Release 6.4.16 NN(1) NAME nn - efficient net news interface (No News is good news) SYNOPSIS nn [ _o_p_t_i_o_n_s ] [ _n_e_w_s_g_r_o_u_p | +_f_o_l_d_e_r | _f_i_l_e ]... nn -g [ -r ] nn -a0 [ _n_e_w_s_g_r_o_u_p ]... DESCRIPTION Net news is a world-wide information exchange service covering numerous topics in science and every day life. Topics are organ- ized in _n_e_w_s _g_r_o_u_p_s, and these groups are open for everybody to post _a_r_t_i_c_l_e_s on a subject related to the topic of the group. _N_n is a `point-and-shoot' net news interface program, or a _n_e_w_s _r_e_a_d_e_r for short (not to be confused with the _h_u_m_a_n news reader). When you use _n_n, you can decide which of the many news groups you are interested in, and you can unsubscribe to those which don't interest you. _n_n will let you read the new (and old) articles in each of the groups you subscribe to using a menu based article selection prior to reading the articles in the news group. When a news group is entered, _n_n will locate all the presently unread articles in the group, and extract their sender, subject, and other relevant information. This information is then rear- ranged, sorted, and marked in various ways to give it a pleasant format when it is presented on the screen. This will be done very quickly, because _n_n uses its own database to maintain all the necessary information on a directly accessi- ble form (this database is built and maintained by the _n_n_m_a_s_- _t_e_r(8) program). When the article menu appears on the screen, _n_n will be in a mode called selection mode. In this mode, the articles which seems to be interesting can be selected by single keystrokes (using the keys a-z and 0-9). When all the interesting articles among the ones presently displayed have been selected, the space bar is hit, which causes _n_n to enter reading mode. In reading mode, each of the selected articles will be presented. You use the space bar to go on to the next page of the current article, or to the next article. Of course, there are all sorts of commands to scroll text up and down, skip to the next article, responding to an article, decrypt an article, and so on. When all the selected articles in the current group have been read, the last hit on the space bar will cause _n_n will continue to the next group with unread articles, and enter selection mode on that group. 1 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 FREQUENTLY USED OPTIONS _n_n accepts a lot of command line options, but here only the fre- quently used options are described. Options can also be set per- manently by including appropriate _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e settings in the _i_n_i_t file described later. All options are described in the section on Command Line Options towards the end of this manual. The frequently used command line options are: -a0 Catch up on unread articles and groups. See the section "Catch up" below. -g Prompt for the name of a news group or folder to be entered (with completion). -r Used with -g to repeatedly prompt for groups to enter. -l_N Print only the first _N lines of the first page of each arti- cle before prompting to continue. This is useful on slow terminals and modem lines to be able to see the first few lines of longer articles. -s_W_O_R_D Collect only articles which contain the string _W_O_R_D in their subject (case is ignored). This is normally combined with the -x and -m options to find all articles on a specific subject. -s/_r_e_g_e_x_p Collect only articles whose subject matches the regular expression _r_e_g_e_x_p. This is normally combined with the -x and -m options to find all articles on a specific subject. -n_W_O_R_D or -n/_r_e_g_e_x_p Same as -s except that it matches on the sender's name instead of the article's subject. This is normally combined with the -x and -m options to find all articles from a specific author. It cannot be mixed with the -s option! -i Normally searches with -n and -s are case independent. Using this option, the case becomes significant. -m Merge all articles into one `meta group' instead of showing them one group at a time. This is normally used together with the -x and -s options to get all the articles on a specific subject presented on a single menu (when you don't care about which group they belong to). When -m is used, no articles will be marked as read. -x[_N] Present (or scan) all (or the last _N) unread as well as read articles. When this option is used, _n_n will _n_e_v_e_r mark unread articles as read (i.e. .newsrc is not updated). 2 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) -X Read/scan unsubscribed groups also. Most useful when look- ing for a specific subject in all groups, e.g. nn -mxX -sSubject all _n_e_w_s._g_r_o_u_p or _f_i_l_e or +_f_o_l_d_e_r If none of these arguments are given, all subscribed news groups will be used. Otherwise, only the specified news groups and/or files will be collected and presented. In specifying a news groups, the following `meta notation' can be used: If the news group ends with a `.' (or `.all'), all subgroups of the news group will be collected, e.g. comp.sources. If a news group starts with a `.' (or `all.'), all the matching subgroups will be collected, e.g. .sources.unix The argument `all' identifies all (subscribed) news groups. COMMAND INPUT In general, _n_n commands consist of one or two key-strokes, and _n_n reacts instantly to the commands you give it; you don't have to enter return after each command (except where explicitly stated). Some commands have more serious effects than others, and there- fore _n_n requests you to confirm the command. You confirm by hit- ting the the y key, and reject by hitting the n key. Some `trivial' requests may also be confirmed simply by hitting space. For example, to confirm the creation of a save file, just hit space, but if one or more directories also have to be created, you must enter y. Many commands will require that you enter a line of text, e.g. a file name or a shell command. If you enter space as the first character on a line, the line will be filled with a default value (if one is defined). For example, the default value for a file name is the last file name you have entered, and the default shell command is your previous shell command. You can edit this default value as well as a directly typed text, using the follow- ing editing commands. The erase, kill, and interrupt keys are the keys defined by the current tty settings. On systems without job control, the suspend key will be control-Z while it is the current suspend character on system with job control. erase Delete the last character on the line. delete-word (normally ^W) Delete the last word or component of the input. kill Delete all characters on the line. interrupt and control-G Cancel the command which needs the input. 3 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 suspend Suspend _n_n if supported by the system. Otherwise, spawn an interactive shell. return Terminate the line, and continue with the command. Related variables: erase-key, flow-control, flush-typeahead, help-key, kill-key, word-key. BASIC COMMANDS There are numerous commands in _n_n, and most of them can be invoked by a single keystroke. The descriptions in this manual are based on the standard bindings of the commands to the keys, but it is possible to customize these using the map command described later. For each of the keystroke commands described in this manual, the corresponding command name will also be shown in curly braces, e.g. {command}. The following commands work in both selection mode and in reading mode. The notation ^X means `control X': ? {help} Help. Gives a one page overview of the commands available in the current mode. ^L {redraw} Redraw screen. ^R {redraw} Redraw screen (Same as ^L). ^P {message} Repeat the last message shown on the message line. The com- mand can be repeated to successively show previous messages (the maximum number of saved messages is controlled via the message-history variable.) ! {shell} Shell escape. The user is prompted for a command which is executed by your favorite shell (see the shell variable). Shell escapes are described in detail later on. Q {quit} Quit _n_n. When you use this command, you neither lose unread articles in the current group nor the selections you might have made (unless the articles are expired in the meantime of course). V {version} Print release and version information. :_c_o_m_m_a_n_d {command} Execute the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d by name. This form can be used to 4 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) invoke any of _n_n's commands, also those which cannot be bound to a key (such as :coredump), or those which are not bound to a key by default (such as post and unshar). Related and basic variables: backup, backup-suffix, confirm- auto-quit, expert, mail, message-history, new-group-action, newsrc, quick-count. SELECTION MODE In selection mode, the screen is divided into four parts: the header line showing the name of the news group and the number of articles, the menu lines which show the collected articles - one article per line, the prompt line where you enter commands, and the message line where _n_n prints various messages to you. Each menu line begins with an _a_r_t_i_c_l_e _i_d which is a unique letter (or digit if your screen can show more than 26 menu lines). To select an articles for reading, you simply enter the correspond- ing _i_d, and the menu line will be high-lighted to indicate that the article is selected. When you have selected all the interesting articles on the present menu, you simply hit space. If there are more articles collected for the current group than could be presented on one screenful of text, you will be presented with the next portion of articles to select from. When you have had the opportunity to select among all the articles in the group, hitting space will enter reading mode. If no articles have been selected in the current group, hitting space will enter selection mode on the next news group, or exit _n_n if the current group was the last news group with unread arti- cles. It is thus possible to go through ALL unread articles (without reading any of them) just by hitting space a few times. The articles will be presented on the menu using one of the fol- lowing layouts: 9 0: _x _N_a_m_e......... _S_u_b_j_e_c_t.............. +_1_2_3 1: _x _N_a_m_e......... _1_2_3 _S_u_b_j_e_c_t.............. 2: _x _1_2_3 _S_u_b_j_e_c_t................................... 3: _x _S_u_b_j_e_c_t........................................... 4: _x _S_u_b_j_e_c_t........................................ Here _x is the letter or digit that must be entered to select the article, _N_a_m_e is the real name of the sender (or the mail address if the real name cannot be found), _S_u_b_j_e_c_t is the contents of the "Subject:" line in the article, and _1_2_3 is the number of lines in the article. 9 5 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 Layout 0 and 1 are just two ways to present the same information, while layout 2 and 3 are intended for groups whose articles have very long subject lines, e.g. comp.sources. Layout 4 is a hybrid between layout 1 and 3. It will normally use layout 1, but it will use layout 3 (with a little indenta- tion) for menu lines where the subject is longer than the space available with layout 1. Layout 1 is the default layout, and an alternative menu line lay- out is selected using the -L option or by setting the layout variable. Once _n_n is started the layout can be changed at any time using the " key {layout}. The _N_a_m_e is limited to 16 characters, and to make maximum use of this space, _n_n will perform a series of simplifications on the name, e.g. changing first names into initials, removing domain names from mail addresses (if the real name is not found) etc. It does a good job, but some people on the net put weird things into the From: field (or actually into their password file) which result in _n_n producing quite cryptic, and sometimes funny "names". One a usual 80 column terminal, the _S_u_b_j_e_c_t is limited to about 60 characters (75 in layout 3) and is thus only an approximation to the actual subject line which may be much longer. To get as much out of this space, _R_e: prefixes (in various forms) are recognized and replaced by a single `>' character (see the re- layout variable). Since articles are sorted according to the subject, two or more adjacent articles may share the same subject (ignoring any `>'s). In this case, only the first article will show the subject of the article; the rest will only show the `>' character in the subject field (or a `-' if there is no `>' at the beginning of the line). A typical menu will thus only show each subject once, saving a lot of time in scanning the news articles. If _c_o_n_s_o_l_i_d_a_t_e_d _m_e_n_u_s (see section below) are enabled, adjacent articles sharing the same subject will be shown with a _s_i_n_g_l_e line on the menu corresponding to the _f_i_r_s_t of the articles. The number of articles with the same subject will be shown as a brak- eted number in front of the subject, e.g. with layout 1: _x _N_a_m_e......... _1_2_3 [_4] _S_u_b_j_e_c_t.............. For further information see the section on consolidated menus below. Related variables: collapse-subject, columns, confirm-entry, confirm-entry-limit, entry-report-limit, fsort, kill, layout, limit, lines, long-menu, re-layout, repeat, slow-mode, sort, sort-mode, split, subject-match-limit, subject-match-offset, subject-match-parts. 6 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) ARTICLE ATTRIBUTES While _n_n is running and between invocations, _n_n associates an _a_t_t_r_i_b_u_t_e with each article on your system. These attributes are used to differentiate between read and unread articles, selected articles, articles marked for later treatment, etc. Depending on how _n_n is configured, these attributes can be saved between invo- cations of _n_n, or some of them may only be used while _n_n is run- ning. The attribute is shown on the menu using either a single charac- ter following the _a_r_t_i_c_l_e _i_d or by high-lighting the menu line, depending on the attribute and the capabilities of the terminal. You can also change the attributes to your own taste (see the attributes variable). The attribute of an article can be changed explicitly using the selection mode commands described below, or it will change automatically for example when you have read or saved a selected article. If a command may change any article attributes, it will be noted in the description of the command. The following descriptions of the attributes will only mention the most impor- tant commands that may set (or preserve) the attribute. The following attributes may be associated with an article: read Menu attribute "." - indicates that the article has been read or saved. When you leave the group, these articles will be marked permanently read, and are not presented the next time you enter the group. seen Menu attribute "," - indicates that the article is unread, but that it has been _p_r_e_s_e_n_t_e_d on a menu. Depending on how _n_n is configured, these articles will automatically be marked _r_e_a_d when you leave the group, they may remain _s_e_e_n, or they may just be _u_n_r_e_a_d the next time you enter the group (see the auto-junk-seen, confirm-junk-seen, and retain- seen-status variables). 9 Only the commands continue (space) and read-skip (X) will mark _u_n_r_e_a_d articles on the current (or all) menu pages as _s_e_e_n when they are used. Other commands that scroll through the menu pages or enter reading mode will let unread arti- cles remain unread. unread Menu attribute " " - indicates an unread article. These articles were unread when you entered the group, and they may remain unread when you leave the group, unless they have been marked _s_e_e_n by the command that you used to leave the group or enter reading mode. selected Menu line high-lighted (or menu attribute "*") - indicates that you have selected the article. If you leave the group, the selected articles will remain selected the next time you 9 7 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 enter the group. When you have read a selected article, the attribute will automatically change to _r_e_a_d. auto-selected These articles have the same appearance as _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d articles on the menu, and the only difference is that these articles have been selected automatically via the auto-selection facility rather than manually by you. Very few commands differentiate between these attributes and if they do, it is explicitly stated in this manual. The main difference is that these articles are only marked as _u_n_r_e_a_d when you leave the group (supposing they will also be auto-selected the next the group is entered). This simplifies the house- keeping between invocations of _n_n. leave Menu attribute "+" - indicates that the article is marked for later treatment by the leave-article (l) command. These articles may be selected (on demand) when you have read all selected articles in a group. However, if you do not select them then immediately, they are stored as the leave-next attribute described below. leave-next Menu attribute "=" - indicates that the article is marked for later treatment by the leave-next (L) command. This is a permanent attribute, which will remain on the article until you either read the article, change the attribute, or it is expired. So assinging this attribute to an article will effectively keep it unread until _y_o_u do something. If the variable select-leave-next is set, _n_n will ask whether these articles should be selected on entry to a group (but naturally, doing so will change the leave-next attribute to select). cancelled Menu attribute "#" - indicates that the article has been cancelled. This is mainly useful when tidying a folder; it is set by the cancel (C) command, and can be cleared by any command that change attributes, e.g. you can select and deselect the article. killed Menu attribute "!" - indicates that the article has been killed (e.g. by the K {kill-select} command). Killed arti- cles are immediately removed from the menu, so you should not normally see articles with this attribute. If you do, report it as a bug! The attributes are saved in two files: .newsrc (_r_e_a_d articles) and .nn/select (other attributes). Plain _u_n_r_e_a_d articles are saved by not occurring in either of these files. Both files are described in more detail later on. 8 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) Related variables: attributes, auto-junk-seen, confirm-junk-seen, retain-seen-status, select-leave-next. SELECTION MODE COMMANDS The primary purpose of the selection mode is of course to select the articles to be read, but numerous other commands may also be performed in this mode: saving of articles in files, replying and following up on articles, mailing/forwarding articles, shell escapes etc. As described above, the _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d articles are marked either by showing the corresponding menu line in standout mode (reverse video), or if the terminal does not have this capability by plac- ing an asterisk (*) after the selection letter or digit. Most commands which are used to select articles will work as tog- gle commands. If the article is not already selected, the _s_e_l_e_c_- _t_e_dattribute on the article(s), independent on the previous attribute. Otherwise, the article(s) will be _d_e_s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d and marked _u_n_r_e_a_d. Consequently, any article can be marked _u_n_r_e_a_d simply be selecting and deselecting it. During selection, the cursor will normally be placed on the arti- cle following the last article whose attribute was changed (ini- tially the first article). The article pointed out by the cursor is called the _c_u_r_r_e_n_t _a_r_t_i_c_l_e, and the following commands work relative to the current article and cursor position. abc...z 01..9 {_a_r_t_i_c_l_e _N} The article with the given identification letter or digit is selected or deselected. The following article becomes the current article. If the variable auto-select-subject is set, all articles with the same subject as the given article are selected. . {select} Select or deselect the current article and move the cursor to the next article. , {line+1} Move the cursor to the next article. You can use the _d_o_w_n _a_r_r_o_w as well. / {line-1} Move cursor to previous article. You can use the _u_p _a_r_r_o_w as well. * {select-subject} Select or deselect all articles with same subject as current article. This will work across several menu pages if neces- sary. -_x {select-range} Select or deselect the range of articles between the current 9 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 article and the article specified by _x. For example you can select all articles from _e to _k by simply typing e-k. The following commands may change the attributes on all articles on the current menu page, or on all articles on all menu pages. @ {select-invert} Reverse selections. All selected articles on the current page are deselected, and vice-versa. (Use the find command to select all articles.) ~ {unselect-all} Deselect all _a_u_t_o-_s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d articles in the group (this works across all menu pages). If the command is executed twice, the _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d articles will also be deselected. + {select-auto} Perform auto-selections in the group (see the section on "auto kill/select" below). = {find} Prompts for a regular expression, and selects all articles on the menu (all pages) which matches the regular expres- sion. Depending on the variable select-on-sender matching is performed against the subject (default) or the sender of the articles. An empty answer (= return) will reuse the previous expression. Example: The command = . return will select _a_l_l articles in the group. J {junk-articles} This is a very versatile command which can be used to per- form all sorts of attribute changes, either on individual articles, all articles on the current menu page, all arti- cles with a specific attribute, or all available articles. To access all the functions of this command, the J key may have to be hit up to four times, to loop through different one-line menus. The full functionality of the junk-articles command is described in a separate section below. L {leave-next} This is a specialized version of the generic J {junk- articles} command to set the _l_e_a_v_e-_n_e_x_t attribute on a sub- set of the articles on the menu. It is also described further below. The following commands move between the pages belonging to the same news group when there are more articles than will fit on a single page. These commands will not change any article attri- butes. > {page+1} Goto next menu page. < {page-1} 10 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) Goto previous menu page, or to last menu page if on first menu page. $ {page=$} Goto last menu page. ^ {page=1} Goto first menu page. The following commands are used to enter reading mode for the selected articles, and to move between news groups (in selection mode). They may change article attributes if noted below. space {continue} Continue to next menu page, or if on last menu page, read the selected articles. If no articles have been selected, continue to the next news group. The _u_n_r_e_a_d articles on the current menu page will automatically be marked _s_e_e_n. return {continue-no-mark} Identical to the continue command, except that the _u_n_r_e_a_d articles on the current menu page will remain _u_n_r_e_a_d. (The newline key has the same effect). Z {read-return} Enter reading mode _i_m_m_e_d_i_a_t_e_l_y with the currently selected articles. When all articles have been read, return to selection mode in the _c_u_r_r_e_n_t group. It will mark _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d articles _r_e_a_d as they are read, but _u_n_r_e_a_d articles are not normally changed (can be controlled with the variable marked-by-read-return.) X {read-skip} Mark all _u_n_m_a_r_k_e_d articles _s_e_e_n on all menu pages (or the pages defined by the marked-by-read-skip variable), and enter reading mode _i_m_m_e_d_i_a_t_e_l_y with the currently selected articles. As the selected articles are read, they are marked _r_e_a_d. When all selected articles have been read, _n_n will enter selection mode in the _n_e_x_t news group. When no articles are selected, it goes directly to the next group. This can be used to skip all the articles in a large news group without having to go through all the menu pages. If you don't want to read the current group now, but want to keep it for later, you can use the following commands which will only mark _s_e_e_n and _r_e_a_d articles as read. Currently selected articles will still be selected the next time you enter the group. None of these commands will change any attributes themselves (by default). N {next-group} Go forward to the next group in the presentation sequence. If the variable marked-by-next-group is set articles on the menu can optionally be marked _s_e_e_n 11 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 P {previous} Go back to the previous group. This command will enter selection mode on the last active group (two P commands in sequence will bring you to the current group). If there are still some _u_n_r_e_a_d articles in the group, only those articles will be shown. Otherwise, all the articles which were unread when _n_n was invoked will be shown marked with the _r_e_a_d attribute (which can be changed as usual). As described in the "Article Attributes" section, the _r_e_a_d and _s_e_e_n articles will normally be marked read when you leave the group, and these articles are not shown the next time you enter the group. In all releases prior to release 6.4, it was impossible to have individual articles in a group marked _u_n_r_e_a_d when you left a group, and the default behaviour of release 6.4 will closely match the traditional behaviour. This means that the _s_e_e_n and _r_e_a_d articles are treated alike for most practical purposes with the default variable settings. If you don't like _n_n to silently mark the _s_e_e_n articles read, you can _s_e_t the variable confirm-junk-seen to get _n_n to prompt you for confirmation before doing this, or you can _u_n_s_e_t the variable auto-junk-seen to simply keep the seen articles for the next time you enter the group. You then have to use the J {junk-articles} to mark articles read. Using return {continue-no-mark} will also allow you to keep arti- cles _u_n_r_e_a_d rather than marking them _s_e_e_n when scrolling through the menu pages and entering reading mode. If this is your pre- ferred reading style, you can remap space to this command. Related variables: auto-junk-seen, auto-preview-mode, auto- select-subject, case-fold-search, confirm-auto-quit, confirm- entry, confirm-junk-seen, marked-by-next-group, marked-by-read- return, marked-by-read-skip, retain-seen-status, select-on- sender. CONSOLIDATED MENUS Normally, _n_n will use one menu line for each article, so if there are many articles with identical subjects, each menu page will only contain a few different subjects. To have each subject occur only once on the menu, _n_n can operate with consolidated menus by setting the variable consolidated-menu. When consolidated menus are used, _n_n operates with two kinds of subjects: open and closed. An _o_p_e_n _s_u_b_j_e_c_t is a subject which is shown in the traditional way with one menu line for each article with the given subject. In other words, when consolidated menus are not used, all sub- jects are open (by default). 12 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) A _c_l_o_s_e_d _s_u_b_j_e_c_t is a multi-article subject which is presented by a single menu line. This line will be the normal menu line for the first (oldest) article with the subject, but with the subject field annotated with a bracketed number showing the number of articles with that subject, e.g. 9 a Kim F. Storm 12 [4] Future plans for nn b.Kim F. Storm 43 [3] More plans for nn 9 In this example, there are four unread articles with subject `a' of which the first is posted by me and has 12 lines. The rest of the articles are hidden, and will only be shown on request. The `.' marker on subject `b' shows that all three articles within that subject have been read (or seen). To select (or deselect) ALL the articles within a closed subject, simply select the article shown on the menu; this will automati- cally select (or deselect) the rest (see auto-select-closed). When all the unread articles within a closed subject are selected, the menu line will be high-lighted. If you want to view the individual articles in a subject (maybe to select individual articles), you can open the subject with the commands: (x Open subject _x on menu. (( Open current subject. When you have completed viewing the opened subject, you can close it again using the commands: )x Close subject _x on menu (_x is any article with the subject). )) Close current subject. In the basic layout of the menu line for a closed subject as shown above, ALL articles in the closed subject are supposed to be either: _u_n_r_e_a_d The menu line is _n_o_t high-lighted. _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d Menu line is fully high-lighted (if all UNREAD are selected). read/seen There is a `.' (read attribute) following the article id. If neither of these cases apply, i.e. there is a mixture of unread, selected, and seen/read articles, the bracketed number will have one of the following formats: [U:T] 13 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 There are U unread articles of T total (U0), the information between the brackets will be high-lighted (to show that something is selected, but not all the unread articles). Notice: Consolidated menus only work with the `subject' and `lexical' sorting methods. Variables related to consolidated menus are: auto-select-closed, consolidated-menu, counter-delim-left, counter-delim-right, counter-padding, save-closed-mode. THE JUNK-ARTICLES AND LEAVE-NEXT COMMANDS The J {junk-articles} command is a very flexible command which can perform all sorts of attribute changes, either on individual articles, all articles on the current menu page, all articles with a specific attribute, or all available articles. To access all the functions of this command, the J key may have to be hit up to four times, to loop through different one-line menus: Mark Read This submenu allows you to mark articles _r_e_a_d. Unmark This submenu allows you to mark articles _u_n_r_e_a_d. Select This submenu allows you to select articles based on their attribute. Kill This submenu allows you to mark articles _r_e_a_d and remove them from the menu based on their attribute. The L {leave-next} command is an extension of the J command with a fifth menu: Leave This menu allows you to mark articles for later handling with the _l_e_a_v_e-_n_e_x_t attribute which will keep the article unread until you explicitly change the attribute (e.g. by reading it) or it is expired. For each of these submenus, _n_n will list the most plausible choices you may use, but all of the following answers can be used at all submenus. When you have entered a choice, _n_n will 14 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) afterward ask whether the change should be made to all menu pages or only the current page. J Show next submenu. L Change attribute on all _l_e_a_v_e articles. N Change attribute on all _l_e_a_v_e-_n_e_x_t articles. R Change attribute on all _r_e_a_d articles. S Change attribute on all _s_e_e_n articles. U Change attribute on all unmarked (i.e. _u_n_r_e_a_d) articles. A Change attribute on _a_l_l articles no matter their current attribute. * Change attribute on all _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d articles on _t_h_e _c_u_r_r_e_n_t page. + Change attribute on all _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d articles on _a_l_l pages. a-z0-9 Change attribute on one or more specific articles on the current page. You end the list of articles by a space or by using one of the other choices described above. Change attribute on _c_u_r_r_e_n_t article. , / Move the current article down or up the menu without chang- ing any attributes. READING MODE COMMANDS In reading mode, the _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d articles are presented one page at a time. To get the next page of an article, simply hit space, and when you are on the last page of an article, hit space to get to the next selected article. Articles are normally marked read when you go to the next article, while going back to the menu, quitting _n_n, etc. will retain the attribute on the current arti- cle. When you are on the last page of the last article, hit space to enter selection mode on the next group (or the current group if reading mode was entered using the Z command). To read an article, the following text scrolling commands are available: space {continue} Scroll _o_n_e _p_a_g_e _f_o_r_w_a_r_d or continue with the next article or group as described above. backspace / delete {page-1} 15 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 Go _o_n_e _p_a_g_e _b_a_c_k_w_a_r_d_s in article. d {page+1/2} Scroll one _h_a_l_f _p_a_g_e _f_o_r_w_a_r_d. u {page-1/2} Go one _h_a_l_f _p_a_g_e _b_a_c_k_w_a_r_d_s. return {line+1} Scroll _o_n_e _l_i_n_e _f_o_r_w_a_r_d in the article. tab {skip-lines} Skip over lines starting with the same character as the last line on the current page. This is useful to skip over included text or to the next file in a shell archive. ^ {page=1} Move to the _f_i_r_s_t _p_a_g_e (excluding the header) of the arti- cle. $ {page=$} Move to the _l_a_s_t _p_a_g_e of the article. g_N {line=@} Move to line _N in the article. /_r_e_g_e_x_p {find} Search forward for text matching the regular expression _r_e_g_e_x_p in the article. If a matching text is found, it will be high-lighted. . {find-next} Repeat search for last regular expression. h {page=0} Show the _h_e_a_d_e_r of the article, and continue from the top of the article. H {full-digest} If the current article is extracted from a digest, show the entire digest article including its header. Another H com- mand will return to the current subarticle. D {rot13} Turn _r_o_t_1_3 (caesar) decryption on and off for the current article, and redraw current page. If the article is saved while it is decrypted on the screen, it will be saved in decrypted form as well! c {compress} Turn compression on and off for the current article and redraw current page. With compression turned on, multiple spaces and tabs are shown as a single space. This makes it much easier to read right justified text which separate 16 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) words with several spaces. (See also the compress variable) The following commands are used to move among the selected arti- cles. n {next-article} Move to next selected article. This command skips the rest of the current article, marks it _r_e_a_d, and jumps directly to the first page of the next selected article (or to the next group if it was the last selected article). l {leave-article} Mark the current article with the _l_e_a_v_e attribute and con- tinue with the next selected article. When all the selected articles in the current group have been read, these _l_e_f_t _o_v_e_r articles can be automatically selected and shown once more, or the treatment can be postponed to the next time you enter the group. This is particularly useful if you see an article which you may want to respond to unless one the following articles is already saying what you intended to say. L {leave-next} Mark the current article with the _l_e_a_v_e-_n_e_x_t attribute and continue with the next selected article. p {previous} Goto previous article. k {next-subject} Kill subject. Skips rest of current article, and all fol- lowing articles with the same subject. The skipped articles are marked _r_e_a_d. To kill a subject permanently use the K command. * {select-subject} Show next article with _s_a_m_e subject (even if it is not selected). This command will _s_e_l_e_c_t all following articles with the same subject as the current article (similar to the `*' command in selection mode). This can be used to select only the first article on a subject in selection mode, and then select all follow-ups in reading mode if you find the article interesting. a {advance-article} Goto the following article on the menu even if it is not selected. This command skips the rest of the current arti- cle and jumps directly to the first page of the next article (it will not skip to the next group if it is the last arti- cle). The attribute on the current article will be restored, except for the _u_n_r_e_a_d attribute which will be changed to _s_e_e_n. b {back-article} 17 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 Goto the article before current article on the menu even if it is not selected. This is similar to the a command, except for the direction. The following commands perform an immediate return from reading mode to selection mode in the _c_u_r_r_e_n_t group or skip to the next group. = {goto-menu} Return to selection mode in the current group (think of = as the "icon" of the selection menu). The articles read so far will be marked _r_e_a_d. N {next-group} Skip the rest of the _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d and _u_n_r_e_a_d articles in the current group and go directly to the next group. Only the _r_e_a_d (and _s_e_e_n) articles in the current group are marked as read. X {read-skip} Mark _a_l_l articles in the current group as read and go directly to the next group. (You will be asked to confirm this command.) Related variables: case-fold-search, compress, data-bits, date, header-lines, mark-overlap, monitor, overlap, scroll-clear-page, stop, trusted-escape-codes, wrap-header-margin. PREVIEWING ARTICLES IN SELECTION MODE In selection mode, it is possible to read a specific article on the menu without entering reading mode for all the selected arti- cles on the menu. Using the commands described below will enter reading mode for one article only, and then return to the menu mode immediately after (depending on the setting of the preview- continuation variable). If there are more than 5 free lines at the bottom of the menu screen, _n_n will use that space to show the article (a minimal preview window can be permanently allocated with the window vari- able). Otherwise, the screen will be cleared to show the arti- cle. After previewing an article, it will be marked read (if the preview-mark-read variable is set), and the following article will become the current article. %_x {preview} Preview article _x. %% {preview} Preview the current article. When the article is being shown, the following reading mode com- mands are very useful: 18 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) = {goto-menu} Skip the rest of the current article, and return to menu mode. n {next-article} Skip the rest of the current article, and _p_r_e_v_i_e_w _t_h_e _n_e_x_t _a_r_t_i_c_l_e. l {leave-article} Mark the article as _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d (!) on the menu for handling later on. Then skip the rest of the current article, and preview the next article. %_y {preview} Preview article _y . If the variable auto-preview-mode is set, just hitting the arti- cle id in menu mode will enter preview mode on the specified article. Related variables: auto-preview-mode, min-window, preview- continuation, preview-mark-read, window. SAVING ARTICLES The following commands are used to save articles in files, unpack archives, decode binaries, etc. It is possible to use the com- mands in both reading mode to save the current article and in selection mode to save one or more articles on the menu. The saved articles will be _a_p_p_e_n_d_e_d to the specified file(s) fol- lowed by an empty line each. Both files and directories will be created as needed. When an article has been saved in a file, a message reporting the number of lines saved will be shown if the save-report variable is set (default on). S {save-full} Save articles including the full article header. O {save-short} Save articles with a short header containing only the name of the sender, the subject, and the posting date of the article. W {save-body} Write article _w_i_t_h_o_u_t a header. :print {print} Print article. Instead of a file name, this command will prompt for the print command to which the current article will be piped. The default print command is specified at compile time, but it can be changed by setting the printer variable. The output will be identical to that of the O command. 19 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 :patch {patch} Send articles through patch(1) (or the program defined in the patch-command variable). Instead of a file name, you will be prompted for the name of a directory in which you want the patch command to be executed. _n_n will then pipe the body of the article through the patch command. The output from the patch process will be shown on the screen and also appended to a file named _P_a_t_c_h._R_e_s_u_l_t in the patch directory. :unshar {unshar} Unshar articles. You will be prompted for the name of a directory in which you want _n_n to unshar the articles. _n_n will then pipe the proper parts of the article body into a Bourne Shell whose working directory will be set to the specified directory. During the unpacking, the normal output from the unshar process will appear on the screen, and the menu or article text will be redrawn when the process is finished. The output is also appended to a file named _U_n_s_h_a_r._R_e_s_u_l_t in the unshar directory. The file specified in unshar-header-file (default "Unshar.Headers") in the unshar directory will contain the header and initial text (before the shar data) from the article. You can use the `G' {goto-group} command to look at the Unshar.Headers file. :decode {decode} Decode _u_u_e_n_c_o_d_e_d articles into binary files. You will be prompted for the name of a directory in which you want _n_n to place the decoded binary files (the file names are taken from the uuencoded data). _n_n will combine several articles into single files as needed, and you can even decode unrelated packages (into the same directory) with one decode command. To be able to decode a binary file which spans several articles, _n_n may have to _i_g_n_o_r_e lines which fail the normal sanity checks on uuencoded data instead of treating them as _t_r_a_n_s_m_i_s_s_i_o_n _e_r_r_o_r_s. Consequently, it is strongly recom- mended to check the resulting decoded file using the check- sum which is normally contained in the original article. (Actually, you are also supposed to do this after decoding with a stand-alone uudecode program). The header and initial information in the decoded articles are saved in the file specified in decode-header-file (default "Decode.Headers") in the same directory as the decoded files. If decode-skip-prefix is non-null, :decode will attempt to ignore up to that many characters on each line to find the encoded data. This is particularly useful in some binaries groups where files are both uuencoded and packed with shar; _n_n will ignore the prefix added to each line by shar, and thus be able to unshar, concatenate, and decode multi-part postings automatically. 20 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) In reading mode, the following keys can also be used to invoke the save commands: s Same as S. o Same as O. w Same as W. P Same as :print. The save commands will prompt for a file name which is expanded according to the rules described in the section on file name expansion below. For each group, it is possible to specify a default save file in the init file, either in connection with the group presentation sequence or in a separate save-files section (see below). If a default save file is specified for the group, _n_n will show this on the prompt line when it prompts for the file name. You can edit this name as usual, but if you kill the entire name immediately, _n_n will replace the default name with the last file name you entered. If you kill this as well, _n_n will leave you with a blank line. If the quick-save variable is set, _n_n will only prompt for a save file name when the current article is inside a folder; otherwise, the default save file defined in the init file will be used unconditionally. If the file (and directories in the path) does not exist, _n_n will ask whether the file (and the directories) should be created. If the file name contains an asterisk, e.g. part*.shar _n_n will save each of the articles in uniquely named files con- structed by replacing the asterisk by numbers from the sequence 1, 2, 3, etc. The format of the string that replaces the * can be changed with the save-counter variable, and the first number to use can be changed via save-counter-offset. In _s_e_l_e_c_t_i_o_n mode, _n_n will prompt you for the identifier of one or more articles you want to save. When you don't want to save more articles, just hit space. The saved articles will be marked _r_e_a_d. If you enter an asterisk `*' when you are prompted for an article to save, _n_n will automatically save all the _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d articles on the _c_u_r_r_e_n_t menu page and mark them _r_e_a_d. Likewise, if you enter a plus `+', _n_n will save all the selected articles on _a_l_l menu pages and mark them _r_e_a_d. This is very useful to unpack an entire package using the :unshar and :decode commands. It can also be used in combination with the _s_a_v_e _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d _a_r_t_i_c_l_e_s feature to save a selection of 21 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 articles in separate, successively numbered files. But do not confuse these two concepts! The S* and S+ commands can be used to save the selected articles in a single file as well as in separate files, and the _s_a_v_e _i_n _s_e_p_a_r_a_t_e _f_i_l_e_s feature can be used also when saving individual articles, either in the selec- tion mode, or in the article reading mode. When articles are saved in a file with a full or partial header, any header lines in the _b_o_d_y of the article will be escaped by a tilde (e.g. ~From: ...) to enable _n_n to split the folder into separate articles. The escape string can be redefined via the embedded-header-escape variable. Articles can optionally be saved in MAIL or MMDF compatible for- mat by setting the mail-format and mmdf-format variables. These variables only specify the format used when creating a new folder, while appending to an existing folder will be done in the format of the folder (unless folder-format-check is false). Related variables: confirm-append, confirm-create, decode- header-file, decode-skip-prefix, default-save-file, folder-save- file, edit-patch-command, edit-print-command, edit-unshar- command, folder, folder-format-check, mail-format, mmdf-format, patch-command, printer, quick-save, save-counter, save-counter- offset, save-report, suggest-default-save, unshar-command, unshar-header-file. FOLDER MAINTENANCE When more than one article is saved in a folder, _n_n is able to split the folder, and each article in the folder can be treated like a separate article. This means that you can save, decode, reply, follow-up, etc. just as with the original article. You can also _c_a_n_c_e_l (delete) individual articles in a folder using the normal C {cancel} command described later. When you quit from the folder, you will then be given the option to remove the cancelled articles from the folder. The original folder is saved in a file named `BackupFolder~' in the .nn directory (see the backup-folder-path variable) by renam- ing or copying the old folder as appropriate. When the folder has been compressed, the backup folder will be removed unless the variable keep-backup-folder is set. If all articles in a folder are cancelled, the folder will be removed or truncated to zero length (whatever is allowed by directory and file permissions). In this case no backup folder is retained even when keep-backup-folder is set! If the variable trace-folder-packing is set, _n_n will show which articles are kept and which are removed as the folder is rewrit- ten. 22 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) Folders are rewritten in the format of the original folder, i.e. the mail-format and mmdf-format variables are ignored. Related variables: backup-folder-path, keep-backup-folder, trace-folder-packing. FILE NAME EXPANSION When the save commands prompts for a file name, the following file name expansions are performed on the file name you enter: +_f_o_l_d_e_r The + is replaced by the contents of the folder variable (default value "~/News/") resulting in the name of a file in the _f_o_l_d_e_r _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y. Examples: +emacs, +nn, +sources/shar/nn + A single plus is replaced by the expansion of the file name contained in the default-save-file variable (or by folder- save-file when saving from a folder). ~/_f_i_l_e The ~ is replaced by the contents of the environment vari- able HOME, i.e. the path name of your home directory. Exam- ples: ~/News/emacs, ~/News/nn, ~/src/shar/nn ~_u_s_e_r/_f_i_l_e The ~_u_s_e_r part is replaced by the _u_s_e_r's home directory as defined in the /etc/passwd file. |_c_o_m_m_a_n_d-_l_i_n_e Instead of writing to a file, the articles are piped to the given shell (/bin/sh) command-line. Each save or write com- mand will create a separate pipe, but all articles saved or written in one command (in selection mode) are given as input to the same shell command. Example: | pr | lp This will print the articles on the printer after they have been piped through pr. It is possible to create separate pipes for each saved article by using a double pipe symbol in the beginning of the command, e.g. || cd ~/src/nn ; patch The following symbols are expanded in a file name or command: $F will be expanded to the name of the current group with the periods replaced by slashes, e.g. rec/music/synth. $G will be expanded to the name of the current group. $L will be expanded to the _l_a_s_t _c_o_m_p_o_n_e_n_t of the name of the current group. You may use this to create default save file names like +src/$L in the comp.sources groups. 23 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 $N will be expanded to the (local) article number, e.g. 1099. In selection mode it is only allowed at the end of the file name! $(VAR) is replaced by the string value of the environment variable _V_A_R. Using these symbols, a simple naming scheme for `default folder name' is +$G which will use the group name as folder name. Another possibility is +$F/$N. As mentioned above, you can also instruct _n_n to save a series of files in separate, unique files. All that is required is that the file name contains an asterisk, e.g. +src/hype/part*.shar This will cause each of the articles to be saved in separate, unique files named part1.shar, part2.shar, and so on, always choosing a part number that results in a unique file name (i.e. if part1.shar did already exist, the first article would be saved in part2.shar, the next in part3.shar, and so on). Related variables: default-save-file, folder, folder-save-file, save-counter, save-counter-offset. FILE AND GROUP NAME COMPLETION When entering a file name or a news group name, a simple comple- tion feature is available using the space, tab, and ? keys. Hitting space anywhere during input will complete the _c_u_r_r_e_n_t _c_o_m_p_o_n_e_n_t of the file name or group name with the _f_i_r_s_t available possibility. If this possibility is not the one you want, keep on hitting space until it appears. When the right completion has appeared, you can just continue typing the file or group name, or you can hit tab to fix the current component, and get the _f_i_r_s_t possibility for the next component, and then use space to go through the other possible completions. The ? key will produce a list of the possible _c_o_m_p_l_e_t_i_o_n_s of the current component. If the list is too long for the available space on screen, the key can be repeated to get the next part of the list. The current completion can be deleted with the erase key. The default value for a file name is the last file name you have entered, so if you enter a space as the first character after the prompt, the last file name will be repeated (and you can edit it if you like). In some cases, a string will already be written for you in the prompt line, and to get the default value in these 24 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) cases, use the kill key. This also means that if you neither want the initial value, nor the default value, you will have to hit the kill twice to get a clean prompt line. Related variables: comp1-key, comp2-key, help-key, suggest- default-save. POSTING AND RESPONDING TO ARTICLES In both selection mode and reading mode you can post new arti- cles, post follow-ups to articles, send replies to the author of an article, and you can send mail to another user with the option of including an article in the letter. In reading mode, a response is made to the current article, while in selection mode you will be prompted for an article to respond to. The following commands are available (the lower-case equivalents are also available in reading mode): R {reply} Reply through mail to the author of the article. This is the preferred way to respond to an article unless you think your reply is of general interest. F {follow} Follow-up with an article in the same newsgroup (unless an alternative group is specified in the article header). The distribution of the follow-up is normally the same as the original article, but this can be modified via the follow- distribution variable. M {mail} Mail a letter or _f_o_r_w_a_r_d an article to a single recipient. In selection mode, you will be prompted for an article to include in your letter, and in reading mode you will be asked if the current article should be included in the letter. You will then be prompted for the recipient of the letter (default recipient is yourself) and the subject of the letter (if an article is included, you may hit space to get the default subject which is the subject of the included article). The header of the article is only included in the posted letter if it is forwarded (i.e. not edited), or if the vari- able include-full-header is set. :post {post} Post a new article to any newsgroup. This command will prompt you for a _c_o_m_m_a-_s_e_p_a_r_a_t_e_d list of newsgroups to post to (you cannot enter a space because space is used for group name completion as described below). If you enter ? {help-key} as the first key, _n_n will show you a list of all available news groups and their purpose. While paging through this list, you can enter q to quit looking at the list. You can also enter / followed by a regular expression (typically a single word) which will 25 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 cause _n_n to show a (much shorter) list containing only the lines matching the regular expression. Normally, you will be prompted for the distribution of the article with the default take from default-distribution, but this can be changed via the post-distribution variable. Generally, _n_n will construct a file with a suitable header, optionally include a copy of the article in the file with each non-empty line prefixed by a `>' character (except in mail mode), and invoke an editor of your choice (using the EDITOR environment variable) on this file, positioning you on the first line of the body of the article (if it knows the editor). When you have completed editing the message, it will compare it to the unedited file, and if they are identical (i.e. you did not make any changes to the file), or it is empty, the operation is cancelled. Otherwise you will be prompted for an action to take on the constructed article (enter first letter followed by return, or just return to take the default action): 9 a)bort c)c e)dit h)old i)spell m)ail r)eedit s)end v)iew w)rite Action: (post article) 9 You now have the opportunity to perform one of the following actions: a throw the response away (will ask for confirmation), c mail a copy of a _f_o_l_l_o_w-_u_p to the poster of the article, e edit the file again, h hold response for later completion, i run an (interactive) spell-checker on the text, m mail a (blind) copy to a specified recipient, n same as abort (_n_o don't post) p post article (same as send) r throw away the edited text and edit the original text, s send the article or letter, v view the article (through the pager), or w append it to a file (before you send it). y confirm _d_e_f_a_u_l_t _a_n_s_w_e_r (e.g. _y_e_s post it) To complete an unfinished response saved by the h)old command, simply enter any response action, e.g. R {reply}. This will notice the unfinished response and ask you whether you want to complete it now. Only one unfinished response can exist at a time. Notice that the $A environment variable may no longer be valid as a path to the original article when the response is com- pleted. Related variables: append-signature-mail, append-signature-post, default-distribution, follow-distribution, post-distribution, edit-response-check, editor, include-art-id, include-full-header, included-mark, mail-header, mail-record, mail-script, mailer, mailer-pipe-input, news-header, news-record, news-script, orig- to-include-mask, pager, query-signature, record, response-check- 26 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) pause, response-default-answer, save-counter, save-counter- offset, save-report, spell-checker. JUMPING TO OTHER GROUPS By default _n_n will present the news groups in a predefined sequence (see the section on Presentation Sequence later on). To override this sequence and have a look at any other group the G {goto-group} command available in both selection and reading mode enables you to move freely between all the newsgroups. Furthermore, the G command enables you to open folders and other files, to read old articles you have read before, and to grep for a specific subject in a group. It is important to notice that normally the goto command is recursive, i.e. a new _m_e_n_u _l_e_v_e_l is created when the specified group or folder is presented, and when it has been read, _n_n will continue the activity in the group that was presented before the goto command was executed. However, if there are unread articles in the target group you can avoid entering a new menu level by using the j reply described below. The current menu level (i.e. number of nested goto commands) will be shown in the prompt line as "" (in reverse video). The goto command is very powerful, but unfortunately also a lit- tle bit tricky at first sight, because the facilities it provides depend on the context in which the command is used. When executed, the goto command will prompt you for the name of the newsgroup, folder, or file to open. It will use the first letter you enter to distinguish these three possibilities: return An empty answer is equivalent to the current newsgroup. _l_e_t_t_e_r The answer is taken to be the name of a newsgroup. If a news group with the given name does not exist, _n_n will treat the answer as a regular expression and locate the first group in the presentation sequence (or among all groups) whose name matches the expression. + The answer is taken to be the name of a folder. If only `+' is entered, it is equivalent to the default save file for the current group. / _o_r ./ _o_r ~/ The answer is taken to be the name of a file, either rela- tive to the current directory, relative to your home direc- tory, or an absolute path name for the file. % In reading mode, this reply corresponds to reading the current article (and splitting it as a digest). In 27 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 selection mode, it will prompt for an article on the menu to read. @ This choice is equivalent to the archive file for the current group. _n_n_m_a_s_t_e_r maintains archive files with all old and current articles for the groups which have the auto-archive option set in the GROUPS file (see _n_n_m_a_s_- _t_e_r(8)). = and _n_u_m_b_e_r These answers are equivalent to the same answers described below applied to the current group (e.g. G return = and G = are equivalent). Specifying a folder, a file, or an article (with %) will cause _n_n to treat the file like a digest and split it into separate arti- cles (not physically!) which are then presented on a menu in the usual way, allowing you to read or save individual subarticles from the folder. When you enter a group name, _n_n will ask you how many articles in the group you want to see on the menu. You can give the follow- ing answers: _a _n_u_m_b_e_r _N In this case you will get the newest N articles in the group, or if you specified the current group (by hitting return to the group name prompt or entering the number directly), you will get that many _e_x_t_r_a articles included on the same menu (without creating a new menu level). j This answer can only be given if there are unread articles in the group. It will instruct nn to jump directly to the specified group in the presentation sequence _w_i_t_h_o_u_t creat- ing a new menu level. u This instructs _n_n to present the _u_n_r_e_a_d articles in the group (if there are any). If you have already read the group (in the current invocation of _n_n), the u answer will instruct _n_n to present the articles that were unread when you entered _n_n. a This instruct _n_n to present all articles in the group. s_w_o_r_d or =_w_o_r_d This instructs _n_n to search _a_l_l articles in the groups, but only present the articles containing the word _w_o_r_d in the subject. Notice that case is ignored when searching for the word in the subject lines. n_w_o_r_d Same as the s form except that it searched for articles where the sender _n_a_m_e matches _w_o_r_d. 28 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) e_w_o_r_d Same as the s form except that it Psearched for articles where _e_i_t_h_e_r the subject or the sender name matches _w_o_r_d. _w_o_r_d = /_r_e_g_e_x_p When the first character of the _w_o_r_d specified with the s, n, and e forms is a slash `/', the rest of the input is interpreted as a regular expression to search for. Notice that regular expression matching is case insensitive when case-fold-search is set (default). return The meaning of an empty answer depends on the context: if there are unread articles in the specified group the unread articles will be presented, otherwise _a_l_l articles in the group will be included in the menu. If you specified the current group, and the menu already contains all the available articles, _n_n will directly prompt for a word to search for in the subject of all articles (the prompt will be an equal sign.) When the goto command creates a new menu level, _n_n will not per- form auto kill or selection in the group. You can use the + com- mand in menu mode to perform the auto-selections. There are three commands in the goto family: G {goto-group} This is the general goto command described above. B {back-group} Backup one or more groups. You can hit this key one or more times to go back in the groups already presented (including those without new articles); when you have found the group you are looking for, hit space to enter it. A {advance-group} Advance one or more groups. This command is similar to the B command, but operates in the opposite direction. N {next-group} When used within an A or B command, it skips forward to the next group in the sequence with unread articles or which has previously been visited. P {previous} When used within an A or B command, it skips backwards to the preceding group in the sequence with unread articles or which has previously been visited. Once you have entered an A or Bcommand, you can freely mix the A, B, P, and N commands to find the group you want, and you can also use the G command to be prompted for a group name. 29 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 To show the use of the goto command some typical examples on its use are given below: _P_r_e_s_e_n_t _t_h_e _u_n_r_e_a_d _a_r_t_i_c_l_e_s _i_n _t_h_e _d_k._g_e_n_e_r_a_l _g_r_o_u_p 9 G dk.general return u _J_u_m_p _d_i_r_e_c_t_l_y _t_o _t_h_e _g_n_u._e_m_a_c_s _g_r_o_u_p _a_n_d _c_o_n_t_i_n_u_e _f_r_o_m _t_h_e_r_e 9 G gnu.emacs return j _I_n_c_l_u_d_e _t_h_e _l_a_s_t _1_0 _R_E_A_D _a_r_t_i_c_l_e_s _i_n _t_h_e _c_u_r_r_e_n_t _g_r_o_u_p _m_e_n_u 9 G 10 return _F_i_n_d _a_l_l _a_r_t_i_c_l_e_s _i_n _r_e_c._m_u_s_i_c._m_i_s_c _o_n _t_h_e _s_u_b_j_e_c_t _F_l_o_y_d 9 G rec.music.misc return = floyd return 9 _O_p_e_n _t_h_e _f_o_l_d_e_r +_n_n 9 G +nn return _S_p_l_i_t _c_u_r_r_e_n_t _a_r_t_i_c_l_e _a_s _a _d_i_g_e_s_t (_i_n _r_e_a_d_i_n_g _m_o_d_e) 9 G % Related variables: case-fold-search, default-save-file, folder- save-file AUTOMATIC KILL AND SELECTION When there is a subject or an author which you are either very interested in, or find completely uninteresting, you can easily instruct _n_n to _a_u_t_o-_s_e_l_e_c_t or _a_u_t_o-_k_i_l_l articles with specific subjects or from specific authors. These instructions are stored in a _k_i_l_l _f_i_l_e, and the most common types of entries can be created using the following command: K {kill-select} Create an entry in your personal kill file. The contents of the entry is specified during a short dialog that is described in details below. This command is available in both selection and reading mode. Entries in the kill file may apply to a single newsgroup or to all newsgroups. Furthermore, entries may be permanent or they may be expired a given number of days after their entry. To increase performance, _n_n uses a compiled version of the kill file which is read in when _n_n is invoked. The compiled kill file will automatically be updated if the normal kill file has been modified. 9 30 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) The following dialog is used to build the kill file entry: _A_U_T_O (_k)_i_l_l _o_r (_s)_e_l_e_c_t (_C_R => _K_i_l_l _s_u_b_j_e_c_t _3_0 _d_a_y_s) If you simply want _n_n to kill all articles with the subject of the current article (in reading mode) or a specific arti- cle (which _n_n will prompt for in selection mode), just hit return. This will cause _n_n to create an entry in the kill file to kill the current (or specified) subject in the current group for a period of 30 days (which should be enough for the discussion to die out). 9 You can control the default kill period, or change it into a "select" period via the default-kill-select variable. 9 If this "default behaviour" is not what you want, just answer either _k or _s to kill or select articles, respec- tively, which will bring you on to the rest of the ques- tions. _A_U_T_O _S_E_L_E_C_T _o_n (_s)_u_b_j_e_c_t _o_r (_n)_a_m_e (_s) (The _S_E_L_E_C_T will be substituted with _K_I_L_L depending on the previous answer). Here you specify whether you want the kill or select to depend on the subject of the article (s or space), or on the name of the author (n). _S_E_L_E_C_T _N_A_M_E: (Again _S_E_L_E_C_T may be substituted with _K_I_L_L and _S_U_B_J_E_C_T may replace _N_A_M_E). You must now enter a name (or subject) to select (or kill). In reading mode, you may just hit return (or %) to use the name (or subject) of the current article. In selection mode, you can use the name (or subject) from an article on the menu by answering with % followed by the corresponding article identifier. 9 When the name or subject is taken from an article (the current or one from the menu), _n_n will only select or kill articles where the name or subject matches the original name or subject exactly including case. 9 If the first character typed at the prompt is a slash `/', the rest of the line is used as a _r_e_g_u_l_a_r _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n which is used to match the name or subject (case _i_nsensitive). 9 Otherwise, _n_n will select or kill articles which _c_o_n_t_a_i_n the specified string anywhere in the name or subject (ignoring case). _S_E_L_E_C_T _i_n (_g)_r_o_u_p `_d_k._g_e_n_e_r_a_l' _o_r _i_n (_a)_l_l _g_r_o_u_p_s (_g) You must now specify whether the selection or kill should apply to the current group only (g or space) or to all groups (a). _L_i_f_e_t_i_m_e _o_f _e_n_t_r_y _i_n _d_a_y_s (_p)_e_r_m_a_n_e_n_t (_3_0) You can now specify the lifetime of the entry, either by entering a number specifying the number of days the entry should be active, or p to specify the entry as a permanent entry. An empty reply is equivalent to 30 days. 9 31 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 _C_O_N_F_I_R_M _S_E_L_E_C_T .... Finally, you will be asked to confirm the entry, and you should especially note the presence or absence of the word exact which specify whether an exact match applies for the entry. Related variables: default-kill-select, kill. THE FORMAT OF THE KILL FILE The kill file consists of one line for each entry. Empty lines and lines starting with a # character are ignored. _n_n automati- cally places a # character in the first position of expired entries when it compiles the kill file. You can then edit the kill file manually from time to time to clean out these entries. Each line has the following format [_e_x_p_i_r_e _t_i_m_e :] [_g_r_o_u_p _n_a_m_e] : _f_l_a_g_s : _s_t_r_i_n_g [: _s_t_r_i_n_g]... Permanent entries have no _e_x_p_i_r_e _t_i_m_e (in which case the colon is omitted as well!). Otherwise, the _e_x_p_i_r_e _t_i_m_e defines the time (as a time_t value) when the entry should be expired. The _g_r_o_u_p _n_a_m_e field can have three forms: _n_e_w_s._g_r_o_u_p._n_a_m_e If it is the name of a single news group (e.g. comp.unix), the entry applies to that group only. /_r_e_g_u_l_a_r _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n If it starts with a slash `/' followed by a _r_e_g_u_l_a_r _e_x_p_r_e_s_- _s_i_o_n (e.g. /^news\..*), the entry applies to all groups whose name are matched by the regular expression. _e_m_p_t_y An empty group field will apply the entry to _a_l_l groups. The _f_l_a_g_s field consists of a list of characters which identifies the type of entry, and the interpretation of each _s_t_r_i_n_g field. When used, the flag characters must be used in the order in which they are described below: ~ (optional) When this flag is present on any of the entries for a specific group, it causes all entires which _a_r_e _n_o_t _a_u_t_o- _s_e_l_e_c_t_e_d to be killed. This is a simple way to say: I'm interested in this and that, but nothing else. + or ! (optional) Specify an auto-select + or an auto-kill ! entry, respec- tively. If neither are used, the article is neither selected nor killed which is useful in combination with the `~' flag. > (optional) 32 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) When used with a subject (flag s), the kill entry only matches follow-ups to that subject (i.e. where the Subject: line starts with Re:). For example, to kill all "Re:"'s in rec.humor use the following kill entry: rec.humor:!>s/:. < (optional) When used with a subject (flag s), the kill entry only matches base articles with that subject (i.e. where the Sub- ject: line does not start with Re:). For example, to kill all articles asking for help (but not follow-ups) in the tex group, add this to your kill file: comp.text.tex:!s", the following commands can be placed in the setup file: set included-mark > lock included-mark The current variable settings can be shown with the :set command: :set (without arguments) 40 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) This will give a listing of the variables which have been set in either the init file or interactively. :set all This will give a listing of all variables. Modified vari- ables will be marked with a `*' and _l_o_c_a_l variables will be marked with a `>'. A locked variable is marked with a `!'. :set /_r_e_g_e_x_p This will give a listing of all variables whose name matches the given regular expression. :set _p_a_r_t_i_a_l-_n_a_m_e space The space (comp1-key) key will complete the variable name as usual, but as a side effect it will display the variable's current value in the message line. Variables are global by default, but a local instantiation of the variable can be created using the :local command. The local variable will overlay the global variable as long as the current group is active, i.e. the global variable will be used again when you exit the current group. The initial value of the local vari- able will be the same as the global variable, unless a new value is specified in the :local command: 9 :local _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e [ _v_a_l_u_e ] 9 The following variables are available: also-full-digest (boolean, default false) When a digest is split, the digest itself is not normally included on the menu, and as such the initial adminstrative information is not available. Setting also-full-digest will cause the (unsplit) digest to be included on the menu. These articles are marked with a @ at the beginning of the subject. also-subgroups (boolean, default true) When set, a group name in the presentation sequence will also cause all the subgroups of the group to be included, for example, comp.unix will also include comp.unix.questions, etc. When also-subgroups is not set, subgroups are only included if the group name is followed by a `.' in which case the main group is _n_o_t included, i.e. `comp.unix' is not included when `comp.unix.' is specified in the presentation sequence, and vice-versa. Following a group name by an asterisk `*', e.g. comp.unix*, will include the group as well as all subgroups independently of the set- ting of also-subgroups. append-signature-mail (boolean, default false) When false, it is assumed that the .signature file is automatically appended to responses sent via E-mail. If true, .signature will be appended to the letter (see query- 41 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 signature). append-signature-post (boolean, default false) When false, it is assumed that the .signature file is automatically appended to posted articles. If true, .signa- ture will explicitly be appended to posted articles (see query-signature). attributes _s_y_m_b_o_l_s (string, default ....) Each element in this string represents a symbol used to represent an article attribute when displayed on the screen. See the section on Marking Articles and Attributes. auto-junk-seen (_b_o_o_l_e_a_n, _d_e_f_a_u_l_t _t_r_u_e) When set, articles which have the _s_e_e_n _a_t_t_r_i_b_u_t_e (,) will be marked read when the current group is left. If not set, these articles will still be either unread or marked seen the next time the group is entered (see also confirm-junk- seen and retain-seen-status). auto-preview-mode (_b_o_o_l_e_a_n, _d_e_f_a_u_l_t _f_a_l_s_e) Enables _A_u_t_o _P_r_e_v_i_e_w _M_o_d_e. In this mode, selecting an arti- cle on the menu using its article id (letter a-z) will enter preview mode on that article immediately. Furthermore, the `n' {next-article} command will preview the next article on the menu only if it has the same subject as the current article; otherwise, it will return to the menu with the cur- sor placed on the next article. The continue command at the end of the article and the `=' {goto-menu} returns to the menu immediately as usual. auto-read-mode-limit _N (integer, default 0) When operating in _a_u_t_o _r_e_a_d_i_n_g _m_o_d_e, _n_n will _a_u_t_o-_s_e_l_e_c_t all unread articles in the group, skip the article selection phase, and enter reading mode directly after entry to the group. Auto reading mode is disabled when auto-read-mode-limit is zero; it is activated unconditionally if the value is nega- tive, and conditionally if the value is greater than zero and the number of unread articles in the current group does not exceed the given value. auto-select-closed _m_o_d_e (integer, default 1) Normally, selecting a _c_l_o_s_e_d _s_u_b_j_e_c_t (usually in consoli- dated menu mode) will select (or deselect) all _u_n_r_e_a_d arti- cles with the given subject (or all articles if they are all read). This behaviour can be changed via the value of this variable as follows: 0: select only the first article with the subject (shown on menu). 1: select only the unread articles with the subject. 2: select all available articles with the subject. auto-select-subject (boolean, default false) When set, selecting an article from the menu using the 42 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) article id (a-z), all articles on the menu with the same subject will automatically be selected as well. backup (boolean, default true) When set, a copy of the initial .newsrc and select files will save be the first time they are changed. _n_n remembers the initial contents of these files internally, so the backup variable can be set any time if not set on start-up. backup-folder-path _f_i_l_e (string, default "BackupFolder~") When removing deleted articles from a folder, this variable defines the name of the file where a (temporary) copy of the original folder is saved. If the _f_i_l_e name doesn't contain a `/', the file will be located in the .nn directory. Oth- erwise the file name is used directly as the relative or full path name of the backup file. If possible, the old folder will be renamed to the backup folder name; otherwise the old folder is copied to the backup folder. backup-suffix _s_u_f_f_i_x (string, default ".bak") The suffix appended to file names to make the corresponding backup file name (see backup). bug-report-address _a_d_d_r_e_s_s (string, default nn-bugs@dkuug.dk) The mail address to which bug reports created with the :bug command are sent. case-fold-search (boolean, default true) When set, string and regular expression matching will be case independent. This is related to all commands matching on names or subjects, except in connection with auto-kill and auto-select where the individual kill file entries specifies this property. check-db-update-time _H (integer, default 12) When non-zero, _n_n will issue a warning if the database has not been updated in the last _H hours. The warning will tell you whether no news has arrived (feed broken?), or whether it is just _n_n_m_a_s_t_e_r which has not updated the database (dead?). check-group-access (boolean, default false) When set, _n_n will perform a check on the readability of a group's readability before showing the menu for that group. Normally, this is not necessary since all users tradition- ally have access to all news groups. Setting (and locking) this variable may be used to limit access to a news group via the permissions and ownership of the group's spool directory (this will only work for non-NNTP sites). collapse-subject _o_f_f_s_e_t (integer, default 25) When set (non-negative), subject lines which are too long to be presented in full on the menus will be "collapsed" by removing a sufficient number of characters from the subject 43 NN(1) Release 6.4.16 starting at the given _o_f_f_s_e_t in the subject. This is useful in source groups where the "Part (01/10)" string sometimes disappears from the menu. When not set (or negative), the subjects are truncated. columns _c_o_l (integer, default screen width) This variable contains the screen width i.e. character posi- tions per line. comp1-key _k_e_y (key, default space) The key which gives the first/next completion, and the default value when _n_n is prompting for a string, e.g. a file name. comp2-key _k_e_y (key, default tab) The key which ends the current completion and gives the first completion for the next component when _n_n is prompting for a string, e.g. a file name. compress (boolean, default false) This variable controls whether text compression (see the compress command) is turned on or off when an article is shown. The compression is still toggled for the current article with the compress command key. confirm-append (boolean, default false) When set, _n_n will ask for confirmation before appending an article to an existing file (see also confirm-create). confirm-auto-quit (boolean, default false) When set, _n_n will ask for confirmation before quitting after having read the last group. If not confirmed, _n_n will recy- cle the presentation sequence looking for groups that were skipped with the `N' {next-group} command. But it will not look for new articles arrived since the invocation of _n_n. confirm-create (boolean, default true) When set, _n_n will ask for confirmation before creating a new file or directory when saving or unpacking an article (see also confirm-append). confirm-entry (boolean, default false) When set, _n_n will ask for confirmation before entering a group with more than confirm-entry-limit unread articles (on the first menu level). It is useful on slow terminals if you don't want to wait until _n_n has drawn the first menu to be able to skip the group. Answering no to the "Enter?" prompt will cause _n_n to skip to the next group without marking the current group as read. If you answer by hitting interrupt, _n_n will ask the question "Mark as read?" which allows you to mark the current group as read before going to the next group. If this second question is also answered by hitting interrupt, _n_n will quit immediately. 44 Release 6.4.16 NN(1) confirm-entry-limit _a_r_t_i_c_l_e_s (integer, default 0) Specifies the minimum number of unread articles in a group for which the confirm-entry functionality is activated. confirm-junk-seen (boolean, default false) When set, _n_n will require confirmation before marking seen articles as read when auto-junk-seen is set. confirm-messages (boolean, default false) In some cases, _n_n will sleep one second (or more) when it has shown a message to the user, e.g. in connection with macro debugging. Setting confirm-messages will cause _n_n to _w_a_i_t for you to confirm all messages by hitting any key. (It will show the symbol <> to indicate that it is awaiting confirmation.) consolidated-manual (boolean, default false) When set, the _o_n_l_i_n_e _m_a_n_u_a_l will be presented with one menu line for each _p_r_o_g_r_a_m in the _n_n package. consolidated-menu (boolean, default false) When set, _n_n will automatically _c_l_o_s_e all multi-article sub- jects on entry to a group, so that each subject only occur once on the menu page. counter-delim-left (string, default "[") The delimiter string output to the left of the article counter in a closed subject's menu line. counter-delim-right (string, default "] ") The delimiter string output to the right of the article counter in a closed subject's menu line. counter-padding _p_a_d (integer, default 5) On a consolidated menu, the subjects m