| NewsBin Navigation Overview |
|
| Back to Top |
| Menu |
|
A description for each of these options is detailed below. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > File |
|
|
| Back to Top |
| Menu > File > New... (Ctrl+N) |
|
Selecting New... or Ctrl+N, will make NewsBin act like it is starting up with no configuration file. The introduction and initial setup screens will be displayed to allow you to enter your news server and newsgroups. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > File > Open... (Ctrl+O) |
|
Selecting Open... or Ctrl+O (use the letter "O"), will give you a window showing your current directory and any configuration files that exist. See Toolbar > Load. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > File > Save (Ctrl+S) |
|
Selecting Save or Ctrl+S, 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 "untitled") then Save will work just like Save As. See Toolbar > Save. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > File > Save As... |
| 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. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > File > Save Download List...(Ctrl+H) |
|
The Save Download List option enables you to take a snapshot of the headers you have queued up in the Main Screen > Download List Tab. This can be used if you need to close NewsBin for some reason and wish to resume your downloads at a future time. To resume see the Load Download List option. NewsBin automatically saves the download list when you exit and will automatically reload any actively downloading files into the Main Screen > Post List Tab upon startup the next time. This option exists to give you more control of when the download list is saved, and can come in handy if your system is prone to unexpected downtime. Another use is if you hit your download limit for your news server, you can save the download list and start up after your download limit has been reset, as long as the posts still exist on the server. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > File > Load Download List... (Ctrl+F) |
|
The Load Download List option allows you to re-load a previously saved download list (saved with Menu > Save Download List or Ctrl+H). All headers loaded will be displayed in the Main Screen > Post List Tab, which you can then select for download again. Any multi-part posts that were in the process of being downloaded at the time NewsBin was interrupted will pick up where they left off. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > File > Secure Delete |
|
Deletes the file from disk, fills with garbage first and then deletes it. Does not ask for confirmation before deletion. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > File > Exit |
|
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. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > View... |
|
The View menu options allow you to toggle the NewsBin bars (Thumbnail Bar, Groups Bar, Retrieve Articles Bar, Filter Bar, Toolbar and Status Bar) you wish to display. The shortcut key combinations are listed next to each item so you can bypass this menu if you choose. A checkmark in front of the options indicates that the option bar will be displayed when NewsBin is running. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > View > Thumbnail Bar (Alt+1) |
|
Selecting Thumbnail Bar or Alt+1, toggles the entire thumbnail section to be displayed or not, including the progress bars and the connection counter. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > View > Groups Bar (Alt+2) |
|
Selecting Groups Bar or Alt+2, toggles the bar that displays the Groups and Server tabs. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > View > Retrieve Articles Bar (Alt+4) |
|
Selecting Retrieve Articles Bar or Alt+4, toggles the progress bar that shows the status of reading a post body. By default, this bar is hidden and it pops up automatically when you select a post in the Main Screen > Post List Tab and then select Read Post Body from the right-click menu or Ctrl+R. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > View > Filter Bar (Alt+5) |
|
Selecting Filter Bar or Alt+5, toggles the filter bar to be displayed which enables you to enter a subject filter, shows checkboxes for setting the download mode, shows filtered posts, and also shows the total amount of data downloaded since the last reset. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > View > View Thumbnails (Alt+6) |
|
Selecting View Thumbnails or Alt+6, works differently than the Menu > View > Thumbnail Bar option. The View Thumbnails option only hides the thumbnail display windows, but the progress bars, connection counts, and kill buttons remain. Tip: Using the shortcut key sequence comes in handy if you need to hide any thumbnails quickly if someone comes walking up behind you! |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > View > Toolbar |
|
Selecting Toolbar toggles the toolbar to be displayed, which contains buttons for performing certain functions and for getting to certain configuration options. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > View > Status Bar |
|
Selecting Status Bar toggles the status bar to be displayed, which contains information about NewsBin's current status. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group |
|
The Menu > Group options can be accessed from the Menu and also by right-clicking a group in the Groups/Servers Bar. The right-click menu offers three additional options. They are Reset Download Counts, Goto Files... and Toggle Grid Lines, explained in this section. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group > Download Latest (Ctrl+G) |
|
Selecting this option will start the process of downloading headers from all selected news servers since the last time headers were downloaded. If this is the first time downloading from the group or the Reset Download Counts option was clicked, then this option will download the number of records specified by the First Time Records option on Menu > Preferences > Options... > Setup Tab up to the most recent post. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group > Download All Posts |
|
Selecting this option will cause NewsBin to ignore the spool and First Time Records (Menu > Preferences > Options... > Setup Tab) and downloads all posts from all selected servers for this group. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group > Load Posts From Disk |
|
This option will load any previously downloaded headers from the spool file. Headers will show up in the Main Screen > Post List Tab. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group > Purge (Delete Posts on Disk) |
|
Selecting this option will delete all saved records from previous downloads for this group. Information logged in the Signature Cache and PostID Cache (Menu > Utilities) is retained so duplicates will not be downloaded if these options are turned on. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group > Right-Click Menu > Reset Download Counts |
|
Under normal operation, NewsBin only downloads records starting with the last one that was previously downloaded. This option clears NewsBin’s memory of previously downloaded records. The next time Download Latest (Menu > Group > Download Latest or Ctrl+G) is used, it will rely on the First Time Records (Menu > Preferences > Options... > Setup Tab) setting to determine how many records to download. Information logged in the Signature Cache and PostID Cache (Menu > Utilities) is retained so duplicates will not be downloaded if these options are turned on. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group > Group Options... |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group > Set Filter Profile |
|
This option enables you to set the Filter Profile to use for the group you have selected in the Groups/Servers Bar. You can create filter profiles by clicking the Filter Button on the toolbar or from Menu > Preferences > Filter Options... |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group > Enable Groups |
|
When group is enabled, clicking the Toolbar > Start Button will process this group in turn along with any other enabled groups. If Menu > Utilities > Automatic Download is off, only headers will be downloaded. If Automatic download is on, then headers and all binary files, matching any filter criteria, are downloaded. Go to Menu > Preferences > NewsBin Pro Settings > Switches Tab to configure the default settings for Automatic Modes. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group > Disable Groups |
|
Will tell NewsBin to skip this group when processing by clicking the Toolbar > Start Button. You can still double-click on a disabled group to force processing. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group > Delete Group (Del) |
|
Deletes the selected group from the window in Groups/Servers > Group Tab but not from the master groups list, which is displayed on the Add Groups screen. You can re-add the group to the Group Tab it by clicking Toolbar > Group Button and selecting the group from the Add Groups window. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group > Right-Click Menu > GoTo File |
|
This option will launch windows explorer on the folder designated to hold any files downloaded from this group. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Group > Right-Click Menu > Toggle Grid Lines |
|
This option toggles the grid lines in the Groups/Servers window. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts |
|
|
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts > Lockout Poster (Ctrl+P) |
|
Selecting Lockout Poster or Ctrl+P, adds the poster of the selected posts to the Poster Filter list. It is also selectable from the right-click menu in the Main Screen > Post List Tab window. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts > Lockout Poster Keyword (Ctrl+K) |
|
Selecting Lockout Poster Keyword or Ctrl+K, 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 list can be found under Menu > Preferences > Options > NewsBin Pro Settings > Advanced Tab > Poster Lockouts section or by clicking the Option Button on the toolbar. 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. This feature is also available from the right-click menu in the Main Screen > Post List Tab. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts > Unlock Poster (Ctrl+U) |
|
Selecting Unlock Poster or Ctrl+U, removes the poster's email address from the list of locked out posters. Using the shortcut Ctrl+U will allow you to do this without bringing up the right-click menu. This list can be found under menu Preferences > Options > NewsBin Pro Settings > Advanced Tab > Poster Lockouts section or by clicking the Option Button on the toolbar.) |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts > Remove From Download List (Ctrl+D) |
|
Selecting Remove from Download List or Ctrl+D, will remove the selected post from the download list. Un-checking the box to the left of the subject (in the Main Screen > Post List Tab) has the same effect. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts > Add To Download List (Ctrl+E) |
|
Selecting Add to Download List or Ctrl+E, will add the selected post to the download list. Checking the box to the left of the subject (in the Main Screen > Post List Tab) has the same effect. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts > Add To Download List – Bypass Filters (Ctrl+Y) |
|
Selecting Add to Download List - Bypass Filters or Ctrl+Y, is the same as Force Download, which is located on the Main Screen > Post List Tab and right-mouse clicking a selected post. It bypasses any previous filter, failure, or duplicate match to force NewsBin to download the file. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts > Process Selected Group (Ctrl+G) |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts > Read Post Body (Ctrl+R) |
|
Selecting Read Post Body or Ctrl+R, downloads the body of the post and displays it in Windows Notepad (or whatever you have associated with .txt files). To use this feature you must first select a post in the Main Screen > Post List Tab. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts > Download Incompletes |
|
Selecting Download Incompletes will add the selected posts to the download list, causing any incomplete posts to be recombined regardless of missing pieces. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts > Download Chunks Only |
|
Selecting Download Chunks Only will add the selected posts to the download list, but will leave the chunks alone once downloaded, not recombining them into a file. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts > Combine Posts |
|
Selecting Combine Posts will tell NewsBin to treat multiple incomplete posts as it would one complete one. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Posts > Properties... (Ctrl+I) |
|
Shows a list of all the servers that hold parts for a multi-part post. To use this feature you must first select a post in the Main Screen > Post List Tab. If an "I" is in the post’s checkbox, then the numbers of the missing parts are shown in the "Missing" box. If you want to force NewsBin to download from a different server, you can delete references to one of the servers prior to marking for download and NewsBin will go to the servers that are left in the list, based on the priority set by the order in the Groups/Servers Bar > Server Tab. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities |
|
Many of the Utilities options are displayed on the Filters Bar
|
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Automatic Download |
|
This toggles NewsBin between Automatic Download Mode and Manual Download Mode. If the option is checked, files will automatically be queued for download as the headers for the posts are downloaded. To begin downloading posts go to the Groups/Servers Bar > Groups Tab and double-click on a group. Or, select multiple groups and click the Start Button on the toolbar. You can toggle between Automatic Download Mode and Manual Download Mode in three ways: 1. Menu > Utilities > Automatic Download 2. Toolbar > Options Button > Switches Tab 3. Shortcut Ctrl-T To configure default settings for Automatic Mode, go to Menu > Preferences > Options... > NewsBin Pro Settings > Switches Tab > Automatic Modes or click the Option Button on the toolbar. De-selecting Automatic Download (or Ctrl+T) puts NewsBin in Manual Download Mode, which enables you to choose the binaries you want to download on the fly. To obtain a list of headers from a particular newsgroup, go to the Groups/Servers Bar > Groups Tab and double-click on a group. You can download all the headers from a list of newsgroups by highlighting the desired newsgroups and right-mouse click to select Download Latest or use the shortcut Ctrl+G to do the same thing. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Show FileNames |
|
When this option is selected, NewsBin attempts to find out the filename listed in the subject field. The Post List will then contain only filenames and not the entire subject. Using this option in conjunction with a column sort on the Subject column in the post list helps group similar files like RAR sets. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Show Filtered Posts |
|
When this option is selected on the menu a check mark is also displayed in Filters Bar > Ignore Filters. All posts in Main Screen > Post List Tab that match the other filters applied are shown, regardless of filter profile settings or PostID Cache. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Show Incomplete |
|
When this option is selected on the menu a check mark is also displayed in Filters Bar > Show Incomplete. When selected, even multi-part posts that do not have all the parts available for download across all selected servers (which show an "I" on a yellow background in the checkbox to the left of the subject) are displayed in the Main Screen > Post List Tab. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Show New |
|
When this option is selected on the menu a check mark is also displayed in Filters Bar > Show Only New Posts. When headers are downloaded from the server(s), new posts are shown with a green background on the Main Screen > Post List Tab. When this option is turned on, only these posts will be shown. New Posts are defined as a post which did not exist on the server the last time you downloaded headers from that group. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Clear Odometer |
|
This button resets the global counter of number of bytes downloaded from USENET. This button is useful when you have a news server that limits your amount of monthly downloads. Select Clear Odometer at the beginning of each billing cycle to help you monitor or stay under your limit. You can also click the Clear button next to the odometer field in the Filters Bar. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Clear Filter |
|
Same as the Clear button to the right of the Find button on the Filter Bar.
|
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Clear Filter History |
|
NewsBin keeps a list of search criteria used to find subjects in the post list using the box on the Filters Bar to the right of the Find and Clear buttons.
Selecting the drop-down tab to the right of the box shows a history of all search criteria, or filters, that you have applied in the past. Selecting Menu > Utilities > Clear Filter History clears this list. To configure filters, go to Menu > Preferences > Filter Options...
or click the Filter Button on the toolbar. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Apply Filters |
|
This is the same as the Find button on the Filter Bar. Any search criteria entered in the box to the right of the Find and Clear buttons needs to be applied before the search is executed against the headers in the Main Screen > Post List Tab. Selecting this option or clicking the Find button executes the search.
|
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Signature Cache |
|
Selecting Signature Cache will toggle 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 24K of the file. If, in the future, the same file is downloaded, NewsBin will drop it, even if the filename is different. The Signature Cache is stored in the NewsBin directory in a file called signature.dat. If you mainly download MP3's or other large multimedia files that have the same beginning, you should disable this setting. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > PostID Cache (Ctrl+B) |
|
Selecting PostID Cache or Ctrl+B will toggle 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. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Kill All Connections |
|
NewsBin holds connections open to news servers anticipating commands to download more posts. This is for performance reasons so time and overhead isn't used stopping and starting connections needlessly. Occasionally, you may want to force NewsBin to kill connections, especially if a news server thinks you are using too many connections or has some other policy issues about keeping connections open. This option forces NewsBin to kill all open connections with all news servers. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Auto-Start Download in Restart |
|
Selecting Auto-Start Download in Restart will toggle whether or not NewsBin will automatically resume downloads that were running last time NewsBin exited. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Utilities > Show MOTD On Startup |
|
Selecting Show MOTD On Startup will toggle NewsBin’s "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. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Preferences |
|
|
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Preferences > Group Options... |
|
Select Group Options... or click the Group Button on the toolbar, to open the Add Groups screen where you can download the latest groups from news servers and then select which groups you want NewsBin to use. For information on how to use this screen, refer to the Quick Start Guide. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Preferences > Server Options... |
|
Select Menu > Preferences > Server Options... or the Server Button on the toolbar, to open the Server Add/Modify screen where you can add new and/or modify server configurations. For information on how to use this screen, refer to the Quick Start Guide. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Preferences > Options... |
|
Select Menu > Preferences > Options... or Option Button on the toolbar, to open the Newsbin Pro Settings screen where you can configure the following NewsBin settings: Setup, Switches, Dial Up, Firewall, File Descriptions, Logs, Network, Thumbnails and Advanced. See Options. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Preferences > Filter Options... |
|
Select Filter Options... or Filter Button on the toolbar, to open the Filter Options screen where you can configure the Subject Filters and File Filters you want NewsBin to use. Before you begin downloading, select your filter profiles in the Filters Bar > Apply Filter Profile dropdown list.
For information on how to use this screen, refer to the Main Manual. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > REGISTER NEWSBIN |
|
During your trial period and before you register Newsbin, the Register Newsbin option will be displayed on the Menu Bar. Select Register Newsbin... to open the Register Newsbin screen where you enter your NewsBin registration information that was emailed to you when you purchased a key. Once registered, this option will disappear from the Menu Bar, but you can still view your registration information by selecting HELP > REGISTER / UPDATE KEY... 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 shortcut Ctrl+C to copy and Ctrl+V to paste each item from your email message into the appropriate fields in the register screen. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Help |
|
|
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Help > About NewsBin Pro... |
|
This displays NewsBin copyright and version information. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Help > Help |
|
Select Help to display the NewsBin Help document that is located on the NewsBin web site. You must be connected to the internet to view this document. For your convenience, you can also download the NewsBin Help document to your local drive. To download the latest Help documents, visit http://www.newsbin.com/index.php?mode=main&task=support. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Help > View Icon Legend... |
|
NewsBin uses custom icons to show the status of individual posts. The icons are enlarged for easier viewing in this document: |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Help > Register/Update Key... |
|
See Register Newsbin. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Help > View The MOTD Archive... |
|
Select View the MOTD Archive... to open the MOTD archive on the NewsBin web site. You must be connected to the internet to view the archive. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Help > User Forum... |
|
Select User Forum... to open the User Forums on the NewsBin web site. You must be connected to the internet to view the forums. |
| Back to Top |
| Menu > Help > Tech Support Request... |
|
Select Tech Support Request... to open the Tech Support Request Form on the NewsBin web site. You must be connected to the internet to view the form. |
| Back to Top |
| Back to the Document List | Next Page |
| Copyright 2003 DJI Interprises |
Download Failed
Error occurred while downloading. Go to the Main Screen > Status Messages
Tab to see what happened.
Post Idle The
post is available for download or was stored from previous header download.
Click in the box to tell NewsBin to start downloading.
Queued for Download
Post has been marked for download and moved to the Main Screen > Download
List Tab.
Download Completed
Successfully Go to the Main Screen > Downloaded Files Tab to view the
file.
Download In Progress
Post is in the process of downloading. Progress can be seen in the Thumbnails
Bar.
Post was Spam
or no file found in post The post as been identified as Spam based on
the number of cross-posts allowed. This is set in Menu > Preferences
> Filter Options... .
Post is filtered
out The file was rejected due to a filter set by the user. Reason for
reject is shown in the Main Screen > Failed Files > From Column
Post already
Download/Manually Deleted.
File seems to
be a duplicate (signature cache) The file was determined to be a duplicate
- already downloaded
Temporary Connection
Problem A non-fatal error or connection problem occurred during download
and NewsBin will retry
Post is Text
only (no used)
Absolute download
mode Indicates that filters have been over-ridden with the Main Screen
> Failed Files Tab > Right Mouse Click > Force Download.
Download was
terminated Post has been terminated by the user.
Multipart Post
is Incomplete All the parts do no exist on the server(s).