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Archive-name: off-line-readers/usenet/forte-agent
Posting-Frequency: 15 days Last-modified: 1997/9/14 Version: 1.5 URL: http://mav.net/wguynes/forteagent/agentfaq.html See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
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Unofficial FAQ for alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent
By William Guynes
v1.5 updated 9/14/97
========
CONTENTS
========
[1] Introduction
[1-1] Differences between Agent and Free Agent.
[1-2] What are the latest versions of (Free)Agent?
[1-3] Changes since last version of this FAQ.
[2] Obtaining (Free)Agent
[2-1] How do I buy Agent?
[2-1-1] Can I get Agent in stores?
[2-1-2] How much does Agent cost? What do I get?
[2-2] Where can I get (Free)Agent?
[3] Technical questions
[3-1] Connectivity
[3-1-1] My 16-bit version of (Free)Agent won't autodial my
Win95 winsock. What's wrong?
[3-1-2] I'm using (Free)Agent 32-bit with Win95 and keep
getting "#10047 WSAEFNOSUPPORT" error when I try to
connect.
[3-1-3] How can I force (Free)Agent to connect to two news
servers?
[3-1-4] Why do I keep getting Winsock error #XXXXX?
[3-1-5] Why won't (Free)Agent or Dial-Up Networking remember
my dial-up password?
[3-2] Email
[3-2-1] Everyone is talking about "getting their email," but I
can't find options for it in Free Agent, what gives?
[3-2-2] Are there "Return Receipts" in (Free)Agent?
[3-3] Posting
[3-3-1] How do I crosspost using (Free)Agent?
[3-3-2] I keep getting a "more included text than new text
error."
[3-3-3] How can I add an "X-No-Archive: yes" header?
[3-3-4] How can I add "Control:" and "Approved:" headers?
[3-3-5] How can I add a custom header?
[3-4] Display
[3-4-1] Why do all my Usenet messages have a 0 in front of
them?
[3-4-2] How can I make a folder in a folder? How can I move a
newsgroup into a folder?
[3-4-3] How can I sort my newsgroups list?
[3-4-4] I want to sort/thread my headers by XXXXXXX.
[3-4-5] Why are all the dates on my messages wrong?
[3-4-6] My friend says my messages have "=20" all over them.
I didn't type those!
[3-5] Retrieval
[3-5-1] I am getting an "operation timed out" error when
retrieving my list of groups.
[3-5-2] What are these little red Xs next to my messages?
They say, "message no longer available."
[3-5-3] Why is my news server always missing/repeating posts?
[3-5-4] (Free)Agent tells me there are too many groups to
retrieve. What can I do?
[3-5-5] (Free)Agent tells me there are too many articles to
retrieve. What can I do?
[3-5-6] How can I automate news retrieval in (Free)Agent?
[3-5-7] Why don't my newsgroups all act the same way?
[3-5-8] How can I change my high message pointer for newsgroup
message retrieval?
[3-6] Attachments
[3-6-1] I "attached" a text file in my email to a friend and
it got sent as bunch of garbage characters.
[3-6-2] Why is (Free)Agent using the wrong program when I
launch an attachment?
[3-6-3] When I try to decode a binary, Free Agent tells me
there's no attachment. I know there is!
[3-6-4] Where do my attachments go when I decode or launch in
(Free)Agent?
[3-7] Data Storage
[3-7-1] What are all these IDX and DAT files on my disk?
They're huge!
[3-7-2] I've purged/deleted a lot of messages. But my IDX and
DAT files aren't any smaller.
[3-7-3] What format are the databases stored in?
[3-7-4] How can I find out which IDX/DAT file pairs are for
which newsgroup or folder?
[3-8] ISP Specific
[3-8-1] Netcom
[3-8-1-1] I can't get (Free)Agent to work with Netcom, I
keep getting repeated/lost messages. What's
wrong?
[3-8-2] Worldnet
[3-8-2-1] How do I configure (Free)Agent for use with
Worldnet?
[3-8-3] Demon
[3-8-3-1] (Free)Agent appears to lose messages with Demon.
[3-8-4] America Online
[3-8-4-1] Can I use (Free)Agent with AOL?
[3-8-5] Microsoft Network
[3-8-5-1] Can I use (Free)Agent with MSN?
[3-8-6] MindSpring
[3-8-6-1] How can I configure (Free)Agent for MindSpring?
[3-8-7] Netscape News servers
[3-8-7-1] Can I use (Free)Agent to connect with Netscape's
secnews servers? I want to be able to access the
netscape newsgroups.
[3-9] Operating System specific
[3-9-1] OS/2
[3-9-2] Windows
[3-9-2-1] Can I use (Free)Agent 32-bit under Windows 3.1
with Win32s?
[3-10] Miscellaneous
[3-10-1] How can I stop specific tasks?
[3-10-2] When I edit a message, what I type covers up what was
already on the screen. It's really getting annoying.
[3-10-3] Whenever I close (Free)Agent I get a message "XXX
e-mail and XXX usenet messages ready to send."
[3-10-4] Is there any way for me to password protect
(Free)Agent?
[3-10-5] What are the differences in Properties and Default
Properties in (Free)Agent?
[3-11] Known Bugs
[3-11-1] My cut and paste are grayed out! I need to use them.
[3-11-2] Filter bug
[4] Features
[4-1] Does (Free)Agent have crosspost management?
[4-2] Does (Free)Agent have kill/watch capability?
[4-3] How can I do a (global) text search string of all messages?
[4-4] In Free Agent, can I click on a URL to launch it?
[5] Support
[5-1] Where can I get support for (Free)Agent?
[5-1-1] Help files
[5-1-2] alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent newsgroup
[5-1-2-1] Binaries in the newsgroup
[5-1-2-2] Crossposting in the newsgroup
[5-1-2-3] Suggested message format in the newsgroup
[5-1-2-4] Why did everyone ignore or scream at me when I
asked for an email response?
[5-1-3] Direct email support
[5-1-4] Other support resources
[5-2] Where can I get Internet help?
[5-2-1] How do I create my own newsgroup?
[5-3] Where can I find this FAQ?
[6] Conclusion
[6-1] Credits
[6-2] Copyright
================
[1] Introduction
================
[1-1] Differences between Agent and Free Agent.
Free Agent is a freeware off-line newsreader that is compatible
with the Winsock (Windows Sockets) standard. It offers limited
send email capability, but does not receive email.
Agent is the registered version of Free Agent and contains many
new features, including POP3 or SMTP email reception, address
books, kill/watch lists, URL launching, and crosspost management.
From here on, this FAQ will use "(Free)Agent" when the topic
applies to both Agent and Free Agent.
[1-2] What are the latest versions of (Free)Agent?
Free Agent v1.11 is the latest release of the freeware version.
Agent is currently in version 1.5.
Both are available in 16 and 32-bit versions.
[1-3] Recent changes to this FAQ.
v1.43
- Added [1-3]
- Modified [1-2] to reflect new version of Agent
v1.44
- Modified [2-2] to reflect new version of Agent
- Modified [3-5-4] to show new information on group limits
- Added [5-1-4]
v1.45
- Modified [5-3] to reflect new FAQ web location
v1.5
- Modified [1-2] to reflect new version of Agent
- Modified [2-1-2] to reflect new release scheduling
- Modified [2-2] to reflect new version of Agent
- Modified [3-6-1] to better redirect binary questions
- Modified [3-6-2] to include WindowsNT
- Modified [3-8-5-1] to include new Agent/MSN abilities
- Added [3-11-2]
- Modified [4-3] to add Global Search for Agent
- Modified [5-1-3] to reflect new Agent releases
- Modified [5-3] for shorter html link
=========================
[2] Obtaining (Free)Agent
=========================
[2-1] How do I buy Agent?
Go to this web site for the latest details on ordering Agent.
http://www.forteinc.com/store/aghow.htm
[2-1-1] Can I get Agent in stores?
At the time of this writing, Agent is not available in stores.
This section used to contain availability info for foreign
countries, but this FAQ got flooded with requests for "free
advertising." I find this distasteful. If removal of this
information becomes a problem, we'll work something out.
[2-1-2] How much does Agent cost? What do I get?
$29.00 to download Agent from Forte's ftp site. The key to
activate it is provided via email.
$40.00 for the "shrink wrap" version. Same as above, plus you
will receive Agent on diskette, in 16-bit or 32-bit, along with a
printed manual. If you choose cd-rom media, both bit versions
will be included.
Forte will alert you via email when this package is available
for shipment.
You also get limited direct email support. (see [5-1-3])
[2-2] Where can I get (Free)Agent?
A list of Free Agent ftp sites is available at...
http://www.forteinc.com/getfa/download.htm
A list of Agent ftp sites is available at...
http://www.forteinc.com/store/getagent.htm
Filenames to look for
Free Agent (16-bit) : fa16-111.exe
Free Agent (32-bit) : fa32-111.exe
Agent (16-bit) : a16-15.exe
Agent (32-bit) : a32-15.exe
=======================
[3] Technical questions
=======================
[3-1] Connectivity
[3-1-1] My 16-bit version of (Free)Agent won't autodial my Win95
winsock. What's wrong?
AGENT WEENIE ALERT! Do not ask this one in
alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent or you will be labeled a
weenie for the rest of your natural life.
No 16-bit Windows application can auto-activate the Windows 95
Dial-Up Networking (DUN). You will have to make your connection
manually or upgrade to the 32-bit version.
[3-1-2] I'm using (Free)Agent 32-bit with Win95 and keep getting
"#10047 WSAEFNOSUPPORT" error when I try to connect.
Most likely problem, your (Free)Agent is 32-bit and your
Operating System is also 32-bit, but your winsock is 16-bit.
You need to talk with your provider about switching to a 32-bit
winsock. The Win95 Dial-Up Networking (DUN) comes highly
recommended.
[3-1-3] How can I force (Free)Agent to connect to two news servers?
First, let me point out the difference between multi-user and
multi-instance.
Multi-user means two or more separate configurations for more
than one person; or, can also be one person who desires multiple
news servers. This is easily done using any version of
(Free)Agent.
See Help | Search for Help on... | Multi-user configuration
for how to do this.
Multi-instance means more than one instance of a program actively
running at the same time. For example, two copies, both
downloading messages from separate servers while using the same
Winsock stack.
"Agent will allow multiple instances of itself to run,
provided each instance is using a different directory."
- Agent Help File
Important note to people with 16-bit operating systems:
For multi-instance use, the .exe files must to renamed in
order to be unique from each other.
[3-1-4] Why do I keep getting Winsock error #XXXXX?
A rather complete listing of Winsock errors, and what they mean,
can be found at...
http://www.sockets.com/a_c.htm
[3-1-5] Why won't (Free)Agent or Dial-Up Networking remember my
dial-up password?
See...
http://www.creativelement.com/win95ann/win95ann5.html#10
for many possible fixes.
[3-2] Email
[3-2-1] Everyone is talking about "getting their email," but I can't
find options for it in Free Agent, what gives?
Free Agent does not have email receive capability, but can send
email.
Agent has both send and receive email capability. (see [1-1])
[3-2-2] Are there "Return Receipts" in (Free)Agent?
(Free)Agent does not support "Return Receipts." There are two
arguments against this feature...
One. Return receipts are no guarantee that the reader has read
your email message. Just verification that their system has
accepted said email.
Two. There is no Internet standard for the format of return
receipts. Anything devised by Forte would require that the
recipient was also using (Free)Agent.
[3-3] Posting
[3-3-1] How do I crosspost using (Free)Agent?
(Free)Agent does not allow one to crosspost by highlighting
groups in the newsgroups list. One must manually type in each
newsgroup name, separated by commas and no spaces.
If you read somewhere in the (Free)Agent helpfiles that this is
possible, it was a typo.
There is no expectation for this to change any time in the near
future.
[3-3-2] I keep getting a "more included text than new text error."
Your news server has set a limit on the amount of allowable
quoted text and is rejecting the message. (Free)Agent is just
passing the message on to you. There is nothing it can do about
it.
Your options are:
- Cut down on the excessive quoting. (preferred method!)
- Ask your news server administrator to remove/alter the limit.
- Subscribe to an alternate news service. (drastic)
- Change your quote character.
(NOT recommended, it makes your messages look horrible)
- Pad the message with characters at the end.
(NOT recommended, will probably result in annoyed email
responses)
[3-3-3] How can I add an "X-No-Archive: yes" header?
In Free Agent this is not built in. (see [3-3-5])
For Agent users, this header may be toggled on using...
Group | Default Properties | Post
(see [3-10-5])
and checking the appropriate checkboxes.
[3-3-4] How can I add "Control:" and "Approved:" headers?
Help | Search for Help on... | Index | AGENT.INI
[Message] section
ShowAllFields variable
[3-3-5] How can I add a custom header?
(Free)Agent does not have facilities to add user-defined custom
headers.
Workaround: Many people have hex-edited their Agent.exe file to
remove existing, unused headers and replace them with a custom
header. A problem with this is that the header string must
not be longer than the existing string, or important code can
be overwritten.
[3-4] Display
[3-4-1] Why do all my Usenet messages have a 0 in front of them?
"Agent doesn't set the Lines field (the field that tells how many
lines there are in the article) when posting an article, because
we thought all news servers added it automatically. It turns out
that some don't, so any article posted through them will end up
with a header claiming that it has 0 lines. The article text is
still there and can still be viewed, but many newsreaders will
display it in the browser with a line count of 0.
This problem will be fixed in a later release."
- Lance Boehm, Agent Support team
FAQ note: Has not been fixed yet.
[3-4-2] How can I make a folder in a folder? How can I move a
newsgroup into a folder?
(Free)Agent does not have nestable folders or newsgroups.
It has been mentioned as a possible, future Agent feature.
[3-4-3] How can I sort my newsgroups list?
At the moment, sorting the newsgroups list is not possible within
the program. Forte is aware of the desire for this feature, but
has assigned it a low priority on "the list" of new features.
There is a third party program called "Agent Group Order (AGO)"
that can currently reorder your groups and folders to your
liking.
Agent Group Order can be found at...
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/jo/jonzonk/agent/
[3-4-4] I want to sort/thread my headers by XXXXXXX.
"In both Free Agent and Agent, there are settings (Under
Options | Preferences | Navigation in FA, under Options | General
Preferences | Message List in A) which control how threading is
done.
Agent (not Free Agent) also has sorting capability, which can
override the threading preferences. Clicking on the column
titles in the header pane sorts headers by the title criterion
(also available on the Group menu). Subject, Author, and Date
are toggles, and Thread/Size rotate through the choices. The
sort criterion in use is underlined.
If a newsgroup is not threading when you expect it to, in Agent
first check which column is controlling sorting, changing as
necessary, and in both programs doublecheck your threading
preferences."
- Don Kirkman
[3-4-5] Why are all the dates on my messages wrong?
The Internet is a global network of computers and not everyone
lives in your timezone. (Free)Agent comes preconfigured to use
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), also called Universal Time (UT), for
timestamping messages.
Your computer's internal clock is, usually, set to your local
time. (Free)Agent, by default, converts to GMT when posting and
from GMT when reading.
If you desire your posts to be stamped with your local time,
hand-edit "GMTDates" field under [Message] section in the
Agent.ini to a 0 value. Like so...
[Message]
GMTDates=0
(Free)Agent 16-bit has configurable options to set your time
zone. Check under Options | Preferences | System Profile.
(Free)Agent 32-bit reads your local time zone off of the
operating system. Check your O/S configuration to correctly set
these values.
For more information on time zones, web to...
http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/tzones.html
[3-4-6] My friend says my messages have "=20" all over them. I
didn't type those!
This is an option in Agent called "MIME quoted printable" text.
The Internet, being a collection of different types of computers,
is limited to 128 different possible characters. Now that the
Internet has gone global, there has entered a need for foreign
language support beyond the normal ASCII character set.
Since it is not efficient to upgrade all the hardware on the
Internet at once, the "MIME quoted printable" system has been
implemented to "encode" extended characters and "decode" them on
the other end. Your friend's computer is not decoding.
Agent currently does MIME quoted printable. Free Agent does not.
Either your friend must get a program that correctly decodes, or
you must turn off MIME quoted printable text in your copy of
Agent.
The MIME quoted printable option can be configured separately for
each language you have configured in Agent. See...
Options | General Preferences | Languages
under Usenet Text and Email Text.
[3-5] Retrieval
[3-5-1] I am getting an "operation timed out" error when retrieving
my list of groups.
This is a classic "lag" situation. Your news server is slow, or
has unusually heavy traffic, so (Free)Agent thinks your link is
dead and times out.
In Free Agent under...
Options | General Preferences | Online
Adjust the "Go offline automatically after XXX seconds of no
activity" value to something higher.
In Agent under...
Options | User and System Profile | Online
Adjust the "Go offline automatically after XXX seconds of no
activity" value to something higher.
[3-5-2] What are these little red Xs next to my messages? They say,
"message no longer available."
An out of synch server farm can cause this problem.
(see [3-5-3])
If this is not the case, read on.
Your news server has limited space. Once a message has reached a
predetermined age, it is purged and the space is made available
for a new message.
If you get new headers, wait a while, and attempt to retrieve the
bodies, they will have expired in the meantime. (Free)Agent
is telling you that those messages have been deleted since you
last got headers.
Your options are:
- Quit waiting so long to get the bodies.
- Ask your news server administrator to lengthen the purge time
for that newsgroup.
- Change your news provider to one that retains the posts longer.
If using Agent and you have reason to believe a message
previously marked with the red X is, in fact, available, use the
Agent function...
Message | Mark Available
to allow the message to be marked available for downloading
again.
[3-5-3] Why is my news server always missing/repeating posts?
First, make sure missing posts are not just being delayed.
Usenet can sometimes take up to 5 days to fully propagate a
posting. Just because your friend got it today doesn't mean
you will.
Posts DO get lost on Usenet occasionally, so don't jump to
conclusions.
If you're sure this is not the case, and it is truly a chronic
problem, you probably belong to what is called a "news farm."
Large amounts of singly repeated posts are a sure sign of a news
farm.
When the Internet was young, each news server was one machine.
When you got headers, it had no problem "remembering" where you
left off the last time. Today, with these new mega-providers
appearing, one machine can't handle the load. They have large
"farms" of machines and each time you logon you get a different,
randomly assigned, machine. This machine might not be correctly
synchronized with the others, so it does not give you messages
you should be getting.
Some actions you can take are:
- Find out if there is a way to force a connection to the same
machine every time.
- If using Agent, Options | User and System Profile | System,
check the box titled "Server Creates messages out of order."
- If using Free Agent, Group | Default Properties | Retrieving,
check the box titled "Server Creates messages out of order."
- Get a real, and smaller, provider. Ha!
[3-5-4] (Free)Agent crashes when refreshing groups. What can I do?
The 32-bit versions of (Free)Agent are not a problem. Somewhere
along the lines of 4 billion groups are allowable.
The 16-bit versions have a limit of 65535 (or 64k) groups.
[3-5-5] (Free)Agent tells me there are too many articles to
retrieve. What can I do?
This problem is covered in Forte's own FAQ...
http://www.forteinc.com/agsup/csfaqrd.htm#TooMany
"At this time, there are no plans to increase the 32k headers per
group limit."
- Lance Boehm, Agent Support Team
[3-5-6] How can I automate news retrieval in (Free)Agent?
For an FAQ on automating (Free)Agent's operations, web to...
http://crash.ihug.co.nz/~geoff/agentfaq.htm
[3-5-7] Why don't my newsgroups all act the same way?
You have probably lost track of your individual newsgroup
configurations. (see [3-10-5])
[3-5-8] How can I change my high message pointer for newsgroup
message retrieval?
The term "high message pointer" is kind of out of date when
referring to (Free)Agent.
With the advent of "news farms," (see [3-5-3]) messages no longer
got received and posted in a nice, neat order. So an alternate,
out-of-order, method has come into use. This screws up the
"highest message retrieved" concept.
The high message pointer configuration has been replaced with the
Sample Headers option...
Online | Sample Headers from Selected Groups...
[3-6] Attachments
[3-6-1] I "attached" a text file in my email to a friend and it got
sent as bunch of garbage characters.
These files were encoded binaries.
Try taking this course on Usenet binaries to better understand
the difference in binary and text postings.
http://www.newbie-u.com
If you don't want the file encoded (works only for text files),
try using File | Insert Text File instead of using Attachment.
Encoding a text file creates unnecessary overhead.
Binaries (i.e. anything not text) MUST be encoded.
[3-6-2] Why is (Free)Agent using the wrong program when I launch an
attachment?
(Free)Agent does not know what type of program or file it is
executing. All it knows is to pass the file on to the operating
system, which uses the extension of the file to determine how to
"run" it. These are commonly called "associations."
Under Win95 and WindowsNT, associations can be set in Windows
Explorer under View | Options | File Types.
Older versions of Windows use File | Associations in the File
Manager application
For Agent users only:
The introduction of MIME in Agent complicated things about
filename extensions being used to determine the file type.
"(Note: this explanation excludes 'executables', which are
handled somewhat differently in some sub-cases.)
1. Agent checks the content-type (for uue it assumes
'application/octet-stream').
2. If there is an application named on the line of the MIME
table corresponding with the content-type (real or assumed)
that application is launched (regardless of the .ext of the
attachment, if any).
3. If the content-type (real or assumed) matches a line of
the MIME table but #2 doesn't apply, the program associated
in Windows with the .ext of the attachment (if any) will be
launched.
4. If the content-type (real or assumed) matches a line of
the MIME table and neither #2 nor #3 applies, the application
associated in Windows (if any) with the default .ext on the
line of the MIME table (if any) will be launched.
5. If none of the foregoing apply (that is, the content-type
isn't in the table, or it is in the table but there is neither
a default .ext nor an actual .ext on the attachment) Agent
will pop a dialog box when the attachment is launched to allow
the user to select a 'viewer'."
- Jim Bradley
[3-6-3] When I try to decode a binary, Free Agent tells me there's
no attachment. I know there is!
There are different methods for encoding binary files. Free
Agent only supports UUencode. Binaries using other encoding
methods are not detected.
Base64 is one of these. MIME, although technically more than an
encoding scheme, also can not be "seen" by Free Agent.
Agent decodes most all popular formats without problems.
Free Agent workarounds:
- Get Wincode (freeware). A 3rd party decoding program. Save
the binary as a text file and use Wincode to do the
conversion to binary. The help files, on the contrary, are
not freeware.
Wincode can be found at...
http://www.members.global2000.net/snappy/index.html
- Get WinZip (shareware). Another program that can decode
MIME text to binary format. Also does neat other things.
http://www.winzip.com
- Get SJHB64 (freeware)
http://www.sjhdesign.com
[3-6-4] Where do my attachments go when I decode or launch in
(Free)Agent?
Using Free Agent, when decoding (saving) a binary, it is decoded
and saved to disk in the directory specified under...
Group | Default Properties | Attachments |
Binary Attachments Directory
(see [3-10-5])
Launching under Free Agent first does a decode, then launches it
from this location.
Agent separates these two functions further by allowing the user
to specify a special temporary directory just for launching.
The contents of this temp directory are deleted by Agent
when Agent is closed.
Both settings can be found under...
Group | Default Properties | Directory
(see [3-10-5])
This was done because many people want to launch an attachment
before deciding whether to keep it. (Myself, I like inspecting
zip files before deciding on it's worthiness of my hard drive
space.)
[3-7] Data Storage
[3-7-1] What are all these IDX and DAT files on my disk? They're
huge!
Free(Agent) is an off-line newsreader. This means that the
messages are transmitted from the news server and stored on the
user's hard drive until purged or deleted. Those IDX and DAT
files are your messages, stored in database format.
If you want to reduce their size, try adjusting...
Group | Default Properties |
"What to purge" and "When to purge" options
Important: See [3-7-2] for important information on purging.
[3-7-2] I've purged/deleted a lot of messages. But my IDX and DAT
files aren't any smaller.
Purging (or deleting) a message does not actually remove the
message from the hard drive. Doing so would require a complete
rewrite of the entire database file each time you deleted one
message. Instead, each "deleted" message gets a little deleted
flag on it, but the information contained in it is still present.
Compacting a database actually deletes all of these marked
messages and rewrites the database without them. This is the
only way to recover used space. In (Free)Agent, this is
accomplished using File | Compact Databases.
[3-7-3] What format are the databases stored in?
The file format of the databases is proprietary and has not been
published by Forte.
[3-7-4] How can I find out which IDX/DAT file pairs are for which
newsgroup or folder?
Help | Search for Help on... | Index | AGENT.INI
[Debugging] section
ShowUID field
[3-8] ISP Specific
FAQ note: If anyone has provider specific solutions to FAQs,
please email them to me.
[3-8-1] Netcom
[3-8-1-1] I can't get (Free)Agent to work with Netcom, I keep
getting repeated/lost messages. What's wrong?
Netcom (in the US) is a news farm. (see [3-5-3])
UK Netcom does not seem to have these problems.
The problem is a synchronization error with Netcom's news
servers. Try selecting a direct server.
--
For configuring third party apps through Netcruiser:
instructions:
http://www.webster-image.com/iis/PCsHelpPage/index.htm
news: ixnewsX.ix.netcom.com (X is any number between 2 and 9)
nntp.ix.netcom.com (assigns one of the above at random)
smtp: smtp.ix.netcom.com
pop3: (yourId)@popd.ix.netcom.com
or: POP3 Server: popd.ix.netcom.com
Mail id: your ID
[3-8-2] Worldnet
[3-8-2-1] How do I configure (Free)Agent for use with Worldnet?
"Run Customer Care Tools, and click the Account Info button.
Read/print/save the resulting text file and copy the info. That
text file will have all the connection info needed: your local
access number, IP addresses, your logon name/password and email
name/password (NOTE: these two +are+ different!), news server,
email servers, etc.
Also, there is the Worldnet User's Reference Desk. The address
for help configuring Free Agent to worldnet.att.net is:
http://204.127.237.208/wurd/newsreaders/Agent.htm"
- Jeffrey Kaplan
[3-8-3] Demon
[3-8-3-1] (Free)Agent appears to lose messages with Demon.
Demon has long been a chronic news farm case. (see [3-5-3])
[3-8-4] America Online
[3-8-4-1] Can I use (Free)Agent with AOL?
(Free)Agent can be used with AOL, but not to access their news
server. AOL users can use AOL to connect to the Internet, but
must find some other 3rd party news server to access. This
incompatibility resides on AOL's side.
Make sure, however, that you have AOL's 32-bit winsock before
attempting to use 32-bit (Free)Agent.
[3-8-5] Microsoft Network
[3-8-5-1] Can I use (Free)Agent with MSN?
"MSN requires the use of a proprietary encrypted password
authentication method to access their news servers."
- Lance Boehm, Agent Support Team
Free Agent does not support this method.
Agent now supports it. See...
Help | Release Notes | Secure News and Email Logons
[3-8-6] MindSpring
[3-8-6-1] How can I configure (Free)Agent for MindSpring?
Free Agent 32-bit...
http://help.mindspring.com/modules/w95/cfg/agent.htm
Free Agent 16-bit...
http://help.mindspring.com/modules/win/cfg/agent.htm
MindSpring has no Agent configuration pages, but one could safely
assume the configurations would be similar to the Free Agent
ones.
[3-8-7] Netscape News servers
[3-8-7-1] Can I use (Free)Agent to connect with Netscape's secnews
servers? I want to be able to access the netscape
newsgroups.
No. You cannot. Only Netscape and Microsoft News can currently
connect to secnews servers.
Forte has indicated that they aren't planning to support secnews
either. This is, possibly, due to steep licensing fees that
Netscape might demand to make (Free)Agent secnews compatible.
[3-9] Operating System specific
[3-9-1] OS/2
"Our beta testers have given us mixed reports about running Free
Agent under OS/2 3.0 (Warp). Some can't make it work at all,
while others are able to get it working more or less smoothly.
It's possible that at least some of the difficulties are caused
by problems in Agent, while others may be setup problems in Warp.
We intend to make Agent work correctly under OS/2, so we are
setting up an OS/2 installation ourselves to evaluate the
compatibility issues."
- Forte Web Pages
[3-9-2] Windows
[3-9-2-1] Can I use (Free)Agent 32-bit under Windows 3.1 with
Win32s?
During the first release of the 32-bit version of Agent, Forte
specifically warned against expecting this combination to work
without problems.
"Except for the known limitation on multiple threads Version f/32
works fine under Win3.1 here. There was one glitch in the
installation: the CTL3D32.DLL distributed in the full f/32 .zip
replaced the version already in my \windows\system directory
without warning. Until I restored the prior version from a
backup, every WIN32S application which tried to use it popped the
error message 'This version of CTL3D32.DLL will run only under
NT' (or words to that effect)."
- Jim Bradley
[3-10] Miscellaneous
[3-10-1] How can I stop specific tasks?
(Free)Agent's tasks are currently an all-or-nothing affair.
There is no way to stop certain tasks. This is a frequently
requested enhancement. In other words, "we know... we know..."
[3-10-2] When I edit a message, what I type covers up what was
already on the screen. It's really getting annoying.
"This is not really a (Free)Agent problem, but you've somehow
bumped that 'Ins' key down in the lower right corner of your
keyboard. Check the last block on your status line; if it says
'OVR' you're set to overwrite your previous text. Just hit the
'Ins' key again, intentionally this time."
- Don Kirkman
[3-10-3] Whenever I close (Free)Agent I get a message "XXX e-mail
and XXX usenet messages ready to send."
At some point, you attempted to send a message that did not get
sent. (Free)Agent has buffered it in the Outbox and it is still
waiting.
Go to Window | Open Outbox and find the message that does not
have a yellow smiley face.
Either delete the offending message (highlight it and hit the
Del key) or open it again (double click on it) and send it. You
can, of course, re-edit the message to suit your needs.
[3-10-4] Is there any way for me to password protect (Free)Agent?
There is no built-in way to password protect (Free)Agent. There
are a variety of 3rd-party programs that claim to be able to
protect files, but this author recommends caution about relying
on their security against a determined attack.
FAQ note: I am entertaining email suggestions for any programs
to place here. Please provide details on the level of
protection involved and any obvious holes in the security.
"XXX, written by my brother, is great!" ain't gonna cut it.
[3-10-5] What are the differences in Properties and Default
Properties in (Free)Agent?
In (Free)Agent there are some settings that apply globally to the
whole program and others that apply directly to the newsgroups.
Most all of the truly global settings are under the Options menu.
Other settings are more closely related to the newsgroups. These
settings are under...
Group | Default Properties
Almost all of these default settings can be overridden for
specific groups if the user so desires. To do this, first
highlight the group (or groups) you wish to override in the
groups pane, then select...
Groups | Properties
The dialog box that appears will look almost exactly like the
Default Properties one, but with a few changes. Note that any
changes you make in Properties will only affect the groups you
had selected before opening it!
Warning: Changing more that one group's property overrides at a
time can become problematic. The settings for the various
selected groups may differ, so (Free)Agent doesn't know how to
show you what the "current settings" are. In this case, the
"problem settings" will appear grayed out. The user can alter
them, however; at which point they will turn white again.
Hint: Email uses the Default Properties configuration.
[3-11] Known Bugs
[3-11-1] My cut and paste are grayed out! I need to use them.
Menu options in general are context sensitive and will sometimes
be activated or deactivated according to which pane/window has
the focus.
It seems that, in certain situations where it would be useful,
the cut and paste menu options are grayed out.
This bug, although annoying, is not insurmountable.
Try using Ctrl-x, Ctrl-c, and Ctrl-v for Cut, Copy, and Paste,
respectively.
[3-11-2] Filter bug
Starting in Agent v1.5, the program seems to have a problem
associating a filter with the other parts of a multipart post.
The last part received is the only part that receives the action.
Forte has been notified and have acknowledged the problem.
============
[4] Features
============
[4-1] Does (Free)Agent have crosspost management?
Crosspost management is a common feature among newsreaders to
help the reader avoid having to read the same message over and
over.
Free Agent does not have crosspost management, of any sort.
Agent has basic crosspost management. Once a message has been
downloaded once, the user can configure Agent to either mark any
further posts read or delete them entirely.
Agent can also detect multi-posts to an extent, by comparing the
poster, post length, and subject header Agent will assume a
multi-post to be a crosspost.
Crosspost management abilities that Agent does not have:
- the ability to spot messages posted to more than a
user-specified number of newsgroups
- the ability to spot messages that are also crossposted to
user-specified newsgroups
[4-2] Does (Free)Agent have kill/watch capability?
Free Agent does not have kill/watch capability.
It does have a limited ability to ignore or watch threads,
though it is lacking in what most users think of as kill/watch.
Agent does have kill/watch filter capability.
Agent's kill/watch format is proprietary and is not compatible
with other news reader's kill/watch formats.
[4-3] How can I do a (global) text search string of all messages?
Free Agent
This frequently requested enhancement (FRE) is not an option
inside the program.
There is an external utility "Agent Global Search" (AGlobS)
that can do this. AGlobS can be found at...
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/jo/jonzonk/agent/
Agent
Edit | Global Search...
(or ctrl-g)
[4-4] In Free Agent, can I click on a URL to launch it?
Although Agent does this, there are no known plans to incorporate
this into Free Agent.
===========
[5] Support
===========
[5-1] Where can I get support for (Free)Agent?
[5-1-1] Help files
(Free)Agent's help files are extensive. Before posting or
emailing for help, make sure you have read them thoroughly.
[5-1-2] alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent newsgroup
Public support for (Free)Agent can be found in the newsgroup
alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent. This group is not
officially supported by Forte, although many employees frequent
the group.
All of the people there are donating their own time, for their
own reasons.
[5-1-2-1] Binaries in the newsgroup
It is a non-binary newsgroup! Do not post files there.
No attachment will get a positive reaction from people.
[5-1-2-2] Crossposting in the newsgroup
Do not post or crosspost your (Free)Agent questions to
alt.usenet.offline-reader, unless absolutely necessary, as they
are thoroughly sick of seeing (Free)Agent questions.
[5-1-2-3] Suggested message format in the newsgroup
Do not type your entire question in the subject header.
You will miss out on lots of answers this way, as most readers
will just ignore or flame you.
Summarize the problem in the header and elaborate in the body.
Not everyone has time to read all the bodies every day, and they
might just be the ones who can help you!
[5-1-2-4] Why did everyone ignore or scream at me when I asked for
an email response?
Question: Why is requesting an email-only response to questions
considered unacceptable?
Answer: First and foremost, it deprives others of possibly
valuable information. The regulars are here for the benefit
of the group. (The answer to the second question also applies
to this one)
Question: Why is requesting an email & posted response to
questions considered unacceptable?
Answer: This newsgroup is very active. Most everyone here is
dedicating their private time to supporting and promoting the
Forte products Agent and Free Agent. As these two programs
have grown in popularity, the traffic has increased. This
brings with it a responsibility for all potential posters to
do a minimum level of research before posting.
This can consist of:
- reading help files
- searching for and reading FAQs
- lurking (i.e. reading the newsgroup for a period of time
to see what is considered an appropriate post)
- even searching the Usenet archival services
(e.g. Dejanews) for previous answers in the group
It stands to reason that if a person is too busy to read
this newsgroup for answers to their question (a minimal thing
compared to the effort we put into answering them), they
certainly didn't take the "minimum" time or effort to find it
via some other method.
The end result is that these hit-and-run type tactics really
do get old and give the impression that the original poster
wants their answers handed to them on a silver platter.
[5-1-3] Direct email support
Free Agent
"Forte does not provide direct technical support to freeware
users."
- Forte Web Pages
Agent
Agent users get free email support for up to 90 days after
their purchase.
Customers who have purchased Agent before the final version 1
release get free email support for up to 90 days after the
final release date.
To contact a member of the Agent Support Team, please post
your question by choosing Post | Support Question from the
Agent menu.
Please note: Forte does not offer direct telephone support to
individual Agent customers.
Commercial sites should refer to your contract, or contact
your Forte sales representative for the terms and conditions
of your customer support agreement.
[5-1-4] Other support resources
Lance Boehm, as a member of the Forte support team, has set up
his own web page with lots of Agent-links at...
http://sd.znet.com/~lance
[5-2] Where can I get Internet help?
[5-2-1] How do I create my own newsgroup?
To create an alt group, check out the alt.config newsgroup and
try to locate the "So you want to create an alt group" FAQ
document.
To create a newsgroup in comp.*, rec.*, etc., read
news.answers or news.admin.misc for the FAQ called
"How to create a new USENET newsgroup."
[5-3] Where can I find this FAQ?
This FAQ is posted every 15 days in the
alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent newsgroup.
Via ftp...
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/
alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent
To view it via the World Wide Web...
http://mav.net/wguynes/forteagent/agentfaq.html
The Web site might be out of date occasionally, but the RTFM ftp
site above will always have the latest version. Sorry, but I've
got to set priorities.
==============
[6] Conclusion
==============
[6-1] Credits
I would like to thank the following people for helping me compile
and proofread this FAQ.
Don Kirkman, Jeffrey Kaplan, Walter Gould, Chris, Jim Bradley.
I have given them credit by placing their ideas in quotes when I
was quoting them directly. In other cases, I needed to change
their comments a little, which prevented me from quoting them
directly. I apologize for this necessity.
[6-2] Copyright
Copyright (c) 1996, 1997 by William Guynes, all rights reserved.
This FAQ may be posted to any Usenet newsgroup, on-line service,
or BBS as long as it is posted unaltered and in its entirety.
The definition of "in its entirety" is "the included PGP
signature and all text contained within it."
This FAQ may not be distributed for financial gain.
This FAQ may not be included in commercial collections or
compilations without express permission from the author.
- --
William Guynes
Don't bother sending email to the address this was posted with, as
I don't read it. Visit my webpage if you want a real address.
http://mav.net/wguynes
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