     `%' (`gnus-new-mail-mark') if there has arrived new mail to the
     group lately.

`d'
     A string that says when you last read the group (*note Group
     Timestamp::).

`u'
     User defined specifier.  The next character in the format string
     should be a letter.  Gnus will call the function
     `gnus-user-format-function-'`X', where `X' is the letter following
     `%u'.  The function will be passed a single dummy parameter as
     argument.  The function should return a string, which will be
     inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
     specifier.

   All the "number-of" specs will be filled with an asterisk (`*') if
no info is available--for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
group, or a bogus native group.


File: gnus,  Node: Group Modeline Specification,  Next: Group Highlighting,  Prev: Group Line Specification,  Up: Group Buffer Format

2.1.2 Group Modeline Specification
----------------------------------

The mode line can be changed by setting `gnus-group-mode-line-format'
(*note Mode Line Formatting::).  It doesn't understand that many format
specifiers:

`S'
     The native news server.

`M'
     The native select method.


File: gnus,  Node: Group Highlighting,  Prev: Group Modeline Specification,  Up: Group Buffer Format

2.1.3 Group Highlighting
------------------------

Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
`gnus-group-highlight' variable.  This is an alist with elements that
look like `(FORM . FACE)'.  If FORM evaluates to something non-`nil',
the FACE will be used on the line.

   Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
background is dark:

     (cond (window-system
            (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
            (defface my-group-face-1
     	 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
            (defface my-group-face-2
     	 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
            (defface my-group-face-3
     	 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
            (defface my-group-face-4
     	 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
            (defface my-group-face-5
     	 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))

     (setq gnus-group-highlight
           '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
             ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
             ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
             ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
             (t . my-group-face-5)))

   Also *note Faces and Fonts::.

   Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
include:

`group'
     The group name.

`unread'
     The number of unread articles in the group.

`method'
     The select method.

`mailp'
     Whether the group is a mail group.

`level'
     The level of the group.

`score'
     The score of the group.

`ticked'
     The number of ticked articles in the group.

`total'
     The total number of articles in the group.  Or rather, MAX-NUMBER
     minus MIN-NUMBER plus one.

`topic'
     When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the
     current topic being inserted.

   When the forms are `eval'ed, point is at the beginning of the line
of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
functions for snarfing info on the group.

   `gnus-group-update-hook' is called when a group line is changed.  It
will not be called when `gnus-visual' is `nil'.  This hook calls
`gnus-group-highlight-line' by default.


File: gnus,  Node: Group Maneuvering,  Next: Selecting a Group,  Prev: Group Buffer Format,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.2 Group Maneuvering
=====================

All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
expected, hopefully.

`n'
     Go to the next group that has unread articles
     (`gnus-group-next-unread-group').

`p'
`DEL'
     Go to the previous group that has unread articles
     (`gnus-group-prev-unread-group').

`N'
     Go to the next group (`gnus-group-next-group').

`P'
     Go to the previous group (`gnus-group-prev-group').

`M-n'
     Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
     (`gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level').

`M-p'
     Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
     (`gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level').

   Three commands for jumping to groups:

`j'
     Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
     (`gnus-group-jump-to-group').  Killed groups can be jumped to, just
     like living groups.

`,'
     Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
     (`gnus-group-best-unread-group').

`.'
     Jump to the first group with unread articles
     (`gnus-group-first-unread-group').

   If `gnus-group-goto-unread' is `nil', all the movement commands will
move to the next group, not the next unread group.  Even the commands
that say they move to the next unread group.  The default is `t'.


File: gnus,  Node: Selecting a Group,  Next: Group Data,  Prev: Group Maneuvering,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.3 Selecting a Group
=====================

`SPACE'
     Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display
     the first unread article (`gnus-group-read-group').  If there are
     no unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical
     prefix to this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old
     articles in this group from the server.  If you give a numerical
     prefix N, N determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch.  If
     N is positive, Gnus fetches the N newest articles, if N is
     negative, Gnus fetches the `abs(N)' oldest articles.

     Thus, `SPC' enters the group normally, `C-u SPC' offers old
     articles, `C-u 4 2 SPC' fetches the 42 newest articles, and `C-u -
     4 2 SPC' fetches the 42 oldest ones.

     When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
     `M-g' to fetch new articles, or `C-u M-g' to also show the old
     ones.

`RET'
     Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
     (`gnus-group-select-group').  Takes the same arguments as
     `gnus-group-read-group'--the only difference is that this command
     does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
     entry.

`M-RET'
     This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with
     the minimum amount of fuzz (`gnus-group-quick-select-group').  No
     scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and
     no expunging.  This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and
     have to enter some humongous group.  If you give a 0 prefix to
     this command (i.e., `0 M-RET'), Gnus won't even generate the
     summary buffer, which is useful if you want to toggle threading
     before generating the summary buffer (*note Summary Generation
     Commands::).

`M-SPACE'
     This is yet one more command that does the same as the `RET'
     command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
     (`gnus-group-visible-select-group').

`M-C-RET'
     Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
     doing any processing of its contents
     (`gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally').  Even threading has been
     turned off.  Everything you do in the group after selecting it in
     this manner will have no permanent effects.


   The `gnus-large-newsgroup' variable says what Gnus should consider
to be a big group.  This is 200 by default.  If the group has more
(unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
before entering the group.  The user can then specify how many articles
should be fetched from the server.  If the user specifies a negative
number (`-n'), the `n' oldest articles will be fetched.  If it is
positive, the `n' articles that have arrived most recently will be
fetched.

   `gnus-auto-select-first' control whether any articles are selected
automatically when entering a group with the `SPACE' command.

`nil'
     Don't select any articles when entering the group.  Just display
     the full summary buffer.

`t'
     Select the first unread article when entering the group.

`best'
     Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
     group.


   This variable can also be a function.  In that case, that function
will be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some
article.  Useful functions include:

`gnus-summary-first-unread-subject'
     Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
     don't select the article.

`gnus-summary-first-unread-article'
     Select the first unread article.

`gnus-summary-best-unread-article'
     Select the highest-scored unread article.

   If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to `nil' in
`gnus-select-group-hook', which is called when a group is selected.


File: gnus,  Node: Subscription Commands,  Next: Group Levels,  Prev: Group Data,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.4 Subscription Commands
=========================

`S t'
`u'
     Toggle subscription to the current group
     (`gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group').

`S s'
`U'
     Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it.  If it was
     subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
     (`gnus-group-unsubscribe-group').

`S k'
`C-k'
     Kill the current group (`gnus-group-kill-group').

`S y'
`C-y'
     Yank the last killed group (`gnus-group-yank-group').

`C-x C-t'
     Transpose two groups (`gnus-group-transpose-groups').  This isn't
     really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
     kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.

`S w'
`C-w'
     Kill all groups in the region (`gnus-group-kill-region').

`S z'
     Kill all zombie groups (`gnus-group-kill-all-zombies').

`S C-k'
     Kill all groups on a certain level (`gnus-group-kill-level').
     These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command
     should be used with some caution.  The only time where this
     command comes in really handy is when you have a `.newsrc' with
     lots of unsubscribed groups that you want to get rid off.  `S C-k'
     on level 7 will kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have
     message numbers in the `.newsrc' file.


   Also *note Group Levels::.


File: gnus,  Node: Group Data,  Next: Subscription Commands,  Prev: Selecting a Group,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.5 Group Data
==============

`c'
     Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
     (`gnus-group-catchup-current').  `gnus-group-catchup-group-hook'
     is called when catching up a group from the group buffer.

`C'
     Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
     (`gnus-group-catchup-current-all').

`M-c'
     Clear the data from the current group--nix out marks and the list
     of read articles (`gnus-group-clear-data').

`M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups'
     If you have switched from one NNTP server to another, all your
     marks and read ranges have become worthless.  You can use this
     command to clear out all data that you have on your native groups.
     Use with caution.



File: gnus,  Node: Group Levels,  Next: Group Score,  Prev: Subscription Commands,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.6 Group Levels
================

All groups have a level of "subscribedness".  For instance, if a group
is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5.  You can
ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower (*note Listing
Groups::), or to just check for new articles in groups on a given level
or lower (*note Scanning New Messages::).

   Remember:  The higher the level of the group, the less important it
is.

`S l'
     Set the level of the current group.  If a numeric prefix is given,
     the next N groups will have their levels set.  The user will be
     prompted for a level.

   Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to `gnus-level-subscribed'
(inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed, `gnus-level-subscribed'
(exclusive) and `gnus-level-unsubscribed' (inclusive) (default 7) to be
unsubscribed, `gnus-level-zombie' to be zombies (walking dead) (default
8) and `gnus-level-killed' to be killed (completely dead) (default 9).
Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the same, but
zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles you have
read, etc, stored.  This distinction between dead and living groups
isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for reasons
of efficiency.

   It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on
quite low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).

   Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus
helps to understand what these levels are all about.  By default, Gnus
shows you subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting `L' you can have
it show empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too.  Type `l'
to go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again.  Thus,
unsubscribed groups are hidden, in a way.

   Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that
they are hidden by default.  But they are different from subscribed and
unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
and killed groups.  Normally, you use `C-k' to kill the groups you
aren't interested in.  If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.

   Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups?  Well,
when a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a
zombie group.  This means that you are normally not bothered with new
groups, but you can type `A z' to get a list of all new groups.
Subscribe the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want.  (`A k'
shows a list of killed groups.)

   If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some
care.  Set them once, and don't touch them ever again.  Better yet,
don't touch them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.

   Two closely related variables are `gnus-level-default-subscribed'
(default 3) and `gnus-level-default-unsubscribed' (default 6), which
are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
(un)subscribed.  These two variables should, of course, be inside the
relevant valid ranges.

   If `gnus-keep-same-level' is non-`nil', some movement commands will
only move to groups of the same level (or lower).  In particular, going
from the last article in one group to the next group will go to the
next group of the same level (or lower).  This might be handy if you
want to read the most important groups before you read the rest.

   If this variable is `best', Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
one with the best level.

   All groups with a level less than or equal to
`gnus-group-default-list-level' will be listed in the group buffer by
default.

   If `gnus-group-list-inactive-groups' is non-`nil', non-active groups
will be listed along with the unread groups.  This variable is `t' by
default.  If it is `nil', inactive groups won't be listed.

   If `gnus-group-use-permanent-levels' is non-`nil', once you give a
level prefix to `g' or `l', all subsequent commands will use this level
as the "work" level.

   Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about)
groups on level `gnus-activate-level' or less.  If you don't want to
activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
to 5.  The default is 6.


File: gnus,  Node: Group Score,  Next: Marking Groups,  Prev: Group Levels,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.7 Group Score
===============

You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
is somewhat restrictive.  Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps?  Within
reason?

   This is what "group score" is for.  You can have Gnus assign a score
to each group through the mechanism described below.  You can then sort
the group buffer based on this score.  Alternatively, you can sort on
score and then level.  (Taken together, the level and the score is
called the "rank" of the group.  A group that is on level 4 and has a
score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
of 300.  (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
least significant part.))

   If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups
you read seldom you can add the `gnus-summary-bubble-group' function to
the `gnus-summary-exit-hook' hook.  This will result (after sorting) in
a bubbling sort of action.  If you want to see that in action after
each summary exit, you can add `gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank' or
`gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score' to the same hook, but that will slow
things down somewhat.


File: gnus,  Node: Marking Groups,  Next: Foreign Groups,  Prev: Group Score,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.8 Marking Groups
==================

If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
numerical prefix to the command.  Most group commands will then do your
bidding on those groups.

   However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
perform a command on several groups.  You simply mark the groups first
with the process mark and then execute the command.

`#'
`M m'
     Set the mark on the current group (`gnus-group-mark-group').

`M-#'
`M u'
     Remove the mark from the current group (`gnus-group-unmark-group').

`M U'
     Remove the mark from all groups (`gnus-group-unmark-all-groups').

`M w'
     Mark all groups between point and mark (`gnus-group-mark-region').

`M b'
     Mark all groups in the buffer (`gnus-group-mark-buffer').

`M r'
     Mark all groups that match some regular expression
     (`gnus-group-mark-regexp').

   Also *note Process/Prefix::.

   If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been
marked with the process mark, you can use the `M-&'
(`gnus-group-universal-argument') command.  It will prompt you for the
command to be executed.


File: gnus,  Node: Foreign Groups,  Next: Group Parameters,  Prev: Marking Groups,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.9 Foreign Groups
==================

Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general
foreign groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
special-purpose groups.  All these commands insert the newly created
groups under point--`gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method' is not consulted.

`G m'
     Make a new group (`gnus-group-make-group').  Gnus will prompt you
     for a name, a method and possibly an "address".  For an easier way
     to subscribe to NNTP groups, *note Browse Foreign Server::.

`G r'
     Rename the current group to something else
     (`gnus-group-rename-group').  This is valid only on some
     groups--mail groups mostly.  This command might very well be quite
     slow on some backends.

`G c'
     Customize the group parameters (`gnus-group-customize').

`G e'
     Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
     group (`gnus-group-edit-group-method').

`G p'
     Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
     (`gnus-group-edit-group-parameters').

`G E'
     Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
     (`gnus-group-edit-group').

`G d'
     Make a directory group (*note Directory Groups::).  You will be
     prompted for a directory name (`gnus-group-make-directory-group').

`G h'
     Make the Gnus help group (`gnus-group-make-help-group').

`G a'
     Make a Gnus archive group (`gnus-group-make-archive-group').  By
     default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be
     created (`gnus-group-recent-archive-directory'), but given a
     prefix, a full group will be created from
     `gnus-group-archive-directory'.

`G k'
     Make a kiboze group.  You will be prompted for a name, for a
     regexp to match groups to be "included" in the kiboze group, and a
     series of strings to match on headers
     (`gnus-group-make-kiboze-group').  *Note Kibozed Groups::.

`G D'
     Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
     `nneething' backend (`gnus-group-enter-directory').  *Note
     Anything Groups::.

`G f'
     Make a group based on some file or other
     (`gnus-group-make-doc-group').  If you give a prefix to this
     command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
     Currently supported types are `babyl', `mbox', `digest', `mmdf',
     `news', `rnews', `clari-briefs', `rfc934', `rfc822-forward',
     `nsmail' and `forward'.  If you run this command without a prefix,
     Gnus will guess at the file type.  *Note Document Groups::.

`G u'
     Create one of the groups mentioned in `gnus-useful-groups'
     (`gnus-group-make-useful-group').

`G w'
     Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
     (`gnus-group-make-web-group').  If you give a prefix to this
     command, make a solid group instead.  You will be prompted for the
     search engine type and the search string.  Valid search engine
     types include `dejanews', `altavista' and `reference'.  *Note Web
     Searches::.

     If you use the `dejanews' search engine, you can limit the search
     to a particular group by using a match string like `~g
     alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving'.

`G DEL'
     This function will delete the current group
     (`gnus-group-delete-group').  If given a prefix, this function will
     actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove
     the group itself from the face of the Earth.  Use a prefix only if
     you are absolutely sure of what you are doing.  This command can't
     be used on read-only groups (like `nntp' group), though.

`G V'
     Make a new, fresh, empty `nnvirtual' group
     (`gnus-group-make-empty-virtual').  *Note Virtual Groups::.

`G v'
     Add the current group to an `nnvirtual' group
     (`gnus-group-add-to-virtual').  Uses the process/prefix convention.

   *Note Select Methods::, for more information on the various select
methods.

   If `gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups' is a positive number, Gnus
will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
groups from different NNTP servers.  Also *note Group Levels::;
`gnus-activate-level' also affects activation of foreign newsgroups.


File: gnus,  Node: Group Parameters,  Next: Listing Groups,  Prev: Foreign Groups,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.10 Group Parameters
=====================

The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
Here's an example group parameter list:

     ((to-address . "ding@gnus.org")
      (auto-expire . t))

   We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"--the thing
before the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value.
All the parameters have this form _except_ local variable specs, which
are not dotted pairs, but proper lists.

   The following group parameters can be used:

`to-address'
     Address used by when doing followups and new posts.

          (to-address . "some@where.com")

     This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed
     mailing lists--mailing lists where it's expected that everybody
     that writes to the mailing list is subscribed to it.  Since using
     this parameter ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list
     itself, it means that members won't receive two copies of your
     followups.

     Using `to-address' will actually work whether the group is foreign
     or not.  Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
     `fa.4ad-l'.  This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
     the articles from a mail-to-news gateway.  Posting directly to this
     group is therefore impossible--you have to send mail to the mailing
     list address instead.

`to-list'
     Address used when doing `a' in that group.

          (to-list . "some@where.com")

     It is totally ignored when doing a followup--except that if it is
     present in a news group, you'll get mail group semantics when
     doing `f'.

     If you do an `a' command in a mail group and you have neither a
     `to-list' group parameter nor a `to-address' group parameter, then
     a `to-list' group parameter will be added automatically upon
     sending the message if `gnus-add-to-list' is set to `t'.  

     If you do an `a' command in a mail group and you don't have a
     `to-list' group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
     sending the message.

`visible'
     If the group parameter list has the element `(visible . t)', that
     group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless of
     whether it has any unread articles.

`broken-reply-to'
     Elements like `(broken-reply-to . t)' signals that `Reply-To'
     headers in this group are to be ignored.  This can be useful if
     you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
     `Reply-To' headers that point back to the listserv itself.  This is
     broken behavior.  So there!

`to-group'
     Elements like `(to-group . "some.group.name")' means that all
     posts in that group will be sent to `some.group.name'.

`newsgroup'
     If you have `(newsgroup . t)' in the group parameter list, Gnus
     will treat all responses as if they were responses to news
     articles.  This can be useful if you have a mail group that's
     really a mirror of a news group.

`gcc-self'
     If `(gcc-self . t)' is present in the group parameter list, newly
     composed messages will be `Gcc''d to the current group.  If
     `(gcc-self . none)' is present, no `Gcc:' header will be
     generated, if `(gcc-self . "string")' is present, this string will
     be inserted literally as a `gcc' header.  This parameter takes
     precedence over any default `Gcc' rules as described later (*note
     Archived Messages::).

`auto-expire'
     If the group parameter has an element that looks like `(auto-expire
     . t)', all articles read will be marked as expirable.  For an
     alternative approach, *note Expiring Mail::.

`total-expire'
     If the group parameter has an element that looks like
     `(total-expire . t)', all read articles will be put through the
     expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable.  Use with
     caution.  Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
     expiry.

`expiry-wait'
     If the group parameter has an element that looks like `(expiry-wait
     . 10)', this value will override any `nnmail-expiry-wait' and
     `nnmail-expiry-wait-function' when expiring expirable messages.
     The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an
     integer) or the symbols `never' or `immediate'.

`score-file'
     Elements that look like `(score-file . "file")' will make `file'
     into the current score file for the group in question.  All
     interactive score entries will be put into this file.

`adapt-file'
     Elements that look like `(adapt-file . "file")' will make `file'
     into the current adaptive file for the group in question.  All
     adaptive score entries will be put into this file.

`admin-address'
     When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
     unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself.  Instead, you'd
     send messages to the administrative address.  This parameter
     allows you to put the admin address somewhere convenient.

`display'
     Elements that look like `(display . MODE)' say which articles to
     display on entering the group.  Valid values are:

    `all'
          Display all articles, both read and unread.

    `default'
          Display the default visible articles, which normally includes
          unread and ticked articles.

`comment'
     Elements that look like `(comment . "This is a comment")' are
     arbitrary comments on the group.  They are currently ignored by
     Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on
     particular groups.

`charset'
     Elements that look like `(charset . iso-8859-1)' will make
     `iso-8859-1' the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
     used for all articles that do not specify a charset.

`(VARIABLE FORM)'
     You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the
     group you are entering.  If you want to turn threading off in
     `news.answers', you could put `(gnus-show-threads nil)' in the
     group parameters of that group.  `gnus-show-threads' will be made
     into a local variable in the summary buffer you enter, and the
     form `nil' will be `eval'ed there.

     This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd
     like.  If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you
     could put something like `(dummy-variable (ding))' in the
     parameters of that group.  `dummy-variable' will be set to the
     result of the `(ding)' form, but who cares?

`posting-style'
     You can store additional posting style information for this group
     only here (*note Posting Styles::).  The format is that of an
     entry in the `gnus-posting-styles' alist, except that there's no
     regexp matching the group name (of course).  Style elements in
     this group parameter will take precedence over the ones found in
     `gnus-posting-styles'.

     For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group
     only, instead of hacking `gnus-posting-styles', you could put
     something like this in the group parameters:

          (posting-style
            (name "Funky Name")
            (signature "Funky Signature"))


   Use the `G p' command to edit group parameters of a group.  You
might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (*note Topic
Parameters::).


File: gnus,  Node: Listing Groups,  Next: Sorting Groups,  Prev: Group Parameters,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.11 Listing Groups
===================

These commands all list various slices of the groups available.

`l'
`A s'
     List all groups that have unread articles
     (`gnus-group-list-groups').  If the numeric prefix is used, this
     command will list only groups of level ARG and lower.  By default,
     it only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
     `gnus-group-default-list-level') or lower (i.e., just subscribed
     groups).

`L'
`A u'
     List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
     (`gnus-group-list-all-groups').  If the numeric prefix is used,
     this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower.  By
     default, it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just
     subscribed and unsubscribed groups).

`A l'
     List all unread groups on a specific level
     (`gnus-group-list-level').  If given a prefix, also list the groups
     with no unread articles.

`A k'
     List all killed groups (`gnus-group-list-killed').  If given a
     prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but
     aren't currently (un)subscribed.  This could entail reading the
     active file from the server.

`A z'
     List all zombie groups (`gnus-group-list-zombies').

`A m'
     List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
     (`gnus-group-list-matching').

`A M'
     List groups that match a regexp (`gnus-group-list-all-matching').

`A A'
     List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the server(s)
     you are connected to (`gnus-group-list-active').  This might very
     well take quite a while.  It might actually be a better idea to do
     a `A M' to list all matching, and just give `.' as the thing to
     match on.  Also note that this command may list groups that don't
     exist (yet)--these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
     Take the output with some grains of salt.

`A a'
     List all groups that have names that match a regexp
     (`gnus-group-apropos').

`A d'
     List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
     (`gnus-group-description-apropos').

`A c'
     List all groups with cached articles (`gnus-group-list-cached').

`A ?'
     List all groups with dormant articles (`gnus-group-list-dormant').


   Groups that match the `gnus-permanently-visible-groups' regexp will
always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not.  You can also
add the `visible' element to the group parameters in question to get
the same effect.

   Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in
the group buffer.  If `gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles' is `nil',
these groups will be treated just like totally empty groups.  It is `t'
by default.


File: gnus,  Node: Sorting Groups,  Next: Group Maintenance,  Prev: Listing Groups,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.12 Sorting Groups
===================

The `C-c C-s' (`gnus-group-sort-groups') command sorts the group buffer
according to the function(s) given by the `gnus-group-sort-function'
variable.  Available sorting functions include:

`gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet'
     Sort the group names alphabetically.  This is the default.

`gnus-group-sort-by-real-name'
     Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.

`gnus-group-sort-by-level'
     Sort by group level.

`gnus-group-sort-by-score'
     Sort by group score.  *Note Group Score::.

`gnus-group-sort-by-rank'
     Sort by group score and then the group level.  The level and the
     score are, when taken together, the group's "rank".  *Note Group
     Score::.

`gnus-group-sort-by-unread'
     Sort by number of unread articles.

`gnus-group-sort-by-method'
     Sort alphabetically on the select method.


   `gnus-group-sort-function' can also be a list of sorting functions.
In that case, the most significant sort key function must be the last
one.

   There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
some sorting criteria:

`G S a'
     Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
     (`gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet').

`G S u'
     Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
     (`gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread').

`G S l'
     Sort the group buffer by group level
     (`gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level').

`G S v'
     Sort the group buffer by group score
     (`gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score').  *Note Group Score::.

`G S r'
     Sort the group buffer by group rank
     (`gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank').  *Note Group Score::.

`G S m'
     Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
     (`gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method').


   All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention (*note
Process/Prefix::).

   When given a symbolic prefix (*note Symbolic Prefixes::), all these
commands will sort in reverse order.

   You can also sort a subset of the groups:

`G P a'
     Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
     (`gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet').

`G P u'
     Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
     (`gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread').

`G P l'
     Sort the groups by group level
     (`gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level').

`G P v'
     Sort the groups by group score
     (`gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score').  *Note Group Score::.

`G P r'
     Sort the groups by group rank
     (`gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank').  *Note Group Score::.

`G P m'
     Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
     (`gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method').



File: gnus,  Node: Group Maintenance,  Next: Browse Foreign Server,  Prev: Sorting Groups,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.13 Group Maintenance
======================

`b'
     Find bogus groups and delete them
     (`gnus-group-check-bogus-groups').

`F'
     Find new groups and process them (`gnus-group-find-new-groups').
     With 1 `C-u', use the `ask-server' method to query the server for
     new groups.  With 2 `C-u''s, use most complete method possible to
     query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
     zombies.

`C-c C-x'
     Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
     process (if any) (`gnus-group-expire-articles').

`C-c M-C-x'
     Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
     (`gnus-group-expire-all-groups').



File: gnus,  Node: Browse Foreign Server,  Next: Exiting Gnus,  Prev: Group Maintenance,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.14 Browse Foreign Server
==========================

`B'
     You will be queried for a select method and a server name.  Gnus
     will then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the
     groups there (`gnus-group-browse-foreign-server').

   A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear.  This
buffer will use the `gnus-browse-mode'.  This buffer looks a bit (well,
a lot) like a normal group buffer.

   Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:

`n'
     Go to the next group (`gnus-group-next-group').

`p'
     Go to the previous group (`gnus-group-prev-group').

`SPACE'
     Enter the current group and display the first article
     (`gnus-browse-read-group').

`RET'
     Enter the current group (`gnus-browse-select-group').

`u'
     Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
     subscribe to it (`gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group').

`l'
`q'
     Exit browse mode (`gnus-browse-exit').

`?'
     Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe,
     is there) (`gnus-browse-describe-briefly').


File: gnus,  Node: Exiting Gnus,  Next: Group Topics,  Prev: Browse Foreign Server,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.15 Exiting Gnus
=================

Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.

`z'
     Suspend Gnus (`gnus-group-suspend').  This doesn't really exit
     Gnus, but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer.  I'm not
     sure why this is a gain, but then who am I to judge?

`q'
     Quit Gnus (`gnus-group-exit').

`Q'
     Quit Gnus without saving the `.newsrc' files (`gnus-group-quit').
     The dribble file will be saved, though (*note Auto Save::).

   `gnus-suspend-gnus-hook' is called when you suspend Gnus and
`gnus-exit-gnus-hook' is called when you quit Gnus, while
`gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook' is called as the final item when exiting
Gnus.

   If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can
use the `gnus-unload' command.  This command is also very handy when
trying to customize meta-variables.

   Note:

     Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet
     go numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy
     sitting behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the
     back of her plastic chair.


File: gnus,  Node: Group Topics,  Next: Misc Group Stuff,  Prev: Exiting Gnus,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.16 Group Topics
=================

If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
them hierarchically according to topics.  You put your Emacs groups over
here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway.  You can
even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
groups or the sex groups--or both!  Go wild!

   Here's an example:

     Gnus
       Emacs -- I wuw it!
          3: comp.emacs
          2: alt.religion.emacs
         Naughty Emacs
          452: alt.sex.emacs
            0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
       Misc
          8: comp.binaries.fractals
         13: comp.sources.unix

   To get this _fab_ functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
`gnus-topic' minor mode--type `t' in the group buffer.  (This is a
toggling command.)

   Go ahead, just try it.  I'll still be here when you get back.  La de
dum...  Nice tune, that...  la la la...  What, you're back? Yes, and now
press `l'.  There.  All your groups are now listed under `misc'.
Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?  Hot and bothered?

   If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode
to the hook for the group mode:

     (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)

* Menu:

* Topic Variables::    How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
* Topic Commands::     Interactive E-Z commands.
* Topic Sorting::      Sorting each topic individually.
* Topic Topology::     A map of the world.
* Topic Parameters::   Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.


File: gnus,  Node: Topic Variables,  Next: Topic Commands,  Up: Group Topics

2.16.1 Topic Variables
----------------------

Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
really neat, I think.

   The topic lines themselves are created according to the
`gnus-topic-line-format' variable (*note Formatting Variables::).
Valid elements are:

`i'
     Indentation.

`n'
     Topic name.

`v'
     Visibility.

`l'
     Level.

`g'
     Number of groups in the topic.

`a'
     Number of unread articles in the topic.

`A'
     Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.

   Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented
with `gnus-topic-indent-level' times the topic level number of spaces.
The default is 2.

   `gnus-topic-mode-hook' is called in topic minor mode buffers.

   The `gnus-topic-display-empty-topics' says whether to display even
topics that have no unread articles in them.  The default is `t'.


File: gnus,  Node: Topic Commands,  Next: Topic Sorting,  Prev: Topic Variables,  Up: Group Topics

2.16.2 Topic Commands
---------------------

When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new `T' submap will be
available.  In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
definitions slightly.

`T n'
     Prompt for a new topic name and create it
     (`gnus-topic-create-topic').

`T m'
     Move the current group to some other topic
     (`gnus-topic-move-group').  This command uses the process/prefix
     convention (*note Process/Prefix::).

`T j'
     Go to a topic (`gnus-topic-jump-to-topic').

`T c'
     Copy the current group to some other topic
     (`gnus-topic-copy-group').  This command uses the process/prefix
     convention (*note Process/Prefix::).

`T h'
     Hide the current topic (`gnus-topic-hide-topic').  If given a
     prefix, hide the topic permanently.

`T s'
     Show the current topic (`gnus-topic-show-topic').  If given a
     prefix, show the topic permanently.

`T D'
     Remove a group from the current topic (`gnus-topic-remove-group').
     This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
     topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics.  You may also
     remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it
     to the root topic the next time you start Gnus.  In fact, all new
     groups (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up
     in the root topic.

     This command uses the process/prefix convention (*note
     Process/Prefix::).

`T M'
     Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
     (`gnus-topic-move-matching').

`T C'
     Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
     (`gnus-topic-copy-matching').

`T H'
     Toggle hiding empty topics
     (`gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics').

`T #'
     Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
     (`gnus-topic-mark-topic').

`T M-#'
     Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
     (`gnus-topic-unmark-topic').

`T TAB'
`TAB'
     "Indent" the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
     previous topic (`gnus-topic-indent').  If given a prefix,
     "un-indent" the topic instead.

`M-TAB'
     "Un-indent" the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
     parent of its current parent (`gnus-topic-unindent').

`RET'
`SPACE'
     Either select a group or fold a topic (`gnus-topic-select-group').
     When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group,
     as usual.  When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if
     it was visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already).  So it's
     basically a toggling command on topics.  In addition, if you give
     a numerical prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be
     displayed.

`C-c C-x'
     Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through
     the expiry process (if any) (`gnus-topic-expire-articles').

`C-k'
     Kill a group or topic (`gnus-topic-kill-group').  All groups in the
     topic will be removed along with the topic.

`C-y'
     Yank the previously killed group or topic
     (`gnus-topic-yank-group').  Note that all topics will be yanked
     before all groups.

`T r'
     Rename a topic (`gnus-topic-rename').

`T DEL'
     Delete an empty topic (`gnus-topic-delete').

`A T'
     List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
     (`gnus-topic-list-active').

`G p'
     Edit the topic parameters (`gnus-topic-edit-parameters').  *Note
     Topic Parameters::.



File: gnus,  Node: Topic Sorting,  Next: Topic Topology,  Prev: Topic Commands,  Up: Group Topics

2.16.3 Topic Sorting
--------------------

You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
commands:

`T S a'
     Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
     (`gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet').

`T S u'
     Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
     (`gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread').

`T S l'
     Sort the current topic by group level
     (`gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level').

`T S v'
     Sort the current topic by group score
     (`gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score').  *Note Group Score::.

`T S r'
     Sort the current topic by group rank
     (`gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank').  *Note Group Score::.

`T S m'
     Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
     (`gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method').


   *Note Sorting Groups::, for more information about group sorting.


File: gnus,  Node: Topic Topology,  Next: Topic Parameters,  Prev: Topic Sorting,  Up: Group Topics

2.16.4 Topic Topology
---------------------

So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:

     Gnus
       Emacs -- I wuw it!
          3: comp.emacs
          2: alt.religion.emacs
         Naughty Emacs
          452: alt.sex.emacs
            0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
       Misc
          8: comp.binaries.fractals
         13: comp.sources.unix

   So, here we have one top-level topic (`Gnus'), two topics under
that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics.  (There is always
just one (1) top-level topic).  This topology can be expressed as
follows:

     (("Gnus" visible)
      (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
       (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
      (("Misc" visible)))

   This is in fact how the variable `gnus-topic-topology' would look
for the display above.  That variable is saved in the `.newsrc.eld'
file, and shouldn't be messed with manually--unless you really want to.
Since this variable is read from the `.newsrc.eld' file, setting it in
any other startup files will have no effect.

   This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics
(right), and which topics are visible.  Two settings are currently
allowed--`visible' and `invisible'.


File: gnus,  Node: Topic Parameters,  Prev: Topic Topology,  Up: Group Topics

2.16.5 Topic Parameters
-----------------------

All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
ancestor) topic parameters.  All valid group parameters are valid topic
parameters (*note Group Parameters::).

   In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
parameters:

`subscribe'
     When subscribing new groups by topic (*note Subscription
     Methods::), the `subscribe' topic parameter says what groups go in
     what topic.  Its value should be a regexp to match the groups that
     should go in that topic.


   Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics.  You
know.  Normal inheritance rules.  ("Rules" is here a noun, not a verb,
although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)

     Gnus
       Emacs
          3: comp.emacs
          2: alt.religion.emacs
        452: alt.sex.emacs
         Relief
          452: alt.sex.emacs
            0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
       Misc
          8: comp.binaries.fractals
         13: comp.sources.unix
        452: alt.sex.emacs

   The `Emacs' topic has the topic parameter `(score-file .
"emacs.SCORE")'; the `Relief' topic has the topic parameter
`(score-file . "relief.SCORE")'; and the `Misc' topic has the topic
parameter `(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")'.  In addition,
`alt.religion.emacs' has the group parameter `(score-file .
"religion.SCORE")'.

   Now, when you enter `alt.sex.emacs' in the `Relief' topic, you will
get the `relief.SCORE' home score file.  If you enter the same group in
the `Emacs' topic, you'll get the `emacs.SCORE' home score file.  If
you enter the group `alt.religion.emacs', you'll get the
`religion.SCORE' home score file.

   This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it?  Well, yes.
But there are some problems, especially with the `total-expiry'
parameter.  Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
`total-expiry' and one without.  What happens when you do `M-x
gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups'?  Gnus has no way of telling which one
of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
happen.  In fact, I hereby declare that it is "undefined" what happens.
You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.


File: gnus,  Node: Misc Group Stuff,  Prev: Group Topics,  Up: The Group Buffer

2.17 Misc Group Stuff
=====================

* Menu:

* Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
* Group Information::     Information and help on groups and Gnus.
* Group Timestamp::       Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
* File Commands::         Reading and writing the Gnus files.

`^'
     Enter the server buffer (`gnus-group-enter-server-mode').  *Note
     The Server Buffer::.

`a'
     Post an article to a group (`gnus-group-post-news').  If given a
     prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.

`m'
     Mail a message somewhere (`gnus-group-mail').


   Variables for the group buffer:

`gnus-group-mode-hook'
     is called after the group buffer has been created.

`gnus-group-prepare-hook'
     is called after the group buffer is generated.  It may be used to
     modify the buffer in some strange, unnatural way.

`gnus-group-prepared-hook'
     is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
     generated.  It may be used to move point around, for instance.

`gnus-permanently-visible-groups'
     Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group
     buffer, whether they are empty or not.

`gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist'
     An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to
     show non-ASCII group names.

     For example:
          (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
              '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))

`gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist'
     An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
     It is used to show non-ASCII group names.

     For example:
          (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
              '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))



File: gnus,  Node: Scanning New Messages,  Next: Group Information,  Up: Misc Group Stuff

2.17.1 Scanning New Messages
----------------------------

`g'
     Check the server(s) for new articles.  If the numerical prefix is
     used, this command will check only groups of level ARG and lower
     (`gnus-group-get-new-news').  If given a non-numerical prefix, this
     command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from
     the backend(s).

`M-g'
     Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
     (`gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group').
     `gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating' says whether this command is
     to move point to the next group or not.  It is `t' by default.

`C-c M-g'
     Activate absolutely all groups (`gnus-activate-all-groups').

`R'
     Restart Gnus (`gnus-group-restart').  This saves the `.newsrc'
     file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all
     run-time Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.


   `gnus-get-new-news-hook' is run just before checking for new news.

   `gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook' is run after checking for new
news.


File: gnus,  Node: Group Information,  Next: Group Timestamp,  Prev: Scanning New Messages,  Up: Misc Group Stuff

2.17.2 Group Information
------------------------

`H f'
     Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
     (`gnus-group-fetch-faq').  Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
     `gnus-group-faq-directory', which is usually a directory on a
     remote machine.  This variable can also be a list of directories.
     In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to
     choose between the various sites.  `ange-ftp' (or `efs') will be
     used for fetching the file.

     If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt
     to go through `gnus-group-faq-directory' and try to open them one
     by one.

`H d'
`C-c C-d'
     Describe the current group (`gnus-group-describe-group').  If given
     a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.

`M-d'
     Describe all groups (`gnus-group-describe-all-groups').  If given a
     prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.

`H v'
`V'
     Display current Gnus version numbers (`gnus-version').

`?'
     Give a very short help message (`gnus-group-describe-briefly').

`C-c C-i'
     Go to the Gnus info node (`gnus-info-find-node').


File: gnus,  Node: Group Timestamp,  Next: File Commands,  Prev: Group Information,  Up: Misc Group Stuff

2.17.3 Group Timestamp
----------------------

It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
group.  To set the ball rolling, you should add
`gnus-group-set-timestamp' to `gnus-select-group-hook':

     (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)

   After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.

   This information can be displayed in various ways--the easiest is to
use the `%d' spec in the group line format:

     (setq gnus-group-line-format
           "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")

   This will result in lines looking like:

     *        0: mail.ding                                19961002T012943
              0: custom                                   19961002T012713

   As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format.
This may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
something like:

     (setq gnus-group-line-format
           "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")


File: gnus,  Node: File Commands,  Prev: Group Timestamp,  Up: Misc Group Stuff

2.17.4 File Commands
--------------------

`r'
     Re-read the init file (`gnus-init-file', which defaults to
     `~/.gnus') (`gnus-group-read-init-file').

`s'
     Save the `.newsrc.eld' file (and `.newsrc' if wanted)
     (`gnus-group-save-newsrc').  If given a prefix, force saving the
     file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.



File: gnus,  Node: The Summary Buffer,  Next: The Article Buffer,  Prev: The Group Buffer,  Up: Top

3 The Summary Buffer
********************

A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer.  You can
move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.

   The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
group buffer (*note Selecting a Group::).

   You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.

* Menu:

* Summary Buffer Format::       Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
* Summary Maneuvering::         Moving around the summary buffer.
* Choosing Articles::           Reading articles.
* Paging the Article::          Scrolling the current article.
* Reply Followup and Post::     Posting articles.
* Marking Articles::            Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
* Limiting::                    You can limit the summary buffer.
* Threading::                   How threads are made.
* Sorting::                     How articles and threads are sorted.
* Asynchronous Fetching::       Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
* Article Caching::             You may store articles in a cache.
* Persistent Articles::         Making articles expiry-resistant.
* Article Backlog::             Having already read articles hang around.
* Saving Articles::             Ways of customizing article saving.
* Decoding Articles::           Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
* Article Treatment::           The article buffer can be mangled at will.
* MIME Commands::               Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
* Charsets::                    Character set issues.
* Article Commands::            Doing various things with the article buffer.
* Summary Sorting::             Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
* Finding the Parent::          No child support? Get the parent.
* Alternative Approaches::      Reading using non-default summaries.
* Tree Display::                A more visual display of threads.
* Mail Group Commands::         Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
* Various Summary Stuff::       What didn't fit anywhere else.
* Exiting the Summary Buffer::  Returning to the Group buffer.
* Crosspost Handling::          How crossposted articles are dealt with.
* Duplicate Suppression::       An alternative when crosspost handling fails.


File: gnus,  Node: Summary Buffer Format,  Next: Summary Maneuvering,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.1 Summary Buffer Format
=========================

* Menu:

* Summary Buffer Lines::     You can specify how summary lines should look.
* To From Newsgroups::       How to not display your own name.
* Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
* Summary Highlighting::     Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.

   Gnus will use the value of the `gnus-extract-address-components'
variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
`From' header.  Two pre-defined functions exist:
`gnus-extract-address-components', which is the default, quite fast,
and too simplistic solution; and `mail-extract-address-components',
which works very nicely, but is slower.  The default function will
return the wrong answer in 5% of the cases.  If this is unacceptable to
you, use the other function instead:

     (setq gnus-extract-address-components
           'mail-extract-address-components)

   `gnus-summary-same-subject' is a string indicating that the current
article has the same subject as the previous.  This string will be used
with those specs that require it.  The default is `""'.


File: gnus,  Node: Summary Buffer Lines,  Next: To From Newsgroups,  Up: Summary Buffer Format

3.1.1 Summary Buffer Lines
--------------------------

You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
the `gnus-summary-line-format' variable.  It works along the same lines
as a normal `format' string, with some extensions (*note Formatting
Variables::).

   The default string is `%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n'.

   The following format specification characters are understood:

`N'
     Article number.

`S'
     Subject string.  List identifiers stripped,
     `gnus-list-identifies'.  *Note Article Hiding::.

`s'
     Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous
     article had a different subject, `gnus-summary-same-subject'
     otherwise.  (`gnus-summary-same-subject' defaults to `""'.)

`F'
     Full `From' header.

`n'
     The name (from the `From' header).

`f'
     The name, code `To' header or the `Newsgroups' header (*note To
     From Newsgroups::).

`a'
     The name (from the `From' header).  This differs from the `n' spec
     in that it uses the function designated by the
     `gnus-extract-address-components' variable, which is slower, but
     may be more thorough.

`A'
     The address (from the `From' header).  This works the same way as
     the `a' spec.

`L'
     Number of lines in the article.

`c'
     Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not
     supported in some methods (like nnfolder).

`I'
     Indentation based on thread level (*note Customizing Threading::).

`T'
     Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
     pushes everything after it off the screen).

`['
     Opening bracket, which is normally `[', but can also be `<' for
     adopted articles (*note Customizing Threading::).

`]'
     Closing bracket, which is normally `]', but can also be `>' for
     adopted articles.

`>'
     One space for each thread level.

`<'
     Twenty minus thread level spaces.

`U'
     Unread.

`R'
     This misleadingly named specifier is the "secondary mark".  This
     mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been
     cached, or has been saved.

`i'
     Score as a number (*note Scoring::).

`z'
     Zcore, `+' if above the default level and `-' if below the default
     level.  If the difference between `gnus-summary-default-score' and
     the score is less than `gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz', this spec will
     not be used.

`V'
     Total thread score.

`x'
     `Xref'.

`D'
     `Date'.

`d'
     The `Date' in `DD-MMM' format.

`o'
     The `Date' in YYYYMMDD`T'HHMMSS format.

`M'
     `Message-ID'.

`r'
     `References'.

`t'
     Number of articles in the current sub-thread.  Using this spec
     will slow down summary buffer generation somewhat.

`e'
     An `=' (`gnus-not-empty-thread-mark') will be displayed if the
     article has any children.

`P'
     The line number.

`O'
     Download mark.

`u'
     User defined specifier.  The next character in the format string
     should be a letter.  Gnus will call the function
     `gnus-user-format-function-'`X', where `X' is the letter following
     `%u'.  The function will be passed the current header as argument.
     The function should return a string, which will be inserted into
     the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.

   The `%U' (status), `%R' (replied) and `%z' (zcore) specs have to be
handled with care.  For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will compute what
column these characters will end up in, and "hard-code" that.  This
means that it is invalid to have these specs after a variable-length
spec.  Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary buffer will
look strange, which is bad enough.

   The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as
possible.  (Isn't that the case with everything, though?  But I
digress.)

   This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.


File: gnus,  Node: To From Newsgroups,  Next: Summary Buffer Mode Line,  Prev: Summary Buffer Lines,  Up: Summary Buffer Format

3.1.2 To From Newsgroups
------------------------

In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the `From' header
isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
you.  To display the information in the `To' or `Newsgroups' headers
instead, you need to decide three things: What information to gather;
where to display it; and when to display it.

  1. The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
     `gnus-extra-headers'.  This is a list of header symbols.  For
     instance:

          (setq gnus-extra-headers
                '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))

     This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
     storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.

  2. The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
     `gnus-extra-header' function.  Here's a format line spec that will
     access the `X-Newsreader' header:

          "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@"

  3. The `gnus-ignored-from-addresses' variable says when the `%f'
     summary line spec returns the `To', `Newsreader' or `From' header.
     If this regexp matches the contents of the `From' header, the
     value of the `To' or `Newsreader' headers are used instead.


   A related variable is `nnmail-extra-headers', which controls when to
include extra headers when generating overview (NOV) files.  If you
have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing this
variable.

   You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
`%n' spec to the `%f' spec in the `gnus-summary-line-format' variable.

   In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:

     (setq gnus-extra-headers
           '(To Newsgroups))
     (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
     (setq gnus-summary-line-format
           "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
     (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
           "Your Name Here")

   Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control
over the NOV files that are created.  However, if you can persuade your
nntp admin to add:

     Newsgroups:full

   to the end of her `overview.fmt' file, then you can use that just as
you would the extra headers from the mail groups.


File: gnus,  Node: Summary Buffer Mode Line,  Next: Summary Highlighting,  Prev: To From Newsgroups,  Up: Summary Buffer Format

3.1.3 Summary Buffer Mode Line
------------------------------

You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (*note Mode Line
Formatting::).  Set `gnus-summary-mode-line-format' to whatever you
like.  The default is `Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z'.

   Here are the elements you can play with:

`G'
     Group name.

`p'
     Unprefixed group name.

`A'
     Current article number.

`z'
     Current article score.

`V'
     Gnus version.

`U'
     Number of unread articles in this group.

`e'
     Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in
     the summary buffer.

`Z'
     A string with the number of unread and unselected articles
     represented either as `<%U(+%e) more>' if there are both unread
     and unselected articles, and just as `<%U more>' if there are just
     unread articles and no unselected ones.

`g'
     Shortish group name.  For instance, `rec.arts.anime' will be
     shortened to `r.a.anime'.

`S'
     Subject of the current article.

`u'
     User-defined spec (*note User-Defined Specs::).

`s'
     Name of the current score file (*note Scoring::).

`d'
     Number of dormant articles (*note Unread Articles::).

`t'
     Number of ticked articles (*note Unread Articles::).

`r'
     Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.

`E'
     Number of articles expunged by the score files.


File: gnus,  Node: Summary Highlighting,  Prev: Summary Buffer Mode Line,  Up: Summary Buffer Format

3.1.4 Summary Highlighting
--------------------------

`gnus-visual-mark-article-hook'
     This hook is run after selecting an article.  It is meant to be
     used for highlighting the article in some way.  It is not run if
     `gnus-visual' is `nil'.

`gnus-summary-update-hook'
     This hook is called when a summary line is changed.  It is not run
     if `gnus-visual' is `nil'.

`gnus-summary-selected-face'
     This is the face (or "font" as some people call it) used to
     highlight the current article in the summary buffer.

`gnus-summary-highlight'
     Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is
     a list where the elements are of the format `(FORM . FACE)'.  If
     you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and
     high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable to
     something like
          (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
           ((> score default) . bold))
     As you may have guessed, if FORM returns a non-`nil' value, FACE
     will be applied to the line.


File: gnus,  Node: Summary Maneuvering,  Next: Choosing Articles,  Prev: Summary Buffer Format,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.2 Summary Maneuvering
=======================

All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
behave pretty much as you'd expect.

   None of these commands select articles.

`G M-n'
`M-n'
     Go to the next summary line of an unread article
     (`gnus-summary-next-unread-subject').

`G M-p'
`M-p'
     Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
     (`gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject').

`G j'
`j'
     Ask for an article number or `Message-ID', and then go to that
     article (`gnus-summary-goto-article').

`G g'
     Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that
     article without displaying the article
     (`gnus-summary-goto-subject').

   If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group,
you can use the `C-n' and `C-p' keys to move around the group buffer,
searching for the next group to read without actually returning to the
group buffer.

   Variables related to summary movement:

`gnus-auto-select-next'
     If you issue one of the movement commands (like `n') and there are
     no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to
     go to the next group.  If this variable is `t' and the next group
     is empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group
     buffer.  If this variable is neither `t' nor `nil', Gnus will
     select the next group, no matter whether it has any unread
     articles or not.  As a special case, if this variable is
     `quietly', Gnus will select the next group without asking for
     confirmation.  If this variable is `almost-quietly', the same will
     happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
     Finally, if this variable is `slightly-quietly', the `Z n' command
     will go to the next group without confirmation.  Also *note Group
     Levels::.

`gnus-auto-select-same'
     If non-`nil', all the movement commands will try to go to the next
     article with the same subject as the current.  ("Same" here might
     mean "roughly equal".  See `gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit' for
     details (*note Customizing Threading::).)  If there are no more
     articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.

     This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded
     display.

`gnus-summary-check-current'
     If non-`nil', all the "unread" movement commands will not proceed
     to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
     Instead, they will choose the current article.

`gnus-auto-center-summary'
     If non-`nil', Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
     centered at all times.  This makes things quite tidy, but if you
     have a slow network connection, or simply do not like this
     un-Emacsism, you can set this variable to `nil' to get the normal
     Emacs scrolling action.  This will also inhibit horizontal
     re-centering of the summary buffer, which might make it more
     inconvenient to read extremely long threads.

     This variable can also be a number.  In that case, center the
     window at the given number of lines from the top.



File: gnus,  Node: Choosing Articles,  Next: Paging the Article,  Prev: Summary Maneuvering,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.3 Choosing Articles
=====================

* Menu:

* Choosing Commands::        Commands for choosing articles.
* Choosing Variables::       Variables that influence these commands.


File: gnus,  Node: Choosing Commands,  Next: Choosing Variables,  Up: Choosing Articles

3.3.1 Choosing Commands
-----------------------

None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
and they all select and display an article.

`SPACE'
     Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the
     next unread article (`gnus-summary-next-page').

`G n'
`n'
     Go to next unread article (`gnus-summary-next-unread-article').

`G p'
`p'
     Go to previous unread article (`gnus-summary-prev-unread-article').

`G N'
`N'
     Go to the next article (`gnus-summary-next-article').

`G P'
`P'
     Go to the previous article (`gnus-summary-prev-article').

`G C-n'
     Go to the next article with the same subject
     (`gnus-summary-next-same-subject').

`G C-p'
     Go to the previous article with the same subject
     (`gnus-summary-prev-same-subject').

`G f'
`.'
     Go to the first unread article
     (`gnus-summary-first-unread-article').

`G b'
`,'
     Go to the article with the highest score
     (`gnus-summary-best-unread-article').

`G l'
`l'
     Go to the previous article read (`gnus-summary-goto-last-article').

`G o'
     Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
     (`gnus-summary-pop-article').  This command differs from the
     command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
     history as you like, while `l' toggles the two last read articles.
     For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
     *note Article Backlog::.


File: gnus,  Node: Choosing Variables,  Prev: Choosing Commands,  Up: Choosing Articles

3.3.2 Choosing Variables
------------------------

Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:

`gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup'
     All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
     article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary
     buffer if this variable is non-`nil'.  Gnus will then fetch the
     article from the server and display it in the article buffer.

`gnus-select-article-hook'
     This hook is called whenever an article is selected.  By default it
     exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.

`gnus-mark-article-hook'
     This hook is called whenever an article is selected.  It is
     intended to be used for marking articles as read.  The default
     value is `gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read', and will
     change the mark of almost any article you read to
     `gnus-unread-mark'.  The only articles not affected by this
     function are ticked, dormant, and expirable articles.  If you'd
     instead like to just have unread articles marked as read, you can
     use `gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read' instead.  It will leave
     marks like `gnus-low-score-mark', `gnus-del-mark' (and so on)
     alone.



File: gnus,  Node: Paging the Article,  Next: Reply Followup and Post,  Prev: Choosing Articles,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.4 Scrolling the Article
=========================

`SPACE'
     Pressing `SPACE' will scroll the current article forward one page,
     or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will
     choose the next article (`gnus-summary-next-page').

`DEL'
     Scroll the current article back one page
     (`gnus-summary-prev-page').

`RET'
     Scroll the current article one line forward
     (`gnus-summary-scroll-up').

`M-RET'
     Scroll the current article one line backward
     (`gnus-summary-scroll-down').

`A g'
`g'
     (Re)fetch the current article (`gnus-summary-show-article').  If
     given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
     article treatment functions.  This will give you a "raw" article,
     just the way it came from the server.

     If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
     `C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET' will decode the message as if it were
     encoded in the `cn-gb-2312' charset.  If you have

          (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
                '((1 . cn-gb-2312)
                  (2 . big5)))

     then you can say `C-u 1 g' to get the same effect.

`A <'
`<'
     Scroll to the beginning of the article
     (`gnus-summary-beginning-of-article').

`A >'
`>'
     Scroll to the end of the article (`gnus-summary-end-of-article').

`A s'
`s'
     Perform an isearch in the article buffer
     (`gnus-summary-isearch-article').

`h'
     Select the article buffer (`gnus-summary-select-article-buffer').



File: gnus,  Node: Reply Followup and Post,  Next: Marking Articles,  Prev: Paging the Article,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.5 Reply, Followup and Post
============================

* Menu:

* Summary Mail Commands::       Sending mail.
* Summary Post Commands::       Sending news.
* Summary Message Commands::    Other Message-related commands.
* Canceling and Superseding::   ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''


File: gnus,  Node: Summary Mail Commands,  Next: Summary Post Commands,  Up: Reply Followup and Post

3.5.1 Summary Mail Commands
---------------------------

Commands for composing a mail message:

`S r'
`r'
     Mail a reply to the author of the current article
     (`gnus-summary-reply').

`S R'
`R'
     Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
     original message (`gnus-summary-reply-with-original').  This
     command uses the process/prefix convention.

`S w'
     Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
     (`gnus-summary-wide-reply').  A "wide reply" is a reply that goes
     out to all people listed in the `To', `From' (or `Reply-to') and
     `Cc' headers.

`S W'
     Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
     message (`gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original').  This command
     uses the process/prefix convention.

`S o m'
`C-c C-f'
     Forward the current article to some other person
     (`gnus-summary-mail-forward').  If no prefix is given, the message
     is forwarded according to the value of (`message-forward-as-mime')
     and (`message-forward-show-mml'); if the prefix is 1, decode the
     message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, foward
     message as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode
     message and forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4,
     foward message directly inline; otherwise, the message is
     forwarded as no prefix given but use the flipped value of
     (`message-forward-as-mime').  By default, the message is decoded
     and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.

`S m'
`m'
     Send a mail to some other person
     (`gnus-summary-mail-other-window').

`S D b'
     If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for
     some reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this
     command to resend that bounced mail
     (`gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail').  You will be popped into a
     mail buffer where you can edit the headers before sending the mail
     off again.  If you give a prefix to this command, and the bounced
     mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch that
     mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers.  This might
     very well fail, though.

`S D r'
     Not to be confused with the previous command,
     `gnus-summary-resend-message' will prompt you for an address to
     send the current message off to, and then send it to that place.
     The headers of the message won't be altered--but lots of headers
     that say `Resent-To', `Resent-From' and so on will be added.  This
     means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a `To'
     header that (probably) points to yourself.  This will confuse
     people.  So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.

     This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want
     to ship a mail to a different account of yours.  (If you're both
     `root' and `postmaster' and get a mail for `postmaster' to the
     `root' account, you may want to resend it to `postmaster'.
     Ordnung muß sein!

     This command understands the process/prefix convention (*note
     Process/Prefix::).

`S O m'
     Digest the current series (*note Decoding Articles::) and forward
     the result using mail (`gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward').  This
     command uses the process/prefix convention (*note
     Process/Prefix::).

`S M-c'
     Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
     current article (`gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint').

     This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
     crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet.  It will compose a
     reply using the `gnus-crosspost-complaint' variable as a preamble.
     This command understands the process/prefix convention (*note
     Process/Prefix::) and will prompt you before sending each mail.


   Also *note (message)Header Commands:: for more information.


File: gnus,  Node: Summary Post Commands,  Next: Summary Message Commands,  Prev: Summary Mail Commands,  Up: Reply Followup and Post

3.5.2 Summary Post Commands
---------------------------

Commands for posting a news article:

`S p'
`a'
     Post an article to the current group (`gnus-summary-post-news').

`S f'
`f'
     Post a followup to the current article (`gnus-summary-followup').

`S F'
`F'
     Post a followup to the current article and include the original
     message (`gnus-summary-followup-with-original').   This command
     uses the process/prefix convention.

`S n'
     Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got
     the message through mail (`gnus-summary-followup-to-mail').

`S N'
     Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got
     the message through mail and include the original message
     (`gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original').  This command uses
     the process/prefix convention.

`S o p'
     Forward the current article to a newsgroup
     (`gnus-summary-post-forward').   If no prefix is given, the
     message is forwarded according to the value of
     (`message-forward-as-mime') and (`message-forward-show-mml'); if
     the prefix is 1, decode the message and forward directly inline;
     if the prefix is 2, foward message as an rfc822 MIME section; if
     the prefix is 3, decode message and forward as an rfc822 MIME
     section; if the prefix is 4, foward message directly inline;
     otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given but use the
     flipped value of (`message-forward-as-mime').  By default, the
     message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.

`S O p'
     Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
     (`gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward').  This command uses the
     process/prefix convention.

`S u'
     Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
     (`gnus-uu-post-news').  (*note Uuencoding and Posting::).

   Also *note (message)Header Commands:: for more information.


File: gnus,  Node: Summary Message Commands,  Next: Canceling and Superseding,  Prev: Summary Post Commands,  Up: Reply Followup and Post

3.5.3 Summary Message Commands
------------------------------

`S y'
     Yank the current article into an already existing Message
     composition buffer (`gnus-summary-yank-message').  This command
     prompts for what message buffer you want to yank into, and
     understands the process/prefix convention (*note Process/Prefix::).



File: gnus,  Node: Canceling and Superseding,  Prev: Summary Message Commands,  Up: Reply Followup and Post

3.5.4 Canceling Articles
------------------------

Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
really, really wish you hadn't posted that?

   Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.

   Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
articles, so don't try any funny stuff).  Then press `C' or `S c'
(`gnus-summary-cancel-article').  Your article will be
canceled--machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
This command uses the process/prefix convention (*note
Process/Prefix::).

   Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article
may live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
question.

   Gnus will use the "current" select method when canceling.  If you
want to use the standard posting method, use the `a' symbolic prefix
(*note Symbolic Prefixes::).

   If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
corrections, you can post a "superseding" article that will replace
your original article.

   Go to the original article and press `S s'
(`gnus-summary-supersede-article').  You will be put in a buffer where
you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the usual
way.

   The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
sites do not honor superseding.  On those sites, it will appear that you
have posted almost the same article twice.

   If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
waiting for the article to appear on your site first.  You simply return
to the post buffer (which is called `*sent ...*').  There you will find
the article you just posted, with all the headers intact.  Change the
`Message-ID' header to a `Cancel' or `Supersedes' header by
substituting one of those words for the word `Message-ID'.  Then just
press `C-c C-c' to send the article as you would do normally.  The
previous article will be canceled/superseded.

   Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.


File: gnus,  Node: Marking Articles,  Next: Limiting,  Prev: Reply Followup and Post,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.6 Marking Articles
====================

There are several marks you can set on an article.

   You have marks that decide the "readedness" (whoo, neato-keano
neologism ohoy!) of the article.  Alphabetic marks generally mean
"read", while non-alphabetic characters generally mean "unread".

   In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.

* Menu:

* Unread Articles::      Marks for unread articles.
* Read Articles::        Marks for read articles.
* Other Marks::          Marks that do not affect readedness.

   There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:

* Menu:

* Setting Marks::             How to set and remove marks.
* Generic Marking Commands::  How to customize the marking.
* Setting Process Marks::     How to mark articles for later processing.


File: gnus,  Node: Unread Articles,  Next: Read Articles,  Up: Marking Articles

3.6.1 Unread Articles
---------------------

The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
other.

`!'
     Marked as ticked (`gnus-ticked-mark').

     "Ticked articles" are articles that will remain visible always.  If
     you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put
     off reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd
     typically tick it.  However, articles can be expired, so if you
     want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
     (*note Persistent Articles::).

`?'
     Marked as dormant (`gnus-dormant-mark').

     "Dormant articles" will only appear in the summary buffer if there
     are followups to it.  If you want to see them even if they don't
     have followups, you can use the `/ D' command (*note Limiting::).

`SPACE'
     Marked as unread (`gnus-unread-mark').

     "Unread articles" are articles that haven't been read at all yet.


File: gnus,  Node: Read Articles,  Next: Other Marks,  Prev: Unread Articles,  Up: Marking Articles

3.6.2 Read Articles
-------------------

All the following marks mark articles as read.

`r'
     These are articles that the user has marked as read with the `d'
     command manually, more or less (`gnus-del-mark').

`R'
     Articles that have actually been read (`gnus-read-mark').

`O'
     Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
     "old" (`gnus-ancient-mark').

`K'
     Marked as killed (`gnus-killed-mark').

`X'
     Marked as killed by kill files (`gnus-kill-file-mark').

`Y'
     Marked as read by having too low a score (`gnus-low-score-mark').

`C'
     Marked as read by a catchup (`gnus-catchup-mark').

`G'
     Canceled article (`gnus-canceled-mark')

`F'
     SOUPed article (`gnus-souped-mark').  *Note SOUP::.

`Q'
     Sparsely reffed article (`gnus-sparse-mark').  *Note Customizing
     Threading::.

`M'
     Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
     (`gnus-duplicated-mark').  *Note Duplicate Suppression::.


   All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.

   One more special mark, though:

`E'
     Marked as expirable (`gnus-expirable-mark').

     Marking articles as "expirable" (or have them marked as such
     automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups--a user
     doesn't control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for
     instance, articles marked as "expirable" can be deleted by Gnus at
     any time.


File: gnus,  Node: Other Marks,  Next: Setting Marks,  Prev: Read Articles,  Up: Marking Articles

3.6.3 Other Marks
-----------------

There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
read or not.

   * You can set a bookmark in the current article.  Say you are
     reading a long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home
     for dinner before you've finished reading the thesis.  You can
     then set a bookmark in the article, and Gnus will jump to this
     bookmark the next time it encounters the article.  *Note Setting
     Marks::.

   * All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e.,
     have answered) will be marked with an `A' in the second column
     (`gnus-replied-mark').

   * Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an `*' in
     the second column (`gnus-cached-mark').  *Note Article Caching::.

   * Articles "saved" (in some manner or other; not necessarily
     religiously) are marked with an `S' in the second column
     (`gnus-saved-mark').

   * If the `%e' spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
     marked with `gnus-not-empty-thread-mark' and
     `gnus-empty-thread-mark' in the third column, respectively.

   * Finally we have the "process mark" (`gnus-process-mark').  A
     variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark.  For
     instance, `X u' (`gnus-uu-decode-uu') will uudecode and view all
     articles that have been marked with the process mark.  Articles
     marked with the process mark have a `#' in the second column.


   You might have noticed that most of these "non-readedness" marks
appear in the second column by default.  So if you have a cached, saved,
replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?

   Nothing much.  The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache
-> replied -> saved.  So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.


File: gnus,  Node: Setting Marks,  Next: Generic Marking Commands,  Prev: Other Marks,  Up: Marking Articles

3.6.4 Setting Marks
-------------------

All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.

`M c'
`M-u'
     Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
     (`gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward').  In other words, mark the
     article as unread.

`M t'
`!'
     Tick the current article (`gnus-summary-tick-article-forward').
     *Note Article Caching::.

`M ?'
`?'
     Mark the current article as dormant
     (`gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant').  *Note Article Caching::.

`M d'
`d'
     Mark the current article as read
     (`gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward').

`D'
     Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous
     line (`gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward').

`M k'
`k'
     Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as
     read, and then select the next unread article
     (`gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select').

`M K'
`C-k'
     Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as
     read (`gnus-summary-kill-same-subject').

`M C'
     Mark all unread articles as read (`gnus-summary-catchup').

`M C-c'
     Mark all articles in the group as read--even the ticked and dormant
     articles (`gnus-summary-catchup-all').

`M H'
     Catchup the current group to point
     (`gnus-summary-catchup-to-here').

`C-w'
     Mark all articles between point and mark as read
     (`gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read').

`M V k'
     Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
     numeric prefix) (`gnus-summary-kill-below').

`M e'
`E'
     Mark the current article as expirable
     (`gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable').

`M b'
     Set a bookmark in the current article
     (`gnus-summary-set-bookmark').

`M B'
     Remove the bookmark from the current article
     (`gnus-summary-remove-bookmark').

`M V c'
     Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score
     (or over the numeric prefix) (`gnus-summary-clear-above').

`M V u'
     Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
     numeric prefix) (`gnus-summary-tick-above').

`M V m'
     Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the
     default score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
     (`gnus-summary-clear-above').

   The `gnus-summary-goto-unread' variable controls what action should
be taken after setting a mark.  If non-`nil', point will move to the
next/previous unread article.  If `nil', point will just move one line
up or down.  As a special case, if this variable is `never', all the
marking commands as well as other commands (like `SPACE') will move to
the next article, whether it is unread or not.  The default is `t'.


File: gnus,  Node: Generic Marking Commands,  Next: Setting Process Marks,  Prev: Setting Marks,  Up: Marking Articles

3.6.5 Generic Marking Commands
------------------------------

Some people would like the command that ticks an article (`!') go to
the next article.  Others would like it to go to the next unread
article.  Yet others would like it to stay on the current article.  And
even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the previous
(unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as well.

   Multiply these five behaviours with five different marking commands,
and you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
command should do.

   To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
different things.  They can be found on the `M M' map in the summary
buffer.  Type `M M C-h' to see them all--there are too many of them to
list in this manual.

   While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
altering the summary mode keymap.  For instance, if you would like the
`!' command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
article, you could say something like:

     (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
     (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
       (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))

   or

     (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
       (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))


File: gnus,  Node: Setting Process Marks,  Prev: Generic Marking Commands,  Up: Marking Articles

3.6.6 Setting Process Marks
---------------------------

`M P p'
`#'
     Mark the current article with the process mark
     (`gnus-summary-mark-as-processable').  

`M P u'
`M-#'
     Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
     (`gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable').

`M P U'
     Remove the process mark from all articles
     (`gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable').

`M P i'
     Invert the list of process marked articles
     (`gnus-uu-invert-processable').

`M P R'
     Mark articles that have a `Subject' header that matches a regular
     expression (`gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp').

`M P G'
     Unmark articles that have a `Subject' header that matches a regular
     expression (`gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp').

`M P r'
     Mark articles in region (`gnus-uu-mark-region').

`M P t'
     Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
     (`gnus-uu-mark-thread').

`M P T'
     Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
     (`gnus-uu-unmark-thread').

`M P v'
     Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
     (`gnus-uu-mark-over').

`M P s'
     Mark all articles in the current series (`gnus-uu-mark-series').

`M P S'
     Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
     (`gnus-uu-mark-sparse').

`M P a'
     Mark all articles in series order (`gnus-uu-mark-series').

`M P b'
     Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
     (`gnus-uu-mark-buffer').

`M P k'
     Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all
     articles (`gnus-summary-kill-process-mark').

`M P y'
     Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
     (`gnus-summary-yank-process-mark').

`M P w'
     Push the current process mark set onto the stack
     (`gnus-summary-save-process-mark').


   Also see the `&' command in *note Searching for Articles:: for how to
set process marks based on article body contents.


File: gnus,  Node: Limiting,  Next: Threading,  Prev: Marking Articles,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.7 Limiting
============

It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
subset of the articles currently in the group.  The effect most limit
commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
buffer.

   All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
from the servers.  None of these commands query the server for
additional articles.

`/ /'
`/ s'
     Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
     (`gnus-summary-limit-to-subject').

`/ a'
     Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
     (`gnus-summary-limit-to-author').

`/ x'
     Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the "extra"
     headers (*note To From Newsgroups::)
     (`gnus-summary-limit-to-extra').

`/ u'
`x'
     Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
     (`gnus-summary-limit-to-unread').  If given a prefix, limit the
     buffer to articles strictly unread.  This means that ticked and
     dormant articles will also be excluded.

`/ m'
     Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
     with that mark (`gnus-summary-limit-to-marks').

`/ t'
     Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles
     older than (or equal to) that number of days
     (`gnus-summary-limit-to-age').  If given a prefix, limit to
     articles younger than that number of days.

`/ n'
     Limit the summary buffer to the current article
     (`gnus-summary-limit-to-articles').  Uses the process/prefix
     convention (*note Process/Prefix::).

`/ w'
     Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
     (`gnus-summary-pop-limit').  If given a prefix, pop all limits off
     the stack.

`/ v'
     Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above
     some score (`gnus-summary-limit-to-score').

`/ E'
`M S'
     Include all expunged articles in the limit
     (`gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged').

`/ D'
     Include all dormant articles in the limit
     (`gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant').

`/ *'
     Include all cached articles in the limit
     (`gnus-summary-limit-include-cached').

`/ d'
     Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
     (`gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant').

`/ M'
     Exclude all marked articles (`gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks').

`/ T'
     Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.

`/ c'
     Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
     (`gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant').

`/ C'
     Mark all excluded unread articles as read
     (`gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read').   If given a prefix,
     also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.



File: gnus,  Node: Threading,  Next: Sorting,  Prev: Limiting,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.8 Threading
=============

Gnus threads articles by default.  "To thread" is to put responses to
articles directly after the articles they respond to--in a hierarchical
fashion.

   Threading is done by looking at the `References' headers of the
articles.  In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
trees, but unfortunately, the `References' header is often broken or
simply missing.  Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem, so
one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results.  A plethora
of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in *note
Customizing Threading::.

   First, a quick overview of the concepts:

"root"
     The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.

"thread"
     A tree-like article structure.

"sub-thread"
     A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.

"loose threads"
     Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to
     the root already having been read in a previous session, and not
     displayed in the summary buffer.  We then typically have many
     sub-threads that really belong to one thread, but are without
     connecting roots.  These are called loose threads.

"thread gathering"
     An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.

"sparse threads"
     A thread where the missing articles have been "guessed" at, and are
     displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.


* Menu:

* Customizing Threading::     Variables you can change to affect the threading.
* Thread Commands::           Thread based commands in the summary buffer.


File: gnus,  Node: Customizing Threading,  Next: Thread Commands,  Up: Threading

3.8.1 Customizing Threading
---------------------------

* Menu:

* Loose Threads::        How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
* Filling In Threads::   Making the threads displayed look fuller.
* More Threading::       Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
* Low-Level Threading::  You thought it was over... but you were wrong!


File: gnus,  Node: Loose Threads,  Next: Filling In Threads,  Up: Customizing Threading

3.8.1.1 Loose Threads
.....................

`gnus-summary-make-false-root'
     If non-`nil', Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
     and create a dummy root at the top.  (Wait a minute.  Root at the
     top?  Yup.)  Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired,
     or you've read or killed the root in a previous session.

     When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
     something.  This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
     There are four possible values:

    `adopt'
          Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent.
          This parent will adopt all the other articles.  The adopted
          articles will be marked as such by pointy brackets (`<>')
          instead of the standard square brackets (`[]').  This is the
          default method.

    `dummy'
          Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be
          the parent.  This dummy line does not correspond to any real
          article, so selecting it will just select the first real
          article after the dummy article.
          `gnus-summary-dummy-line-format' is used to specify the
          format of the dummy roots.  It accepts only one format spec:
          `S', which is the subject of the article.  *Note Formatting
          Variables::.

    `empty'
          Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply
          leave the subject field of all orphans except the first
          empty.  (Actually, it will use `gnus-summary-same-subject' as
          the subject (*note Summary Buffer Format::).)

    `none'
          Don't make any article parent at all.  Just gather the
          threads and display them after one another.

    `nil'
          Don't gather loose threads.

`gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit'
     Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles.  If
     this variable is `nil', Gnus requires an exact match between the
     subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
     super-thread.  This might be too strict a requirement, what with
     the presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject
     lines.  If you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require
     that only the first 20 characters of the subjects have to match.
     If you set this variable to a really low number, you'll find that
     Gnus will gather everything in sight into one thread, which isn't
     very helpful.

     If you set this variable to the special value `fuzzy', Gnus will
     use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (*note
     Fuzzy Matching::).

`gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp'
     This can either be a regular expression or list of regular
     expressions that match strings that will be removed from subjects
     if fuzzy subject simplification is used.

`gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes'
     If you set `gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit' to something as low
     as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something
     sensible:

          (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
                (concat
                 "\\`\\[?\\("
                 (mapconcat
                  'identity
                  '("looking"
                    "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
                    "help" "query" "problem" "question"
                    "answer" "reference" "announce"
                    "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
                    ;; ...
                    )
                  "\\|")
                 "\\)\\s *\\("
                 (mapconcat 'identity
                            '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
                            "\\|")
                 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))

     All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing
     two subjects.

`gnus-simplify-subject-functions'
     If non-`nil', this variable overrides
     `gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit'.  This variable should be a
     list of functions to apply to the `Subject' string iteratively to
     arrive at the simplified version of the string.

     Useful functions to put in this list include:

    `gnus-simplify-subject-re'
          Strip the leading `Re:'.

    `gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy'
          Simplify fuzzily.

    `gnus-simplify-whitespace'
          Remove excessive whitespace.

     You may also write your own functions, of course.

`gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject'
     Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might
     lead to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects
     like `' and `(none)'.  To make the situation slightly better, you
     can use the regexp `gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject' to say
     what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.
     The default is `^ *$\\|^(none)$'.

`gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function'
     Gnus gathers threads by looking at `Subject' headers.  This means
     that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same "thread",
     which is confusing.  An alternate approach is to look at all the
     `Message-ID's in all the `References' headers to find matches.
     This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
     articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
     newsreaders won't be gathered properly.  The choice is
     yours--plague or cholera:

    `gnus-gather-threads-by-subject'
          This function is the default gathering function and looks at
          `Subject's exclusively.

    `gnus-gather-threads-by-references'
          This function looks at `References' headers exclusively.

     If you want to test gathering by `References', you could say
     something like:

          (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
                'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)



File: gnus,  Node: Filling In Threads,  Next: More Threading,  Prev: Loose Threads,  Up: Customizing Threading

3.8.1.2 Filling In Threads
..........................

`gnus-fetch-old-headers'
     If non-`nil', Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
     more old headers--headers to articles marked as read.  If you
     would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
     connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this
     variable to `some' or a number.  If you set it to a number, no
     more than that number of extra old headers will be fetched.  In
     either case, fetching old headers only works if the backend you
     are using carries overview files--this would normally be `nntp',
     `nnspool' and `nnml'.  Also remember that if the root of the
     thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
     do about that.

     This variable can also be set to `invisible'.  This won't have any
     visible effects, but is useful if you use the `A T' command a lot
     (*note Finding the Parent::).

`gnus-build-sparse-threads'
     Fetching old headers can be slow.  A low-rent similar effect can be
     gotten by setting this variable to `some'.  Gnus will then look at
     the complete `References' headers of all articles and try to string
     together articles that belong in the same thread.  This will leave
     "gaps" in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
     is missing from the thread.  (These gaps appear like normal summary
     lines.  If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
     question.)  If this variable is `t', Gnus will display all these
     "gaps" without regard for whether they are useful for completing
     the thread or not.  Finally, if this variable is `more', Gnus
     won't cut off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere.  This
     variable is `nil' by default.



File: gnus,  Node: More Threading,  Next: Low-Level Threading,  Prev: Filling In Threads,  Up: Customizing Threading

3.8.1.3 More Threading
......................

`gnus-show-threads'
     If this variable is `nil', no threading will be done, and all of
     the rest of the variables here will have no effect.  Turning
     threading off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure
     to make reading slower and more awkward.

`gnus-thread-hide-subtree'
     If non-`nil', all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
     generated.

`gnus-thread-expunge-below'
     All threads that have a total score (as defined by
     `gnus-thread-score-function') less than this number will be
     expunged.  This variable is `nil' by default, which means that no
     threads are expunged.

`gnus-thread-hide-killed'
     if you kill a thread and this variable is non-`nil', the subtree
     will be hidden.

`gnus-thread-ignore-subject'
     Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread.
     If this variable is non-`nil', the subject change is ignored.  If
     it is `nil', which is the default, a change in the subject will
     result in a new thread.

`gnus-thread-indent-level'
     This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be
     indented.  The default is 4.

`gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function'
     Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which
     mails arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in
     which they arrived on the mailing list.  Consequently, when
     sorting sub-threads using the default
     `gnus-thread-sort-by-number', responses can end up appearing
     before the article to which they are responding to.  Setting this
     variable to an alternate value (e.g. `gnus-thread-sort-by-date'),
     in a group's parameters or in an appropriate hook (e.g.
     `gnus-summary-generate-hook') can produce a more logical
     sub-thread ordering in such instances.



File: gnus,  Node: Low-Level Threading,  Prev: More Threading,  Up: Customizing Threading

3.8.1.4 Low-Level Threading
...........................

`gnus-parse-headers-hook'
     Hook run before parsing any headers.

`gnus-alter-header-function'
     If non-`nil', this function will be called to allow alteration of
     article header structures.  The function is called with one
     parameter, the article header vector, which it may alter in any
     way.  For instance, if you have a mail-to-news gateway which
     alters the `Message-ID's in systematic ways (by adding prefixes
     and such), you can use this variable to un-scramble the
     `Message-ID's so that they are more meaningful.  Here's one
     example:

          (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)

          (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
            (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
              (when (string-match
                     "\\(<[^<>@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@\\([^<>@]*>\\)" id)
                (mail-header-set-id
                 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@" (match-string 2 id))
                 header))))



File: gnus,  Node: Thread Commands,  Prev: Customizing Threading,  Up: Threading

3.8.2 Thread Commands
---------------------

`T k'
`M-C-k'
     Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
     (`gnus-summary-kill-thread').  If the prefix argument is positive,
     remove all marks instead.  If the prefix argument is negative, tick
     articles instead.

`T l'
`M-C-l'
     Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
     (`gnus-summary-lower-thread').

`T i'
     Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
     (`gnus-summary-raise-thread').

`T #'
     Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
     (`gnus-uu-mark-thread').

`T M-#'
     Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
     (`gnus-uu-unmark-thread').

`T T'
     Toggle threading (`gnus-summary-toggle-threads').

`T s'
     Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
     (`gnus-summary-show-thread').

`T h'
     Hide the current (sub-)thread (`gnus-summary-hide-thread').

`T S'
     Expose all hidden threads (`gnus-summary-show-all-threads').

`T H'
     Hide all threads (`gnus-summary-hide-all-threads').

`T t'
     Re-thread the current article's thread
     (`gnus-summary-rethread-current').  This works even when the
     summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.

`T ^'
     Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous)
     article (`gnus-summary-reparent-thread').


   The following commands are thread movement commands.  They all
understand the numeric prefix.

`T n'
`M-C-n'
`M-down'
     Go to the next thread (`gnus-summary-next-thread').

`T p'
`M-C-p'
`M-up'
     Go to the previous thread (`gnus-summary-prev-thread').

`T d'
     Descend the thread (`gnus-summary-down-thread').

`T u'
     Ascend the thread (`gnus-summary-up-thread').

`T o'
     Go to the top of the thread (`gnus-summary-top-thread').

   If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
threads that have several different subjects in them.  If you then issue
a command like `T k' (`gnus-summary-kill-thread') you might not wish to
kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that have
the same subject as the current article.  If you like this idea, you
can fiddle with `gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject'.  If it is
non-`nil' (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored when doing
thread commands.  If this variable is `nil', articles in the same
thread with different subjects will not be included in the operation in
question.  If this variable is `fuzzy', only articles that have
subjects fuzzily equal will be included (*note Fuzzy Matching::).


File: gnus,  Node: Sorting,  Next: Asynchronous Fetching,  Prev: Threading,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.9 Sorting
===========

If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
setting `gnus-thread-sort-functions', which can be either a single
function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and `(not
some-function)' elements.

   By default, sorting is done on article numbers.  Ready-made sorting
predicate functions include `gnus-thread-sort-by-number',
`gnus-thread-sort-by-author', `gnus-thread-sort-by-subject',
`gnus-thread-sort-by-date', `gnus-thread-sort-by-score', and
`gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score'.

   Each function takes two threads and returns non-`nil' if the first
thread should be sorted before the other.  Note that sorting really is
normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.

   If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
last function in the list.  You should probably always include
`gnus-thread-sort-by-number' in the list of sorting
functions--preferably first.  This will ensure that threads that are
equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
ascending article order.

   If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and
finally by number, you could do something like:

     (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
           '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
             gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
             (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))

   The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
summary buffer.  When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
alphabetically.  The threads that have the same score and the same
subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
which the articles arrived.

   If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you
could say something like:

     (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
           '((lambda (t1 t2)
               (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
             gnus-thread-sort-by-score))

   The function in the `gnus-thread-score-function' variable (default
`+') is used for calculating the total score of a thread.  Useful
functions might be `max', `min', or squared means, or whatever tickles
your fancy.

   If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
other, you have to fiddle with the `gnus-article-sort-functions'
variable.  It is very similar to the `gnus-thread-sort-functions',
except that it uses slightly different functions for article
comparison.  Available sorting predicate functions are
`gnus-article-sort-by-number', `gnus-article-sort-by-author',
`gnus-article-sort-by-subject', `gnus-article-sort-by-date', and
`gnus-article-sort-by-score'.

   If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you
could say something like:

     (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
           '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
             gnus-article-sort-by-subject))


File: gnus,  Node: Asynchronous Fetching,  Next: Article Caching,  Prev: Sorting,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.10 Asynchronous Article Fetching
==================================

If you read your news from an NNTP server that's far away, the network
latencies may make reading articles a chore.  You have to wait for a
while after pressing `n' to go to the next article before the article
appears.  Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article while you
are reading the previous one?  Why not, indeed.

   First, some caveats.  There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.

   Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
quite long, and you are not interested in reading that.  Gnus does not
know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2.  You decide to read
article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
connection is blocked.

   To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
connections to the server.  Some people may think this isn't a very nice
thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives.  Setting up that
extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.

   Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read.  This will mean
that the link between your machine and the NNTP server will become more
loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch.  The server itself will
also become more loaded--both with the extra article requests, and the
extra connection.

   Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing...
unless you really want to.

   Here's how:  Set `gnus-asynchronous' to `t'.  The rest should happen
automatically.

   You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
`gnus-use-article-prefetch'.  This is 30 by default, which means that
when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch the
next 30 articles.  If this variable is `t', the backend will pre-fetch
all the articles it can without bound.  If it is `nil', no pre-fetching
will be done.

   There are probably some articles that you don't want to
pre-fetch--read articles, for instance.  The
`gnus-async-prefetch-article-p' variable controls whether an article is
to be pre-fetched.  This function should return non-`nil' when the
article in question is to be pre-fetched.  The default is
`gnus-async-read-p', which returns `nil' on read articles.  The
function is called with an article data structure as the only parameter.

   If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
than 100 lines, you could say something like:

     (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
       "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
       (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
            (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
               100)))

     (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)

   These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.

   Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later.
The `gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy' says when to remove
articles.  This is a list that may contain the following elements:

`read'
     Remove articles when they are read.

`exit'
     Remove articles when exiting the group.

   The default value is `(read exit)'.


File: gnus,  Node: Article Caching,  Next: Persistent Articles,  Prev: Asynchronous Fetching,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.11 Article Caching
====================

If you have an _extremely_ slow NNTP connection, you may consider
turning article caching on.  Each article will then be stored locally
under your home directory.  As you may surmise, this could potentially
use _huge_ amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all your inodes so
fast it will make your head swim.  In vodka.

   Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save
articles.

   To turn caching on, set `gnus-use-cache' to `t'.  By default, all
articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied over to your
local cache (`gnus-cache-directory').  Whether this cache is flat or
hierarchal is controlled by the `gnus-use-long-file-name' variable, as
usual.

   When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched
from the cache instead of from the server.  As articles in your cache
will never expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles
while still keeping them where they belong.  Just mark all articles you
want to save as dormant, and don't worry.

   When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.

   The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
`gnus-cache-enter-articles' and `gnus-cache-remove-articles' variables.
Both are lists of symbols.  The first is `(ticked dormant)' by
default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be put in the
cache.  The latter is `(read)' by default, meaning that articles marked
as read are removed from the cache.  Possibly symbols in these two
lists are `ticked', `dormant', `unread' and `read'.

   So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
picture?  The `gnus-jog-cache' command will go through all subscribed
newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and store them in
the cache.  You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if
1) your connection to the NNTP server is really, really, really slow
and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.  Seriously.  One
way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is to score
unwanted articles down and have them marked as read.  They will not
then be downloaded by this command.

   It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups.  For
instance, if your `nnml' mail is located under your home directory, it
makes no sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory.
Unless you feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.

   To limit the caching, you could set `gnus-cacheable-groups' to a
regexp of groups to cache, `^nntp' for instance, or set the
`gnus-uncacheable-groups' regexp to `^nnml', for instance.  Both
variables are `nil' by default.  If a group matches both variables, the
group is not cached.

   The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its
active file (`gnus-cache-active-file').  If this file (or any other
parts of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
offers two functions that will try to set things right.  `M-x
gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases' will (re)build all the NOV files,
and `gnus-cache-generate-active' will (re)generate the active file.


File: gnus,  Node: Persistent Articles,  Next: Article Backlog,  Prev: Article Caching,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.12 Persistent Articles
========================

Closely related to article caching, we have "persistent articles".  In
fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
useful in my opinion.

   Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable
gem that you want to keep and treasure forever.  You'd normally just
save it (using one of the many saving commands) in some file.  The
problem with that is that it's just, well, yucky.  Ideally you'd prefer
just having the article remain in the group where you found it forever;
untouched by the expiry going on at the news server.

   This is what a "persistent article" is--an article that just won't
be deleted.  It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but you
use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:

`*'
     Make the current article persistent (`gnus-cache-enter-article').

`M-*'
     Remove the current article from the persistent articles
     (`gnus-cache-remove-article').  This will normally delete the
     article.

   Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.

   To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the
cache, you should set `gnus-use-cache' to `passive' if you're just
interested in persistent articles:

     (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)


File: gnus,  Node: Article Backlog,  Next: Saving Articles,  Prev: Persistent Articles,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.13 Article Backlog
====================

If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
by switching on the "backlog".  This is where Gnus will buffer already
read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles you've
already read.  This only helps if you are in the habit of re-selecting
articles you've recently read, of course.  If you never do that,
turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and increase
memory usage some.

   If you set `gnus-keep-backlog' to a number N, Gnus will store at
most N old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching.  If this
variable is non-`nil' and is not a number, Gnus will store _all_ read
articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without bound before
exploding and taking your machine down with you.  I put that in there
just to keep y'all on your toes.

   This variable is `nil' by default.


File: gnus,  Node: Saving Articles,  Next: Decoding Articles,  Prev: Article Backlog,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.14 Saving Articles
====================

Gnus can save articles in a number of ways.  Below is the documentation
for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
processing of the article is done before it is saved).  For a different
approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use `gnus-uu' (*note
Decoding Articles::).

   If `gnus-save-all-headers' is non-`nil', Gnus will not delete
unwanted headers before saving the article.

   If the preceding variable is `nil', all headers that match the
`gnus-saved-headers' regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
deleted before saving.

`O o'
`o'
     Save the current article using the default article saver
     (`gnus-summary-save-article').

`O m'
     Save the current article in mail format
     (`gnus-summary-save-article-mail').

`O r'
     Save the current article in rmail format
     (`gnus-summary-save-article-rmail').

`O f'
     Save the current article in plain file format
     (`gnus-summary-save-article-file').

`O F'
     Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any
     previous file contents (`gnus-summary-write-article-file').

`O b'
     Save the current article body in plain file format
     (`gnus-summary-save-article-body-file').

`O h'
     Save the current article in mh folder format
     (`gnus-summary-save-article-folder').

`O v'
     Save the current article in a VM folder
     (`gnus-summary-save-article-vm').

`O p'
     Save the current article in a pipe.  Uhm, like, what I mean
     is--Pipe the current article to a process
     (`gnus-summary-pipe-output').

   All these commands use the process/prefix convention (*note
Process/Prefix::).  If you save bunches of articles using these
functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
and every article in.  The prompting action is controlled by the
`gnus-prompt-before-saving' variable, which is `always' by default,
giving you that excessive prompting action you know and loathe.  If you
set this variable to `t' instead, you'll be prompted just once for each
series of articles you save.  If you like to really have Gnus do all
your thinking for you, you can even set this variable to `nil', which
means that you will never be prompted for files to save articles in.
Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default files.

   You can customize the `gnus-default-article-saver' variable to make
Gnus do what you want it to.  You can use any of the six ready-made
functions below, or you can create your own.

`gnus-summary-save-in-rmail'
     This is the default format, "babyl".  Uses the function in the
     `gnus-rmail-save-name' variable to get a file name to save the
     article in.  The default is `gnus-plain-save-name'.

`gnus-summary-save-in-mail'
     Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file.  Uses the function in the
     `gnus-mail-save-name' variable to get a file name to save the
     article in.  The default is `gnus-plain-save-name'.

`gnus-summary-save-in-file'
     Append the article straight to an ordinary file.  Uses the
     function in the `gnus-file-save-name' variable to get a file name
     to save the article in.  The default is `gnus-numeric-save-name'.

`gnus-summary-save-body-in-file'
     Append the article body to an ordinary file.  Uses the function in
     the `gnus-file-save-name' variable to get a file name to save the
     article in.  The default is `gnus-numeric-save-name'.

`gnus-summary-save-in-folder'
     Save the article to an MH folder using `rcvstore' from the MH
     library.  Uses the function in the `gnus-folder-save-name' variable
     to get a file name to save the article in.  The default is
     `gnus-folder-save-name', but you can also use
     `gnus-Folder-save-name', which creates capitalized names.

`gnus-summary-save-in-vm'
     Save the article in a VM folder.  You have to have the VM mail
     reader to use this setting.

   All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the
article in the `gnus-article-save-directory', which is initialized from
the `SAVEDIR' environment variable.  This is `~/News/' by default.

   As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
suitable name of a file to save the article in.  Below is a list of
available functions that generate names:

`gnus-Numeric-save-name'
     File names like `~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45'.

`gnus-numeric-save-name'
     File names like `~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45'.

`gnus-Plain-save-name'
     File names like `~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin'.

`gnus-plain-save-name'
     File names like `~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin'.

   You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a
regexp into the `gnus-split-methods' alist.  For instance, if you would
like to save articles related to Gnus in the file `gnus-stuff', and
articles related to VM in `vm-stuff', you could set this variable to
something like:

     (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
      ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
      (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
      ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))

   We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
elements--the "match" and the "file".  The match can either be a string
(in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article head); it
can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the group name
as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be `eval'ed).  If any
of these actions have a non-`nil' result, the "file" will be used as a
default prompt.  In addition, the result of the operation itself will
be used if the function or form called returns a string or a list of
strings.

   You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used
when saving the current article.  (All "matches" will be used.)  You
will then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with
file name completion over the results from applying this variable.

   This variable is `((gnus-article-archive-name))' by default, which
means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
`Archive-name' line and use that as a suggestion for the file name.

   Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat.  If you
have lots of mail groups called things like `nnml:mail.whatever', you
may want to chop off the beginning of these group names before creating
the file name to save to.  The following will do just that:

     (defun my-save-name (group)
       (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
         (substring group (match-end 0))))

     (setq gnus-split-methods
           '((gnus-article-archive-name)
             (my-save-name)))

   Finally, you have the `gnus-use-long-file-name' variable.  If it is
`nil', all the preceding functions will replace all periods (`.') in
the group names with slashes (`/')--which means that the functions will
generate hierarchies of directories instead of having all the files in
the top level directory (`~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin' instead of
`~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin'.)  This variable is `t' by default on most
systems.  However, for historical reasons, this is `nil' on Xenix and
usg-unix-v machines by default.

   This function also affects kill and score file names.  If this
variable is a list, and the list contains the element `not-score', long
file names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
`not-save', long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
contains the element `not-kill', long file names will not be used for
kill files.

   If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something
like a spool, you could

     (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
     (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding

   Then just save with `o'.  You'd then read this hierarchy with
ephemeral `nneething' groups--`G D' in the group buffer, and the top
level directory as the argument (`~/News/').  Then just walk around to
the groups/directories with `nneething'.


File: gnus,  Node: Decoding Articles,  Next: Article Treatment,  Prev: Saving Articles,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.15 Decoding Articles
======================

Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
encoded in some way or other.  Gnus can decode them for you.

* Menu:

* Uuencoded Articles::    Uudecode articles.
* Shell Archives::        Unshar articles.
* PostScript Files::      Split PostScript.
* Other Files::           Plain save and binhex.
* Decoding Variables::    Variables for a happy decoding.
* Viewing Files::         You want to look at the result of the decoding?

   All these functions use the process/prefix convention (*note
Process/Prefix::) for finding out what articles to work on, with the
extension that a "single article" means "a single series".  Gnus can
find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).

   Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the
following simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical,
except for the last two numbers of the line.  (Spaces are largely
ignored, however.)

   For example: If you choose a subject called `cat.gif (2/3)', Gnus
will find all the articles that match the regexp `^cat.gif
([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$'.

   Subjects that are non-standard, like `cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
series', will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with `#'.


File: gnus,  Node: Uuencoded Articles,  Next: Shell Archives,  Up: Decoding Articles

3.15.1 Uuencoded Articles
-------------------------

`X u'
     Uudecodes the current series (`gnus-uu-decode-uu').

`X U'
     Uudecodes and saves the current series
     (`gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save').

`X v u'
     Uudecodes and views the current series (`gnus-uu-decode-uu-view').

`X v U'
     Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
     (`gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view').


   Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
the process mark.  If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
entire newsgroup, you'd typically do `M P a' (`gnus-uu-mark-all') and
then `X U' (`gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save').

   All this is very much different from how `gnus-uu' worked with GNUS
4.1, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under the sun.
This version of `gnus-uu' generally assumes that you mark articles in
some way (*note Setting Process Marks::) and then press `X u'.

   Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
`gnus-uu-notify-files', which is hard-coded to
`[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)', `gnus-uu' will
automatically post an article on `comp.unix.wizards' saying that you
have just viewed the file in question.  This feature can't be turned
off.


File: gnus,  Node: Shell Archives,  Next: PostScript Files,  Prev: Uuencoded Articles,  Up: Decoding Articles

3.15.2 Shell Archives
---------------------

Shell archives ("shar files") used to be a popular way to distribute
sources, but it isn't used all that much today.  In any case, we have
some commands to deal with these:

`X s'
     Unshars the current series (`gnus-uu-decode-unshar').

`X S'
     Unshars and saves the current series
     (`gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save').

`X v s'
     Unshars and views the current series
     (`gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view').

`X v S'
     Unshars, views and saves the current series
     (`gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view').


File: gnus,  Node: PostScript Files,  Next: Other Files,  Prev: Shell Archives,  Up: Decoding Articles

3.15.3 PostScript Files
-----------------------

`X p'
     Unpack the current PostScript series (`gnus-uu-decode-postscript').

`X P'
     Unpack and save the current PostScript series
     (`gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save').

`X v p'
     View the current PostScript series
     (`gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view').

`X v P'
     View and save the current PostScript series
     (`gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view').


File: gnus,  Node: Other Files,  Next: Decoding Variables,  Prev: PostScript Files,  Up: Decoding Articles

3.15.4 Other Files
------------------

`X o'
     Save the current series (`gnus-uu-decode-save').

`X b'
     Unbinhex the current series (`gnus-uu-decode-binhex').  This
     doesn't really work yet.


File: gnus,  Node: Decoding Variables,  Next: Viewing Files,  Prev: Other Files,  Up: Decoding Articles

3.15.5 Decoding Variables
-------------------------

Adjective, not verb.

* Menu:

* Rule Variables::          Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
* Other Decode Variables::  Other decode variables.
* Uuencoding and Posting::  Variables for customizing uuencoding.


File: gnus,  Node: Rule Variables,  Next: Other Decode Variables,  Up: Decoding Variables

3.15.5.1 Rule Variables
.......................

Gnus uses "rule variables" to decide how to view a file.  All these
variables are of the form

           (list '(regexp1 command2)
                 '(regexp2 command2)
                 ...)

`gnus-uu-user-view-rules'
     This variable is consulted first when viewing files.  If you wish
     to use, for instance, `sox' to convert an `.au' sound file, you
     could say something like:
          (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
                (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))

`gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end'
     This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from
     the user and default view rules.

`gnus-uu-user-archive-rules'
     This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to
     unpack archives.


File: gnus,  Node: Other Decode Variables,  Next: Uuencoding and Posting,  Prev: Rule Variables,  Up: Decoding Variables

3.15.5.2 Other Decode Variables
...............................

`gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions'
     All functions in this list will be called right after each file
     has been successfully decoded--so that you can move or view files
     right away, and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded
     before you can do anything.  Ready-made functions you can put in
     this list are:

    `gnus-uu-grab-view'
          View the file.

    `gnus-uu-grab-move'
          Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)

`gnus-uu-be-dangerous'
     Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding.
     If `nil', be as conservative as possible.  If `t', ignore things
     that didn't work, and overwrite existing files.  Otherwise, ask
     each time.

`gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name'
     Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.

`gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type'
     Files with a MIME type matching this variable won't be viewed.
     Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the
     name.  `gnus-uu' is not a MIME package (yet), so this is slightly
     kludgey.

`gnus-uu-tmp-dir'
     Where `gnus-uu' does its work.

`gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives'
     Non-`nil' means that `gnus-uu' won't peek inside archives looking
     for files to display.

`gnus-uu-view-and-save'
     Non-`nil' means that the user will always be asked to save a file
     after viewing it.

`gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules'
     Non-`nil' means that `gnus-uu' will ignore the default viewing
     rules.

`gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules'
     Non-`nil' means that `gnus-uu' will ignore the default archive
     unpacking commands.

`gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return'
     Non-`nil' means that `gnus-uu' will strip all carriage returns
     from articles.

`gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded'
     Non-`nil' means that `gnus-uu' will mark unsuccessfully decoded
     articles as unread.

`gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode'
     Non-`nil' means that `gnus-uu' will _try_ to fix uuencoded files
     that have had trailing spaces deleted.

`gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook'
     Hook run before sending a message to `uudecode'.

`gnus-uu-view-with-metamail'
     Non-`nil' means that `gnus-uu' will ignore the viewing commands
     defined by the rule variables and just fudge a MIME content type
     based on the file name.  The result will be fed to `metamail' for
     viewing.

`gnus-uu-save-in-digest'
     Non-`nil' means that `gnus-uu', when asked to save without
     decoding, will save in digests.  If this variable is `nil',
     `gnus-uu' will just save everything in a file without any
     embellishments.  The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153--no
     easy way to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were
     found, so I simply dropped them.



File: gnus,  Node: Uuencoding and Posting,  Prev: Other Decode Variables,  Up: Decoding Variables

3.15.5.3 Uuencoding and Posting
...............................

`gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing'
     Non-`nil' means that `gnus-uu' will ask for a file to encode
     before you compose the article.  If this variable is `t', you can
     either include an encoded file with `C-c C-i' or have one included
     for you when you post the article.

`gnus-uu-post-length'
     Maximum length of an article.  The encoded file will be split into
     how many articles it takes to post the entire file.

`gnus-uu-post-threaded'
     Non-`nil' means that `gnus-uu' will post the encoded file in a
     thread.  This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is
     able to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles.  (Well,
     I have seen one package that does that--`gnus-uu', but somehow, I
     don't think that counts...) Default is `nil'.

`gnus-uu-post-separate-description'
     Non-`nil' means that the description will be posted in a separate
     article.  The first article will typically be numbered (0/x).  If
     this variable is `nil', the description the user enters will be
     included at the beginning of the first article, which will be
     numbered (1/x).  Default is `t'.



File: gnus,  Node: Viewing Files,  Prev: Decoding Variables,  Up: Decoding Articles

3.15.6 Viewing Files
--------------------

After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
viewed.  For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file `pics.tar.gz'
containing the files `pic1.jpg' and `pic2.gif', Gnus will uncompress
and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.  This
unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives of
archives, it'll all be unpacked.

   Finally, Gnus will normally insert a "pseudo-article" for each
extracted file into the summary buffer.  If you go to these "articles",
you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus will make a
suggestion), and then the command will be run.

   If `gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously' is `nil', Emacs will wait until
the viewing is done before proceeding.

   If `gnus-view-pseudos' is `automatic', Gnus will not insert the
pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them immediately.  If
this variable is `not-confirm', the user won't even be asked for a
confirmation before viewing is done.

   If `gnus-view-pseudos-separately' is non-`nil', one pseudo-article
will be created for each file to be viewed.  If `nil', all files that
use the same viewing command will be given as a list of parameters to
that command.

   If `gnus-insert-pseudo-articles' is non-`nil', insert
pseudo-articles when decoding.  It is `t' by default.

   So; there you are, reading your _pseudo-articles_ in your _virtual
newsgroup_ from the _virtual server_; and you think: Why isn't anything
real anymore? How did we get here?


File: gnus,  Node: Article Treatment,  Next: MIME Commands,  Prev: Decoding Articles,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.16 Article Treatment
======================

Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
written.  Reading articles.  Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
these articles easier.

* Menu:

* Article Highlighting::    You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
* Article Fontisizing::     Making emphasized text look nice.
* Article Hiding::          You also want to make certain info go away.
* Article Washing::         Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
* Article Buttons::         Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
* Article Date::            Grumble, UT!
* Article Signature::       What is a signature?
* Article Miscellania::     Various other stuff.


File: gnus,  Node: Article Highlighting,  Next: Article Fontisizing,  Up: Article Treatment

3.16.1 Article Highlighting
---------------------------

Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.

`W H a'
     Do much highlighting of the current article
     (`gnus-article-highlight').  This function highlights header, cited
     text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.

`W H h'
     Highlight the headers (`gnus-article-highlight-headers').  The
     highlighting will be done according to the `gnus-header-face-alist'
     variable, which is a list where each element has the form `(REGEXP
     NAME CONTENT)'.  REGEXP is a regular expression for matching the
     header, NAME is the face used for highlighting the header name
     (*note Faces and Fonts::) and CONTENT is the face for highlighting
     the header value.  The first match made will be used.  Note that
     REGEXP shouldn't have `^' prepended--Gnus will add one.

`W H c'
     Highlight cited text (`gnus-article-highlight-citation').

     Some variables to customize the citation highlights:

    `gnus-cite-parse-max-size'
          If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is
          25000 by default), no citation highlighting will be performed.

    `gnus-cite-prefix-regexp'
          Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a
          line.

    `gnus-cite-max-prefix'
          Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).

    `gnus-cite-face-list'
          List of faces used for highlighting citations (*note Faces
          and Fonts::).  When there are citations from multiple
          articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
          citation from each article its own face.  This should make it
          easier to see who wrote what.

    `gnus-supercite-regexp'
          Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.

    `gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp'
          Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.

    `gnus-cite-minimum-match-count'
          Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we
          believe that it's a citation.

    `gnus-cite-attribution-prefix'
          Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.

    `gnus-cite-attribution-suffix'
          Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.

    `gnus-cite-attribution-face'
          Face used for attribution lines.  It is merged with the face
          for the cited text belonging to the attribution.


`W H s'
     Highlight the signature (`gnus-article-highlight-signature').
     Everything after `gnus-signature-separator' (*note Article
     Signature::) in an article will be considered a signature and will
     be highlighted with `gnus-signature-face', which is `italic' by
     default.


   *Note Customizing Articles::, for how to highlight articles
automatically.


File: gnus,  Node: Article Fontisizing,  Next: Article Hiding,  Prev: Article Highlighting,  Up: Article Treatment

3.16.2 Article Fontisizing
--------------------------

People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
like `_this_' or `*this*' or `/this/'.  Gnus can make this look nicer
by running the article through the `W e' (`gnus-article-emphasize')
command.

   How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
`gnus-emphasis-alist' variable.  This is an alist where the first
element is a regular expression to be matched.  The second is a number
that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
emphasized word.  The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
should be displayed and highlighted.  (The text between these two
groupings will be hidden.)  The fourth is the face used for
highlighting.

     (setq gnus-article-emphasis
           '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
             ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))

   By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
`gnus-emphasis-bold', `gnus-emphasis-italic',
`gnus-emphasis-underline', `gnus-emphasis-bold-italic',
`gnus-emphasis-underline-italic', `gnus-emphasis-underline-bold', and
`gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic'.

   If you want to change these faces, you can either use `M-x
customize', or you can use `copy-face'.  For instance, if you want to
make `gnus-emphasis-italic' use a red face instead, you could say
something like:

     (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)

   If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
`gnus-group-highlight-words-alist' variable, which uses the same syntax
as `gnus-emphasis-alist'.  The `highlight-words' group parameter (*note
Group Parameters::) can also be used.

   *Note Customizing Articles::, for how to fontize articles
automatically.


File: gnus,  Node: Article Hiding,  Next: Article Washing,  Prev: Article Fontisizing,  Up: Article Treatment

3.16.3 Article Hiding
---------------------

Or rather, hiding certain things in each article.  There usually is much
too much cruft in most articles.

`W W a'
     Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
     (`gnus-article-hide').  In particular, this function will hide
     headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.

`W W h'
     Hide headers (`gnus-article-hide-headers').  *Note Hiding
     Headers::.

`W W b'
     Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
     (`gnus-article-hide-boring-headers').  *Note Hiding Headers::.

`W W s'
     Hide signature (`gnus-article-hide-signature').  *Note Article
     Signature::.

`W W l'
     Strip list identifiers specified in `gnus-list-identifiers'.  These
     are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
     `Subject' headers--for example, `[zebra 4711]'.  Any leading `Re:
     ' is skipped before stripping. `gnus-list-identifiers' may not
     contain `\\(..\\)'.

    `gnus-list-identifiers'
          A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be
          removed from subject.  This can also be a list of regular
          expressions.


`W W p'
     Hide PGP signatures (`gnus-article-hide-pgp').  The
     `gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook' hook will be run after a PGP
     signature has been hidden.  For example, to automatically verify
     articles that have signatures in them do:
          ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.

          (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)

          ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
          ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.

          (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
                    (lambda ()
                      (save-excursion
                        (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
                        (mc-verify))))

`W W P'
     Hide PEM (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
     (`gnus-article-hide-pem').

`W W B'
     Strip the banner specified by the `banner' group parameter
     (`gnus-article-strip-banner').  This is mainly used to hide those
     annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and
     moderated groups adds to all the messages.  The way to use this
     function is to add the `banner' group parameter (*note Group
     Parameters::) to the group you want banners stripped from.  The
     parameter either be a string, which will be interpreted as a
     regular expression matching text to be removed, or the symbol
     `signature', meaning that the (last) signature should be removed,
     or other symbol, meaning that the corresponding regular expression
     in `gnus-article-banner-alist' is used.

`W W c'
     Hide citation (`gnus-article-hide-citation').  Some variables for
     customizing the hiding:

    `gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format'
    `gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format'
          Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been
          hidden, and to allow toggle hiding the text.  The format of
          the variable is specified by these format-like variable
          (*note Formatting Variables::).  These specs are valid:

         `b'
               Starting point of the hidden text.

         `e'
               Ending point of the hidden text.

         `l'
               Number of characters in the hidden region.

         `n'
               Number of lines of hidden text.

    `gnus-cited-lines-visible'
          The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to
          leave shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of
          lines at the top and bottom of the text, respectively, to
          remain visible.


`W W C-c'
     Hide citation (`gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe') depending on the
     following two variables:

    `gnus-cite-hide-percentage'
          If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this
          variable (default 50), hide the cited text.

    `gnus-cite-hide-absolute'
          The cited text must have at least this length (default 10)
          before it is hidden.

`W W C'
     Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
     (`gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups').  This isn't very
     useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to
     stick have happen automatically (*note Customizing Articles::).


   All these "hiding" commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
hidden.  If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.

   Also *note Article Highlighting:: for further variables for citation
customization.

   *Note Customizing Articles::, for how to hide article elements
automatically.


File: gnus,  Node: Article Washing,  Next: Article Buttons,  Prev: Article Hiding,  Up: Article Treatment

3.16.4 Article Washing
----------------------

We call this "article washing" for a really good reason.  Namely, the
`A' key was taken, so we had to use the `W' key instead.

   "Washing" is defined by us as "changing something from something to
something else", but normally results in something looking better.
Cleaner, perhaps.

`W l'
     Remove page breaks from the current article
     (`gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking').  *Note Misc Article::, for
     page delimiters.

`W r'
     Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
     (`gnus-summary-caesar-message').  Unreadable articles that tell
     you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.  (Typically
     offensive jokes and such.)

     It's commonly called "rot13" because each letter is rotated 13
     positions in the alphabet, e. g. `B' (letter #2) -> `O' (letter
     #15).  It is sometimes referred to as "Caesar rotate" because
     Caesar is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak
     encryption.

`W t'

`t'
     Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
     (`gnus-summary-toggle-header').

`W v'
     Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
     permanently (`gnus-summary-verbose-header').

`W o'
     Treat overstrike (`gnus-article-treat-overstrike').

`W d'
     Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
     `gnus-article-dumbquotes-map' (`gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes').
     Note that this function guesses whether a character is a
     sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used interactively.

     Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character
     map in an attempt to provide more quoting characters.  If you see
     something like `\222' or `\264' where you're expecting some kind of
     apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.

`W w'
     Do word wrap (`gnus-article-fill-cited-article').

     You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width
     to use when filling.

`W Q'
     Fill long lines (`gnus-article-fill-long-lines').

`W C'
     Capitalize the first word in each sentence
     (`gnus-article-capitalize-sentences').

`W c'
     Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., `^M's on the end of the lines) into LF
     (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any
     remaining CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
     (`gnus-article-remove-cr').

`W q'
     Treat quoted-printable (`gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable').
     Quoted-Printable is one common MIME encoding employed when sending
     non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles.  It typically makes strings like
     `déjà vu' look like `d=E9j=E0 vu', which doesn't look very
     readable to me.  Note that the this is usually done automatically
     by Gnus if the message in question has a
     `Content-Transfer-Encoding' header that says that this encoding
     has been done.

`W 6'
     Treat base64 (`gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable').  Base64 is one
     common MIME encoding employed when sending non-ASCII (i. e.,
     8-bit) articles.  Note that the this is usually done automatically
     by Gnus if the message in question has a
     `Content-Transfer-Encoding' header that says that this encoding has
     been done.

`W Z'
     Treat HZ or HZP (`gnus-article-decode-HZ').  HZ (or HZP) is one
     common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles.  It
     typically makes strings look like `~{<:Ky2;S{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~}'.

`W h'
     Treat HTML (`gnus-article-wash-html').  Note that the this is
     usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has
     a `Content-Type' header that says that this type has been done.

`W f'
     Look for and display any X-Face headers
     (`gnus-article-display-x-face').  The command executed by this
     function is given by the `gnus-article-x-face-command' variable.
     If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
     sub-shell.  If it is a function, this function will be called with
     the face as the argument.  If the `gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly'
     (which is a regexp) matches the `From' header, the face will not
     be shown.  The default action under Emacs is to fork off the
     `display' program(1) to view the face.  Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+
     with suitable image support, the default action is to display the
     face before the `From' header.  (It's nicer if XEmacs has been
     compiled with X-Face support--that will make display somewhat
     faster.  If there's no native X-Face support, Gnus will try to
     convert the `X-Face' header using external programs from the
     `pbmplus' package and friends.(2))  If you want to have this
     function in the display hook, it should probably come last.

`W b'
     Add clickable buttons to the article (`gnus-article-add-buttons').
     *Note Article Buttons::.

`W B'
     Add clickable buttons to the article headers
     (`gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head').

`W W H'
     Strip headers like the `X-No-Archive' header from the beginning of
     article bodies (`gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body').

`W E l'
     Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
     (`gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines').

`W E m'
     Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple
     empty lines with a single empty line.
     (`gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines').

`W E t'
     Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
     (`gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines').

`W E a'
     Do all the three commands above (`gnus-article-strip-blank-lines').

`W E A'
     Remove all blank lines (`gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines').

`W E s'
     Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the
     article body (`gnus-article-strip-leading-space').

`W E e'
     Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
     body (`gnus-article-strip-trailing-space').


   *Note Customizing Articles::, for how to wash articles automatically.

   ---------- Footnotes ----------

   (1) `display' is from the ImageMagick package.  For the `uncompface'
and `icontopbm' programs look for a package like `compface' or
`faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.

   (2) On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names like `netpbm'
or `libgr-progs'.


File: gnus,  Node: Article Buttons,  Next: Article Date,  Prev: Article Washing,  Up: Article Treatment

3.16.5 Article Buttons
----------------------

People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
with the minimum of fuzz when you hit `RET' or use the middle mouse
button on these references.

   Gnus adds "buttons" to certain standard references by default:
Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs.  This is controlled by
two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
article heads:

`gnus-button-alist'
     This is an alist where each entry has this form:

          (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)

    REGEXP
          All text that match this regular expression will be
          considered an external reference.  Here's a typical regexp
          that matches embedded URLs: `<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>'.

    BUTTON-PAR
          Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be
          highlighted.  This is a number that says what sub-expression
          of the regexp is to be highlighted.  If you want it all
          highlighted, you use 0 here.

    USE-P
          This form will be `eval'ed, and if the result is non-`nil',
          this is considered a match.  This is useful if you want extra
          sifting to avoid false matches.

    FUNCTION
          This function will be called when you click on this button.

    DATA-PAR
          As with BUTTON-PAR, this is a sub-expression number, but this
          one says which part of the match is to be sent as data to
          FUNCTION.


     So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then

          ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)

`gnus-header-button-alist'
     This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
     article head only, and that each entry has an additional element
     that is used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:

          (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)

     HEADER is a regular expression.

`gnus-button-url-regexp'
     A regular expression that matches embedded URLs.  It is used in the
     default values of the variables above.

`gnus-article-button-face'
     Face used on buttons.

`gnus-article-mouse-face'
     Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.


   *Note Customizing Articles::, for how to buttonize articles
automatically.


File: gnus,  Node: Article Date,  Next: Article Signature,  Prev: Article Buttons,  Up: Article Treatment

3.16.6 Article Date
-------------------

The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
when the article was sent.

`W T u'
     Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
     (`gnus-article-date-ut').

`W T i'
     Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
     (`gnus-article-date-iso8601').

`W T l'
     Display the date in the local timezone (`gnus-article-date-local').

`W T s'
     Display the date using a user-defined format
     (`gnus-article-date-user').  The format is specified by the
     `gnus-article-time-format' variable, and is a string that's passed
     to `format-time-string'.  See the documentation of that variable
     for a list of possible format specs.

`W T e'
     Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and
     now (`gnus-article-date-lapsed').  It looks something like:

          X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago

     The value of `gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header' determines
     whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or
     will replace it.

     An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple
     bugs into wonderful absurdities.

     If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put

          (gnus-start-date-timer)

     in your `.gnus.el' file, or you can run it off of some hook.  If
     you want to stop the timer, you can use the `gnus-stop-date-timer'
     command.

`W T o'
     Display the original date (`gnus-article-date-original').  This can
     be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and
     are worried that it might be doing something totally wrong.  Say,
     claiming that the article was posted in 1854.  Although something
     like that is _totally_ impossible.  Don't you trust me? *titter*


   *Note Customizing Articles::, for how to display the date in your
preferred format automatically.


File: gnus,  Node: Article Signature,  Next: Article Miscellania,  Prev: Article Date,  Up: Article Treatment

3.16.7 Article Signature
------------------------

Each article is divided into two parts--the head and the body.  The
body can be divided into a signature part and a text part.  The variable
that says what is to be considered a signature is
`gnus-signature-separator'.  This is normally the standard `^-- $' as
mandated by son-of-RFC 1036.  However, many people use non-standard
signature separators, so this variable can also be a list of regular
expressions to be tested, one by one.  (Searches are done from the end
of the body towards the beginning.)  One likely value is:

     (setq gnus-signature-separator
           '("^-- $"         ; The standard
             "^-- *$"        ; A common mangling
             "^-------*$"    ; Many people just use a looong
                             ; line of dashes.  Shame!
             "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
             "^________*$"   ; Underscores are also popular
             "^========*$")) ; Pervert!

   The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get
false positives.

   `gnus-signature-limit' provides a limit to what is considered a
signature when displaying articles.

  1. If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters)
     than that integer.

  2. If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in
     lines) than that number.

  3. If it is a function, the function will be called without any
     parameters, and if it returns `nil', there is no signature in the
     buffer.

  4. If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp.  If it matches,
     the text in question is not a signature.

   This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the
types listed above.  Here's an example:

     (setq gnus-signature-limit
           '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))

   This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by the
regular expression `^---*Forwarded article', then it isn't a signature
after all.


File: gnus,  Node: Article Miscellania,  Prev: Article Signature,  Up: Article Treatment

3.16.8 Article Miscellania
--------------------------

`A t'
     Translate the article from one language to another
     (`gnus-article-babel').



File: gnus,  Node: MIME Commands,  Next: Charsets,  Prev: Article Treatment,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.17 MIME Commands
==================

The following commands all understand the numerical prefix.  For
instance, `3 b' means "view the third MIME part".

`b'
`K v'
     View the MIME part.

`K o'
     Save the MIME part.

`K c'
     Copy the MIME part.

`K e'
     View the MIME part externally.

`K i'
     View the MIME part internally.

`K |'
     Pipe the MIME part to an external command.

   The rest of these MIME commands do not use the numerical prefix in
the same manner:

`K b'
     Make all the MIME parts have buttons in front of them.  This is
     mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on
     inlined parts.

`K m'
     Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty
     headers.  This command will attempt to "repair" these messages so
     that they can be viewed in a more pleasant manner
     (`gnus-summary-repair-multipart').

`X m'
     Save all parts matching a MIME type to a directory
     (`gnus-summary-save-parts').  Understands the process/prefix
     convention (*note Process/Prefix::).

`M-t'
     Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
     (`gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized').

`W M w'
     Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
     (`gnus-article-decode-mime-words').

`W M c'
     Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
     (`gnus-article-decode-charset').

     This command looks in the `Content-Type' header to determine the
     charset.  If there is no such header in the article, you can give
     it a prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as.  In
     regional groups where people post using some common encoding (but
     do not include MIME headers), you can set the `charset'
     group/topic parameter to the required charset (*note Group
     Parameters::).

`W M v'
     View all the MIME parts in the current article
     (`gnus-mime-view-all-parts').


   Relevant variables:

`gnus-ignored-mime-types'
     This is a list of regexps.  MIME types that match a regexp from
     this list will be completely ignored by Gnus.  The default value is
     `nil'.

     To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:

          (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
                '("text/x-vcard"))

`gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types'
     This is a list of regexps.  MIME types that match a regexp from
     this list won't have MIME buttons inserted unless they aren't
     displayed.  The default value is `(".*/.*")'.

`gnus-article-mime-part-function'
     For each MIME part, this function will be called with the MIME
     handle as the parameter.  The function is meant to be used to allow
     users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard
     info to the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g.,
     automatically save all jpegs into some directory).

     Here's an example function the does the latter:

          (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
            (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
              (with-temp-buffer
                (insert (mm-get-part handle))
                (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
                              (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
          (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
                'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)

`gnus-mime-multipart-functions'
     Alist of MIME multipart types and functions to handle them.



File: gnus,  Node: Charsets,  Next: Article Commands,  Prev: MIME Commands,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.18 Charsets
=============

People use different charsets, and we have MIME to let us know what
charsets they use.  Or rather, we wish we had.  Many people use
newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use MIME, and just
send out messages without saying what character sets they use.  To help
a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
what character set is the default.  For instance, the `fj' hierarchy
uses `iso-2022-jp-2'.

   This knowledge is encoded in the `gnus-group-charset-alist'
variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
default charsets to be used when reading these groups.

   In addition, some people do use soi-disant MIME-aware agents that
aren't.  These blitely mark messages as being in `iso-8859-1' even if
they really are in `koi-8'.  To help here, the
`gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets' variable can be used.  The charsets
that are listed here will be ignored.  The variable can be set on a
group-by-group basis using the group parameters (*note Group
Parameters::).  The default value is `(unknown-8bit)', which is
something some agents insist on having in there.

   When posting, `gnus-group-posting-charset-alist' is used to
determine which charsets should not be encoded using the MIME
encodings.  For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
quoted-printable header encoding.

   This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
for posting.  Each element of the alist has the form `('TEST HEADER
BODY-LIST`)', where:

TEST
     is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
     variable to query,

HEADER
     is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (`nil'
     means encode all charsets),

BODY-LIST
     is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit
     content-transfer encoding in the body, or one of the special
     values `nil' (always encode using quoted-printable) or `t' (always
     use 8bit).

   Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:

   If there are several MIME charsets that encode the same Emacs
charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:

     (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
                           'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)

   This means that Russian will be encoded using `koi8-r' instead of
the default `iso-8859-5' MIME charset.

   If you want to read messages in `koi8-u', you can cheat and say

     (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)

   This will almost do the right thing.

   And finally, to read charsets like `windows-1251', you can say
something like

     (codepage-setup 1251)
     (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)


File: gnus,  Node: Article Commands,  Next: Summary Sorting,  Prev: Charsets,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.19 Article Commands
=====================

`A P'
     Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
     (`gnus-summary-print-article').  `gnus-ps-print-hook' will be run
     just before printing the buffer.



File: gnus,  Node: Summary Sorting,  Next: Finding the Parent,  Prev: Article Commands,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.20 Summary Sorting
====================

You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
can't really see why you'd want that.

`C-c C-s C-n'
     Sort by article number (`gnus-summary-sort-by-number').

`C-c C-s C-a'
     Sort by author (`gnus-summary-sort-by-author').

`C-c C-s C-s'
     Sort by subject (`gnus-summary-sort-by-subject').

`C-c C-s C-d'
     Sort by date (`gnus-summary-sort-by-date').

`C-c C-s C-l'
     Sort by lines (`gnus-summary-sort-by-lines').

`C-c C-s C-c'
     Sort by article length (`gnus-summary-sort-by-chars').

`C-c C-s C-i'
     Sort by score (`gnus-summary-sort-by-score').

   These functions will work both when you use threading and when you
don't use threading.  In the latter case, all summary lines will be
sorted, line by line.  In the former case, sorting will be done on a
root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for.  To
toggle whether to use threading, type `T T' (*note Thread Commands::).


File: gnus,  Node: Finding the Parent,  Next: Alternative Approaches,  Prev: Summary Sorting,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.21 Finding the Parent
=======================

`^'
     If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is
     not displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to.
     That is, if the current group is fetched by NNTP, the parent
     hasn't expired and the `References' in the current article are not
     mangled, you can just press `^' or `A r'
     (`gnus-summary-refer-parent-article').  If everything goes well,
     you'll get the parent.  If the parent is already displayed in the
     summary buffer, point will just move to this article.

     If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles
     back into the ancestry.  If given a negative numerical prefix,
     fetch just that ancestor.  So if you say `3 ^', Gnus will fetch
     the parent, the grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the
     current article.  If you say `-3 ^', Gnus will only fetch the
     grandgrandparent of the current article.

`A R (Summary)'
     Fetch all articles mentioned in the `References' header of the
     article (`gnus-summary-refer-references').

`A T (Summary)'
     Display the full thread where the current article appears
     (`gnus-summary-refer-thread').  This command has to fetch all the
     headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while.
     If you do it often, you may consider setting
     `gnus-fetch-old-headers' to `invisible' (*note Filling In
     Threads::).  This won't have any visible effects normally, but
     it'll make this command work a whole lot faster.  Of course, it'll
     make group entry somewhat slow.

     The `gnus-refer-thread-limit' variable says how many old (i. e.,
     articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers
     to fetch when doing this command.  The default is 200.  If `t', all
     the available headers will be fetched.  This variable can be
     overridden by giving the `A T' command a numerical prefix.

`M-^ (Summary)'
     You can also ask the NNTP server for an arbitrary article, no
     matter what group it belongs to.  `M-^'
     (`gnus-summary-refer-article') will ask you for a `Message-ID',
     which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies that look
     something like `<38o6up$6f2@hymir.ifi.uio.no>'.  You have to get
     it all exactly right.  No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.

   The current select method will be used when fetching by `Message-ID'
from non-news select method, but you can override this by giving this
command a prefix.

   If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
support fetching by `Message-ID' very well (like `nnspool'), you can
set `gnus-refer-article-method' to an NNTP method.  It would, perhaps,
be best if the NNTP server you consult is the one updating the spool
you are reading from, but that's not really necessary.

   It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special
symbol `current', which means to use the current select method.  If it
is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
match.

   Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
then ask Deja if that fails:

     (setq gnus-refer-article-method
           '(current
             (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))

   Most of the mail backends support fetching by `Message-ID', but do
not do a particularly excellent job at it.  That is, `nnmbox' and
`nnbabyl' are able to locate articles from any groups, while `nnml' and
`nnfolder' are only able to locate articles that have been posted to
the current group.  (Anything else would be too time consuming.)
`nnmh' does not support this at all.


File: gnus,  Node: Alternative Approaches,  Next: Tree Display,  Prev: Finding the Parent,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.22 Alternative Approaches
===========================

Different people like to read news using different methods.  This being
Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.

* Menu:

* Pick and Read::               First mark articles and then read them.
* Binary Groups::               Auto-decode all articles.


File: gnus,  Node: Pick and Read,  Next: Binary Groups,  Up: Alternative Approaches

3.22.1 Pick and Read
--------------------

Some newsreaders (like `nn' and, uhm, `Netnews' on VM/CMS) use a
two-phased reading interface.  The user first marks in a summary buffer
the articles she wants to read.  Then she starts reading the articles
with just an article buffer displayed.

   Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
this--`gnus-pick-mode'.  This basically means that a few process mark
commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and it
provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.

   Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:

`.'
     Pick the article or thread on the current line
     (`gnus-pick-article-or-thread').  If the variable
     `gnus-thread-hide-subtree' is true, then this key selects the
     entire thread when used at the first article of the thread.
     Otherwise, it selects just the article.  If given a numerical
     prefix, go to that thread or article and pick it.  (The line
     number is normally displayed at the beginning of the summary pick
     lines.)

`SPACE'
     Scroll the summary buffer up one page (`gnus-pick-next-page').  If
     at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.

`u'
     Unpick the thread or article
     (`gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread').  If the variable
     `gnus-thread-hide-subtree' is true, then this key unpicks the
     thread if used at the first article of the thread.  Otherwise it
     unpicks just the article.  You can give this key a numerical
     prefix to unpick the thread or article at that line.

`RET'
     Start reading the picked articles (`gnus-pick-start-reading').  If
     given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first.  If
     `gnus-pick-display-summary' is non-`nil', the summary buffer will
     still be visible when you are reading.


   All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
pick-mode, with the exception of `u'.  However `!' is available which
is mapped to the same function `gnus-summary-tick-article-forward'.

   If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:

     (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)

   `gnus-pick-mode-hook' is run in pick minor mode buffers.

   If `gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read' is non-`nil', mark all
unpicked articles as read.  The default is `nil'.

   The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
standard format.  At the beginning of each line the line number is
displayed.  The pick mode line format is controlled by the
`gnus-summary-pick-line-format' variable (*note Formatting
Variables::).  It accepts the same format specs that
`gnus-summary-line-format' does (*note Summary Buffer Lines::).


File: gnus,  Node: Binary Groups,  Prev: Pick and Read,  Up: Alternative Approaches

3.22.2 Binary Groups
--------------------

If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
`X u', `n', `RET' all the time.  `M-x gnus-binary-mode' is a minor mode
for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article selection
functions uudecode series of articles and display the result instead of
just displaying the articles the normal way.

   The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the `g'
command, when you have turned on this mode (`gnus-binary-show-article').

   `gnus-binary-mode-hook' is called in binary minor mode buffers.


File: gnus,  Node: Tree Display,  Next: Mail Group Commands,  Prev: Alternative Approaches,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.23 Tree Display
=================

If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
`gnus-use-trees' to `t'.  This will create (by default) an additional
"tree buffer".  You can execute all summary mode commands in the tree
buffer.

   There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:

`gnus-tree-mode-hook'
     A hook called in all tree mode buffers.

`gnus-tree-mode-line-format'
     A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (*note
     Mode Line Formatting::).  The default is `Gnus: %%b %S %Z'.  For a
     list of valid specs, *note Summary Buffer Mode Line::.

`gnus-selected-tree-face'
     Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree
     buffer.  The default is `modeline'.

`gnus-tree-line-format'
     A format string for the tree nodes.  The name is a bit of a
     misnomer, though--it doesn't define a line, but just the node.
     The default value is `%(%[%3,3n%]%)', which displays the first
     three characters of the name of the poster.  It is vital that all
     nodes are of the same length, so you _must_ use `%4,4n'-like
     specifiers.

     Valid specs are:

    `n'
          The name of the poster.

    `f'
          The `From' header.

    `N'
          The number of the article.

    `['
          The opening bracket.

    `]'
          The closing bracket.

    `s'
          The subject.

     *Note Formatting Variables::.

     Variables related to the display are:

    `gnus-tree-brackets'
          This is used for differentiating between "real" articles and
          "sparse" articles.  The format is `((REAL-OPEN . REAL-CLOSE)
          (SPARSE-OPEN . SPARSE-CLOSE) (DUMMY-OPEN . DUMMY-CLOSE))',
          and the default is `((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?{ . ?}) (?< .
          ?>))'.

    `gnus-tree-parent-child-edges'
          This is a list that contains the characters used for
          connecting parent nodes to their children.  The default is
          `(?- ?\\ ?|)'.


`gnus-tree-minimize-window'
     If this variable is non-`nil', Gnus will try to keep the tree
     buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
     windows.  If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never
     be higher than that number.  The default is `t'.  Note that if you
     have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
     buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also
     resize all other windows displayed next to it.

`gnus-generate-tree-function'
     The function that actually generates the thread tree.  Two
     predefined functions are available:
     `gnus-generate-horizontal-tree' and `gnus-generate-vertical-tree'
     (which is the default).


   Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:

     {***}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
          |      \[Jan]
          |      \[odd]-[Eri]
          |      \(***)-[Eri]
          |            \[odd]-[Paa]
          \[Bjo]
          \[Gun]
          \[Gun]-[Jor]

   Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:

     {***}
       |--------------------------\-----\-----\
     (***)                         [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
       |--\-----\-----\                          |
     [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***)                   [Jor]
       |           |     |--\
     [Gun]       [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
                               |
                             [Paa]

   If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the
trees side-by-side with the summary buffer.  You could add something
like the following to your `.gnus.el' file:

     (setq gnus-use-trees t
           gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
           gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
     (gnus-add-configuration
      '(article
        (vertical 1.0
                  (horizontal 0.25
                              (summary 0.75 point)
                              (tree 1.0))
                  (article 1.0))))

   *Note Windows Configuration::.


File: gnus,  Node: Mail Group Commands,  Next: Various Summary Stuff,  Prev: Tree Display,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.24 Mail Group Commands
========================

Some commands only make sense in mail groups.  If these commands are
invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.

   All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
process/prefix convention (*note Process/Prefix::).

`B e'
     Expire all expirable articles in the group
     (`gnus-summary-expire-articles').

`B M-C-e'
     Delete all the expirable articles in the group
     (`gnus-summary-expire-articles-now').  This means that *all*
     articles eligible for expiry in the current group will disappear
     forever into that big `/dev/null' in the sky.

`B DEL'
     Delete the mail article.  This is "delete" as in "delete it from
     your disk forever and ever, never to return again." Use with
     caution.  (`gnus-summary-delete-article').

`B m'
     Move the article from one mail group to another
     (`gnus-summary-move-article').  Marks will be preserved if
     GNUS-PRESERVE-MARKS is non-`nil' (which is the default).

`B c'
     Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
     (`gnus-summary-copy-article').  Marks will be preserved if
     GNUS-PRESERVE-MARKS is non-`nil' (which is the default).

`B B'
     Crosspost the current article to some other group
     (`gnus-summary-crosspost-article').  This will create a new copy of
     the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the
     article will be properly updated.

`B i'
     Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
     (`gnus-summary-import-article').  You will be prompted for a file
     name, a `From' header and a `Subject' header.

`B r'
     Respool the mail article (`gnus-summary-respool-article').
     `gnus-summary-respool-default-method' will be used as the default
     select method when respooling.  This variable is `nil' by default,
     which means that the current group select method will be used
     instead.  Marks will be preserved if GNUS-PRESERVE-MARKS is
     non-`nil' (which is the default).

`B w'
`e'
     Edit the current article (`gnus-summary-edit-article').  To finish
     editing and make the changes permanent, type `C-c C-c'
     (`gnus-summary-edit-article-done').  If you give a prefix to the
     `C-c C-c' command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.

`B q'
     If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to
     what group the article will end up in before you do the
     re-spooling.  This command will tell you
     (`gnus-summary-respool-query').

`B t'
     Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns
     used when repooling, if any (`gnus-summary-respool-trace').

`B p'
     Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
     follow up to articles you have posted.  These usually have a
     `Newsgroups' header in them, but not always.  This command
     (`gnus-summary-article-posted-p') will try to fetch the current
     article from your news server (or rather, from
     `gnus-refer-article-method' or `gnus-select-method') and will
     report back whether it found the article or not.  Even if it says
     that it didn't find the article, it may have been posted
     anyway--mail propagation is much faster than news propagation, and
     the news copy may just not have arrived yet.


   If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
suggest where to put the articles.  `gnus-move-split-methods' is a
variable that uses the same syntax as `gnus-split-methods' (*note
Saving Articles::).  You may customize that variable to create
suggestions you find reasonable.  (Note that `gnus-move-split-methods'
uses group names where `gnus-split-methods' uses file names.)

     (setq gnus-move-split-methods
           '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
             ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
             (".*" "nnml:misc")))


File: gnus,  Node: Various Summary Stuff,  Next: Exiting the Summary Buffer,  Prev: Mail Group Commands,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.25 Various Summary Stuff
==========================

* Menu:

* Summary Group Information::         Information oriented commands.
* Searching for Articles::            Multiple article commands.
* Summary Generation Commands::       (Re)generating the summary buffer.
* Really Various Summary Commands::   Those pesky non-conformant commands.

`gnus-summary-mode-hook'
     This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.

`gnus-summary-generate-hook'
     This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
     generation of the summary buffer.  It's quite convenient for
     customizing the threading variables based on what data the
     newsgroup has.  This hook is called from the summary buffer after
     most summary buffer variables have been set.

`gnus-summary-prepare-hook'
     It is called after the summary buffer has been generated.  You
     might use it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look
     of the buffer in some other ungodly manner.  I don't care.

`gnus-summary-prepared-hook'
     A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has
     been generated.

`gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates'
     When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same `Message-ID',
     it has to do something drastic.  No articles are allowed to have
     the same `Message-ID', but this may happen when reading mail from
     some sources.  Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this
     variable.  If it is `nil' (which is the default), Gnus will rename
     the `Message-ID' (for display purposes only) and display the
     article as any other article.  If this variable is `t', it won't
     display the article--it'll be as if it never existed.

`gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function'
     This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the
     list of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to
     alter the list of articles to be selected.

     For instance, the following function adds the list of cached
     articles to the list in one particular group:

          (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
            (if (string= group "some.group")
                (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
              articles))



File: gnus,  Node: Summary Group Information,  Next: Searching for Articles,  Up: Various Summary Stuff

3.25.1 Summary Group Information
--------------------------------

`H f'
     Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
     current group (`gnus-summary-fetch-faq').  Gnus will try to get the
     FAQ from `gnus-group-faq-directory', which is usually a directory
     on a remote machine.  This variable can also be a list of
     directories.  In that case, giving a prefix to this command will
     allow you to choose between the various sites.  `ange-ftp' or
     `efs' will probably be used for fetching the file.

`H d'
     Give a brief description of the current group
     (`gnus-summary-describe-group').  If given a prefix, force
     rereading the description from the server.

`H h'
     Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
     keystrokes (`gnus-summary-describe-briefly').

`H i'
     Go to the Gnus info node (`gnus-info-find-node').


File: gnus,  Node: Searching for Articles,  Next: Summary Generation Commands,  Prev: Summary Group Information,  Up: Various Summary Stuff

3.25.2 Searching for Articles
-----------------------------

`M-s'
     Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
     (`gnus-summary-search-article-forward').

`M-r'
     Search through all previous articles for a regexp
     (`gnus-summary-search-article-backward').

`&'
     This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to
     match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is
     made (`gnus-summary-execute-command').  If the header is an empty
     string, the match is done on the entire article.  If given a
     prefix, search backward instead.

     For instance, `& RET some.*string #' will put the process mark on
     all articles that have heads or bodies that match `some.*string'.

`M-&'
     Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
     the process mark (`gnus-summary-universal-argument').


File: gnus,  Node: Summary Generation Commands,  Next: Really Various Summary Commands,  Prev: Searching for Articles,  Up: Various Summary Stuff

3.25.3 Summary Generation Commands
----------------------------------

`Y g'
     Regenerate the current summary buffer (`gnus-summary-prepare').

`Y c'
     Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary
     buffer (`gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles').



File: gnus,  Node: Really Various Summary Commands,  Prev: Summary Generation Commands,  Up: Various Summary Stuff

3.25.4 Really Various Summary Commands
--------------------------------------

`A D'
`C-d'
     If the current article is a collection of other articles (for
     instance, a digest), you might use this command to enter a group
     based on the that article (`gnus-summary-enter-digest-group').
     Gnus will try to guess what article type is currently displayed
     unless you give a prefix to this command, which forces a "digest"
     interpretation.  Basically, whenever you see a message that is a
     collection of other messages of some format, you `C-d' and read
     these messages in a more convenient fashion.

`M-C-d'
     This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
     several documents into one biiig group
     (`gnus-summary-read-document').  It does this by opening several
     `nndoc' groups for each document, and then opening an `nnvirtual'
     group on top of these `nndoc' groups.  This command understands
     the process/prefix convention (*note Process/Prefix::).

`C-t'
     Toggle truncation of summary lines
     (`gnus-summary-toggle-truncation').  This will probably confuse the
     line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good
     idea to have truncation switched off while reading articles.

`='
     Expand the summary buffer window (`gnus-summary-expand-window').
     If given a prefix, force an `article' window configuration.

`M-C-e'
     Edit the group parameters (*note Group Parameters::) of the current
     group (`gnus-summary-edit-parameters').

`M-C-a'
     Customize the group parameters (*note Group Parameters::) of the
     current group (`gnus-summary-customize-parameters').



File: gnus,  Node: Exiting the Summary Buffer,  Next: Crosspost Handling,  Prev: Various Summary Stuff,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.26 Exiting the Summary Buffer
===============================

Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
group and return you to the group buffer.

`Z Z'
`q'
     Exit the current group and update all information on the group
     (`gnus-summary-exit').  `gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook' is called
     before doing much of the exiting, which calls
     `gnus-summary-expire-articles' by default.
     `gnus-summary-exit-hook' is called after finishing the exit
     process.  `gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook' is run when returning to
     group mode having no more (unread) groups.

`Z E'
`Q'
     Exit the current group without updating any information on the
     group (`gnus-summary-exit-no-update').

`Z c'
`c'
     Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
     (`gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit').

`Z C'
     Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
     (`gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit').

`Z n'
     Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
     (`gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group').

`Z R'
     Exit this group, and then enter it again
     (`gnus-summary-reselect-current-group').  If given a prefix, select
     all articles, both read and unread.

`Z G'
`M-g'
     Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
     group (`gnus-summary-rescan-group').  If given a prefix, select all
     articles, both read and unread.

`Z N'
     Exit the group and go to the next group
     (`gnus-summary-next-group').

`Z P'
     Exit the group and go to the previous group
     (`gnus-summary-prev-group').

`Z s'
     Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble
     buffer and then save the dribble buffer
     (`gnus-summary-save-newsrc').  If given a prefix, also save the
     `.newsrc' file(s).  Using this command will make exit without
     updating (the `Q' command) worthless.

   `gnus-exit-group-hook' is called when you exit the current group
with an "updating" exit.  For instance `Q'
(`gnus-summary-exit-no-update') does not call this hook.

   If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
about it, you might set `gnus-kill-summary-on-exit' to `nil'.  If you
do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.  (Quelle
surprise!)  Instead it will change the name of the buffer to something
like `*Dead Summary ... *' and install a minor mode called
`gnus-dead-summary-mode'.  Now, if you switch back to this buffer,
you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
`gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead'.  So tapping any keys in a dead summary
buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.

   There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one
time.

   The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you
have read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
summary buffer.  If the `gnus-use-cross-reference' variable is `t'
(which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to this
group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the other
subscribed groups they were cross-posted to.  If this variable is
neither `nil' nor `t', the article will be marked as read in both
subscribed and unsubscribed groups (*note Crosspost Handling::).


File: gnus,  Node: Crosspost Handling,  Next: Duplicate Suppression,  Prev: Exiting the Summary Buffer,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.27 Crosspost Handling
=======================

Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
read the same article more than once.  Unless, of course, somebody has
posted it to several groups separately.  Posting the same article to
several groups (not cross-posting) is called "spamming", and you are by
law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
heinous crime.  You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
(*note NoCeM::).

   Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
separately to several groups is not.  Massive cross-posting (aka.
"velveeta") is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
`gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint' command to complain about
excessive crossposting (*note Summary Mail Commands::).

   One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
correctly is if you use an NNTP server that supports XOVER (which is
very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which does not
include the `Xref' header in its NOV lines.  This is Evil, but all too
common, alas, alack.  Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing even with XOVER
by registering the `Xref' lines of all articles you actually read, but
if you kill the articles, or just mark them as read without reading
them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop the `Xref' lines out of these
articles, and will be unable to use the cross reference mechanism.

   To check whether your NNTP server includes the `Xref' header in its
overview files, try `telnet your.nntp.server nntp', `MODE READER' on
`inn' servers, and then say `LIST overview.fmt'.  This may not work,
but if it does, and the last line you get does not read `Xref:full',
then you should shout and whine at your news admin until she includes
the `Xref' header in the overview files.

   If you want Gnus to get the `Xref's right all the time, you have to
set `gnus-nov-is-evil' to `t', which slows things down considerably.

   C'est la vie.

   For an alternative approach, *note Duplicate Suppression::.


File: gnus,  Node: Duplicate Suppression,  Prev: Crosspost Handling,  Up: The Summary Buffer

3.28 Duplicate Suppression
==========================

By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism (*note
Crosspost Handling::).  However, that simple and efficient approach may
not work satisfactory for some users for various reasons.

  1. The NNTP server may fail to generate the `Xref' header.  This is
     evil and not very common.

  2. The NNTP server may fail to include the `Xref' header in the
     `.overview' data bases.  This is evil and all too common, alas.

  3. You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
     different NNTP servers.

  4. You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.

   I'm sure there are other situations where `Xref' handling fails as
well, but these four are the most common situations.

   If, and only if, `Xref' handling fails for you, then you may
consider switching on "duplicate suppression".  If you do so, Gnus will
remember the `Message-ID's of all articles you have read or otherwise
marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read all
subsequent times you see them--in _all_ groups.  Using this mechanism
is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly so.  It's
certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than once.

   Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument.  It's more
like a sledge hammer than anything else.  It works in a very simple
fashion--if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
to a cache.  The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
article as read with the `M' mark.  It doesn't care what group it saw
the article in.

`gnus-suppress-duplicates'
     If non-`nil', suppress duplicates.

`gnus-save-duplicate-list'
     If non-`nil', save the list of duplicates to a file.  This will
     make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is `nil'.
     However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single
     Gnus session are suppressed.

`gnus-duplicate-list-length'
     This variable says how many `Message-ID's to keep in the duplicate
     suppression list.  The default is 10000.

`gnus-duplicate-file'
     The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in.
     The default is `~/News/suppression'.

   If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
`gnus-save-duplicate-list' to `t' is probably a good idea.  If you
leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it `nil'.  On the
other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower, so
that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
`gnus-save-duplicate-list' to `nil'.  Uhm.  I'll leave this up to you
to figure out, I think.


File: gnus,  Node: The Article Buffer,  Next: Composing Messages,  Prev: The Summary Buffer,  Up: Top

4 The Article Buffer
********************

The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
one.  All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
tell Gnus otherwise.

* Menu:

* Hiding Headers::        Deciding what headers should be displayed.
* Using MIME::            Pushing articles through MIME before reading them.
* Customizing Articles::  Tailoring the look of the articles.
* Article Keymap::        Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
* Misc Article::          Other stuff.


File: gnus,  Node: Hiding Headers,  Next: Using MIME,  Up: The Article Buffer

4.1 Hiding Headers
==================

The top section of each article is the "head".  (The rest is the
"body", but you may have guessed that already.)

   There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the
person who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject
of the article.  That's well and nice, but there's also lots of
information most people do not want to see--what systems the article
has passed through before reaching you, the `Message-ID', the
`References', etc. ad nauseum--and you'll probably want to get rid of
some of those lines.  If you want to keep all those lines in the
article buffer, you can set `gnus-show-all-headers' to `t'.

   Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:

`gnus-visible-headers'
     If this variable is non-`nil', it should be a regular expression
     that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer.  All
     headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.

     For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who
     wrote the article and the subject, you'd say:

          (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")

     This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
     remain visible.

`gnus-ignored-headers'
     This variable is the reverse of `gnus-visible-headers'.  If this
     variable is set (and `gnus-visible-headers' is `nil'), it should
     be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
     hide.  All lines that do not match this variable will remain
     visible.

     For instance, if you just want to get rid of the `References' line
     and the `Xref' line, you might say:

          (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")

     This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to be
     removed.

     Note that if `gnus-visible-headers' is non-`nil', this variable
     will have no effect.


   Gnus can also sort the headers for you.  (It does this by default.)
You can control the sorting by setting the `gnus-sorted-header-list'
variable.  It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
the headers are to be displayed.

   For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article
first, and then the subject, you might say something like:

     (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))

   Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers
listed in this variable.

   You can hide further boring headers by setting
`gnus-treat-hide-boring-header' to `head'.  What this function does
depends on the `gnus-boring-article-headers' variable.  It's a list,
but this list doesn't actually contain header names.  Instead is lists
various "boring conditions" that Gnus can check and remove from sight.

   These conditions are:
`empty'
     Remove all empty headers.

`followup-to'
     Remove the `Followup-To' header if it is identical to the
     `Newsgroups' header.

`reply-to'
     Remove the `Reply-To' header if it lists the same address as the
     `From' header.

`newsgroups'
     Remove the `Newsgroups' header if it only contains the current
     group name.

`date'
     Remove the `Date' header if the article is less than three days
     old.

`long-to'
     Remove the `To' header if it is very long.

`many-to'
     Remove all `To' headers if there are more than one.

   To include the four three elements, you could say something like;

     (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
           '(empty followup-to reply-to))

   This is also the default value for this variable.


File: gnus,  Node: Using MIME,  Next: Customizing Articles,  Prev: Hiding Headers,  Up: The Article Buffer

4.2 Using MIME
==============

Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
while people stand around yawning.

   MIME, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
while all newsreaders die of fear.

   MIME may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.

   Gnus pushes MIME articles through `gnus-display-mime-function' to
display the MIME parts.  This is `gnus-display-mime' by default, which
creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to display, save
and manipulate the MIME objects.

   The following commands are available when you have placed point over
a MIME button:

`RET (Article)'
`BUTTON-2 (Article)'
     Toggle displaying of the MIME object (`gnus-article-press-button').

`M-RET (Article)'
`v (Article)'
     Prompt for a method, and then view the MIME object using this
     method (`gnus-mime-view-part').

`o (Article)'
     Prompt for a file name, and then save the MIME object
     (`gnus-mime-save-part').

`c (Article)'
     Copy the MIME object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
     (`gnus-mime-copy-part').

`t (Article)'
     View the MIME object as if it were a different MIME media type
     (`gnus-mime-view-part-as-type').

`| (Article)'
     Output the MIME object to a process (`gnus-mime-pipe-part').

`i (Article)'
     Insert the contents of the MIME object into the buffer
     (`gnus-mime-inline-part') as text/plain.  If given a prefix, insert
     the raw contens without decoding.  If given a numerical prefix,
     you can do semi-manual charset stuff (see
     `gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist' in *note Paging the
     Article::).

`. (Article)'
     Interactively run an action on the MIME object
     (`gnus-mime-action-on-part').


   Gnus will display some MIME objects automatically.  The way Gnus
determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
manual.

   It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises.  (For instance, you enter the
group `alt.sing-a-long' and, before you know it, MIME has decoded the
sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song comes
screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)

   Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental.
Ahem.

   Also see *note MIME Commands::.


File: gnus,  Node: Customizing Articles,  Next: Article Keymap,  Prev: Using MIME,  Up: The Article Buffer

4.3 Customizing Articles
========================

A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
exist.  You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
called automatically when you select the articles.

   To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
"treatment" variable.  For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
`gnus-treat-hide-headers'.  Below is a list of variables that can be
set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.

   Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense.  Check the list
below for sensible values.

  1. `nil': Don't do this treatment.

  2. `t': Do this treatment on all body parts.

  3. `head': Do the treatment on the headers.

  4. `last': Do this treatment on the last part.

  5. An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length
     less than this number.

  6. A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
     articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of
     the regexps in the list.

  7. A list where the first element is not a string:

     The list is evaluated recursively.  The first element of the list
     is a predicate.  The following predicates are recognized: `or',
     `and', `not' and `typep'.  Here's an example:

          (or last
              (typep "text/x-vcard"))


   You may have noticed that the word "part" is used here.  This refers
to the fact that some messages are MIME multipart articles that may be
divided into several parts.  Articles that are not multiparts are
considered to contain just a single part.

   Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts?  Yes, if
you want to, but by default, only `text/plain' parts are given the
treatment.  This is controlled by the `gnus-article-treat-types'
variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
type of the part.  This variable is ignored if the value of the
controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.

   The following treatment options are available.  The easiest way to
customize this is to examine the `gnus-article-treat' customization
group.  Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values.  Others are
possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.

`gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)'

`gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)'

`gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)'

`gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)'

`gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)'

`gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)'

`gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)'

`gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)'

`gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)'

`gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)'

`gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)'

`gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)'

`gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)'

`gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)'

`gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)'

`gnus-treat-date-ut (head)'

`gnus-treat-date-local (head)'

`gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)'

`gnus-treat-date-original (head)'

`gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)'

`gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)'

`gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)'

`gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)'

`gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)'

`gnus-treat-display-xface (head)'

`gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)'

`gnus-treat-display-picons (head)'

`gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)'

`gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)'

`gnus-treat-play-sounds'

`gnus-treat-translate'

   You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
`gnus-part-display-hook'.  The functions are called narrowed to the
part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.  There is no
information that you have to keep in the buffer--you can change
everything.


File: gnus,  Node: Article Keymap,  Next: Misc Article,  Prev: Customizing Articles,  Up: The Article Buffer

4.4 Article Keymap
==================

Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
article buffer.  They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
buffer displayed while reading.  You can do it all from the article
buffer.

   A few additional keystrokes are available:

`SPACE'
     Scroll forwards one page (`gnus-article-next-page').

`DEL'
     Scroll backwards one page (`gnus-article-prev-page').

`C-c ^'
     If point is in the neighborhood of a `Message-ID' and you press
     `C-c ^', Gnus will try to get that article from the server
     (`gnus-article-refer-article').

`C-c C-m'
     Send a reply to the address near point (`gnus-article-mail').  If
     given a prefix, include the mail.

`s'
     Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
     (`gnus-article-show-summary').

`?'
     Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
     (`gnus-article-describe-briefly').

`TAB'
     Go to the next button, if any (`gnus-article-next-button').  This
     only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.

`M-TAB'
     Go to the previous button, if any (`gnus-article-prev-button').



File: gnus,  Node: Misc Article,  Prev: Article Keymap,  Up: The Article Buffer

4.5 Misc Article
================

`gnus-single-article-buffer'
     If non-`nil', use the same article buffer for all the groups.
     (This is the default.)  If `nil', each group will have its own
     article buffer.

`gnus-article-decode-hook'
     Hook used to decode MIME articles.  The default value is
     `(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)'

`gnus-article-prepare-hook'
     This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into
     the article buffer.  It is mainly intended for functions that do
     something depending on the contents; it should probably not be
     used for changing the contents of the article buffer.

`gnus-article-mode-hook'
     Hook called in article mode buffers.

`gnus-article-mode-syntax-table'
     Syntax table used in article buffers.  It is initialized from
     `text-mode-syntax-table'.

`gnus-article-mode-line-format'
     This variable is a format string along the same lines as
     `gnus-summary-mode-line-format' (*note Mode Line Formatting::).  It
     accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
     extensions:

    `w'
          The "wash status" of the article.  This is a short string
          with one character for each possible article wash operation
          that may have been performed.

    `m'
          The number of MIME parts in the article.

`gnus-break-pages'
     Controls whether "page breaking" is to take place.  If this
     variable is non-`nil', the articles will be divided into pages
     whenever a page delimiter appears in the article.  If this
     variable is `nil', paging will not be done.

`gnus-page-delimiter'
     This is the delimiter mentioned above.  By default, it is `^L'
     (formfeed).


File: gnus,  Node: Composing Messages,  Next: Select Methods,  Prev: The Article Buffer,  Up: Top

5 Composing Messages
********************

All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
article by pressing `C-c C-c'.  *Note Top: (message)Top.  Where the
message will be posted/mailed to depends on your setup (*note Posting
Server::).

* Menu:

* Mail::                 Mailing and replying.
* Post::                 Posting and following up.
* Posting Server::       What server should you post via?
* Mail and Post::        Mailing and posting at the same time.
* Archived Messages::    Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
* Posting Styles::       An easier way to specify who you are.
* Drafts::               Postponing messages and rejected messages.
* Rejected Articles::    What happens if the server doesn't like your article?

   Also see *note Canceling and Superseding:: for information on how to
remove articles you shouldn't have posted.


File: gnus,  Node: Mail,  Next: Post,  Up: Composing Messages

5.1 Mail
========

Variables for customizing outgoing mail:

`gnus-uu-digest-headers'
     List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages.
     The headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.

`gnus-add-to-list'
     If non-`nil', add a `to-list' group parameter to mail groups that
     have none when you do a `a'.

`message-send-mail-partially-limit'
     The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.  The lower
     bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
     should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is
     unlimited.



File: gnus,  Node: Post,  Next: Posting Server,  Prev: Mail,  Up: Composing Messages

5.2 Post
========

Variables for composing news articles:

`gnus-sent-message-ids-file'
     Gnus will keep a `Message-ID' history file of all the mails it has
     sent.  If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will
     ask the user whether to re-send the mail.  (This is primarily
     useful when dealing with SOUP packets and the like where one is
     apt to send the same packet multiple times.)  This variable says
     what the name of this history file is.  It is
     `~/News/Sent-Message-IDs' by default.  Set this variable to `nil'
     if you don't want Gnus to keep a history file.

`gnus-sent-message-ids-length'
     This variable says how many `Message-ID's to keep in the history
     file.  It is 1000 by default.



File: gnus,  Node: Posting Server,  Next: Mail and Post,  Prev: Post,  Up: Composing Messages

5.3 Posting Server
==================

When you press those magical `C-c C-c' keys to ship off your latest
(extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?

   Thank you for asking.  I hate you.

   It can be quite complicated.  Normally, Gnus will use the same native
server.  However.  If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
(extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles.  You can
then set the `gnus-post-method' to some other method:

     (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))

   Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article,
or this server is down, what do you do then?  To override this variable
you can use a non-zero prefix to the `C-c C-c' command to force using
the "current" server for posting.

   If you give a zero prefix (i.e., `C-u 0 C-c C-c') to that command,
Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.

   You can also set `gnus-post-method' to a list of select methods.  If
that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use for
posting.

   Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
`current'.


File: gnus,  Node: Mail and Post,  Next: Archived Messages,  Prev: Posting Server,  Up: Composing Messages

5.4 Mail and Post
=================

Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and posting:

`gnus-mailing-list-groups'
     If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
     gatewayed to the NNTP server, you can read those groups without
     problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some
     difficulty.  One solution is to add a `to-address' to the group
     parameters (*note Group Parameters::).  An easier thing to do is
     set the `gnus-mailing-list-groups' to a regexp that matches the
     groups that really are mailing lists.  Then, at least, followups
     to the mailing lists will work most of the time.  Posting to these
     groups (`a') is still a pain, though.


   You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out.
Or, if you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
spell-checking via the `ispell' package:

     (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)

   If you want to change the `ispell' dictionary based on what group
you're in, you could say something like the following:

     (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
               (lambda ()
                 (cond
                  ((string-match "^de\\." gnus-newsgroup-name)
                   (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
                  (t
                   (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))

   Modify to suit your needs.


File: gnus,  Node: Archived Messages,  Next: Posting Styles,  Prev: Mail and Post,  Up: Composing Messages

5.5 Archived Messages
=====================

Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
send.  The default method is to use the "archive virtual server" to
store the messages.  If you want to disable this completely, the
`gnus-message-archive-group' variable should be `nil', which is the
default.

   `gnus-message-archive-method' says what virtual server Gnus is to
use to store sent messages.  The default is:

     (nnfolder "archive"
               (nnfolder-directory   "~/Mail/archive")
               (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
               (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
               (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))

   You can, however, use any mail select method (`nnml', `nnmbox',
etc.).  `nnfolder' is a quite likeable select method for doing this
sort of thing, though.  If you don't like the default directory chosen,
you could say something like:

     (setq gnus-message-archive-method
           '(nnfolder "archive"
                      (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
                      (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
                      (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))

   Gnus will insert `Gcc' headers in all outgoing messages that point
to one or more group(s) on that server.  Which group to use is
determined by the `gnus-message-archive-group' variable.

   This variable can be used to do the following:

   * a string Messages will be saved in that group.

     Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then
     the message will not be stored in the select method given by
     `gnus-message-archive-method', but in the select method specified
     by the group name, instead.  Suppose `gnus-message-archive-method'
     has the default value shown above.  Then setting
     `gnus-message-archive-group' to `"foo"' means that outgoing
     messages are stored in `nnfolder+archive:foo', but if you use the
     value `"nnml:foo"', then outgoing messages will be stored in
     `nnml:foo'.

   * a list of strings Messages will be saved in all those groups.

   * an alist of regexps, functions and forms When a key "matches", the
     result is used.

   * `nil' No message archiving will take place.  This is the default.

   Let's illustrate:

   Just saving to a single group called `MisK':
     (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")

   Saving to two groups, `MisK' and `safe':
     (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))

   Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
     (setq gnus-message-archive-group
           '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
             ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
             (".*" "sent-to-misc")))

   More complex stuff:
     (setq gnus-message-archive-group
           '((if (message-news-p)
                 "misc-news"
               "misc-mail")))

   How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
messages in one file per month:

     (setq gnus-message-archive-group
           '((if (message-news-p)
                 "misc-news"
               (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))

   (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have `format-time-string', so you'll have to
use a different value for `gnus-message-archive-group' there.)

   Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the
appropriate group.  (If you want to disable storing for just one
particular message, you can just remove the `Gcc' header that has been
inserted.)  The archive group will appear in the group buffer the next
time you start Gnus, or the next time you press `F' in the group
buffer.  You can enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd
read any other group.  If the group gets really big and annoying, you
can simply rename if (using `G r' in the group buffer) to something
nice--`misc-mail-september-1995', or whatever.  New messages will
continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.

   That's the default method of archiving sent messages.  Gnus offers a
different way for the people who don't like the default method.  In that
case you should set `gnus-message-archive-group' to `nil'; this will
disable archiving.

`gnus-outgoing-message-group'
     All outgoing messages will be put in this group.  If you want to
     store all your outgoing mail and articles in the group
     `nnml:archive', you set this variable to that value.  This
     variable can also be a list of group names.

     If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
     message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
     current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or
     list of names).

     This variable can be used instead of `gnus-message-archive-group',
     but the latter is the preferred method.


File: gnus,  Node: Posting Styles,  Next: Drafts,  Prev: Archived Messages,  Up: Composing Messages

5.6 Posting Styles
==================

All them variables, they make my head swim.

   So what if you want a different `Organization' and signature based
on what groups you post to?  And you post both from your home machine
and your work machine, and you want different `From' lines, and so on?

   One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change
the variables you need to have changed.  That's a bit boring, so
somebody came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these
things in a handy alist.  Here's an example of a `gnus-posting-styles'
variable:

     ((".*"
       (signature "Peace and happiness")
       (organization "What me?"))
      ("^comp"
       (signature "Death to everybody"))
      ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
       (organization "Emacs is it")))

   As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of
several "styles".  Each style will be applicable if the first element
"matches", in some form or other.  The entire alist will be iterated
over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
the same attributes in earlier matching styles.  So
`comp.programming.literate' will have the `Death to everybody'
signature and the `What me?' `Organization' header.

   The first element in each style is called the `match'.  If it's a
string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
If it is the symbol `header', then Gnus will look for header that match
the next element in the match, and compare that to the last header in
the match.  If it's a function symbol, that function will be called
with no arguments.  If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
referenced.  If it's a list, then that list will be `eval'ed.  In any
case, if this returns a non-`nil' value, then the style is said to
"match".

   Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of "attributes".  Each
attribute consists of a `(NAME . VALUE)' pair.  The attribute name can
be one of `signature', `signature-file', `organization', `address',
`name' or `body'.  The attribute name can also be a string.  In that
case, this will be used as a header name, and the value will be
inserted in the headers of the article; if the value is `nil', the
header name will be removed.  If the attribute name is `eval', the form
is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.

   The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
will be used) or a list (it will be `eval'ed and the return value will
be used).  The functions and sexps are called/`eval'ed in the message
buffer that is being set up.  The headers of the current article are
available through the `message-reply-headers' variable.

   If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
of the `message-news-p' and `message-mail-p' functions.

   So here's a new example:

     (setq gnus-posting-styles
           '((".*"
              (signature-file "~/.signature")
              (name "User Name")
              ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
              (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
             ("^rec.humor"
              (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
             ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
              (signature my-quote-randomizer))
             ((message-news-p)
              (signature my-news-signature))
             (header "From\\|To" "larsi.*org"
                     (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
             ((posting-from-work-p)
              (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
              (address "user@bar.foo")
              (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
              (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
             ("nnml:.*"
              (From (save-excursion
                      (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
                      (message-fetch-field "to"))))
             ("^nn.+:"
              (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))

   The `nnml:.*' rule means that you use the `To' address as the `From'
address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy if you fill
many roles.


File: gnus,  Node: Drafts,  Next: Rejected Articles,  Prev: Posting Styles,  Up: Composing Messages

5.7 Drafts
==========

If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
other day, and send it when you feel its finished.

   Well, don't worry about it.  Whenever you start composing a message
of some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get
will automatically associate to an article in a special "draft" group.
If you save the buffer the normal way (`C-x C-s', for instance), the
article will be saved there.  (Auto-save files also go to the draft
group.)

   The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
`nndraft' group, if you absolutely have to know) called
`nndraft:drafts'.  The variable `nndraft-directory' says where
`nndraft' is to store its files.  What makes this group special is that
you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as read--all
articles in the group are permanently unread.

   If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be
subscribed to it.  The only way to make it disappear from the Group
buffer is to unsubscribe it.

   When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
draft group and push `D e' (`gnus-draft-edit-message') to do that.  You
will be placed in a buffer where you left off.

   Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (*note
Rejected Articles::).

   If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail)
without doing further editing, you can use the `D s' command
(`gnus-draft-send-message').  This command understands the
process/prefix convention (*note Process/Prefix::).  The `D S' command
(`gnus-draft-send-all-messages') will ship off all messages in the
buffer.

   If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
`D t' (`gnus-draft-toggle-sending') command to mark the message as
unsendable.  This is a toggling command.


File: gnus,  Node: Rejected Articles,  Prev: Drafts,  Up: Composing Messages

5.8 Rejected Articles
=====================

Sometimes a news server will reject an article.  Perhaps the server
doesn't like your face.  Perhaps it just feels miserable.  Perhaps
_there be demons_.  Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
Perhaps the disk is full.  Perhaps the server is down.

   These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
(Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
you include, never runs full and never goes down.)  So Gnus saves these
articles until some later time when the server feels better.

   The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft
group (*note Drafts::).  When the server comes back up again, you'd then
typically enter that group and send all the articles off.


File: gnus,  Node: Select Methods,  Next: Scoring,  Prev: Composing Messages,  Up: Top

6 Select Methods
****************

A "foreign group" is a group not read by the usual (or default) means.
It could be, for instance, a group from a different NNTP server, it
could be a virtual group, or it could be your own personal mail group.

   A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a "name" and
a "select method".  To take the latter first, a select method is a list
where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. `nntp',
`nnspool', `nnml') and the second element is the "server name".  There
may be additional elements in the select method, where the value may
have special meaning for the backend in question.

   One could say that a select method defines a "virtual server"--so we
do just that (*note The Server Buffer::).

   The "name" of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
group as.

   For instance, the group `soc.motss' on the NNTP server
`some.where.edu' will have the name `soc.motss' and select method
`(nntp "some.where.edu")'.  Gnus will call this group
`nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss', even though the `nntp' backend just
knows this group as `soc.motss'.

   The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.

* Menu:

* The Server Buffer::     Making and editing virtual servers.
* Getting News::          Reading USENET news with Gnus.
* Getting Mail::          Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
* Browsing the Web::      Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
* Other Sources::         Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
* Combined Groups::       Combining groups into one group.
* Gnus Unplugged::        Reading news and mail offline.


File: gnus,  Node: The Server Buffer,  Next: Getting News,  Up: Select Methods

6.1 The Server Buffer
=====================

Traditionally, a "server" is a machine or a piece of software that one
connects to, and then requests information from.  Gnus does not connect
directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through one
backend or other.  But that's just putting one layer more between the
actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each backend
represents a virtual server.

   For instance, the `nntp' backend may be used to connect to several
different actual NNTP servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports on
the same actual NNTP server.  You tell Gnus which backend to use, and
what parameters to set by specifying a "select method".

   These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
complicated--say, for instance, that you want to read from the NNTP
server `news.funet.fi' on port number 13, which hangs if queried for
NOV headers and has a buggy select.  Ahem.  Anyways, if you had to
specify that for each group that used this server, that would be too
much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming select methods, which is what
you do in the server buffer.

   To enter the server buffer, use the `^'
(`gnus-group-enter-server-mode') command in the group buffer.

* Menu:

* Server Buffer Format::      You can customize the look of this buffer.
* Server Commands::           Commands to manipulate servers.
* Example Methods::           Examples server specifications.
* Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
* Server Variables::          Which variables to set.
* Servers and Methods::       You can use server names as select methods.
* Unavailable Servers::       Some servers you try to contact may be down.

   `gnus-server-mode-hook' is run when creating the server buffer.

