TRN(1) TRN(1)
NAME
trn - threaded read(2,n,1 builtins) news program
SYNOPSIS
trn [options] [newsgroups]
DESCRIPTION
Trn is a threaded version(1,3,5) of rn, which is a replacement for the read-
news(1) program. Being "threaded" means that the articles are inter-
connected in(1,8) reply order. Each discussion thread is a tree of articles
where all the reply (child) articles branch off from their respective
originating (parent) articles. A representation of this tree (or a
portion of it) is displayed in(1,8) the article header as you are reading
news. This gives you a better feel for how all the articles are
related, and even lets you see at a glance when an article has replies
-- a good thing to check before posting. In addition, trn has a thread
selector that allows you to quickly browse through a list of subjects
and choose the ones you find interesting. This thread selector sorts
articles according to various criteria and can be switched into various
display modes that allows you to pick all the subjects separately
(threads can have multiple subjects) or even pick individual articles.
Any items you don't select(2,7,2 select_tut) can be saved for reading later or marked as
read(2,n,1 builtins) with a single keystroke.
If you are already familiar with trn you may just want to read(2,n,1 builtins) the
WHAT'S NEW section. People upgrading from rn will probably want to pay
attention to the sections on The Selector, The Tree Display, and the
aforementioned WHAT'S NEW. If you're impatient, just dive in(1,8) and get
started. All the regular commands will be familiar to an rn or trn
user, and the on-line help will give you a quick run-down of what com-
mands are available (just type 'h' from any prompt). I'd also suggest
using the command:
trn -x -X
to make sure some of the best features are turned on.
Starting Trn
If no newsgroups are specified, all the newsgroups which have unread
news will be presented to the user in(1,8) the order in(1,8) which they occur in(1,8)
the .newsrc file. At the prompt for each group you can choose to read(2,n,1 builtins)
it, skip it, move(3x,7,3x curs_move) it, etc. If a list of newsgroups is provided on the
command line, trn will start up in(1,8) "add" mode, using the list as a set(7,n,1 builtins)
of patterns to add new newsgroups and restrict which newsgroups are
displayed (see also the discussion of the 'a' command on the newsgroup-
selection level).
Trn operates on four levels: the newsgroup-selection level, the thread
selector, the article-reading level, and the paging level. Each level
has its own set(7,n,1 builtins) of commands, and its own help menu. At the paging
level (the bottom level) trn behaves much like the more(1) program. At
the article-reading level articles are presented to you in(1,8) the order of
their replies, with the subjects being ordered by the date of the old-
est unread article (though there are commands for changing the default
display order). In the thread selector you are presented with the sub-
jects and (usually) authors associated with each discussion thread, and
given a chance to choose which ones you wish to read(2,n,1 builtins) now, save for
later, or manipulate in(1,8) some way. At the newsgroup-selection level
(the top level), you may specify which newsgroup you want next, or read(2,n,1 builtins)
them in(1,8) the default order, which is the order that the newsgroups occur
in(1,8) your .newsrc file. (You will therefore want to rearrange your
.newsrc file(1,n) to put the most interesting newsgroups first. This can be
done with the 'm' command on the Newsgroup Selection level. WARNING:
invoking readnews/vnews (the old user interface) in(1,8) any way (including
as a news checker in(1,8) your login(1,3,5) sequence!) will cause your .newsrc to
be disarranged again.)
On any level, at ANY prompt, help is available by typing an 'h'. This
gives you a summary of available commands and what they do. Remember
this command, you'll need it.
Typing space to any question means to do the normal thing. You will
know what that is because every prompt has a list of several plausible
commands enclosed in(1,8) square brackets. The first command in(1,8) the list is
the one which will be done if(3,n) you type a space. (All input is done in(1,8)
cbreak mode, so carriage returns should not be typed to terminate any-
thing except certain multi-character commands. Those commands will be
obvious in(1,8) the discussion below because they take an argument.)
Upon startup, trn will do several things:
1. It will look(1,8,3 Search::Dict) for your .newsrc file(1,n), which is your list of sub-
scribed-to newsgroups. If trn doesn't find a .newsrc, it will cre-
ate one. If it does find one, it will back it up under the name
".oldnewsrc".
2. It will input your .newsrc file(1,n), listing out the first several
newsgroups with unread news.
3. It will perform certain consistency checks on your .newsrc. If
your .newsrc is out of date in(1,8) any of several ways, trn will warn
you and patch it up for you, but you may have to wait a little
longer for it to start up.
4. Trn will next check to see if(3,n) any new newsgroups have been created,
and give you the opportunity to add them to your .newsrc.
5. Trn goes into the top prompt level -- the newsgroup-selection
level.
Newsgroup Selection Level
In this section the words "next" and "previous" refer to the ordering
of the newsgroups in(1,8) your .newsrc file. On the newsgroup-selection
level, the prompt looks like this:
====== 17 unread articles in(1,8) talk.blurfl -- read(2,n,1 builtins) now? [ynq]
unless the group is set(7,n,1 builtins) for unthreaded reading, in(1,8) which case the first
six characters are "******". The following commands may be given at
this level:
+ Enter this newsgroup through the selector.
y Begin reading this newsgroup now.
SP Enter the newsgroup by executing the default command listed in(1,8)
[]'s.
.command
Do this newsgroup now, but execute command before displaying
anything. The command will be interpreted as if(3,n) typed on the
article selection level.
= Start this newsgroup, but list subjects before displaying arti-
cles.
U Enter this newsgroup through the unkill-articles prompt.
t Toggle the newsgroup between threaded and unthreaded reading.
The default is threaded, and the current setting is stored in(1,8)
your .newsrc.
n Go to the next newsgroup with unread news.
N Go to the next newsgroup.
p Go to the previous newsgroup with unread news. If there is
none, stay at the current newsgroup.
P Go to the previous newsgroup.
- Go to the previously displayed newsgroup (regardless of whether
it is before or after the current one in(1,8) the list).
1 Go to the first newsgroup.
^ Go to the first newsgroup with unread news.
$ Go to the end of the newsgroups list.
g newsgroup
Go to newsgroup, which can be the group's name or a zero-rela-
tive number of the groups in(1,8) your .newsrc (see the 'L' command
to list your .newsrc). If it isn't currently subscribed to,
you will be asked if(3,n) you want to subscribe.
/pattern
Scan forward for a newsgroup matching pattern. Patterns do
globbing like filenames, i.e., use * to match any sequence of
characters, and [] to specify a list of characters to match.
Use . to match a single character. Unlike normal filename
globbing, newsgroup-searching is not anchored to the front and
back of the filename, i.e. "/ski" will find rec.skiing. You
may use ^ or $ to anchor the front or back of the search:
"/^test$" will find newsgroup test and nothing else If you want
to include newsgroups with 0 unread articles, append /r. If
the newsgroup is not found between the current newsgroup and
the last newsgroup, the search will wrap around to the begin-
ning.
?pattern
Same as /, but search backwards.
u Unsubscribe from the current newsgroup.
l string(3,n)
List newsgroups not subscribed to which contain the string(3,n)
specified.
L Lists the current state of the .newsrc, along with status
information.
Status Meaning
<number> Count of unread articles in(1,8) newsgroup.
READ No unread articles in(1,8) newsgroup.
UNSUB Unsubscribed newsgroup.
BOGUS Bogus newsgroup.
JUNK Ignored line in(1,8) .newsrc
(e.g. readnews "options" line).
(A bogus newsgroup is one that is not in(1,8) the list of active
newsgroups in(1,8) the active file(1,n), which on most systems is
/usr/lib/news/active unless you use NNTP.)
m {name}
Move the named(5,8) newsgroup somewhere else in(1,8) the .newsrc. If no
name is given, the current newsgroup is moved. There are a
number of ways to specify where you want the newsgroup -- type
h for help when it asks where you want to put it.
c Catch up -- mark all unread articles in(1,8) this newsgroup as read.
A Abandon the changes made to the current newsgroup since trn was
started. Useful when you accidentally mark a group as read.
o {pattern}
O {pattern}
Only display those newsgroups whose name matches pattern. Pat-
terns are the same as for the '/' command. Multiple patterns
may be separated by spaces, just as on the command line. The
restriction will remain in(1,8) effect either until there are no
articles left in(1,8) the restricted set(7,n,1 builtins) of newsgroups, or another
restriction command is given. Since pattern is optional, 'o'
by itself will remove the restriction. Using 'O' will omit
empty groups from the cycle.
a pattern
Add unsubscribed newsgroups matching pattern. If any matching
newsgroups are found, you will be asked for each one whether
you would like to add it. If you want to add all the news-
groups, you can type 'Y' and they will be added the the end of
the .newsrc file. If you don't want to subscribe, all the
remaining groups can be ignored by typing 'N'. After any new
newsgroups have been added, the 'a' command also restricts the
current set(7,n,1 builtins) of newsgroups just like the 'O' command does.
& Print out the current status of command-line switches and any
newsgroup restrictions.
&switch(1,n) {switch(1,n)}
Set additional command-line switches.
&& Print out the current macro definitions.
&&keys commands
Define additional macros.
!command
Escape to a subshell. One exclamation mark (!) leaves you in(1,8)
your own news directory. A double exclamation mark (!!) leaves
you in(1,8) the spool directory for news, which is usually
/usr/spool/news unless you're using NNTP to read(2,n,1 builtins) news. The
environment variable SHELL will be used if(3,n) defined. If command
is null, an interactive shell is started.
v Print the current version(1,3,5) number and information on where to
send(2,n) bug reports.
q Quit.
x Quit, restoring .newsrc to its state at startup of trn. The
.newsrc you would have had if(3,n) you had exited with 'q' will be
called .newnewsrc, in(1,8) case you didn't really want to type 'x'.
^K Edit the global list of memorized commands (in(1,8) the global KILL
file(1,n)) that you wish to be performed in(1,8) every newsgroup as it is
started up (that is, when it is selected at the newsgroup-
selection level). This file(1,n) contains commands (one per line)
such as /subject/:j or /author/f:+ to kill(1,2,1 builtins) or select(2,7,2 select_tut) articles
based on the indicated search criteria. There is also a local
list of commands for each newsgroup that can contain
kill(1,2,1 builtins)/selection commands tailored for each specific group.
Because of the overhead involved in(1,8) searching for articles to
kill(1,2,1 builtins), it is better if(3,n) possible to use a local list rather than
the global one. Local memorized commands are usually main-
tained by using the 'A' or 'T' commands from the article/pager
level or in(1,8) the selector. There is also a K search modifier
that appends any search command you desire to add. It is also
possible to manually edit the file(1,n) with the '^K' command from
anywhere inside a newsgroup. If either of the environment
variables VISUAL or EDITOR is set(7,n,1 builtins), the specified editor will be
invoked; otherwise a default editor is invoked on the KILL
file.
The Selector
Most people who don't have all day to read(2,n,1 builtins) news will want to enter a
newsgroup by way of the selector. This is accomplished by using the
'+' command at the newsgroup-selection or article/pager levels. In
fact, this may be the default command for entering a newsgroup, depend-
ing on how your version(1,3,5) of trn was configured and your use of the -X
option.
The selector displays a list of articles by their subjects and (usu-
ally) authors. The articles are grouped into threads by default (which
may list multiple subjects per selectable item if(3,n) the subject has
changed during the discussion) and ordered by the date of their oldest
unread article. Thread or subject groups are also shown with a count
of the number of articles in(1,8) each group. Each selectable item is pre-
ceded by a letter or number that can be typed to toggle its selection.
Items that are selected are flagged with a '+' after their letter.
Groups that have only some of their articles selected are flagged with
a '*'. You can change the selector's mode (to pick each subject sepa-
rately or pick individual articles), order the list by a variety of
sort(1,3) criteria, and switch(1,n) the author display between its long, medium
and short styles using the commands detailed below.
The following commands are available in(1,8) the selector:
a-z,0-9,A-Z
Select/deselect the indicated item by its letter or number.
There are quite a few letters omitted from the alpha characters
to be typed as commands -- see below. Also, the variable
SELECTCHARS is available to customize which characters you want
to be used as selection letters, overriding their command func-
tion.
SP Perform the default command. This is usually > for most pages,
and Z on the last page (although D and X are also quite popu-
lar).
CR Begin reading. If no articles are selected, the current item
is selected (unless you've marked it as killed).
Z,TAB Begin reading. If no articles are selected, read(2,n,1 builtins) all unread
articles.
'.' Toggle the current item's selection (the one under the cursor).
* Same as '.' except that it affects all articles with the same
subject (useful in(1,8) the article selector).
# Make an overriding selection that reads the current item only,
temporarily ignoring all other selections.
k, ',' Mark the current item as killed.
m, \ Unmark the current item.
- Set a range, as in(1,8) a - k. Repeats the last marking action:
selection, deselection, killing, or unmarking.
@ Toggle all visible selections.
M Mark the current item's article(s) to return on newsgroup exit(3,n,1 builtins)
and kill(1,2,1 builtins) the item.
Y Yank back and select(2,7,2 select_tut) the marked-to-return articles, clearing
their to-return status.
E Exclude all unselected items from the selection list (narrow
the display). Press it again to pick from all available items.
n, ] Move down to the next item (try the down-arrow keypad key
also).
p, [ Move up to the previous item (try the up-arrow keypad key
also).
< Go to previous page (try the left-arrow keypad key also).
> Go to next page (try the right-arrow keypad key also).
^ Go to the first page.
$ Go to the last page.
S Set the items the selector displays: threads, subjects or arti-
cles. If the group is unthreaded setting this to threads will
thread the group.
= Switch between the article selector and the subject/thread
selector.
O Pick the order for the items: date, subject, author, item count
(for thread/subject groups), and a subject-date grouping of
individual articles. Typing the selection in(1,8) lower-case will
sort(1,3) the articles in(1,8) the default direction, while using upper-
case will reverse the sort. There is a separate default sort(1,3)
order for the subject/thread selector and the article selector.
See the -O option to set(7,n,1 builtins) your favorite selector mode and sort(1,3)
order as the default.
R Reverse the current sort(1,3) order.
L Switch the selector's display between the long, medium and
short display styles. See the -x option to set(7,n,1 builtins) your favorite
style as the default.
U Switch between selecting unread/read(2,n,1 builtins) articles.
X Mark all unselected articles as read(2,n,1 builtins) and start reading.
D Mark unselected articles on the current page as read(2,n,1 builtins) and begin
reading if(3,n) articles are selected, otherwise go to the next
page.
J Mark all selected articles as read(2,n,1 builtins) (useful after performing
some action on them with the ':' command).
c Catch up -- marks ALL articles as read(2,n,1 builtins) without affecting their
cross-posted counterparts.
A Add a subject-search command to the memorized list (a.k.a. a
KILL file(1,n)) for this group. You are prompted to choose selec-
tion (+), junking (j), selection including all replies (.) or
junking including all replies (,). If the thread has more than
one subject the first subject is the one chosen for the memo-
rized command.
T Add a thread-oriented command to the memorized list for this
group. You are prompted to choose selecting the thread (+),
junking the thread (j), or clearing the auto-selection/junking
for the thread (c). (Note: there are three other options ('.',
',', and 'C') on the article-reading level -- look(1,8,3 Search::Dict) there for an
explanation of their use.)
^K Edit the local list of memorized commands (a.k.a. a KILL file(1,n))
for this newsgroup. A detailed description of memorized com-
mands is found in(1,8) the Article Selection section.
:command
Apply a command to all the selected threads or their selected
articles. You can also use ":E" to end a binary extraction or
":p" to post a new article. Use "::command" to apply it to all
non-selected threads/articles.
Applicable commands include '+'/'-' (select(2,7,2 select_tut)/deselect an arti-
cle), "++"/"--" (select(2,7,2 select_tut)/deselect a thread), "T+" (auto-select
the entire thread), "TJ" (auto-junk the entire thread), 't'
(display article tree), "s dest" (save article to a destina-
tion), "e dir" (extract to directory), 'E' (end partial uude-
code), as well as: S, |, w, W, m, M, j, = and ','.
:.command
Apply a command to the current thread or the selected articles
in(1,8) the current thread. Use "::.command" to apply a command to
the unselected articles in(1,8) the current thread.
/pattern
Scan all articles for a subject containing pattern and select(2,7,2 select_tut)
it.
/pattern/modifiers:command{:command}
Apply the commands listed to articles matching the search com-
mand (possibly with h, a, b, r, or K modifiers). The default
action, if(3,n) no command is specified, is to select(2,7,2 select_tut) the article's
item in(1,8) the selector (e.g. the entire thread ("++") in(1,8) the
thread selector). See the section on Regular Expressions and
the description of pattern searching in(1,8) the Article Selection
section.
One example: to scan all the unread articles looking for
"topic" anywhere in(1,8) the article and then select(2,7,2 select_tut) its group and
save the articles to the files topic.1, topic.2, etc. use
"/topic/a:++:s topic.%#".
N Go to the next newsgroup with unread news.
P Go to the previous newsgroup with unread news.
& Display or set(7,n,1 builtins) the current status of command-line switches.
&& Display or set(7,n,1 builtins) the current macro definitions.
!command
Escape to a subshell.
q Quit this group.
ESC,+ Quit the selector to the article level. Note: ESC won't work
if(3,n) trn has mapped your arrow keys with default macros and the
first character that your arrow keys send(2,n) is an ESC.
Q Quit the current newsgroup and return to the newsgroup-selec-
tion prompt for this group.
Article-Reading Level
On the article-reading level, trn displays unread articles in(1,8) thread
sequence (reading each article and its replies before going on to
another topic) unless threads are disabled for a particular group, in(1,8)
which case the default order is the order they arrived at your site
(numeric sequence). In either case if(3,n) you use the subject-search com-
mand (^N) you will switch(1,n) to reading the articles in(1,8) date order within
each matching subject. (Making selections in(1,8) the subject selector or
using the -S switch(1,n) will automatically turn subject search mode on in(1,8)
an unthreaded group.)
On the article-reading level you are not asked whether you want to read(2,n,1 builtins)
an article before the article is displayed; rather, trn simply displays
the first page (or portion of a page, at low baud rates) of an article
and asks if(3,n) you want to continue. The normal article-reading prompt
comes at the END of an article (although article-reading commands can
also be given from within the middle of an article in(1,8) addition to the
pager level commands). The prompt at the end of an article looks like
this:
End of article 248 (of 257) -- what next? [npq]
The following are the options at this point:
n,SP Scan forward for next unread article. (Note: the 'n' (next)
command when typed at the end of an article does not mark the
article as read(2,n,1 builtins), since an article is automatically marked as
read(2,n,1 builtins) after the last line of it is printed. It is therefore
possible to type a sequence such as 'mn' and leave the article
marked as unread. The fact that an article is marked as read(2,n,1 builtins)
by typing n, N, ^N, F, R, e, s, S, |, w, or W within the MIDDLE
of the article is in(1,8) fact a special case.)
N Go to the next article.
^N Find the next article with the same subject in(1,8) date order.
This also makes subject search mode (^N) the default command at
the end of an article.
p Scan backward for previous unread article. If there is none,
stay at the current article.
P Go to the previous article.
- Go to the previously displayed article (regardless of whether
that article is before or after this article in(1,8) the normal
sequence).
^P Find the previous article with the same subject in(1,8) date order.
Makes subject search mode (^N) the default.
_N Go to the next article in(1,8) numeric sequence.
_P Go to the previous article in(1,8) numeric sequence.
<, > Browse the previous/next selected thread/subject. If no selec-
tions have been made, all the threads that had unread news when
you entered the newsgroup (or last left the selector) are
treated as selected. Entering an empty newsgroup makes all the
already-read threads available for browsing.
[, ] Proceed to the left/right in(1,8) the article tree. Visits already-
read(2,n,1 builtins) articles as well as empty nodes. Try using the
left-/right-arrow keys also.
{, } Go to the root/leaf of the article tree, even if(3,n) the node is
already read(2,n,1 builtins) or empty. Proceeds to the very first/last node if(3,n)
you're already at a root/leaf in(1,8) a multi-root thread.
(, ) Go to the previous/next sibling in(1,8) the thread, including
"cousin" siblings. Try using the up-/down-arrow keys also.
t Display the entire article tree and all its associated sub-
jects. If the group is not currently threaded, it will become
threaded to process this command.
^R Restart the current article.
v Restart the current article verbosely, displaying the entire
header.
^L Refresh the screen.
^X Restart the current article, and decrypt as a rot13 message.
X Refresh the screen, and decrypt as a rot13 message.
b Back up one page.
^E Display the last page of the article.
q Quit this newsgroup and go back to the newsgroup-selection
level.
^ Go to the first unread article.
$ Go to the last article (actually, one past the last article).
number Go to the numbered article.
_C Switch to next available charset conversion.
range{,range}:command{:command}
Apply a set(7,n,1 builtins) of commands to a set(7,n,1 builtins) of articles. A range consists
of either <article number> or <article number>-<article num-
ber>. A dot '.' represents the current article, and a dollar
sign '$' represents the last article.
Applicable commands include 'm' (mark as unread), 'M' (mark as
read-until-exit), 'j' (mark as read(2,n,1 builtins)), "s dest" (save to a des-
tination), "e dir" (extract to directory), "!command" (shell
escape), "=" (print the subject), '+'/'-' (select(2,7,2 select_tut)/deselect the
article), 'T+' (auto-select the entire thread), 'TJ' (auto-junk
the entire thread), "++"/"--" (select(2,7,2 select_tut)/deselect the associated
thread), 'C' (cancel), as well as S, |, w, W, and t.
:command
Apply a command to all the selected threads or their selected
articles. Use "::command" to apply it to all non-selected
threads/articles. For applicable commands, see the discussion
above for the range command.
:.command
Apply a command to the current thread or the selected articles
in(1,8) the current thread. Use "::.command" to apply a command to
the unselected articles in(1,8) the current thread.
j Junk the current article (i.e. mark it as read(2,n,1 builtins)). If this com-
mand is used from within an article, you are left at the end of
the article, unlike 'n', which looks for the next article.
m Mark the current article as still unread. (If you don't want
to see this article for a while you're probably better off
using M instead of m, otherwise this article might get picked
again as the first available article sooner than you'd like.)
M Mark the current article to return on newsgroup exit. Until
then, the current article will be marked as read. This is use-
ful for returning to an article in(1,8) another session.
Y Yank back the marked-to-return articles, clearing their to-
return status. If you are reading selected articles, the
yanked articles come back selected.
/pattern
Scan forward for article containing pattern in(1,8) the subject.
See the Regular Expressions section. Together with the escape
substitution facility described later, it becomes easy to
search for various attributes of the current article, such as
subject, article ID, author name, etc. The previous pattern
can be recalled with ESC. If pattern is omitted, the previous
pattern is assumed.
/pattern/f
Scan forward for article containing pattern in(1,8) the from line.
If you are using thread files the article data you are matching
against MAY contain only the real name of the user. If you
want to always match the full from line, see the following
header-matching option that will read(2,n,1 builtins) in(1,8) the full from-line
data if(3,n) it is not already available.
/pattern/Hheader
Scan forward for article containing pattern in(1,8) the indicated
header. Because we scan the entire string(3,n) up to the end of the
modifiers, this modifier must be the last one. For example,
"/jsmoe@somesite.com/rHfrom:m+" will mark all articles from
"jsmoe@somesite.com" as unread and select(2,7,2 select_tut) them. Note that if(3,n)
the header line isn't one that trn recognizes in(1,8) its header
parser, you'll have to use the following full-header matching.
/pattern/h
Scan forward for an article containing pattern in(1,8) the header.
/pattern/a
Scan forward for an article containing pattern anywhere in(1,8) the
article.
/pattern/b
Scan forward for an article containing pattern in(1,8) the body of
the article, but not the signature. (The signature must be
properly delimited to be ignored, however.)
/pattern/B
Scan forward for an article containing pattern anywhere in(1,8) the
body of the article.
/pattern/r
Scan read(2,n,1 builtins) articles also.
/pattern/c
Make search case sensitive. Ordinarily upper- and lower-case
are considered the same.
/pattern/t
Force the search to start at the top of the group (useful while
reading the group, since the default is to start at the current
article).
/pattern/I
Force the search to ignore the THRU line when executed as a
memorized command. If the command portion is a selection com-
mand (i.e. it starts with a '+' or a '.') this is the default
behavior.
/pattern/N
Force the search to NOT ignore the THRU line when executed as a
memorized command (useful on selection commands -- see also
-k).
/pattern/modifiers:command{:command}
Apply the commands listed to articles matching the search com-
mand (possibly with h, a, b, or r modifiers). Applicable com-
mands include 'm' (mark as UNread), 'M' (mark as read-until-
exit(3,n,1 builtins)), 'j' (junk -- mark as read(2,n,1 builtins) in(1,8) all groups), 'x' (mark as
read(2,n,1 builtins) in(1,8) this group), "s dest" (save to a dest), "e dir"
(extract to dir), "!command" (shell escape), "=" (print the
subject), '+' (select(2,7,2 select_tut) the article), '-' deselect the article,
'T+' (auto-select the entire thread), 'TJ' (auto-junk the
entire thread), "++" (select(2,7,2 select_tut) the associated thread), "--" dese-
lect the associated thread), and 'C' (cancel). If the first
command is 'm' or 'M', modifier r is assumed. A K may be
included in(1,8) the modifiers (not the commands) to cause the
entire command (sans K) to be saved to the local KILL file(1,n),
where it will be applied to every article that shows up in(1,8) the
newsgroup.
For example, to save all articles in(1,8) a given newsgroup to the
line printer and mark them read(2,n,1 builtins), use "/^/|lpr:j". If you type
"/^/K|lpr:j", this will happen every time(1,2,n) you enter the news-
group.
?pattern
Scan backward for article containing pattern in(1,8) the subject.
May be modified as the forward search is: ?pattern?modi-
fiers[:commands]. It is likely that you will want an r modi-
fier when scanning backward.
k Mark as read(2,n,1 builtins) all articles with the same subject as the current
article. (Note: there is no single character command to tempo-
rarily mark as read(2,n,1 builtins) (M command) articles matching the current
subject. That can be done with "/<ESC>s/M", however.)
Mark the current article and all its replies as read.
J Junk all the articles in(1,8) the current thread, even if(3,n) it con-
tains multiple subjects.
A Add a subject-search command to the memorized list for this
group (in(1,8) the KILL file(1,n)). You are prompted to choose selection
(+), junking (j), selection including all replies (.) or junk-
ing including all replies (,).
K This is a synonym for the command "Aj" which adds a command to
junk the current subject to the memorized commands for the
group. See also the K modifier on searches above.
T Add a thread-oriented command to the memorized list for this
group. You are prompted to choose selection of entire thread
(+), junking of entire thread (j), selection of an article and
its replies (.), junking of an article and its replies (,),
clearing the auto-selection/junking for this thread (c), or
clearing the auto-selection/junking for an article and its
replies (C).
^K Edit the local list of memorized commands (a.k.a. a KILL file(1,n))
for this newsgroup. Each line of the KILL file(1,n) is either a
subject-affecting command of the form /pattern/x or a thread-
affecting command of the form <message-id> Tx. The first line
in(1,8) the KILL file(1,n) has the form "THRU <number>", which tells trn
the maximum article number that the KILL file(1,n) has been applied
to. The THRU value is usually only used to keep header or
article searches from happening multiple times. Subject and
from-line searches are quite fast if(3,n) the group has cached data
around (e.g. a .thread or .overview file(1,n)). If it doesn't, the
THRU line is used to set(7,n,1 builtins) a lower boundary on the search to keep
the startup time(1,2,n) as short as possible. If trn skipped some
selections (or you're not sure), wait for the group to finish
being cached (e.g. visiting the selector forces the caching of
all unread articles), quit the group, and re-enter.
To see only newgroup articles in(1,8) the control newsgroup, for
instance, you might include the line
/newgroup/:+
which selects all subjects containing "newgroup". You can add
lines automatically via the A and T commands as well as the K
search modifier, but editing is the only way to remove subject
commands (thread commands die automatically as the thread
dies). If either of the environment variables VISUAL or EDITOR
is set(7,n,1 builtins), the specified editor will be invoked; otherwise a
default editor (normally vi) is invoked on the KILL file.
The KILL file(1,n) may also contain switch-setting lines beginning
with '&' (see the section on "Options") and special commands
beginning with '*'. There are two such commands at the moment:
"*j" (junk all articles from THRU to the end of the group) and
"*X" (junk all unselected articles from THRU to the end of the
group). Additionally, any line beginning with 'X' is executed
on exit(3,n,1 builtins) from the newsgroup rather than on entrance. This can
be used to set(7,n,1 builtins) switches back to a default value. One use for
this capability is to set(7,n,1 builtins) your save directory to a custom value
upon entry to a newsgroup and set(7,n,1 builtins) it back on exit(3,n,1 builtins) using the
-ESAVEDIR option. See also the -/ option for another solution
to multiple save directories without using KILL files.
r Reply through net mail. The environment variables MAILPOSTER
and MAILHEADER may be used to modify the mailing behavior of
trn (see the environment section). If the current article does
not exist (such as the "End of newsgroup" pseudo-article you
can get to with a '$' command), invokes the mailer to nobody in(1,8)
particular.
R Reply, including the current article in(1,8) the header file(1,n) gener-
ated. (See 'F' command below). The YOUSAID environment vari-
able controls the format of the attribution line.
^F Forward the current article.
f Submit a follow-up article. If the current article does not
exist (such as the "End of newsgroup" pseudo-article you can
get to with a '$' command), posts an original (root) article.
F Submit a follow-up article, and include the old article, with
lines prefixed either by ">" or by the argument to the -F
switch. Trn will attempt to provide an attribution line in(1,8)
front of the quoted article, generated from the From: line of
the article. Unfortunately, the From: line doesn't always con-
tain the right name; you should double check it against the
signature and change it if(3,n) necessary, or you may have to apolo-
gize for quoting the wrong person. The environment variables
NEWSPOSTER, NEWSHEADER and ATTRIBUTION may be used to modify
the posting behavior of trn (see environment section).
C Cancel the current article, but only if(3,n) you are the contributor
or superuser.
z Supersede the current article, but only if(3,n) you are the contrib-
utor.
Z Same as the 'z' command, but you start with a copy of the orig-
inal article to work with.
c Catch up in(1,8) this newsgroup; i.e., mark all articles as read.
U Unkill articles. You can choose to unkill the current thread,
sub-thread (the current article and its replies), all the arti-
cles, or start up the selector to choose specific articles to
unkill.
u Unsubscribe from this newsgroup.
s destination
Save to a filename or pipe(2,8) using sh. If the first character of
the destination is a vertical bar, the rest of the command is
considered a shell command to which the article is passed
through standard input. The command is subject to filename
expansion. (See also the environment variable PIPESAVER.) If
the destination does not begin with a vertical bar, the rest of
the command is assumed to be a filename of some sort. An ini-
tial tilde '~' will be translated to the name of the home
directory, and an initial environment variable substitution is
also allowed. If only a directory name is specified, the envi-
ronment variable SAVENAME is used to generate the actual name.
If a non-absolute filename is specified, the environment vari-
able SAVEDIR will be used to generate the actual directory. If
nothing is specified, then obviously both variables will be
used. Since the current directory for trn while doing a save
command is your private news directory, typing "s ./filename"
will force the file(1,n) to your news directory. Save commands are
also run through % interpretation, so that you can enter "s
%O/filename" to save to the directory you were in(1,8) when you ran
trn, and "s %t" to save to a filename consisting of the Inter-
net address of the sender.
After generating the full pathname of the file(1,n) to save to, trn
determines if(3,n) the file(1,n) exists already, and if(3,n) so, appends to
it. trn will attempt to determine if(3,n) an existing file(1,n) is a
mailbox or a normal file(1,n), and save the article in(1,8) the same for-
mat. If the output file(1,n) does not yet exist, trn will by
default ask you which format you want, or you can make it skip
the question with either the -M or -N switch. If the article
is to be saved in(1,8) mailbox format, the command to do so is gen-
erated from the environment variable MBOXSAVER. Otherwise,
NORMSAVER is used.
S destination
Save to a filename or pipe(2,8) using a preferred shell, such as
csh. Which shell is used depends first on what you have the
environment variable SHELL set(7,n,1 builtins) to, and in(1,8) the absence of that,
on what your news administrator set(7,n,1 builtins) for the preferred shell
when he or she installed trn.
| command
Shorthand for "s | command".
w destination
The same as "s destination", but saves without the header.
W destination
The same as "S destination", but saves without the header.
e directory
Extract a shell archive or uuencoded binary to the designated
directory. The article is first scanned to try discover(1,3,5) what
type of data is encapsulated. If a "cut here" line is found,
the first non-blank line after it must be either the start of a
shar header, or the "begin" or "table" line of a uuencoded
binary. The default for extracting shars is to send(2,n) the data
portion of the file(1,n) to /bin/sh, but that can be overridden with
the UNSHAR variable (see the ENVIRONMENT section). Uudecoding
is done internally by a decoder that can handle the data being
split(1,n) up over multiple articles, and extracted one piece at a
time. To decode a multi-article file(1,n), either execute the 'e'
command in(1,8) each article in(1,8) sequence, use an article range to
execute the command, or use the ":e" command to repeat the com-
mand for each of the currently selected articles. When the 'e'
command is not followed by any arguments, it will repeat the
arguments from the last extraction. All directory specifica-
tions are relative to the value of SAVEDIR, so you can use the
command "e ." to force an extraction to SAVEDIR itself. If a
uudecoding is in(1,8) progress (i.e. the last piece wasn't extracted
yet) and you exit(3,n,1 builtins) the group, the partial file(1,n) will be removed.
This also occurs if(3,n) you start to extract a new uuencoded file(1,n)
before the previous one was finished. See also the 'E' command
for ending a multi-part uudecoding manually.
There is one special case that is handled differently: if(3,n) the
first file(1,n) in(1,8) a recognizable shar file(1,n) is a uuencoded binary
that was packed with lines starting with an 'X', we will not
unshar the file(1,n) but instead uudecode it. If this causes prob-
lems, you can override the default extraction method by follow-
ing the directory with an explicit command to execute, as
described below.
e directory|command
This form of the 'e' command allows you to extract other data
formats than shar or uuencoded files or to override the deci-
sions made by the automatic extraction selection described
above. In normal operation, all data following what we recog-
nize as a "cut here" line will be sent to the specified com-
mand. Additionally, the distinctive beginning of a shell ar-
chive is also recognized without a preceding cut line. When
the command is run, the default directory will be set(7,n,1 builtins) to the
specified directory, or the value of SAVEDIR if(3,n) unspecified.
Entering the 'e' command without arguments will repeat your
previous extract command. You can use the command "e dir|" to
extract to a new directory using the previously-specified com-
mand.
E This command ends any multi-part uuencoded file(1,n) extraction that
you began, but are unable (or unwilling) to complete. The par-
tially extracted file(1,n) is removed.
& Print out the current status of command-line switches.
&switch(1,n) {switch(1,n)}
Set additional command-line switches.
&& Print out current macro definitions.
&&keys commands
Define an additional macro.
!command
Escape to a subshell. One exclamation mark (!) leaves you in(1,8)
your own news directory. A double exclamation mark (!!) leaves
you in(1,8) the spool directory of the current newsgroup. The envi-
ronment variable SHELL will be used if(3,n) defined. If command is
null, an interactive shell is started.
You can use escape key substitutions described later to get to
many run-time values. The command is also run through % inter-
pretation, in(1,8) case it is being called from a range or search
command.
+ Start the selector in(1,8) the last-used mode. If the newsgroup is
unthreaded and the default selector mode is threads, we tempo-
rarily switch(1,n) to subject selection unless manually overridden.
_a Start the selector in(1,8) article mode.
_s Start the selector in(1,8) subject mode.
_t Start the selector in(1,8) thread mode.
_T Start the selector in(1,8) thread mode unless the group isn't
threaded, in(1,8) which case we settle for the subject selector.
= List subjects of unread articles.
# Print last article number.
_+ Select the entire thread associated with the current article.
_- Deselect the entire thread associated with the current article.
Pager Level
At the pager level (within an article), the prompt looks like this:
--MORE--(17%)
and a number of commands may be given:
SP Display next page.
x Display next page and decrypt as a rot13 message.
d Display half a page more.
CR Display one more line.
q Go to the end of the current article (don't mark it either read(2,n,1 builtins)
or unread). Leaves you at the "What next?" prompt.
j Junk the current article. Mark it read(2,n,1 builtins) and go to the end of
the article.
^L Refresh the screen.
X Refresh the screen and decrypt as a rot13 message.
b Back up one page.
^E Display the last page of the article.
_C Switch to next available charset conversion.
t Display the entire article tree, including its associated sub-
jects, and continue reading. If the group is not currently
threaded, it will be threaded first.
gpattern
Goto (search forward for) pattern within current article. Note
that there is no space between the command and the pattern. If
the pattern is found, the page containing the pattern will be
displayed. Where on the page the line matching the pattern
goes depends on the value of the -g switch. By default the
matched line goes at the top of the screen.
G Search for g pattern again.
^G This is a special version(1,3,5) of the 'g' command that is for skip-
ping articles in(1,8) a digest. It is equivalent to setting "-g4"
and then executing the command "g^Subject:".
TAB This is another special version(1,3,5) of the 'g' command that is for
skipping inclusions of older articles. It is equivalent to
setting "-g4" and then executing the command "g^[^c]", where c
is the first character of the last line on the screen. It
searches for the first line that doesn't begin with the same
character as the last line on the screen.
!command
Escape to a subshell.
The following commands skip the rest of the current article, then
behave just as if(3,n) typed to the "What next?" prompt at the end of the
article. See the documentation at the article selection level for
these commands.
# $ & / = ? A c C f F k K T ^K J , m M r R ^R u U v Y ^
p P ^P - < > [ ] { } number
range{,range} command{:command}
The following commands also skip to the end of the article, but have
the additional effect of marking the current article as read:
n N ^N e s S | w W
Miscellaneous facts about commands
An 'n' typed at either the "Last newsgroup" prompt or a "Last article"
prompt will cycle back to the top of the newsgroup or article list,
whereas a 'q' will quit the level. (Note that 'n' does not mean "no",
but rather "next".) A space will of course do whatever is shown as the
default, which will vary depending on whether trn thinks you have more
articles or newsgroups to read.
The 'b' (backup page) command may be repeated until the beginning of
the article is reached. If trn is suspended (via a ^Z), then when the
job is resumed, a refresh (^L) will automatically be done (Berkeley-
type systems only). If you type a command such as '!' or 's' which
takes you from the middle of the article to the end, you can always get
back into the middle by typing '^L'.
In multi-character commands such as '!', 's', '/', etc, you can inter-
polate various run-time values by typing escape and a character. To
find out what you can interpolate, type escape and 'h', or check out
the single character % substitutions for environment variables in(1,8) the
Interpretation and Interpolation section, which are the same. Addi-
tionally, typing a double escape will cause any % substitutions in(1,8) the
string(3,n) already typed in(1,8) to be expanded.
The Tree Display
When reading a threaded newsgroup, trn displays a character representa-
tion of the article tree in(1,8) the upper right corner of the header. For
example, consider the following display:
(1)+-(1)--(2)--[2]
|-(1)+-<3>
| \-[1]
\-(1)+-[1]--[1]
\-[1]
This tree represents an initial article that has three direct replies
(the second column with three (1)'s). Each reply has further replies
branching off from them. In two cases the subject line was altered in(1,8)
the reply, as indicated by the increasing numbers.
The third subject is not selected for reading, as indicated by the
<>'s. Note you can always forcefully visit an unselected article with
'N' and 'P' as well as the thread-navagation commands (which are typi-
cally macro'ed to the arrow keys on your keypad).
When there is only one subject associated with a thread, all the nodes
are marked with the number 1. When the first subject change arrives,
it is marked with the number 2, and so on. If you were to look(1,8,3 Search::Dict) at this
thread in(1,8) the thread selector, the three subjects associated with it
would be listed in(1,8) the same order as the ascending digits. In those
rare cases where more than 9 subjects are associated with each thread,
the nodes are marked with the letters A-Z, and then by a-z.
The articles that have already been read(2,n,1 builtins) are enclosed in(1,8) ()'s, Unread
articles are displayed in(1,8) []'s, and unread-but-unselected articles are
displayed in(1,8) <>'s. The currently displayed article has its entire node
highlighted in(1,8) the display. The previously displayed article has only
its number highlighted. If the group has not been completely threaded
yet, some articles will appear as (?) until trn can determine if(3,n) the
referenced article truly exists or not. If you visit such an article
and wait for trn to finish threading the group, the screen will refresh
as soon as the presence or absence of the article is determined.
Options
Trn has a nice(1,2) set(7,n,1 builtins) of options to allow you to tailor the interaction to
your liking. (You might like to know that the author swears by "-x6ms
+e -mu -S -XX -N -B -p".) These options may be set(7,n,1 builtins) on the command
line, via the TRNINIT environment variable, via a file(1,n) pointed to by
the TRNINIT variable, or from within trn via the & command. Options
may generally be unset by typing "+switch(1,n)". Options include:
-a causes trn to always thread the unread articles on entry to a
group. Without this option trn may enter a group in(1,8) a partially-
threaded state and process the unthreaded articles in(1,8) the back-
ground. The down side of this is that the tree display may not be
complete when it is first displayed and you may start out at an
odd position in(1,8) the first thread's article tree.
-A tells trn to attempt to create some default macros that will map
your arrow keys to useful trn functions (this is the default).
Use +A to turn this behavior off.
-b will force trn to read(2,n,1 builtins) each thread in(1,8) a breadth-first order,
rather than depth-first.
-B will turn on a spinner that twirls when trn is doing background
article-processing. A gizmo for those interested in(1,8) what's going
on behind the scenes.
-c checks for news without reading news. If a list of newsgroups is
given on the command line, only those newsgroups will be checked;
otherwise all subscribed-to newsgroups are checked. Whenever the
-c switch(1,n) is specified, a non-zero exit(3,n,1 builtins) status from trn means that
there is unread news in(1,8) one of the checked newsgroups. The -c
switch(1,n) does not disable the printing of newsgroups with unread
news; this is controlled by the -s switch. (The -c switch(1,n) is not
meaningful when given via the & command.)
-C<number>
tells trn how often to checkpoint the .newsrc, in(1,8) articles read.
Actually, this number says when to start thinking about doing a
checkpoint if(3,n) the situation is right. If a reasonable check-
pointing situation doesn't arise within 10 more articles, the
.newsrc is check-pointed willy-nilly.
-d<directory name>
sets your private news directory to something other than ~/News.
The directory name will be globbed (via csh) if(3,n) necessary (and if(3,n)
possible). The value of SAVEDIR (where articles are saved) is
initially set(7,n,1 builtins) to this directory, but is often manipulated via the
-/ option or by manipulating SAVEDIR directly (perhaps via the
memorized commands (the KILL file(1,n)) for a group. Any KILL files
(see the K command in(1,8) the Article Selection section) also reside
in(1,8) this directory and its subdirectories, by default. In addi-
tion, shell escapes leave you in(1,8) this directory.
-D<flags>
enables debugging output. See common.h for flag values. Warning:
normally trn attempts to restore your .newsrc when an unexpected
signal(2,7) or internal error(8,n) occurs. This is disabled when any debug-
ging flags are set.
-e causes each page within an article to be started at the top of the
screen, not just the first page. (It is similar to the -c switch(1,n)
of more(1).) You never have to read(2,n,1 builtins) scrolling text with this
switch. This is helpful especially at certain baud rates because
you can start reading the top of the next page without waiting for
the whole page to be printed. It works nicely in(1,8) conjunction with
the -m switch(1,n), especially if(3,n) you use half-intensity for your high-
light mode. See also the -L switch.
-E<name>=<val>
sets the environment variable <name> to the value specified.
Within trn, "&-ESAVENAME=%t" is similar to "setenv SAVENAME '%t'"
in(1,8) csh, or "SAVENAME='%t'; export SAVENAME" in(1,8) sh. Any environ-
ment variables set(7,n,1 builtins) with -E will be inherited by subprocesses of
trn.
-f will make trn avoid various sleep(1,3) calls and the prompt after the
processing of the memorized commands that are intended to allow
you time(1,2,n) to read(2,n,1 builtins) a message before the screen clears. This allows
the advanced user to cruise along a little faster at the expense
of readability. The -t (terse) option turns on -f by default, but
you can override this by specifying +f after the -t option.
-F<string(3,n)>
sets the prefix string(3,n) for the 'F' follow-up command to use in(1,8)
prefixing each line of the quoted article. For example, "-F<tab>"
inserts a tab on the front of each line (which will cause long
lines to wrap around, unfortunately), "-F>>>>" inserts ">>>>" on
every line, and "-F" by itself causes nothing to be inserted, in(1,8)
case you want to reformat the text, for instance. The initial
default prefix is ">".
-g<line>
tells trn which line of the screen you want searched-for strings
to show up on when you search with the 'g' command within an arti-
cle. The lines are numbered starting with 1. The initial default
is "-g1", meaning the first line of the screen. Setting the line
to less(1,3) than 1 or more than the number of lines on the screen will
set(7,n,1 builtins) it to the last line of the screen.
-G selects the "fuzzy" processing on the go command when you don't
type in(1,8) a valid group name. With this option on trn will attempt
to find the group you probably meant to type, but it can be a lit-
tle slow about it, so it's not on by default.
-h<string(3,n)>
hides (disables the printing of) all header lines beginning with
string(3,n). For instance, -hx- will disable the printing of all "X-
Foo:" headers. Case is not significant. The default for unrecog-
nized headers can be set(7,n,1 builtins) with the -hunrecognized option. Alter-
nately you could use -h (no string(3,n)) to disable all headers except
the Subject line and then use +h to select(2,7,2 select_tut) only those lines you
want to see. You may wish to use the baud-rate switch(1,n) modifier
below to hide more lines at lower baud rates.
-H<string(3,n)>
works just like -h except that instead of setting the hiding flag
for a header line, it sets the magic(4,5) flag for that header line.
Certain header lines have magic(4,5) behavior that can be controlled
this way. At present, the following actions are caused by the
flag for the particular line: the Date line prints the date in(1,8)
local time(1,2,n) if(3,n) the group is threaded; the From line will only print
the commented portion of the user name; the Newsgroups line will
only print when there are multiple newsgroups; the Subject line
will be underlined and (when threaded) the keyword 'Subject:' is
replaced by its subject number (e.g. [1]); and the Expires line
will always be suppressed if(3,n) there is nothing on it. In fact, all
of these actions are the default, and you must use +H to undo
them.
-i=<number>
specifies how long (in(1,8) lines) to consider the initial page of an
article -- normally this is determined automatically depending on
baud rate. (Note that an entire article header will always be
printed regardless of the specified initial page length. If you
are working at low baud rate and wish to reduce the size of the
headers, you may hide certain header lines with the -h switch.)
-I tells trn to append all new, unsubscribed groups to the end of the
.newsrc.
-j forces trn to leave control characters unmolested in(1,8) messages.
-J{<number>}
causes trn to join(1,n) similar subjects into a common thread if(3,n) they
are the same up to the indicated number of characters (the default
is 30). You can turn this on and off for specific groups by
putting the following lines into your kill(1,2,1 builtins) file(1,n) for the group(s):
&-J30
X&+J
-k tells trn to ignore the THRU line when processing selection
searches (i.e. searches with a command portion that starts with a
'+' or a '.') in(1,8) the memorized commands (aka kill(1,2,1 builtins) files). This is
turned on by default, so use +k if(3,n) you want to turn it off.
-K is used to keep a trn from checking for new news while you're in(1,8)
the group. Use this when your kill-file processing is so slow
that you don't want the group to expand while you're reading. If
you only want specific groups to be affected, put these lines into
your kill(1,2,1 builtins) file(1,n) for the group(s):
&-K
X&+K
-l disables the clearing of the screen at the beginning of each arti-
cle, in(1,8) case you have a bizarre terminal.
-L tells trn to leave information on the screen as long as possible
by not blanking the screen between pages, and by using clear(1,3x,3x clrtobot) to
end-of-line. (The more(1) program does this.) This feature works
only if(3,n) you have the requisite termcap capabilities. The switch(1,n)
has no effect unless the -e switch(1,n) is set.
-m=<mode>
enables the marking of the last line of the previous page printed,
to help the user see where to continue reading. This is most
helpful when less(1,3) than a full page is going to be displayed. It
may also be used in(1,8) conjunction with the -e switch(1,n), in(1,8) which case
the page is erased, and the first line (which is the last line of
the previous page) is highlighted. If -m=s is specified, the
standout mode will be used, but if(3,n) -m=u is specified, underlining
will be used. If neither =s or =u is specified, standout is the
default. Use +m to disable highlighting.
-M forces mailbox format in(1,8) creating new save files. Ordinarily you
are asked which format you want.
-N forces normal (non-mailbox) format in(1,8) creating new save files.
Ordinarily you are asked which format you want.
-o will act like old versions of trn and not junk cross-referenced
articles when using thread commands to junk articles in(1,8) the cur-
rent group (such as the selector's 'X' command).
-O<mode>{<order>}
specifies the selector's mode and (optionally) the sort(1,3) order.
The modes are 'a'rticle, 's'ubject, or 't'hread. The orders are
'd'ate, 's'ubject, 'a'uthor, article 'c'ount per group, 'n'umeric,
or subject-date 'g'roups. The order can be capitalized to reverse
the indicated order. For example, to choose the article selector
in(1,8) subject order specify "-Oas".
-p{opt}
tells trn to auto-select your postings and their replies as it
encounters them in(1,8) the various groups you read. The optional
parameter is either a '.', 'p', or '+' (it defaults to '.' if(3,n)
omitted) and affects what command trn should execute when it
encounters your postings. The default is to execute the command
"T." on each of your postings which tells trn to memorize the
auto-selection of this article and all its replies. Using -pp
tells trn to use the same command, but start the selection with
the parent article, so that you see any other replies to the same
article. Using -p+ tells trn to select(2,7,2 select_tut) the whole thread that con-
tains your reply.
-q bypasses the automatic check for new newsgroups when starting trn.
-Q<set(7,n,1 builtins)>
defines the set(7,n,1 builtins) of available charset conversions. This can be use-
ful to restrict the available conversions to those your terminal
can handle and/or to specify an alternate default. The first ele-
ment of this set(7,n,1 builtins) is taken as default for each article.
-r causes trn to restart in(1,8) the last newsgroup read(2,n,1 builtins) during a previous
session with trn. It is equivalent to starting up normally and
then getting to the newsgroup with a g command.
-s with no argument suppresses the initial listing of newsgroups with
unread news, whether -c is specified or not. Thus -c and -s can
be used together to test "silently" the status of news from within
your .login file. If -s is followed by a number, the initial
listing is suppressed after that many lines have been listed.
Presuming that you have your .newsrc sorted into order of inter-
est, -s5 will tell you the 5 most interesting newsgroups that have
unread news. This is also a nice(1,2) feature to use in(1,8) your .login
file(1,n), since it not only tells you whether there is unread news,
but also how important the unread news is, without having to wade
through the entire list of unread newsgroups. If no -s switch(1,n) is
given -s5 is assumed, so just putting "rn -c" into your .login
file(1,n) is fine.
-S<number>
causes trn to enter subject search mode (^N) automatically when-
ever an unthreaded newsgroup is started up with <number> unread
articles or more. Additionally, it causes any 'n' typed while in(1,8)
subject search mode to be interpreted as '^N' instead. (To get
back out of subject search mode, the best command is probably
'^'.) If <number> is omitted, 3 is assumed.
-t puts(3,n) trn into terse mode. This is more cryptic but useful for low
baud rates. (Note that your system administrator may have com-
piled trn with either verbose or terse messages only to save mem-
ory.) You may wish to use the baud-rate switch(1,n) modifier below to
enable terse mode only at lower baud rates.
-T allows you to type ahead of trn. Ordinarily trn will eat typea-
head to prevent your autorepeating space bar from doing a very
frustrating thing when you accidentally hold it down. If you
don't have a repeating space bar, or you are working at low baud
rate, you can set(7,n,1 builtins) this switch(1,n) to prevent this behavior. You may
wish to use the baud-rate switch(1,n) modifier below to disable typea-
head only at lower baud rates.
-u sets the unbroken-subject-line mode in(1,8) the selector, which simply
truncates subjects that are too long instead of dumping the middle
portion prior to the last two words of the subject.
-U tells trn to not write(1,2) the .newsrc file(1,n) out after visiting each
group. While this is "unsafe" it can be faster if(3,n) you have a
really huge .newsrc.
-v sets verification mode for commands. When set(7,n,1 builtins), the command being
executed is displayed to give some feedback that the key has actu-
ally been typed. Useful when the system is heavily loaded and you
give a command that takes a while to start up.
-V will output trn's version(1,3,5) number and quit.
-x{<number>}{<list>}
Enable the extended (threaded) features of trn beyond the rn com-
patibility mode (this may be the default on your system, use +x if(3,n)
you yearn for the good ol' days). The <number> is the maximum
number of article-tree lines (from 0 to 11) you want displayed in(1,8)
your header. Use the <list> to choose which thread selector
styles you like ('s'hort, 'm'edium, or 'l'ong), and in(1,8) what order
they are selected with the 'L' command. For example, use -xms to
start with the medium display mode and only switch(1,n) between it and
the short mode. You can omit either or both of the parameters, in(1,8)
which case a default of -x6lms is assumed.
-X{<number>}{<commands>}
If you like using the selector, you'll probably want to use this
option to make the selector command (+) the default when a news-
group is started up with at least <number> unread articles. (Your
installer may have chosen to make -X0 the default on your system.)
It is also used to select(2,7,2 select_tut) which commands you want to be the
defaults while using the thread selector. For example, -X2XD will
make the thread selector the default command for entering a news-
group with at least 2 unread articles, and set(7,n,1 builtins) the default command
for the LAST page of the thread selector to be the X command and
the default command for all other pages to be the D command.
Either or both parameters can be omitted, as well as the second
default command (e.g. -XX would change the default newsgroup
entry to use the selector and the default command for the last
page of the selector to be 'X'). The default is -X0Z> if(3,n) just -X
is specified. To set(7,n,1 builtins) the default selector commands without having
'+' be the default entry into a newsgroup, specify a high number,
like 9999.
-z sets the minimum number of minutes that must elapse before the
active file(1,n) is refetched to look(1,8,3 Search::Dict) for new articles. A value of 0
or using +z turns this off.
-Z is used to select(2,7,2 select_tut) what style of database you want trn to access.
Use -Zt for thread files, -Zo for overview files, and +Z for none.
The default is whatever your newsadmin compiled into trn, and can
be -Zot to try to access(2,5) either one.
-/ sets SAVEDIR to "%p/%c" and SAVENAME to "%a", which means that by
default articles are saved in(1,8) a subdirectory of your private news
directory corresponding to the name of the the current newsgroup,
with the filename being the article number. +/ sets SAVEDIR to
"%p" and SAVENAME to "%^C", which by default saves articles
directly to your private news directory, with the filename being
the name of the current newsgroup, first letter capitalized.
(Either +/ or -/ may be default on your system, depending on the
feelings of your news administrator when he, she or it installed
trn.) You may, of course, explicitly set(7,n,1 builtins) SAVEDIR and SAVENAME to
other values -- see discussion in(1,8) the environment section.
Any switch(1,n) may be selectively applied according to the current baud-
rate. Simply prefix the switch(1,n) with +speed to apply the switch(1,n) at that
speed or greater, and -speed to apply the switch(1,n) at that speed or less.
Examples: -1200-hposted suppresses the Posted line at 1200 baud or
less(1,3); +9600-m enables marking at 9600 baud or more. You can apply the
modifier recursively to itself also: +300-1200-t sets terse mode from
300 to 1200 baud.
Similarly, switches may be selected based on terminal type:
-=vt100+T set(7,n,1 builtins) +T on vt100
-=tvi920-ETERM=mytvi get a special termcap entry
-=tvi920-ERNMACRO=%./.rnmac.tvi
set(7,n,1 builtins) up special key-mappings
+=paper-v set(7,n,1 builtins) verify(1,8) mode if(3,n) not hardcopy
Some switch(1,n) arguments, such as environment variable values, may require
spaces in(1,8) them. Such spaces should be quoted via ", ', or \ in(1,8) the
conventional fashion, even when passed via TRNINIT or the & command.
Regular Expressions
The patterns used in(1,8) article searching are regular expressions such as
those used by ed(1). In addition, \w matches an alphanumeric character
and \W a non-alphanumeric. Word boundaries may be matched by \b, and
non-boundaries by \B. The bracketing construct \( ... \) may also be
used, and \digit matches the digit'th substring, where digit can range
from 1 to 9. \0 matches whatever the last bracket match matched. Up
to 10 alternatives may given in(1,8) a pattern, separated by \|, with the
caveat that \( ... \| ... \) is illegal.
Character Set Conversions
trn can use character set(7,n,1 builtins) conversions when displaying articles. This
helps users(1,5) in(1,8) non-English-speaking countries to display special char-
acters on 7-bit displays. trn assumes that articles use the ISO-8859-1
character set(7,n,1 builtins) and converts the special characters (e.g., "umlauts") to
a string(3,n) of ASCII characters. Currently the following conversions are
supported (see the -Q option):
p Plain. No change. This is the default.
a ISO->ASCII. Special characters are mapped to ASCII, e.g. the
umlaut-o character becomes oe.
m ISO->ASCII monospaced. Special characters are mapped to exactly
one similar-looking ASCII character, e.g. umlaut-o becomes o. Used
where correct spacing is more important than accuracy.
t TeX->ISO. Assuming your display can handle the ISO-8859-1 charset,
trn transforms umlauts in(1,8) the TeX notation, which is commonly used
in(1,8) Germany, to real ISO characters, e.g. "a becomes umlaut-a.
The selected conversion, if(3,n) different from p, will be displayed in(1,8) the
article level and pager prompt. The conversion is also used when
including original articles in(1,8) a reply or followup. It is not used when
saving articles to files.
Interpretation and Interpolation
Many of the strings that trn handles are subject to interpretations of
several types. Under filename expansion, an initial "~/" is translated
to the name of your home directory, and "~name" is translated to the
login(1,3,5) directory for the user specified. Filename expansion will also
expand an initial environment variable, and also does the backslash,
caret and percent expansion mentioned below.
All interpreted strings go through backslash, caret and percent inter-
pretation. The backslash escapes are the normal ones (such as \n, \t,
\033, etc.). The caret escapes indicate control codes (such as ^i, ^l,
etc.). If you wish to pass through a backslash or a caret it must be
escaped with a backslash. The special percent escapes are similar to
printf(1,3,1 builtins) percent escapes. These cause the substitution of various run-
time(1,2,n) values into the string. The following are currently recognized:
%a Current article number.
%A Full name of current article (%P/%c/%a).
%b Destination of last save command, often a mailbox.
%B The byte offset to the beginning of the part of the article to
be saved, set(7,n,1 builtins) by the save command. The 's' and 'S' commands
set(7,n,1 builtins) it to 0, and the 'w' and 'W' commands set(7,n,1 builtins) it to the byte
offset of the body of the article.
%c Current newsgroup, directory form.
%C Current newsgroup, dot form.
%d Full name of newsgroup directory (%P/%c).
%D "Distribution:" line from the current article.
%e The last command executed to extract data from an article.
%E The last directory where an extracted file(1,n) went.
%f "From:" line from the current article, or the "Reply-To:" line
if(3,n) there is one. This differs from %t in(1,8) that comments (such
as the full name) are not stripped out with %f.
%F "Newsgroups:" line for a new article, constructed from "News-
groups:" and "Followup-To:" lines of current article.
%g The general mode of trn, for use in(1,8) conditional macros.
I Init mode.
s Selector mode.
r Rn mode.
i Input mode (newline terminated).
p Prompt mode (single-character input).
c Choice mode (multi-choice input).
%h Name of the header file(1,n) to pass to the mail(1,8) or news poster,
containing all the information that the poster program needs in(1,8)
the form of a message header. It may also contain a copy of
the current article. The format of the header file(1,n) is con-
trolled by the MAILHEADER and NEWSHEADER environment variables.
%H Host name (your machine's name).
%i "Message-I.D.:" line from the current article, with <> guaran-
teed.
%I The reference indication mark for citing prior articles (see
the -F switch.)
%l The news administrator's login(1,3,5) name, if(3,n) any.
%L Login name (yours).
%m The current mode of trn, for use in(1,8) conditional macros.
i Initializing.
n Newsgroup-list level.
f End (finis) of newsgroup-list level.
t The thread/subject/article selector.
c Newsrc selector.
w Newsgroup selector.
j Addgroup selector.
l Option selector.
a Article level ("What next?").
e End of the article level.
p Pager level ("MORE" prompt).
u Unkill prompt.
d Selector mode prompt.
o Selector order prompt.
m Memorize thread command prompt.
r Memorize subject command prompt.
z Option edit prompt.
k Processing memorized (KILL-file) commands.
A Add this newsgroup?
B Abandon confirmation.
C Catchup confirmation.
D Delete bogus newsgroups?
F Is follow-up a new topic?
M Use mailbox format?
R Resubscribe to this newsgroup?
K Press any key prompt.
Note that yes/no questions are all upper-case modes. If, for
example, you wanted to disallow defaults on all yes/no ques-
tions, you could define the following macro:
\040 %(%m=[A-Z]?h: )
%M The number of articles marked to return via the 'M' command.
If the same article is Marked multiple times, "%M" counts it
multiple times in(1,8) the current implementation.
%n "Newsgroups:" line from the current article.
%N Full name (yours).
%o Organization (yours).
%O Original working directory (where you ran trn from).
%p Your private news directory, normally ~/News.
%P Public news spool directory, normally /usr/spool/news on sys-
tems that don't use NNTP.
%q The value of the last "quoted" input string(3,n) (see the %"
interp).
%r Last reference on references line of current article (parent
article id).
%R References list for a new article, constructed from the refer-
ences and article ID of the current article.
%s Subject, with all Re's and (nf)'s stripped off.
%S Subject, with one "Re:" stripped off.
%t "To:" line derived from the "From:" and "Reply-To:" lines of
the current article. This always returns an Internet format
address.
%T "To:" line derived from the "Path:" line of the current article
to produce a uucp path.
%u The number of unread articles in(1,8) the current newsgroup.
%U The number of unread articles in(1,8) the current newsgroup, not
counting the the current article. When threads are selected,
this count reflects only selected articles.
%v The number of unselected articles, not counting the current
article if(3,n) it is unselected.
%w The directory where mthreads keeps its tmp files.
%W The directory where thread files are placed.
%x The news library directory.
%X The trn library directory.
%z The length of the current article in(1,8) bytes.
%Z The number of selected threads.
%~ Your home directory.
%. The directory containing your dot files, which is your home
directory unless the environment variable DOTDIR is defined
when trn is invoked.
%# The current count for a multi-file save, starting with 1. This
value is incremented by one for each file(1,n) saved or extracted
within a single command.
%$ Current process number.
%/ Last search string.
%? A space unless the current interp string(3,n) is > 79 characters, at
which point it turns into a newline.
%% A percent sign.
%{name} or %{name-default}
The environment variable "name".
%[name] The value of header line "Name:" from the current article. The
"Name: " is not included. For example "%D" and "%[distribu-
tion]" are equivalent. The name must be spelled out in(1,8) full.
%`command`
Inserts the output of the command, with any embedded newlines
translated to space.
%""prompt""
Prints prompt on the terminal, then inputs one string(3,n), and
inserts it.
%(test_text=pattern?then_text:else_text)
If test_text matches pattern, has the value then_text, other-
wise else_text. The ":else_text" is optional, and if(3,n) absent,
interpolates the null string. The = may be replaced with != to
negate the test. To quote any of the meta-characters ('=',
'?', ':', or ')'), precede with a backslash.
%digit The digits 1 through 9 interpolate the string(3,n) matched by the
nth bracket in(1,8) the last pattern match that had brackets. If
the last pattern had alternatives, you may not know the number
of the bracket you want -- %0 will give you the last bracket
matched.
Modifiers: to capitalize the first letter, insert '^': "%^C" produces
something like "Rec.humor". Inserting '_' causes the first letter fol-
lowing the last '/' to be capitalized: "%_c" produces "rec/Humor".
Inserting '\' will insert a backslash before any characters that would
be magic(4,5) in(1,8) a regular expression, including '%': "%\C" produces
"rec\.humor".
Inserting "'" will insert a backslash before any single-quotes in(1,8) the
result, suitable for enclosing in(1,8) single-quotes and sending to a shell:
"'%'s'" might produce "'I'\''m a subject'".
Inserting "''" will insert a backslash before any double-quotes in(1,8) the
result, suitable for enclosing in(1,8) double-quotes and sending to a shell.
Inserting ">" will strip out just the address portion of an address
string(3,n) such as the From line.
Inserting ")" will strip out just the comment (real name) portion of an
address string(3,n) such as the From line.
Inserting ":FMT" will format the result according to the printf-style
FMT string: "%:-50.50s" left-justifies the subject into a 50 character
field.
ENVIRONMENT
The following environment variables are paid attention to by trn. In
general the default values assumed for these variables by trn are rea-
sonable, so if(3,n) you are using trn for the first time(1,2,n), you can safely
ignore this section. Note that the defaults below may not correspond
precisely to the defaults on your system. To find the actual defaults
you would need to look(1,8,3 Search::Dict) in(1,8) config.h and common.h in(1,8) the trn source
directory, and the file(1,n) INIT in(1,8) the trn library directory.
Those variables marked (%) are subject to % interpolation, and those
marked (~) are subject to both % interpolation and ~ interpretation.
ATTRIBUTION (%)
Gives the format of the attribution line in(1,8) front of the quoted
article included by an F command.
Default: In article %i,%?%)f <%>f> wrote:
AUTOSUBSCRIBE
When trn is checking for new newsgroups and finds one matching
one of the patterns in(1,8) AUTOSUBSCRIBE, the new group is automat-
ically added to the end of the .newsrc, subscribed. Newsgroups
not matching this or AUTOUNSUBSCRIBE, below, are offered to the
user.
AUTOSUBSCRIBE is a comma separated list of newsgroup patterns
ala 'o', '/', etc. It can also include "but not" entries pre-
ceded by '!'. "a,b,!c,d" is read(2,n,1 builtins) as "matching a or b, unless
it also matches c; matching d regardless". Another way to look(1,8,3 Search::Dict)
at it is "(((a or b) and not c) or d)". To automatically sub-
scribe to all local groups but be choosy about non-local
groups, one might say "*,!*.*".
Default: (none)
AUTOUNSUBSCRIBE
AUTOUNSUBSCRIBE is very similar to AUTOSUBSCRIBE, above, but
new newsgroups matching it are automatically added to the end
of the .newsrc file(1,n), unsubscribed. If a newsgroup matches
AUTOSUBSCRIBE, AUTOUNSUBSCRIBE is not consulted.
Default: (none)
CANCEL (~)
The shell command used to cancel an article.
Default: inews -h < %h
CANCELHEADER (%)
The format of the file(1,n) to pass to the CANCEL command in(1,8) order
to cancel an article.
Default:
Newsgroups: %n
Subject: cmsg cancel %i
References: %R
Reply-To: %L@%H (%N)
Distribution: %D
Organization: %o
%i cancelled from trn.
DOTDIR Where to find your dot files, if(3,n) they aren't in(1,8) your home
directory. Can be interpolated using "%.".
Default: $HOME
EDITOR (~)
The name of your editor, if(3,n) VISUAL is undefined.
Default: whatever your news administrator compiled in(1,8), usually
vi.
EXSAVER (%)
The shell command to execute in(1,8) order to extract data to either
/bin/sh or a user-specified command.
Default: tail +%Bc %A | %e
FIRSTLINE (%)
Controls the format of the line displayed at the top of an
article. Warning: this may go away.
The default (ignoring the Marked to return display in(1,8)
unthreaded groups) is approximately:
%C #%a%(%Z=^0$?%(%U!=^0$? (%U more\)): (%U + %v more\))
FORWARDHEADER (%)
The format of the header file(1,n) for forwarding messages. See
also FORWARDPOSTER.
Default:
To:
Subject: %(%i=^$?:[subject] (fwd\\)
%(%{REPLYTO}=^$?:Reply-To: %{REPLYTO}
)Newsgroups: %n
In-Reply-To: %i)
%(%[references]=^$?:References: %[references]
)Organization: %o
Cc:
Bcc: \n\n
FORWARDPOSTER (~)
The shell command to be used by the forward command (^F) in(1,8)
order to allow you to edit and deliver the file. trn will not
itself call upon an editor for replies -- this is a function of
the program referenced by FORWARDPOSTER. See also FORWARD-
HEADER and MAILPOSTER.
Default: Rnmail -h %h
HIDELINE
If defined, contains a regular expression which matches article
lines to be hidden, in(1,8) order, for instance, to suppress quoted
material. A recommended string(3,n) for this purpose is "^>...",
which doesn't hide lines with only '>', to give some indication
that quoted material is being skipped. If you want to hide
more than one pattern, you can use "|" to separate the alterna-
tives. You can view the hidden lines by restarting the article
with the 'v' command.
There is some overhead involved in(1,8) matching each line of the
article against a regular expression. You might wish to use a
baud-rate modifier to enable this feature only at low baud
rates.
Default: undefined
HOME Your home directory. Affects ~ interpretation, and the loca-
tion of your dot files if(3,n) DOTDIR is not defined.
Default: $LOGDIR
KILLGLOBAL (~)
Where to find the KILL file(1,n) to apply to every newsgroup. See
the '^K' command at the newsgroup-selection level.
Default: %p/KILL
KILLLOCAL (~)
Where to find the KILL file(1,n) for the current newsgroup. See the
commands 'K' and '^K' at the article selection level, and the
search modifier 'K'.
Default: %p/%c/KILL
LOGDIR Your home directory if(3,n) HOME is undefined. Affects ~ interpre-
tation, and the location of your dot files if(3,n) DOTDIR is not
defined.
Default: none.
Explanation: you must have either $HOME or $LOGDIR.
LOGNAME Your login(1,3,5) name, if(3,n) USER is undefined. May be interpolated
using "%L".
Default: value of getlogin().
LOCALTIMEFMT
The format used by strftime() to print the local time. The
Date line is only displayed in(1,8) local time(1,2,n) if(3,n) the group is
threaded (see the -H option for more information on Date).
Default: %a %b %e %X %Z %Y
which is the same format as the date(1) command.
MAILCALL (~)
What to say when there is new mail.
Default: (Mail)
MAILFILE (~)
Where to check for mail.
Default: /usr/spool/mail(1,8)/%L
MAILHEADER (%)
The format of the header file(1,n) for replies. See also MAIL-
POSTER.
Default:
To: %t
Subject: %(%i=^$?:Re: %S
%(%{REPLYTO}=^$?:Reply-To: %{REPLYTO}
)Newsgroups: %n
In-Reply-To: %i)
%(%[references]=^$?:References: %[references]
)Organization: %o
Cc:
Bcc: \n\n
MAILPOSTER (~)
The shell command to be used by the reply commands (r and R) in(1,8)
order to allow you to enter and deliver the response. trn will
not itself call upon an editor for replies -- this is a func-
tion of the program referenced by MAILPOSTER. See also MAIL-
HEADER.
Default: Rnmail -h %h
MBOXSAVER (~)
The shell command to save an article in(1,8) mailbox format.
Default: %X/mbox.saver %A %P %c %a %B %C "%b" \
"From %t %`date`"
Explanation: the first seven arguments are the same as for
NORMSAVER. The eighth argument to the shell script is the new
From line for the article, including the posting date, derived
either directly from the Posted: line, or not-so-directly from
the Date: line. Header munging at its finest.
MODSTRING
The string(3,n) to insert in(1,8) the group summary line, which heads
each article, for a moderated group. See also NOPOSTRING.
Default: " (moderated)"
NAME Your full name. May be interpolated using "%N".
Default: name from /etc/passwd(1,5), or ~/.fullname.
NEWSHEADER (%)
The format of the header file(1,n) for follow-ups. See also NEWS-
POSTER.
Default:
%(%[followup-to]=^$?:%(%[followup-to]=^%n$?:X-ORIGINAL-NEWS-
GROUPS: %n
))Newsgroups: %(%F=^$?%C:%F)
Subject: %(%S=^$?%"\n\nSubject: ":Re: %S)
Summary:
Expires:
%(%R=^$?:References: %R
)Sender:
Followup-To:
%(%{REPLYTO}=^$?:Reply-To: %{REPLYTO}
)Distribution: %(%i=^$?%"Distribution: ":%D)
Organization: %o
Keywords: %[keywords]
Cc: \n\n
NEWSORG Either the name of your organization, or the name of a file(1,n)
containing the name of your organization. (For use at sites
where the ORGANIZATION environmental variable is already in(1,8)
use. NEWSORG will override ORGANIZATION if(3,n) both are present.)
May be interpolated using "%o".
Default: whatever your news administrator compiled in.
NEWSPOSTER (~)
The shell command to be used by the follow-up commands (f and
F) in(1,8) order to allow you to enter and post a follow-up news
article. If not set(7,n,1 builtins), trn handles the whole process and calls
inews directly. See also NEWSHEADER.
NNTPSERVER
The hostname of your NNTPSERVER. [This does not apply unless
you are running the NNTP version(1,3,5) of trn.]
Default: the hostname listed in(1,8) the server file(1,n), usually
/usr/local/lib/rn/server.
NOPOSTRING
The string(3,n) to insert in(1,8) the group summary line, which heads
each article, for a group to which local posting is not
allowed. See also MODSTRING.
Default: " (no posting)"
NORMSAVER (~)
The shell command to save an article in(1,8) the normal (non-mail-
box) format.
Default: %X/norm.saver %A %P %c %a %B %C "%b"
ORGANIZATION
Either the name of your organization, or the name of a file(1,n)
containing the name of your organization. (If NEWSORG is set(7,n,1 builtins),
it will override ORGANIZATION.) May be interpolated using
"%o".
Default: whatever your news administrator compiled in.
PAGESTOP
If defined, contains a regular expression which matches article
lines to be treated as form-feeds. There are at least two
things you might want to do with this. To cause page breaks
between articles in(1,8) a digest, you might define it as
"^--------". To force a page break before a signature, you
could define it as "^-- $". (Then, when you see "--" at the
bottom of the page, you can skip the signature if(3,n) you so desire
by typing 'n' instead of space.) To do both, you could use
"^--". If you want to break on more than one pattern, you can
use "|" to separate the alternatives.
There is some overhead involved in(1,8) matching each line of the
article against a regular expression. You might wish to use a
baud-rate modifier to enable this feature only at low baud
rates.
Default: undefined
PIPESAVER (%)
The shell command to execute in(1,8) order to accomplish a save to a
pipe(2,8) ("s | command" or "w | command"). The command typed by
the user is substituted in(1,8) as %b.
Default: %(%B=^0$?<%A:tail +%Bc %A |) %b
Explanation: if(3,n) %B is 0, the command is "<%A %b", otherwise the
command is "tail +%Bc %A | %b".
REPLYTO The value of the "Reply-To:" header, if(3,n) needed.
RNINIT This variable is used when initializing trn in(1,8) rn-compatibility
mode (see the -x switch(1,n)) or when the TRNINIT variable isn't
defined. See the TRNINIT variable for a description.
RNMACRO (~)
The name of the file(1,n) containing macros and key mappings when
running trn as rn. See also the TRNMACRO variable and the CUS-
TOM MACROS section.
Default: %./.rnmac
SAVEDIR (~)
The name of the directory to save to, if(3,n) the save command does
not specify a directory name.
Default:
If -/ is set: %p/%c
If +/ is set: %p
SAVENAME (%)
The name of the file(1,n) to save to, if(3,n) the save command contains
only a directory name.
Default:
If -/ is set: %a
If +/ is set: %^C
SELECTCHARS
The characters used by the thread selector to select(2,7,2 select_tut) the asso-
ciated thread of discussion. You can specify up to 64 visible
characters, including upper- and lower-case letters, numbers,
and many punctuation characters. Selection characters override
command characters in(1,8) the selector, but are not excluded from
macro expansion, so be careful.
Default: abdefgijlorstuvwxyz1234567890BCFGHIKMVW
(You'll notice various characters are omitted to allow them to
be typed as commands in(1,8) the selector.)
SHELL The name of your preferred shell. It will be used by the '!',
'S' and 'W' commands.
Default: whatever your news administrator compiled in.
SUBJLINE (%)
Controls the format of the lines displayed by the '=' command
at the article selection level.
Default: %s
SUPERSEDEHEADER (%)
The format of the header file(1,n) for a supersede article.
Default:
From: %L@%H (%N)
Newsgroups: %n
Subject: %S
Distribution: %D
Organization: %o
Supersedes: %i
TERM Determines which termcap entry to use, unless TERMCAP contains
the entry.
TERMCAP Holds either the name of your termcap file(1,n), or a termcap entry.
Default: /etc/termcap, normally.
TRNINIT Default values for switches may be passed to trn by placing
them in(1,8) the TRNINIT variable (or RNINIT if(3,n) you're starting trn
in(1,8) rn-compatibility mode). Any switch(1,n) that is set(7,n,1 builtins) in(1,8) this way
may be overruled on the command line, or via the '&' command
from within trn. Binary-valued switches that are set(7,n,1 builtins) with
"-switch" may be unset using "+switch(1,n)".
If TRNINIT begins with a '/' it is assumed to be the name of a
file(1,n) containing switches. You can put comments in(1,8) this file(1,n) by
preceding them with a '#' as long as this is the first charac-
ter on a line or it follows some white-space (which delimits
the switches in(1,8) the file(1,n)). If you want to set(7,n,1 builtins) many environment
variables but don't want to keep them all in(1,8) your environment,
or if(3,n) the use of any of these variables conflicts with other
programs, you can use this feature along with the -E switch(1,n) to
set(7,n,1 builtins) the environment variables upon startup.
Default: " ".
TRNMACRO (~)
The name of the file(1,n) containing macros and key mappings. If
the file(1,n) is not found, the RNMACRO variable is used to look(1,8,3 Search::Dict) for
your rn macros. For information on what to put into this file(1,n),
see the CUSTOM MACROS section.
Default: %./.trn/macros
UNSHAR (~)
The shell command to execute in(1,8) order to accomplish the
unshar'ing of a shell archive.
Default: /bin/sh
USER Your login(1,3,5) name. May be interpolated using "%L".
Default: $LOGNAME
VISUAL (~)
The name of your editor.
Default: $EDITOR
XTERMMOUSE
If you set(7,n,1 builtins) this variable to 'y' (yes), trn will enable the use
of the xterm mouse in(1,8) the selector if(3,n) you are using an xterm.
Once enabled left-clicking on an item selects it while middle-
clicking an item will move(3x,7,3x curs_move) to that item. If you click the top
(header) line of the selector it moves up a page. If you click
the bottom (footer) line of the selector it executes the
default command for the page (left click) or goes down a page
(middle click). You can also use the right mouse button to
move(3x,7,3x curs_move) up or down a page by clicking in(1,8) the upper-half or lower-
half of the screen, respectively.
YOUSAID (%)
Gives the format of the attribution line in(1,8) front of the quoted
article included by an R command.
Default: In article %i you write:
AUTOMATIC MACROS
On startup trn attempts to build a set(7,n,1 builtins) of macros that map your keypad
arrow keys to useful functions. These default actions are mentioned in(1,8)
the prior description of each level's commands. If you don't like this
(or trn gets(3,n) it wrong), you can disable the automatic macros by using
the -A option.
CUSTOM MACROS
When trn starts up it looks for a file(1,n) containing macro definitions
(see environment variables TRNMACRO and RNMACRO). Any sequence of com-
mands may be bound to any sequence of keys, so you could re-map your
entire keyboard if(3,n) you desire. Blank lines or lines beginning with #
in(1,8) the macro file(1,n) are considered comments; otherwise trn looks for two
fields separated by white space. The first field gives the sequence of
keystrokes that trigger the macro, and the second field gives the
sequence of commands to execute. Both fields are subject to % interpo-
lation, which will also translate backslash and caret sequences. (The
keystroke field is interpreted at startup time(1,2,n), but the command field
is interpreted at macro execution time(1,2,n) so that you may refer to % val-
ues in(1,8) a macro.) For example, if(3,n) you want to reverse the roles of car-
riage return and space in(1,8) trn
^J \040
^M \040
\040 ^J
will do just that. By default, all characters in(1,8) the command field are
interpreted as the canonical trn characters, i.e. no macro expansion is
done. Otherwise the above pair of macros would cause an infinite loop.
To force macro expansion in(1,8) the command field, enclose the macro call
with ^( ... ^) thusly:
@s |mysavescript
@w w^(@s^)
You can use the %() conditional construct to construct macros that work
differently under different circumstances. In particular, the current
mode (%m) of trn could be used to make a command that only works at a
particular level. This is particularly vital for the selector which
uses most of the lower-case letters to select(2,7,2 select_tut) the associated item in(1,8)
its display. For example,
a %(%m=t?a:s art.hold\n)
will return the original letter (a) in(1,8) the selector, and the command "s
art.hold\n" everywhere else.
%(%{TERM}=vt100?^[[O) /^J
will do the binding only if(3,n) the terminal type is vt100, though if(3,n) you
have many of these it would be better to have separate files for each
terminal.
If you want to bind(2,n,1 builtins) a macro to a function key that puts(3,n) a common
garbage character after the sequence (such as the carriage return on
the end of Televideo 920 function sequences), DO NOT put the carriage
return into all the sequences or you will waste a CONSIDERABLE amount
of internal storage. Instead of "^AF^M", put "^AF+1", which indicates
to trn that it should gobble up one character after the F.
WHAT'S NEW
Here's a quick run-down of trn's features and commands aimed at the
knowledgeable rn or trn user.
The addition of true reference-line threading is one of the biggest
improvements over rn. This threading allows you to read(2,n,1 builtins) a discussion
in(1,8) reply order with an article's replies being attached to the article
that inspired them. Threads will encompass multiple subjects whenever
a reply to an article in(1,8) the thread arrives with a different subject.
This is usually done to better indicate the topic in(1,8) the reply when it
diverges from the original subject.
Another big improvement is the selector, which is bound to the '+' key.
The selector displays a list of threads, subjects, or individual arti-
cles to allow you to select(2,7,2 select_tut) the topics that interest you by typing
their associated letter. The difference between the thread and the
subject selector is that the subject selector displays all subjects
with a separate selection letter, even those tied together via their
references. This can be quite useful if(3,n) you select(2,7,2 select_tut) some threads and
desire to weed out some extraneous discussions: you could switch(1,n) the
selector into exclusive mode ('E' shows only selected threads) and then
into subject mode ('Ss') to separate the threads into their component
subjects and deselect or kill(1,2,1 builtins) the subjects you don't care about. You
don't have to go to all this trouble using the selector if(3,n) you prefer
to just hit the 'k' key when you start reading a subject you're not
interested in. The selector can also switch(1,n) between showing unread
articles and articles that have already been read(2,n,1 builtins), allowing you to
selectively re-read discussions (this is the 'U' command in(1,8) the selec-
tor).
Another threaded addition is the article-tree display in(1,8) the upper-
right corner of the header. Looking at the tree gives you a feel for
how the articles you are reading relate to each other, allowing you to
see at a glance when there are lots of replies and decide if(3,n) you want
to junk an uninteresting set(7,n,1 builtins) of replies or perhaps tough it out.
The header display has also been modified to hide a few more lines by
default (e.g. References), but, as always, you can override these with
-h. There is also some more "magic(4,5)" in(1,8) the header: the From header can
be trimmed to be just the comment portion (if(3,n) available), and the Date
header is displayed in(1,8) local time(1,2,n) (by default). Use -H and +H to turn
header magic(4,5) on and off.
Once you begin reading articles, use the regular movement commands (n,
N, p, P, etc.) as you normally would. You'll find that these commands
track the reply order shown in(1,8) the tree display. Then try using ^N and
^P, which follow a subject in(1,8) the order the articles were posted.
Finally, check out the [, ], (, ), {, and } commands to move(3x,7,3x curs_move) around in(1,8)
the article tree a bit more directly. The first four commands should
also be bound to your keypad's arrow keys, making them easier to type.
For example, typing '[' (left) takes you to your parent article, even
if(3,n) it was already read(2,n,1 builtins), which is very useful for tracking down the
cited portion of the article in(1,8) its original context.
There are additional kill(1,2,1 builtins) commands for the entire thread (J) and the
current article and all its replies (,).
The KILL files have been extended and the commands inside them are now
referred to memorized commands, since they are often used for selection
rather than killing of articles. There are new, easier ways to add
memorized commands using the 'A'dd and 'T'hread commands. The 'A' com-
mand is subject-oriented, while the 'T' command is article-oriented
(meaning they affect a specific set(7,n,1 builtins) of articles rather than any article
that happens to have a matching subject). They both prompt you for
what kind of command you want to add, making both auto-killing and
auto-selecting just as easy.
There is also an easy way to skip around among the various threads with
the < and > commands. Use them if(3,n) you want to skip a set(7,n,1 builtins) of article
and read(2,n,1 builtins) them later instead of junking them.
Note: your news administrator has the option of turning thread process-
ing off for individual groups, and thus it is possible for some groups
to not have any pre-processed thread information available for use.
When trn encounters such a group, it generates the thread information
on the fly while entering the group. For really large groups (or
really slow systems), this can take an appreciable amount of time. If
you can't talk your news administrator into pre-threading the group,
you can turn off the threading on a group-by-group basis using the 't'
command at the newsgroup-selection level. Groups turned off in(1,8) this
way are read(2,n,1 builtins) in(1,8) the rn style -- articles arranged in(1,8) arrival order
unless you specify the -S option, which reads the articles in(1,8) date
order by subject.
Take note of the "e dir" command, which is used to extract a shell ar-
chive or uuencoded file(1,n) into the specified directory. It is even pos-
sible to extract other data formats if(3,n) you specify the appropriate fil-
ter(1,3x,3x curs_util) command (e.g. "e dir|cmd".
Also, if(3,n) you plan to use macro definitions, it is good to keep in(1,8) mind
that the selector uses most of the lower-case letters for selection,
and thus it is a good idea to explicitly set(7,n,1 builtins) the mode(s) in(1,8) which a
macro applies. For example, if(3,n) you want to press 'f' from the article
pager/selector to forward the current article to the user "smith", you
could define:
f %(%m=[pa]?|mail(1,8) smith\n:f)
This checks the current mode (%m) and if(3,n) it is 'p' or 'a' it expands it
to the string(3,n) "|mail(1,8) smith\n", otherwise it returns the letter 'f'. In
some cases, you may simply wish to exclude the selector from a macro
with the conditional "%m!=t".
Finally, you'll probably want to use the new options, -x and -X to
ensure that all the newest features are available for use. These
options might be on by default, depending on how your administrator
decided to install trn.
AUTHORS
Rn was created by Larry Wall <lwall@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov>
and is now under the direction of Stan Barber <sob@bcm.tmc.edu>.
Threaded version(1,3,5) by Wayne Davison <wayne@clari.net>
(Mail all bug reports for trn to Wayne.)
Regular expression routines are borrowed from emacs, by James Gosling.
Hashing routines are modified versions from Geoffrey Collyer.
FILES
%./.newsrc status of your news reading
%./.oldnewsrc
backup copy of your .newsrc from start of session
%./.rnlock lock file(1,n) so you don't screw up your .newsrc
%./.rnlast info(1,5,n) from last run of trn
%./.rnsoft soft pointers into /usr/lib/news/active to speed startup,
synchronous with .newsrc
%./.rnhead temporary header file(1,n) to pass to a mailer or news poster
%./.[t]rnmac
macro and keymap definitions
%p your news save directory, usually ~/News
%x/active the list of active newsgroups, usually /usr/lib/news/active
on systems that don't use NNTP
%P the public news spool directory, usually /usr/spool/news on
systems that don't use NNTP
%X/INIT system-wide default switches
SEE ALSO
newsrc(5), more(1), readnews(1), Pnews(1), Rnmail(1)
DIAGNOSTICS
Generally self-documenting, as they say.
BUGS
The -h switch(1,n) can only hide header lines that trn knows about.
The '-' command doesn't cross newsgroup boundaries, and only undoes the
last article selection.
If you edit your .newsrc while trn is running, trn will happily wipe
out your changes when it decides to write(1,2) out the .newsrc file.
Marking of duplicate articles as read(2,n,1 builtins) in(1,8) cross-referenced newsgroups
will not work unless the Xref patch is installed in(1,8) inews.
If you get carried away with % or escape substitutions, you can over-
flow buffers.
4.3 Berkeley Distribution LOCAL TRN(1)