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NEWSBOT.DOC
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SBNews: News Robot Utility
(C) Scott M Baker
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: This program is still in the early beta stages. It hasn't been very
extensively tested and it's very possible that you may experience trouble.
Please report any problems to me at smbaker@primenet.com.
I variously refer to this program under the names "NewsBot" and "SBNews"
throughout the document. You can for the most part consider them to be the
same. Eventually, I plan on including extra utilities in this package, "SBNews"
will be the name of the full package and "NewsBot" will be the name of the News
Robot utility within the package.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents
* Purpose
* General Information
* System Requirements
* Distribution Information
* Features
* Files Included
* Installation
* Command Line Parameters
* JPEG Viewer
* Configuration
* Statistics
* Unfinished Stuff/Planned Enhancements
* Acknowledgements
* Registration
* How to Contact the Author
* Revision History
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purpose:
The purpose of this program is to automatically download and uudecode files
from newsgroups via a winsock connection. If you've found this program, then
you probably know what this means, so I won't go into detail. Newsbot will
attempt to piece together multi-part files.
If you're new to binary newsgroups, then here are a few G-rated newsgroups that
you might wish to try:
alt.binaries.pictures.astro
alt.binaries.pictures.animals
alt.binaries.pictures.cartoons
alt.binaries.pictures.fractals
There are a wealth of adult-oriented newsgroups, but I'm not going to list them
in this document.
I have included a sample file, SAMPLE_G.TXT, which includes a listing of binary
newsgroups. There are no descriptions, but you can probably find out from the
newsgroup name what subject matter the newsgroup deals with.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Requirements:
* Windows 3.1 or greater
* Winsock connection capability (i.e. SLIP or PPP)
Distribution:
* 16-bit (Windows 3.1) Version: SBNEWSxx.ZIP (xx denotes version number)
* 32-bit (Windows 95) Version: SBN32_xx.ZIP (xx denotes version number
Features:
* Unattended download - do other work (or go out to lunch) while downloads
and uudecoding are all processed for you!
* Automatic HTTP address logging -- NewsBot will keep track of any HTTP
URL's that were found while downloading addresses. These will be saved to
a convenient HTM file, HTTPGRAB.HTM.
* Built in JPEG viewer. Allows you to see postage-stamp size images of the
files you are downloading in progress.
* Delete/View previously downloaded JPEG files.
* Comprehensive logging capabilities - save the subject and from
information for files that you might want to follow up on later.
* Dupe Checkers -- avoid downloading the same files multiple times.
Files Included:
* NEWSBOT.EXE: Executable; what you need to run to get the program to work.
* NEWSBOT.HTM: Documentation in HTML format (read with your browser)
* NEWSBOT.DOC: Documentation in plain-ASCII format (read with any plain
ascii text editor)
* BWCC.DLL (16-bit) or BWCC32.DLL (32-bit): Borlands Custom-Control DLL
library; used to support Newsbot's grey dialog boxes.
* FILE_ID.DIZ: Brief description file; useful for bbs distribution
* SAMPLE_G.TXT: Plain-ASCII listing of binary newsgroups
* REGISTER.HTM: Registration info in HTML format
* REGISTER.DOC: Registration info in plain-ASCII format
* README.1ST: General information on documentation & archives
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Installing and Using the Program:
Here are some very quick notes on installing and using Newsbot:
Installation:
1. Unzip the distribution archive into the directory of your choice.
Running:
1. Run NEWSBOT.EXE -- this can be done in various ways - from the Win-95
command prompt, the Windows Explorer (and/or file manager), the Windows
Run Program command, etc.
2. On your first session, you'll be prompted for a "News Host Name". This is
the name of your news host, and should be given to you by your ISP
(internet service provider).
3. On your first session, you'll be prompted for a "download path". This is
the path where you want the files you download to be placed.
4. Once NewsBot is loaded, you'll want to add some newsgroups. This is done
with the "Add" button. You'll need to know the names of the groups you
want; you might want to consult SAMPLE_G.TXT for some sample newsgroup
names.
5. Press the "CONNECT" button to start everything. All else should be mostly
automatic from here on. Feel free to tinker around with the menu items
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Command Line Parameters
* "-i INI_FILE_NAME". Sets the name of the INI file to use. By default,
newsbot uses the file newsbot.ini in your windows directory. Specifying a
filename here will cause newsbot to use the file under that name in
newsbot's home directory. For example "Newsbot -i news1.ini" would use
the filename "news1.ini" in newsbot's home directory.
* "-auto". Will automatically begin downloading news articles as soon as
newsbot has loaded. Note: For unregistered users, about screen will still
be displayed!
* "-noabout". Omits display of the about dialog on startup of Newsbot.
Note: Only supported in registered version!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jpeg Viewer
SBNews has a built in Jpeg viewer for viewing JPEG files offline. The JPEG
viewer can be operated in several ways:
1. By double-clicking on a [RECEIVED] entry in Newsbot's log window
2. By single-clicking on one of the preview pictures on the right hand side
of Newsbot's main window.
3. By using the FILE:VIEW JPEG option from Newsbot's pulldown menu.
Once loaded, the JPEG viewer window will display the JPG file selected and
include a listing of filenames and directories on the left-hand side of the
window. This listing is provided to let you easilly select other files to view.
Double clicking on a directory in the directory list will change to that
directory and double clicking on a filename in the file list will display that
file. The CHDIR and VIEW buttons perform the same functions, respectively.
The "<" and ">" buttons will view the immediately previous and next files in
the currently selected directory. You may use these to rapidly view a list of
files that were downloaded overnight for example. The ">" button will activate
a slideshow of the current directory. Each file will be displayed, there will
be a slight delay, and the next file will be displayed.
The FILE menu of the viewer has several options:
* Open File: Allows you to open a new file using the windows common-dialog
open method.
* Delete File: Deletes the current file that you are viewing.
* Save as BMP: Saves the current image as a BMP image, which may later be
used as windows wallpaper, for example.
* Set as Wallpaper: Saves the current file as a BMP and tells window to use
it was wallpaper.
The SlideShow menu has a few options as well:
* Start/Stop: Starts and stops the slideshow, equivalent to the ">" button.
* Set Interval: Sets the amount of delay between slideshow pictures.
* "Normal Mode": Images will be displayed in the jpeg viewers window.
* "Wallpaper Mode": Images wi