Tutorial 15: Group FAQ Manager
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Contents: The FAQ Manager User Interface
FAQ Servers Common Problems
Summary
The FAQ Manager NewsRog has the ability to download newsgroup FAQs (Frequently Asked Question files) from an FTP server, display them locally, and cache them for future reference. FAQ files are usually maintained by active participants in a particular newsgroup. It is important to note that:

  • Not every newsgroup has a FAQ. Many dont, particularly less active groups, or those in the alt.* hierarchy.

  • Some newsgroups have more than one FAQ.

The FAQ Manager window looks like this:


The example above is for the comp.graphics.algorithms group. This group contains three FAQs. The cache marker next to the "colorspace-faq..." FAQ indicates that this FAQ is cached locally, and may be viewed in either online or offline mode. The other FAQs may only be viewed in online mode, but viewing a FAQ in online mode automatically caches it for future use.

The first time the FAQ manager for a group is opened, the list of FAQs is fetched from the FAQ server if NewsRog is in online mode. Otherwise, the list of FAQs is fetched from the local disk (it must have been previously fetched in online mode for this to work). The list may be updated using the user interface described below.

The FAQ manager for a given group may be opened by using the FAQ button () in either the Newsgroup Reader Window or the Group List Window.

FAQs are often a valuable resource for learning more about a particular topic, and they often have pointers to other resources for futher exploration.

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The FAQ Manager User Interface The FAQ window shown above has a list of available FAQs, and a selection of buttons for performing operations on these FAQs:

ButtonDescription
View FAQ Display the active (hilighted) FAQ using multiview. Double clicking on a FAQ also performs this action. In order for this to function properly, the multiview command must be in the search path.
Update List Fetch the list of FAQs from the FAQ server. This operation can only be performed in Online mode.
Delete FAQ Removes a cached FAQ from the local disk. The FAQ remains in the list and can still be fetched from the FAQ server. All selected FAQs are uncached.
Select All Select all FAQs in the list.
Abort Abort a pending transfer, either of the FAQ list, or of a FAQ file.
Action... Perform a multimedia action on a FAQ file. FAQ files have a predefined multimedia type of application/X-FAQ. Using NewsRog's multimedia system, it is possible to set up any number of actions for FAQ files. For example, to define two additional actions for FAQ files, one to save the FAQ to RAM:, and the other view it using a custom viewer called "myviewer", one might do this:

Media TypeAction NameCommandArgs
application/X-FAQSaveRAMcopy${FAQFile} RAM:{GroupAbbrev}-FAQ
application/X-FAQViewmyviewer${FAQFile}

To perform a multimedia action on a given FAQ, highlight that FAQ in the list by single-clicking on its name. Then click the Actions... button and double click on a multimedia action.


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FAQ Servers A FAQ Server is an FTP server which provides FAQ files for usenet newsgroups. The default FAQ sever is rtfm.mit.edu, but any FAQ server may be defined in the configuration area of NewsRog. FAQ servers must be defined with a type of FTP, not NNTP.

In order to find the FAQ files on the FAQ server, NewsRog must be given a rule to transform a newsgroup name into a directory name on the FAQ Server. The default for this is:

    /pub/usenet-by-group/${GroupName}

However, any name may be used. This is also defined in the configuration area of NewsRog.

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Problems with FAQs Here are several common problems with using the FAQ manager:

  • The FAQ server may be busy or unreachable. Connections to the server time out. The only solution is to try again later.

  • The group you are interested in does not have a FAQ, or the FAQ server you have chosen does not list a FAQ for this group.

  • FAQ server systems are typically busy, and connections to them are often somewhat unreliable. It is not unknown for the FTP connection to a FAQ server to abort in the middle of a transfer. In this case, the operation may be tried again.

For questions on the contents of the FAQ files themselves, please contact the author of the FAQ file directly. ShadowWorks Software cannot provide any assistance either for missing FAQs or about the contents of any particular FAQ.

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Summary By this point in the tutorial you should understand:

  • What a FAQ file is and how NewsRog manages them.
  • How to operate the NewsRog FAQ manager.
  • What a FAQ server is and how to set one up.
  • Several common problems encountered when using the FAQ manager.
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