NewsBin Pro 3.3 Menu Bar
The "File" menu option allows you to start a new configuration, load an existing configuration, save or rename your current configuration, exit, and also gives you a list of your last 4 configuration files.
Selecting "New" will make NewsBin act like it is starting up with no configuration file. It will revert to the Setup Screen and allow you to enter your news server and newsgroups to start out with. You can also hit the keystroke "ctrl-N" to start a new configuration file. Selecting "Open" will give you a window showing your current directory and any configuration files that exist. You can navigate from this window through your directories to select a configuration file you want to use. You can also hit the keystroke "ctrl-O" to execute the "Open" command. Selecting "Save" will save any changes you made to NewsBin's configuration into the currently open configuration file. If you have not named your configuration file yet (default is "untitiled") then "Save" will work just like "Save As". You can also hit the keystroke "ctrl-S" to execute the "Save" command. The "Save As..." option will open a window to your current directory and allow you to select a file or type in a new filename to save NewsBin's current configuration to. The numbers 1 - 4 represent the last 4 configuration files you used. By clicking on any of these, NewsBin will load that configuration file for your use. The "Exit" option is just like clicking on the "X" in the upper right hand corner of the NewsBin screen. It exists the program. If you exit while NewsBin is currently downloading, NewsBin will pick up where it left off the next time you start it up. The "View" menu option allows you to toggle the bars you wish to view. The shortcut key combinations are listed next to each item so you can bypass this menu if you choose.
Selecting "Thumbnail Bar" toggles the entire thumbnail section, including the progress bars and the connection counter. Hitting the Alt key and the number 1 key simultaneously has the same effect. Selecting "Groups" toggles the bar that has the "Groups" and "Servers" tabs on it. Hitting the Alt key and the number 2 key simultaneously has the same effect. Selecting "Upload" toggles the progress bar for uploads. This bar is hidden by default and pops up automatically while posting. Hitting the Alt key and the number 3 key simultaneously has the same effect. Selecting "Read Post Bar" toggles the progress bar for showing the status of reading a post body. By default, this bar is hidden and it pops up automatically when you select "Read Post Body" from the right-click menu. Hitting the Alt key and the number 4 key simultaneously has the same effect. Selecting "Filter Bar" toggles the filter bar that allows you to enter a subject filter, shows checkboxes for setting the download mode and showing filtered posts, and also shows the total amount of data downloaded since the last reset. Hitting the Alt key and the number 5 key simultaneously has the same effect. Selecting "View Thumbnails" works differently than the "Thumbnail Bar" option. This option only hides the thumbnails but the progress bars, connection counts, and kill buttons remain. Hitting the Alt key and the number 6 key simultaneously has the same effect. Using the shortcut key sequence comes in handy if you need to hide any thumbnails quickly if someone comes walking up behind you! Selecting "Toolbar" toggles the toolbar section which contains buttons for performing certain functions and for getting to certain configuration options. There is no shortcut keystroke for this option. Selecting "Status Bar" toggles the status bar section which contains information about NewsBin's current status. There is no shortcut keystroke for this option. The utilities menu options allow you to control many things that are also controllable through keyboard shortcut commands. Selecting "Lockout Poster" adds the poster of the selected posts to the Poster Filter list. Hitting the Ctrl key and the "P" key simultaneously has the same effect. It is also selectable from the right-click menu in the post list. Selecting "Lockout Poster Keyword" takes any portion of the poster's email address of the post or posts highlighted and adds them to the list of locked out posters. This means that any post that was posted with an email address that matches this portion will be filtered from the post list. For example, adding "webmaster" as a keyword means that any email address containing the word "webmaster" will be filtered. Hitting ctrl-k will allow you to do this as well as from the right-click menu in the post list. Selecting "Unlock Poster" removes the poster's email address from the list of locked out posters. Hitting ctrl-u will allow you to do this without bringing up the right-click menu. Selecting "Automatic Download" toggles NewsBin between Automatic Mode and Manual Mode. Selecting "Show Rejects" is the same as "Show Filtered Posts" on the Filter Bar. Selecting "Clear Odometer" resets the odometer on the filter bar to 0. It is the same as the Reset button on the Filter Bar. Selecting "Remove from Download List" or pressing ctrl-D will remove the selected post from the download list. Unchecking the box to the left of the subject has the same effect. Selecting "Add to Download List" or pressing ctrl-A will add the selected post to the download list. Checking the box to the left of the subject has the same effect. Selecting "Add to Download List - Bypass Filters" or pressing the "CTRL-Y" keys is the same as Force Download. It bypasses any previous filter, failure, or duplicate match to force NewsBin to download the file. It will even download all the existing parts of an incomplete multipart post. Selecting "Process Selected Group" is the same as double-clicking on the group name or hitting the Ctrl-G key sequence. It tells NewsBin to download the headers of the selected group(s) and, if you are in Automatic Mode, to download all binary attachments associated with the headers. This can also be done from the Groups Window. Selecting "Read Post Body" or pressing the "CTRL-R" keys download the body of the post and display it in the Notepad. Selecting "Signature Cache" or pressing "CTRL-T" toggles NewsBin's ability to filter binary files based on a stored signature of the file. For every file downloaded, NewsBin calculates a 22 byte signature of the first 6K of the file. If, in the future, the same file is downloaded, NewsBin will drop it, even if the filename is different. If you mainly download MP3's or other large multimedia files that have the same beginning, you should disable this setting. The Signature Cache is stored in the NewsBin directory in a file called signature.dat. Selecting "PostID Cache" or pressing "CTRL-B" toggles NewsBin's ability to reject posts you've already downloaded based on the unique identifier attached to each post. This identifier is globally unique so NewsBin will not download the same processed post twice even if you are using multiple servers. Keep in mind that you may see the same headers on subsequent downloads but only if you did not download the entire post, or attached binary file, that the header belongs to. Selecting "Show MOTD" toggles the NewsBin Message of the Day text that pops up when NewsBin is started. This option only exists for registered users. The MOTD is used to inform users of new releases, bug reports, or helpful hints and is really just a browser window that downloads the MOTD from our website, http://www.newsbin.com.
Preferences... To be written... This is where you enter your registration information should you choose to purchase a key for NewsBin. Once registered, this option will disappear from the Menu Bar. Ninety percent of our support questions related to registering NewsBin are a result of typographical errors when entering the key information. We strongly recommend that you use windows copy and paste functions to enter your key info from the email message sent to you when you register. Use the keystrokes "ctrl-c" to copy and "ctrl-v" to paste each item from your email message into the appropriate fields. To be written... Back to the NewsBin Main Screen |
