What is a newsgroup?

Setting up a connection to a news server

Receiving the list of newsgroups

Checking for new newsgroups

Checking for new articles in a newsgroup

Searching for a newsgroup

Subscribing or unsubscribing to a newsgroup

Viewing subscribed newsgroups only

Reading a news message

Sorting the news message list

Automating tasks for newsgroups using rules

Changing or deleting a newsgroup rule

Posting a message to a newsgroup

Posting a reply to a newsgroup

Replying by mail to the author of a news message

What is a newsgroup?

You can find newsgroups on practically any subject. Although some newsgroups are monitored, most are not, and messages can be posted and read by anyone who has access to that group.

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) must have a link to a news server for you to set up an account with that news server in Outlook Express. After you set up an account, you can read and post messages on newsgroups stored on that news server.

When you find a newsgroup you like, You can subscribe to it so that it is displayed in your Folder list. Then you don't have to scroll through the long list of newsgroups on the server to find what you want.

Related Topics
Receiving the list of newsgroups
Setting up a connection to a news server

To set up a connection to a news server

1. On the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
2. Under Accounts, click News, and then click New Server.
3. Type a name for the news server. This name will be used to identify the news server in the Folder list.
4. Click OK. The news server appears on the News Servers menu and in the Server Name box.
5. Type the server address.
6. If your news server requires a name and password, select the This Server Requires Authentication check box, and then type your user name and password in their respective boxes.
7. If you need to override the default NNTP port or specify additional header information to include in messages you post, click Advanced, type the required information, and then click OK.
8. If you want to make this your default news account, click Make Default.

Notes

• This information is usually supplied by your Internet service provider (ISP).

Related Topics
Removing or changing a news server account
Glossary (Internet service provider)
Glossary (NNTP host)
Setting up Outlook Express for multiple users

To receive the list of newsgroups

1. If you have not done so, set up a connection to a news server.
2. In the Folder list, click a news server.
3. If you don't receive a list of newsgroups automatically, choose Get Complete Newsgroup List from the View menu.
   The complete list of newsgroups appears on the right side of the window.

Related Topics
Checking for new newsgroups
Glossary (download)
Glossary (newsgroup)
Glossary (newsgroup list)
Searching for a newsgroup
Setting up a connection to a news server

To check for new newsgroups

1. In the Folder list, click a news server.
2. On the View menu, choose Get New Newsgroups.
   The list of new newsgroups appears in right side of the window.

Related Topics
Glossary (newsgroup)
Glossary (newsgroup list)
Receiving the list of newsgroups

To check for new articles in a newsgroup

• On the View menu, choose Refresh Message List. When you do so, Outlook Express will reconnect to the news server and download new articles from the current newsgroup.

Related Topics
Glossary (newsgroup)
Glossary (newsgroup list)
Receiving the list of newsgroups

To search for a newsgroup

1. In the Folder list, click a news server.
2. In the Display Newsgroups Containing box, type the characters or words contained in the name of the newsgroup you are looking for. As you type, only the newsgroups that match what you type will be visible.
3. To show the entire list of newsgroups again, delete the text you typed.

Related Topics
Checking for new newsgroups
Receiving the list of newsgroups

To subscribe or unsubscribe to a newsgroup

1. In the Folder list, click a news server.
2. If no newsgroups are displayed, choose Get Complete Newsgroup List on the View menu, or if you want to check for new newsgroups, choose Get New Newsgroups from the View menu.
3. In the list of newsgroups, click a newsgroup, and then do one of the following:
   • To subscribe to a newsgroup, select Subscribe from the Tools menu. Each subscribed newsgroup is displayed in the Folder list beneath the news server.
   • To unsubscribe to a newsgroup, select Unsubscribe from the Tools menu.

• You can distinguish your subscribed and unsubscribed newsgroups in the newsgroup list by assigning a color for each.

Related Topics
Changing the display of newsgroups and IMAP folders
Glossary (subscribe)
Viewing subscribed newsgroups only

To view subscribed newsgroups only

1. In the Folder list, click a news server.
2. On the View menu, choose Subscribed Only. A check mark appears beside the command when you are viewing subscribed newsgroups only. To view all newsgroups, choose Subscribed Only again to remove the check mark.

Related Topics
Changing the display of newsgroups and IMAP folders
Glossary (subscribe)
Subscribing or unsubscribing to a newsgroup

To read a news message

1. In the Folder list, click a news server, and then click the newsgroup that you want to read. Subscribed newsgroups are displayed in the Folder list.
2. On the File menu, choose Open Newsgroup. A status window appears, showing the number of articles that are downloading. You can continue to perform other tasks while the news messages are downloaded to your machine.
   • To view the message in the preview pane, click the message in the message list. The text of the message appears in the preview pane below the message list.
   • To view the message in a separate window, double-click the message.

Note

• Messages that are a part of a series of responses to an original message are gathered together and stored with the original message. To see the replies to a message, click the triangle to the left of the original message.

Related Topics
Changing the number of messages to download
Receiving the list of newsgroups
Searching for a newsgroup
Setting up a connection to a news server
Sorting the news message list
Subscribing and unsubscribing from a newsgroup

To sort the news message list

1. Find a newsgroup you want to read and double-click it to view the articles.
2. Click the column heading by which you want to sort.
3. To switch between ascending and descending order, click the triangle that appears in the column heading.

Related Topic
Automating tasks for newsgroups using rules

To automate tasks for newsgroups using rules

1. On the Tools menu, choose Newsgroup Rules.
2. Click the New Rule button on the toolbar.
3. In the Rule Name box, type a name for the rule.
4. Make sure that the Enabled check box is selected so that the rule will apply once you have finished creating it. You can turn off the rule later by clearing the Enabled check box.
5. On the Newsgroup menu, choose an item, and then type the text that applies in the text box.
6. Moving left to right, select a field from each of the menus below the Newsgroup menu.
7. If you want to create a second or third criteria, select the check box beside the Criteria menus.
8. From the Execute Actions If menu, specify when the rules should be applied.
9. In the Actions area, select the action you would like to happen when a news message matches the criteria you set.

   Do Not Show Message	Does not display the news messages that fit the criteria you set.
   Set Color	Changes the color of the news messages that fit the criteria you set. To choose a color, click the color box.
   Mark As Read	Marks the incoming news messages that fit the criteria you set as read.
   Download & File Message	Downloads and moves the incoming news messages that fit the criteria you set to a folder. Select a folder from the menu.
   Run AppleScript	Runs the selected AppleScript.

10. Click OK.
11. Outlook Express will perform the rule in the order displayed in the newsgroup rules list. Drag the rules to prioritize them.

Tip

• To apply a rule to existing messages, click the message(s), point to Apply Rule on the Message menu, and then choose the rule.

Example

• If you wanted to mark all messages that contain the word "mac" in any newsgroup that contains the word "mac" in the Subject with the color purple, you would first need to create a newsgroup rule by clicking New Rule and giving it a name. Then, in the Criteria area, you would choose Contains on the Newsgroup menu, and then type the word "mac" in the text box. Next, you would choose Subject on the Field menu, contains on the Contain menu, and then type the word "mac" in the text box. Then, in the Actions area, you would select the Set Color check box, and click the color box to change the color to purple.

Related Topics
Automating tasks for mail messages using rules
Changing or deleting a newsgroup rule
Glossary (rule)

To change or delete a newsgroup rule

1. On the Tools menu, choose Newsgroup Rules.
2. Click a rule and then on the toolbar, do one of the following:
   • To change the rule information, click the Edit Rule button.
   • To delete the rule, click the Delete Rule button.
   • To change the priority of a rule, drag it and drop it on the list.

Related Topics
Automating tasks for mail messages using rules
Automating tasks for newsgroups using rules
Glossary (rules)

To post a message to a newsgroup

1. Find a newsgroup you want to post a message to, and double-click it.
2. On the File menu, point to New and then choose News Message.
3. In the CC box, type any additional contacts.
4. In the Subject box, type a subject for a message.
5. In the main part of the window, type your message.
6. If you want to finish the message later, choose Save on the File menu to store the message in your Drafts folder.
7. When you are finished, choose Post Message Now on the Message menu, or click the Post button on the toolbar. If you want to send the message at another time, click the Post Later button on the message window toolbar. This will store the message in the Outbox until you use the Send All, or Send & Receive commands, or during the scheduled Send & Receive as specified in Preferences.

• You can use Auto Text Clean Up when you send, reply, or forward a mail or news message.

Related Topics
Formatting a message with Auto Text Clean Up
Posting a reply to a newsgroup
Replying by mail to the author of a news message

To post a reply to a newsgroup

1. In the message list, click the news message to which you want to reply.
2. On the Message menu, choose Reply To Newsgroup.
3. In the main part of the window, type your message.
4. If you want to finish the message later, choose Save on the File menu to store the message in your Drafts folder.
5. When you are finished, choose Post Message Now on the Message menu. If you want to send the message at another time, click the Post Later button on the message window toolbar. This will store the message in the Outbox until you use the Send All, or Send & Receive commands, or during the scheduled Send & Receive as specified in Preferences.

• You can use Auto Text Clean Up when you send, reply, or forward a mail or news message.

Related Topics
Formatting a message with Auto Text Clean Up
Posting a message to a newsgroup
Replying by mail to the author of a news message

To reply by mail to the author of a news message

1. In the message list, select the news message to which you want to reply.
2. On the Message menu, choose Reply To Author.
3. In the Cc box, type any additional contacts.
4. In the main part of the window, type your message.
5. If you want to finish the message later, choose Save on the File menu to store the message in your Drafts folder.
6. When you are finished, choose Send Message Now on the Message menu. If you want to send the message at another time, click the Post Later button on the message window toolbar. This will store the message in the Outbox until you use the Send All, or Send & Receive commands, or during the scheduled Send & Receive as specified in Preferences.

• You can use Auto Text Clean Up when you send, reply, or forward a mail or news message.

Related Topics
Formatting a message with Auto Text Clean Up
Posting a message to a newsgroup
Posting a reply to a newsgroup