This is Info file ../info/gnus.info, produced by Makeinfo-1.63 from the
input file gnus.texi.

   This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.

   Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also
that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms
of a permission notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Article Buttons,  Next: Article Date,  Prev: Article Washing,  Up: Article Treatment

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.

   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 match embedded URLs: `<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>'.

    BUTTON-PAR
          Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be
          highlighted.  This is a number that says what sub-expression
          of the regexp that 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 bottons.

`gnus-article-mouse-face'
     Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Article Date,  Prev: Article Buttons,  Up: Article Treatment

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 l'
     Display the date in the local timezone (`gnus-article-date-local').

`W T e'
     Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and
     now (`gnus-article-date-lapsed').

`W T o'
     Display the original date (`gnus-article-date-original').  This can
     be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
     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*


File: gnus.info,  Node: Summary Sorting,  Next: Finding the Parent,  Prev: Article Treatment,  Up: The Summary Buffer

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-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.info,  Node: Finding the Parent,  Next: Alternative Approaches,  Prev: Summary Sorting,  Up: The Summary Buffer

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.

   You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the `References'
header of the article by pushing `A R'
(`gnus-summary-refer-references').

   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 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.

   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 same as the one that
keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's not really
necessary.

   Most of the mail backends support fetching by `Message-ID', but do
not do a particularly excellent job of 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.info,  Node: Alternative Approaches,  Next: Tree Display,  Prev: Finding the Parent,  Up: The Summary Buffer

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.info,  Node: Pick and Read,  Next: Binary Groups,  Up: Alternative Approaches

Pick and Read
-------------

   Some newsreaders (like `nn' and, uhm, `nn') use a two-phased reading
interface.  The user first marks the articles she wants to read from a
summary buffer.  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
makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
available.

   Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:

`SPACE'
     Pick the article (`gnus-summary-mark-as-processable').

`u'
     Unpick the article (`gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable').

`U'
     Unpick all articles (`gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable').

`t'
     Pick the thread (`gnus-uu-mark-thread').

`T'
     Unpick the thread (`gnus-uu-unmark-thread').

`r'
     Pick the region (`gnus-uu-mark-region').

`R'
     Unpick the region (`gnus-uu-unmark-region').

`e'
     Pick articles that match a regexp (`gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp').

`E'
     Unpick articles that match a regexp (`gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp').

`b'
     Pick the buffer (`gnus-uu-mark-buffer').

`B'
     Unpick the buffer (`gnus-uu-unmark-buffer').

`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.

   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.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Binary Groups,  Prev: Pick and Read,  Up: Alternative Approaches

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.

   In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned
this mode on is the `g' command (`gnus-binary-show-article').

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


File: gnus.info,  Node: Tree Display,  Next: Mail Group Commands,  Prev: Alternative Approaches,  Up: The Summary Buffer

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.  The
     default is `Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z'.  For a list of legal 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.

     Legal 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'.

`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 and 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]


File: gnus.info,  Node: Mail Group Commands,  Next: Various Summary Stuff,  Prev: Tree Display,  Up: The Summary Buffer

Mail Group Commands
===================

   Some commands only make sense in mail groups.  If these commands are
illegal 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'
     Expunge all the expirable articles in the group
     (`gnus-summary-expire-articles-now').  This means that *all*
     articles that are 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').

`B c'
     Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
     (`gnus-summary-copy-article').

`B C'
     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-move-article').

`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').

`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').

   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.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Various Summary Stuff,  Next: Exiting the Summary Buffer,  Prev: Mail Group Commands,  Up: The Summary Buffer

Various Summary Stuff
=====================

* Menu:

* Summary Group Information::         Information oriented commands.
* Searching for Articles::            Multiple article commands.
* 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 has been set.

`gnus-summary-prepare-hook'
     Is 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.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Summary Group Information,  Next: Searching for Articles,  Up: Various Summary Stuff

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'
     probably will 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 a very 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.info,  Node: Searching for Articles,  Next: Really Various Summary Commands,  Prev: Summary Group Information,  Up: Various Summary Stuff

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 field, a regular
     expression to match on this field, and a command to be executed if
     the match is made (`gnus-summary-execute-command').

`M-&'
     Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
     the process mark (`gnus-summary-universal-argument').


File: gnus.info,  Node: Really Various Summary Commands,  Prev: Searching for Articles,  Up: Various Summary Stuff

Really Various Summary Commands
-------------------------------

`A 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 on some format, you `A D' and read
     these messages in a more convenient fashion.

`C-t'
     Toggle truncation of summary lines
     (`gnus-summary-toggle-truncation').

`='
     Expand the summary buffer window (`gnus-summary-expand-window').
     If given a prefix, force an `article' window configuration.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Exiting the Summary Buffer,  Prev: Various Summary Stuff,  Up: The Summary Buffer

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, and calls
     `gnus-summary-expire-articles' by default.
     `gnus-summary-exit-hook' is called after finishing the exiting
     process.

`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').

   `gnus-exit-group-hook' is called when you exit the current group.

   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.

   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.

   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.

   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.


File: gnus.info,  Node: The Article Buffer,  Next: Composing Messages,  Prev: The Summary Buffer,  Up: Top

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.info,  Node: Hiding Headers,  Next: Using MIME,  Up: The Article Buffer

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 that
     are 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 that
     are 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 that
are listed in this variable.

   You can hide further boring headers by entering
`gnus-article-hide-boring-headers' into `gnus-article-display-hook'.
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.

`newsgroups'
     Remove the `Newsgroups' header if it only contains the current
     group name.

`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.

`date'
     Remove the `Date' header if the article is less than three days
     old.

   To include the four first elements, you could say something like;

     (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
           '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))

   This is also the default value for this variable.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Using MIME,  Next: Customizing Articles,  Prev: Hiding Headers,  Up: The Article Buffer

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 handles MIME by shoving the articles through
`gnus-show-mime-method', which is `metamail-buffer' by default.  Set
`gnus-show-mime' to `t' if you want to use MIME all the time.  However,
if `gnus-strict-mime' is non-`nil', the MIME method will only be used
if there are MIME headers in the article.

   It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
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
streaming out 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.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Customizing Articles,  Next: Article Keymap,  Prev: Using MIME,  Up: The Article Buffer

Customizing Articles
====================

   The `gnus-article-display-hook' is called after the article has been
inserted into the article buffer.  It is meant to handle all treatment
of the article before it is displayed.

   By default it contains `gnus-article-hide-headers',
`gnus-article-treat-overstrike', and `gnus-article-maybe-highlight',
but there are thousands, nay millions, of functions you can put in this
hook.  For an overview of functions *note Article Highlighting::.,
*note Article Hiding::., *note Article Washing::., *note Article
Buttons::. and *note Article Date::..

   You can, of course, write your own functions.  The functions are
called from the article buffer, 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.  However, you shouldn't delete any
headers.  Instead make them invisible if you want to make them go away.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Article Keymap,  Next: Misc Article,  Prev: Customizing Articles,  Up: The Article Buffer

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
     `r', 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.info,  Node: Misc Article,  Prev: Article Keymap,  Up: The Article Buffer

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-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-display-hook'
     This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article,
     and is intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing
     highlights, hiding headers, and the like.

`gnus-article-mode-hook'
     Hook called in article mode buffers.

`gnus-article-mode-line-format'
     This variable is a format string along the same lines as
     `gnus-summary-mode-line-format'.  It accepts exactly the same
     format specifications as that variable.

`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'
     (form linefeed).


File: gnus.info,  Node: Composing Messages,  Next: Select Methods,  Prev: The Article Buffer,  Up: Top

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.  If you are in a
foreign news group, and you wish to post the article using the foreign
server, you can give a prefix to `C-c C-c' to make Gnus try to post
using the foreign 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.

   Also see *note Canceling and Superseding::. for information on how to
remove articles you shouldn't have posted.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Mail,  Next: Post,  Up: Composing Messages

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.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Post,  Next: Posting Server,  Prev: Mail,  Up: Composing Messages

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 sent 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.info,  Node: Posting Server,  Next: Mail and Post,  Prev: Post,  Up: Composing Messages

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.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Mail and Post,  Next: Archived Messages,  Prev: Posting Server,  Up: Composing Messages

Mail and Post
=============

   Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
posting:

`gnus-mailing-list-groups'
     If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
     that are 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 match 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)


File: gnus.info,  Node: Archived Messages,  Prev: Mail and Post,  Up: Composing Messages

Archived Messages
=================

   Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail you send.
The default method is to use the "archive virtual server" to store the
mail.  If you want to disable this completely, you should set
`gnus-message-archive-group' to `nil'.

   `gnus-message-archive-method' says what virtual server Gnus is to
use to store sent messages.  It is `(nnfolder "archive"
(nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))' by default, but you can use any
mail select method (`nnml', `nnmbox', etc.).  However, `nnfolder' is a
quite likeable select method for doing this sort of thing.  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:

   * a string Messages will be saved in that group.

   * 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" (current-time))))))

   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 mail.  Gnus also offers
two other variables 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.

   XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have `format-time-string', so you'll have to
use a different value for `gnus-message-archive-group' there.

`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).


File: gnus.info,  Node: Select Methods,  Next: Scoring,  Prev: Composing Messages,  Up: Top

Select Methods
**************

   A "foreign group" is a group that is 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 (eg. `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, in all
circumstances, `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.
* Other Sources::         Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
* Combined Groups::       Combining groups into one group.


File: gnus.info,  Node: The Server Buffer,  Next: Getting News,  Up: Select Methods

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 methods 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, user 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.
* 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.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Server Buffer Format,  Next: Server Commands,  Up: The Server Buffer

Server Buffer Format
--------------------

   You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
`gnus-server-line-format' variable.  This is a `format'-like variable,
with some simple extensions:

`h'
     How the news is fetched--the backend name.

`n'
     The name of this server.

`w'
     Where the news is to be fetched from--the address.

`s'
     The opened/closed/denied status of the server.

   The mode line can also be customized by using the
`gnus-server-mode-line-format' variable.  The following specs are
understood:

`S'
     Server name.

`M'
     Server method.

   Also *note Formatting Variables::..


File: gnus.info,  Node: Server Commands,  Next: Example Methods,  Prev: Server Buffer Format,  Up: The Server Buffer

Server Commands
---------------

`a'
     Add a new server (`gnus-server-add-server').

`e'
     Edit a server (`gnus-server-edit-server').

`SPACE'
     Browse the current server (`gnus-server-read-server').

`q'
     Return to the group buffer (`gnus-server-exit').

`k'
     Kill the current server (`gnus-server-kill-server').

`y'
     Yank the previously killed server (`gnus-server-yank-server').

`c'
     Copy the current server (`gnus-server-copy-server').

`l'
     List all servers (`gnus-server-list-servers').


File: gnus.info,  Node: Example Methods,  Next: Creating a Virtual Server,  Prev: Server Commands,  Up: The Server Buffer

Example Methods
---------------

   Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:

     (nntp "news.funet.fi")

   Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:

     (nnspool "")

   As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of
the backend, and the second is the "address", or "name", if you will.

   After these two elements, there may be a arbitrary number of
(VARIABLE FORM) pairs.

   To go back to the first example--imagine that you want to read from
port `15' from that machine.  This is what the select method should
look like then:

     (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))

   You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
variables are relevant, but here's an `nnmh' example.

   `nnmh' is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure.  Say you
have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private mail
spool, and the other is a public one.  Here's the possible spec for you
private mail:

     (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))

   (This server is then called `private', but you may have guessed
that.)

   Here's the method for a public spool:

     (nnmh "public"
           (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
           (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))


File: gnus.info,  Node: Creating a Virtual Server,  Next: Servers and Methods,  Prev: Example Methods,  Up: The Server Buffer

Creating a Virtual Server
-------------------------

   If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.

   First you need to add a new server.  The `a' command does that.  It
would probably be best to use `nnspool' to read the cache.  You could
also use `nnml' or `nnmh', though.

   Type `a nnspool RET cache RET'.

   You should now have a brand new `nnspool' virtual server called
`cache'.  You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.  Type
`e' to edit the server.  You'll be entered into a buffer that will
contain the following:

     (nnspool "cache")

   Change that to:

     (nnspool "cache"
     	 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
     	 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
     	 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))

   Type `C-c C-c' to return to the server buffer.  If you now press
`RET' over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.


File: gnus.info,  Node: Servers and Methods,  Next: Unavailable Servers,  Prev: Creating a Virtual Server,  Up: The Server Buffer

Servers and Methods
-------------------

   Wherever you would normally use a select method (eg.
`gnus-secondary-select-method', in the group select method, when
browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name instead.
This could potentially save lots of typing.  And it's nice all over.

