743 lines
36 KiB
Plaintext
743 lines
36 KiB
Plaintext
Windows Newsreaders under Linux HOWTO
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Daniel Quintiliani
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<coredump0@mercurylink.net>
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2004-02-07
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Revision History
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Revision 2.22 2004-02-07 Revised by: dq
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Updated to say that Xnews with a Windows 98SE configuration also works with
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Windows ME files. Thanks to Marty Hillman >mehillman@comcast.net< for
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discovering this.
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Revision 2.21 2004-01-26 Revised by: dq
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Updated with more clear language as to what exactly would go wrong with older
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versions of Wine under more recent Linux setups.
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Revision 2.2 2004-01-24 Revised by: dq
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Updated to say that Wine version 20031212 might be required for more modern
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Linux setups, but there will be more bugs. Updated each newsreader with its
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respective problems under 20031212, including the fact that Dialog will not
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work with Wine versions greater than 20030813.
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Revision 2.11 2003-12-24 Revised by: dq
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Updated to say that Xnews event sounds work properly, and updated with
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instructions to get event sounds to work properly under KDE.
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Revision 2.1 2003-12-12 Revised by: dq
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Updated to cover Forte Free Agent as well as Xnews and Dialog. Added a Dialog
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problem.
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Revision 2.02 2003-12-11 Revised by: dq
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Updated "Window sizing problems" in Xnews and added another Xnews problem.
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TODO updated with what the document will not cover.
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Revision 2.01 2003-10-24 Revised by: dq
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Updated with another Xnews problem and another Dialog problem. TODO now
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contains other newsreaders this document will cover. Update "Erasing sections
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of text" Xnews problem to say that the text is deleted but requires the
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Rewrap button to be pressed to fix it, as well as that it affects KDE also.
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Updated to say that Wine 20030813 is required, since later versions seem to
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cause problems.
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Revision 2.0 2003-09-16 Revised by: dq
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Updated with new name "Windows-Newsreaders-under-Linux-HOWTO," since the
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document now discusses configuration and use of 40tude Dialog as well.
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Windows XP instructions updated for Xnews. Problems and Issues for Xnews
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updated. Acknowledgements updated. Xnews copying instructions updated for
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clarity. Xnews copying section renamed. Prerequisites updated to say that the
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standard unzip program might be necessary.
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Revision 1.1 2003-09-07 Revised by: dq
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Updated with more Problems and Issues, including binary usage. Updated with
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more DLL files to copy and configure (when using a Windows 98SE
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configuration) for better results. Updated to say that a Windows 98SE
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configuration is preferred, since there are some problems with Windows XP
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"emulation."
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Revision 1.0 2003-09-01 Revised by: dq
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initial LDP release, some updates
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Revision 0.12 2003-08-31 Revised by: dq
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conversion to XML (thanks to Greg Ferguson), various updates
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Revision 0.11 2003-08-22 Revised by: dq
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various updates
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This document describes how to set up and use several different Windows
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Usenet newsreaders under the Linux operating system using the Wine
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"emulator." This document was formerly known as the Xnews under Linux HOWTO.
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The latest version of this document is always available at [http://
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www.geocities.com/core_dump_000/Windows-Newsreaders-under-Linux-HOWTO.xml]
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http://www.geocities.com/core_dump_000/
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Windows-Newsreaders-under-Linux-HOWTO.xml
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Table of Contents
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1. Introduction
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1.1. Prerequisites
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1.2. Copyright and License
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1.3. Disclaimer
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1.4. TODO for this document
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2. Xnews
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2.1. Setting up Xnews
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2.2. Running Xnews
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2.3. Problems and Issues
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3. Dialog
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3.1. Setting up Dialog
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3.2. Running Dialog
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3.3. Problems and Issues
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4. Free Agent
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4.1. Setting up Free Agent
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4.2. Running Free Agent
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4.3. Problems and Issues
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5. Acknowledgements
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1. Introduction
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One of the problems with Linux today is the lack of variety and choice in
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newsreader software, where Windows has several newsreader programs with
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better features and better stability. Under Windows, three of the most
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popular newsreaders are Xnews, Dialog, and Free Agent.
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Xnews, created by Luu Tran, is a freeware newsreader for Windows, available
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from the website [http://xnews.newsguy.com/] http://xnews.newsguy.com. Here
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is a list of Xnews' features listed on the website:
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> 100% GNKSA 2.0 (Good Net Keeping Seal of Approval) compliant.
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> Plonk file (aka bozo bin).
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> Quick filter (type in a regex and only articles whose subject/author
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match it will be shown).
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> Score file for advanced filtering.
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> Support for multiple servers/identities.
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> Subscribed groups can be organized into categories.
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> Remappable keyboard.
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> Binaries handling (mime, base64, uuencode, what have you).
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> Optional header and article caching; plus: folders for permanent
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archival.
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> more...
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Unfortunately, Luu Tran has decided neither to make his newsreader
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open-source nor to release a Linux version. However, there is a way to get
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Xnews to work under Linux, although it takes a bit of work.
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Dialog is a newsreader by 40tude. It is available at [http://www.40tude.com/
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dialog/] http://www.40tude.com/dialog/. According to the website, "it
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supports multiple servers and identities, has filtering/scoring support,
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integrated email functionality and binary support including support for
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multiparts." The newsreader is "shareware for commercial users and freeware
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for private users." It works excellently under Linux.
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Free Agent is the feature-slimmed freeware version of Forte's commercial
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e-mail and Usenet client Agent. It is available at [http://www.forteinc.com/
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agent] http://www.forteinc.com/agent/. According to the Features section of
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the website, the program has basic newsreader functions, message threading,
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multi-part binaries, translations, internal multi-tasking, and URL detection.
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It also has partial support for offline data storage, group properties, UI
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configuration, searching, and sorting. It runs with few problems under Linux
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after almost no extra configuration, except under Wine versions later than
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20030813.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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1.1. Prerequisites
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This HOWTO assumes that:
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> The InfoZIP utilities are installed on the Linux machine. These are
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available at [http://www.info-zip.org/pub/infozip/] InfoZIP's web site.
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The unzip program is required if the reader wants to install Xnews or
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Dialog without copying from an existing installation. This is a standard
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part of most Linux distributions, but may not be automatically installed.
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> The Wine "emulator" is installed properly on the Linux machine. To
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download Wine, visit [http://www.winehq.com/] http://www.winehq.com. The
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version used at the time of this writing was 20031212. UPDATE (version
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2.01): Wine versions later than 20030813 will not work. UPDATE (version
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2.2): Wine version 20031212 may be required under more modern Linux
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setups. There are more problems with this version, and Dialog will not
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work, but older Wine versions will not "emulate" properly without it and
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will cause a crash upon trying to access NNTP servers. Try 20030813
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first, and then try version 20031212 if you have problems.
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> The reader of this document has access to a Windows machine. Certain
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files are needed from the Windows operating system. Access to Windows
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98SE is preferred. This HOWTO covers Windows 98SE and Windows XP. Windows
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ME files will also work when running Xnews if a Windows 98SE
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configuration is used.
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> Xnews stable version 5.04.25 is used (the beta version was not tested at
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the time of this writing). The website for Xnews is [http://
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xnews.newsguy.com/] http://xnews.newsguy.com/
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> Dialog version 2.0 Beta 28 is used. The website for Dialog is [http://
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www.40tude.com/dialog/] http://www.40tude.com/dialog/ Note that Wine
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versions greater than 20030813 will not work with Dialog.
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> Free Agent version 1.xx is being used. The website for Free Agent is
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[http://www.forteinc.com/agent/] http://www.forteinc.com/agent/
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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1.2. Copyright and License
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This document, Windows Newsreaders under Linux HOWTO, is copyrighted (C)
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2003 by Daniel Quintiliani. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or
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modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,
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Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
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with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover
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Texts. A copy of the license is available at [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/
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fdl.html] http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html.
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Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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1.3. Disclaimer
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No liability for the contents of this document can be accepted. Use the
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concepts, examples and information at your own risk. There may be errors and
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inaccuracies that could be damaging to your system, although any damage is
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highly unlikely. Proceed with caution; the author(s) do not take any
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responsibility.
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All copyrights are held by their by their respective owners, unless
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specifically noted otherwise. Use of a term in this document should not be
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regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Naming
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of particular products or brands should not be seen as endorsements.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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1.4. TODO for this document
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This document may eventually contain:
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD>*<2A> This document may be expanded to cover other Windows newsreaders such
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as MicroPlanet Gravity.
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This document will not cover the following newsreaders: XanaNews (I cannot
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get this to work) and newsreaders included in web browsers (Outlook Express,
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Netscape/Mozilla Mail and News, etc)
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2. Xnews
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2.1. Setting up Xnews
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2.1.1. Configuring Wine for Xnews
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Wine is capable of "emulating" many different versions of Windows. Wine is
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not perfect, however; it runs slower than a normal Windows installation and
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it is not a stable product. Certain problems occur when running Xnews; these
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are discussed in the "Problems and Issues" section of the document.
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Before Xnews can run under Linux, certain files from a Windows installation
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need to be copied to the Xnews root directory. Depending on which version of
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Windows you have access to, there will be different files to copy and
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different instructions for configuring Wine. This document currently covers a
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Windows 98SE/Windows ME and a Windows XP configuration. A Windows 98SE/
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Windows ME configuration is preferred, since there are some more problems
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with a Windows XP configuration. Below are the instructions describing how to
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configure Wine for Xnews.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.1.1.1. Windows 98SE / Windows ME
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If you have access to a Windows 98SE or Windows ME machine, you must set up
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the Wine configuration file (found at $HOME/.wine/config) according to these
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instructions.
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First, find the section "[Version]" in the .wine/config file, and make sure
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that "win98" is the version Wine will imitate:
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[Version]
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; Windows version to imitate (win95,win98,winme,nt351,nt40,win2k,winxp,win20,win30,win31)
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"Windows" = "win98"
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Second, update the "DllOverrides" section which will tell Wine to use
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certain files from Windows rather than Wine.
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[DllOverrides]
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; some dlls you may want to change
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"shell" = "native, builtin"
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"shell32" = "native, builtin"
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Third, add an entry to the "AppDefaults" section which will also tell Wine
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to use certain files from Windows rather than Wine.
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;; sample AppDefaults entries
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[AppDefaults\\Xnews.exe\\DllOverrides]
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"commctrl.dll" = "native"
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"comctl32.dll" = "native"
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"riched32.dll" = "native"
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"shell.dll" = "native"
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"shell32.dll" = "native"
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"comdlg32.dll" = "native"
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.1.1.2. Windows XP
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If you have access to a Windows XP machine, you must set up the Wine
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configuration file (found at $HOME/.wine/config) according to these
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instructions.
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First, find the section "[Version]" in the .wine/config file, and make sure
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that "win98" is the version Wine will imitate:
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[Version]
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; Windows version to imitate (win95,win98,winme,nt351,nt40,win2k,winxp,win20,win30,win31)
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"Windows" = "win98"
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Second, add an entry to the "AppDefaults" section which will tell Wine to
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use certain files from Windows rather than Wine.
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;; sample AppDefaults entries
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[AppDefaults\\Xnews.exe\\DllOverrides]
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"comctl32.dll" = "native"
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"riched32.dll" = "native"
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"riched20.dll" = "native"
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.1.2. Copying and/or Extracting Required Files
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Several DLL files must first be copied to the root Xnews directory from an
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existing Windows installation.
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If Xnews lies on a Windows partition on the same machine, you must copy the
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DLL files to the Xnews root directory. Xnews will be run from this directory
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on the Windows partition.
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If Xnews is being run on a Linux-only machine, you must download Xnews to
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your fake C drive (usually $HOME/c) and extract it into a directory there.
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Open up a terminal window, navigate to your fake C drive, and type the
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following commands:
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mkdir Xnews
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mv xnews.zip Xnews
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cd Xnews
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unzip xnews.zip
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Alternatively, you may copy an existing Xnews folder to your fake C drive.
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The root Xnews directory must include the DLL files mentioned in the
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following subsections.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.1.2.1. Windows 98SE
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If you have access to a Windows 98SE machine, copy the files commctrl.dll,
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comctl32.dll, riched32.dll, comdlg32.dll, shell.dll, and shell32.dll (usually
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in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM) to the root Xnews directory.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.1.2.2. Windows XP
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If you have access to a Windows XP machine, copy the files comctl32.dll,
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riched20.dll, and riched32.dll (usually in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32) to the root
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Xnews directory.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.2. Running Xnews
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Using a terminal window, navigate to the root Xnews directory and type:
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wine Xnews.exe
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Use Xnews normally, noting the exceptions in the next section, entitled "
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Problems and Issues" Note that these are problems with Wine's "emulation,"
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not Xnews.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.3. Problems and Issues
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2.3.1. Fixed-width fonts and alt.ascii-art
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ASCII art requires fixed-width fonts to view. Clicking the fixed font button
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above the message headers will simply lock the message so that the vertical
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scrollbar will not work.
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The easiest way to deal with this is to go into "Special -> Setup Xnews ->
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Fonts and Colors" and select a fixed font for all types of text. The default
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"Fixed" will not work; use "Misc Fixed", size 12.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.3.2. Erasing sections of text
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Selecting sections of text with the mouse and pressing Backspace or Delete
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will delete the text from the screen, but for some reason it might still look
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like it's there when the message is sent or posted.
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To solve this problem, press the "Rewrap" button below the message headers.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.3.3. Window sizing problems
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There are several problems relating to the sizing of the windows. When the
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CatchUp button is clicked, the main groups list window shrinks and must be
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maximized. These are mostly minor annoyances, except...
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.3.3.1. Closing Xnews
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Depending on the window manager (Sawfish has problems with this), it may be
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impossible to close the Xnews window, and there is no "Exit" option in the
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main menu. To get around this, make sure that the window is sized so that the
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terminal used to launch Xnews is accessible, and close that terminal. Do not
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press Ctrl-C, etc as this will cause problems. Be sure to click the Save
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button to save the newsrc first.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.3.4. Binary newsgroups
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The posting of binaries to newsgroups does not currently work. An attempted
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post will lock at 1% completion and give an error message when the post is
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aborted, posting only the text portion of the message. However, the combining
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and decoding of binaries works with no problems at all.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.3.5. Text on some tabs are indented
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If Windows XP is "emulated," certain tabs will have text indented, leaving
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some of it out of visibility. The solution is to use Windows 98SE files
|
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instead of XP files. It isn't that important. UPDATED: Version 2.0 of this
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||
document includes new instructions which solve this problem when Windows XP
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files are used.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.3.6. No sample text in font selection dialog
|
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|
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If Windows XP is "emulated," the font selection dialog will not show sample
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text. According to a Wine mailing list message, there are certain
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un-"emulated" functions in Windows XP "emulation." Version 1.1 of this
|
||
document was updated with new files to copy and configure when using Windows
|
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98SE "emulation" in order to solve this problem. Until the Wine developers
|
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implement these Windows XP functions, use a Windows 98SE configuration to get
|
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around this issue. If a Windows 98SE computer is not available, just apply
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changes and look at the main window.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.3.7. Web links can not be executed
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Web links can not be executed from within the Xnews message window. This is
|
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pretty obvious as there is no integrated Web browser in Wine. However, Wine's
|
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clipboard works with no problem. Select the link and copy and paste into an
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open web browser window.
|
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
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2.3.7.1. Web link doesn't always copy
|
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|
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When you try and copy a Web link to the clipboard, it may not copy. This
|
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occurs when the link as a whole is copied rather than selected text. The
|
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solution to this is to make sure that as you are selecting the text, the rest
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of the link is not automatically selected. If this continues, select the
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blank space before the link and copy with the preceding blank space.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2.3.8. Sound does not work
|
||
|
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Event sounds in Xnews do not currently work. Updated instructions for this
|
||
may be included in future versions of this document.
|
||
|
||
UPDATED (version 2.11): Event sounds work properly. If you run KDE, you
|
||
first need to turn off the aRts soundserver by going into Settings -> Control
|
||
Center -> Sounds & Multimedia -> Sound System and unchecking "Start aRts
|
||
soundserver on KDE Startup" (instructions were tested on version 3.1.3; may
|
||
be different for other versions). Note that this will disable event sounds
|
||
for KDE applications which depend on the aRts soundserver. Xnews sounds work
|
||
properly under the Gnome sound server.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
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|
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2.3.9. "Compose" message body does not automatically wrap
|
||
|
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In some cases, the message body of a Compose window does not automatically
|
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wrap. Simply clicking "Rewrap Text" as this happens will fix the problem.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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|
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2.3.10. XFaces are not visible
|
||
|
||
When a Wine version greater than 20030813 is being used, the XFace is not
|
||
visible when a message is being composed or read, and the box where the XFace
|
||
would be is colored black. Ignore this, since the correct XFace is being
|
||
posted anyway. Try to use Wine version 20030813 if you can.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
3. Dialog
|
||
|
||
3.1. Setting up Dialog
|
||
|
||
3.1.1. Configuring Wine for Dialog
|
||
|
||
Wine is capable of "emulating" many different versions of Windows. Wine is
|
||
not perfect, however; it runs slower than a normal Windows installation and
|
||
it is not a stable product. Certain problems occur when running Dialog; these
|
||
are discussed in the "Problems and Issues" section of the document. Note that
|
||
Wine versions greater than 20030813 will not "emulate" Dialog properly.
|
||
|
||
Before Dialog or its installer can run under Linux, certain files from a
|
||
Windows installation need to be copied to the directory containing Dialog's
|
||
installer, and after installation, Dialog's root directory. Depending on
|
||
which version of Windows the reader of this document has access to, there
|
||
will be different files to copy and different instructions for configuring
|
||
Wine. This document currently covers a Windows 98SE and a Windows XP
|
||
configuration. Below are the instructions describing how to configure Wine
|
||
for Dialog.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
3.1.1.1. Windows 98SE
|
||
|
||
If you have access to a Windows 98SE machine, the Wine configuration file
|
||
(found at $HOME/.wine/config) must be set up according to these instructions.
|
||
|
||
First, find the section "[Version]" in the .wine/config file, and make sure
|
||
that "win98" is the version Wine will imitate:
|
||
[Version]
|
||
; Windows version to imitate (win95,win98,winme,nt351,nt40,win2k,winxp,win20,win30,win31)
|
||
"Windows" = "win98"
|
||
|
||
Next, add an entry to the "AppDefaults" section which will also tell Wine to
|
||
use certain files from Windows rather than Wine.
|
||
;; sample AppDefaults entries
|
||
|
||
[AppDefaults\\dialog.exe\\DllOverrides]
|
||
"commctrl.dll" = "native"
|
||
"comctl32.dll" = "native"
|
||
"riched32.dll" = "native"
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
3.1.1.2. Windows XP
|
||
|
||
If you have access to a Windows XP machine, you must set up the Wine
|
||
configuration file (found at $HOME/.wine/config) according to these
|
||
instructions.
|
||
|
||
First, find the section "[Version]" in the .wine/config file, and make sure
|
||
that "win98" is the version Wine will imitate:
|
||
[Version]
|
||
; Windows version to imitate (win95,win98,winme,nt351,nt40,win2k,winxp,win20,win30,win31)
|
||
"Windows" = "win98"
|
||
|
||
Second, add an entry to the "AppDefaults" section which will tell Wine to
|
||
use certain files from Windows rather than Wine.
|
||
;; sample AppDefaults entries
|
||
|
||
[AppDefaults\\dialog.exe\\DllOverrides]
|
||
"comctl32.dll" = "native"
|
||
"riched32.dll" = "native"
|
||
"riched20.dll" = "native"
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
3.1.2. Copying and/or Installing Required Files
|
||
|
||
Several DLL files must first be copied to the root Dialog directory from an
|
||
existing Windows installation.
|
||
|
||
If Dialog lies on a Windows partition on the same machine, you must copy the
|
||
DLL files to the Dialog root directory. Dialog will be run from this
|
||
directory on the Windows partition.
|
||
|
||
If Dialog is being run on a Linux-only machine, you must download Dialog to
|
||
your fake C drive (usually $HOME/c). You must then use the supplied installer
|
||
according to the instructions in the subsection below entitled "Using the
|
||
Installer." Alternatively, you may copy an existing Dialog folder to your
|
||
fake C drive. The root Dialog directory must include the DLL files mentioned
|
||
in the following subsections.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
3.1.2.1. Using the Installer
|
||
|
||
To extract the archive which contains the Dialog installer, open up a
|
||
terminal window, navigate to your fake C drive (where Dialog was downloaded
|
||
to) and type:
|
||
unzip 40td2b28.zip
|
||
The name of the file may be different depending on the version of Dialog
|
||
downloaded.
|
||
|
||
In order for the installer to work correctly, certain DLL files from Windows
|
||
need to be copied to the directory where the installer is located. If you
|
||
have access to a Windows 98SE machine, copy the file riched32.dll to your
|
||
fake C drive. If you have access to a Windows XP machine, copy the files
|
||
riched20.dll and riched32.dll to your fake C drive.
|
||
|
||
Finally, to install Dialog, open up a terminal window, navigate to your fake
|
||
C drive, and type:
|
||
wine SETUP.EXE
|
||
Installation of Dialog should work fine from here. Be sure to copy the DLL
|
||
files mentioned in the rest of this section to your Dialog root directory
|
||
before running the program.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
3.1.2.2. Copying required files - Windows 98SE
|
||
|
||
If you have access to a Windows 98SE machine, copy the files commctrl.dll,
|
||
comctl32.dll, and riched32.dll (usually in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\) to your root
|
||
Dialog directory.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
3.1.2.3. Copying required files - Windows XP
|
||
|
||
If you have access to a Windows XP machine, copy the files comctl32.dll,
|
||
riched20.dll, and riched32.dll (usually in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ to your root
|
||
Dialog directory.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
3.2. Running Dialog
|
||
|
||
Using a terminal window, navigate to the root Dialog directory and type:
|
||
wine dialog.exe
|
||
|
||
Use Dialog normally, noting the exceptions in the next section, entitled "
|
||
Problems and Issues" Note that these are problems with Wine's "emulation,"
|
||
not Dialog.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
3.3. Problems and Issues
|
||
|
||
3.3.1. Dragging the vertical scrollbar's placeholder doesn't work
|
||
|
||
Dragging the vertical scrollbar's placeholder within the message list will
|
||
cause it to bounce back to its original position. To get around this, hold
|
||
down the mouse at the down arrow of the scrollbar, or use your mouse's wheel
|
||
if it has one.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
3.3.2. Strange error message about fontinfo.dat
|
||
|
||
You may occasionally get an error message about the file fontinfo.dat
|
||
needing to be rebuilt. Ignore this, as it doesn't seem to affect the program
|
||
in any way.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
3.3.3. Window sizing problems
|
||
|
||
Depending on the window manager used, the window may need to be re-maximized
|
||
after switching to another window. Other sizing problems might be present as
|
||
well.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
3.3.4. Fixed-width fonts and alt.ascii-art
|
||
|
||
ASCII art requires fixed-width fonts to view. Only the font "Misc Fixed"
|
||
will work.
|
||
|
||
To change the font, go into Settings - General Settings - Fonts/Colors.
|
||
Change the "Bodies (monospaced)" font to "Misc Fixed."
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
4. Free Agent
|
||
|
||
4.1. Setting up Free Agent
|
||
|
||
4.1.1. Configuring Wine for Free Agent
|
||
|
||
Wine is capable of "emulating" many different versions of Windows. Wine is
|
||
not perfect, however; it runs slower than a normal Windows installation and
|
||
it is not a stable product. Certain problems occur when running Free Agent;
|
||
these are discussed in the "Problems and Issues" section of the document.
|
||
|
||
Before Free Agent can be run under Linux, a certain file from a Windows
|
||
installation need to be copied to Free Agent's root directory. The
|
||
instructions are similar for both Windows 98SE and Windows XP configurations.
|
||
Below are the instructions describing how to configure Wine for Free Agent.
|
||
|
||
First, find the section "[Version]" in the .wine/config file, and make sure
|
||
that "win98" is the version Wine will imitate:
|
||
[Version]
|
||
; Windows version to imitate (win95,win98,winme,nt351,nt40,win2k,winxp,win20,win30,win31)
|
||
"Windows" = "win98"
|
||
|
||
Next, add an entry to the "AppDefaults" section which will also tell Wine to
|
||
use certain files from Windows rather than Wine.
|
||
;; sample AppDefaults entries
|
||
|
||
[AppDefaults\\agent.exe\\DllOverrides]
|
||
"comdlg32.dll" = "native"
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
4.1.2. Copying and/or Installing Required Files
|
||
|
||
Several DLL files must first be copied to the root Free Agent directory from
|
||
an existing Windows installation.
|
||
|
||
If Free Agent lies on a Windows partition on the same machine, you must copy
|
||
the DLL files to the Free Agent root directory. Free Agent will be run from
|
||
this directory on the Windows partition.
|
||
|
||
If Free Agent is being run on a Linux-only machine, you must download Free
|
||
Agent to your fake C drive (usually $HOME/c). You must then use the supplied
|
||
installer according to the instructions in the subsection below entitled "
|
||
Using the Installer." Alternatively, you may copy an existing Free Agent
|
||
folder to your fake C drive. The root Free Agent directory must include the
|
||
DLL files mentioned in the following subsections.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
4.1.2.1. Using the Installer
|
||
|
||
To install Free Agent, simply download the installer to your fake C drive,
|
||
open up a terminal window, navigate to your fake C drive, and type:
|
||
wine installer.exe
|
||
(where installer is the name of the installer). Installation should work fine
|
||
from here. Be sure to copy the DLL files mentioned in the rest of this
|
||
section to your Free Agent root directory before running the program.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
4.1.2.2. Copying required files
|
||
|
||
The Windows DLL file comdlg32.dll needs to be copied to the Free Agent root
|
||
directory. Under Windows 98SE, the file is usually located in C:\WINDOWS\
|
||
SYSTEM\. Under Windows XP, the file is usually located in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32
|
||
\.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
4.2. Running Free Agent
|
||
|
||
Using a terminal window, navigate to the root Free Agent directory and type:
|
||
wine agent.exe
|
||
|
||
Use Free Agent normally, noting the exceptions in the next section, entitled
|
||
"Problems and Issues" Note that these are problems with Wine's "emulation,"
|
||
not Free Agent.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
4.3. Problems and Issues
|
||
|
||
4.3.1. Fixed-width fonts and alt.ascii-art
|
||
|
||
ASCII art requires fixed-width fonts to view. Only the font "Misc Fixed"
|
||
will work.
|
||
|
||
To change the font, go into Options -> Display Preferences -> Fonts ->
|
||
Fixed-Pitch Body. Make sure the font "Misc Fixed" is being used.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
4.3.2. Cannot post binaries
|
||
|
||
If a Wine version greater than 20030813 is being used, an attempt to add an
|
||
attachment to a message will not open a file dialog box. Try to use Wine
|
||
version 20030813 whenever possible.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
4.3.3. Cannot save messages or binary attachments
|
||
|
||
If a Wine version greater than 20030813 is being used, an attempt to save a
|
||
message or binary attachment will not open a file dialog box. Try to use Wine
|
||
version 20030813 whenever possible.
|
||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
5. Acknowledgements
|
||
|
||
First of all, I'd like to thank the creators of these newsreaders for
|
||
keeping Usenet alive. Hopefully they will release their products open-source.
|
||
|
||
I'd also like to thank Vancouverite and the other people in the Gentoo forum
|
||
message who described how to run Xnews under Wine using Windows 98SE files. I
|
||
built this whole HOWTO on that information.
|
||
|
||
I'd like to thank Greg Ferguson, Tabatha Marshall, and Mark Garboden of the
|
||
Linux Documentation Project for helping me submit my first HOWTO. Greg
|
||
Ferguson translated my first document from plain text to XML.
|
||
|
||
Also, thanks go out to the people in news.software.readers for working with
|
||
me on this HOWTO, and to Usenet users everywhere for keeping the protocol
|
||
alive in the midst of ad-filled, license-binding, scattered Web forums.
|