Program configuration for NewsWatcher 2.2.2

Note: Screenshots were made on a Mac running a German version of MacOS - don't let that worry you.

Make the following adjustments to use our news server:

1
Start Newswatcher.

If you have already used the program before and have saved your preferences, you can make changes via menu File / Preferences. If you are using the program for the first time, you will be asked if you are using your private computer, a computer that you share with others or a computer in a computer lab.

The answer to this question determines where your configuration files will be stored:

On a private computer they will be stored in the Preferences folder in your Systems folder.
On a shared computer you can determine where your files should be stored.
On a public (lab) computer you will be prompted to insert a disk.

We advise you to select Shared because this lets you chose the place to store your files. If more than one user should want to use NewsWatcher on your computer, every user can use his/her own settings. Select a directory to store your files. A new folder will be created.

2
You will have to enter the data for your connection now. (You can change these settings later on by choosing Preferences from the File menu.) You will be asked for the address of your news and mail server first. Specify News.CIS.DFN.DE as your News Server. (Ask your internet provider for the address of your Mail Server.)

3
Next you will be asked for your personal information. Type your first and last name in the Full name box and your email address in the Email address box.

4
NewsWatcher will then try to connect to our news server.

The full list of newsgroups will be transferred from our server (this may take some time) and sorted alphabetically.

Once the complete list was transferred, you will see two windows. One windows contains the complete list of all newsgroups on our server (Full Group List), the other window contains the list of newsgroups that you have subscribed to (untitled) - this window will (of course) be empty in the beginning.
The configuration for our news server is not complete yet because you will still need to specify your username and password (see below).

5
Select Preferences and then Authentication from the File menu to specify your username and password.

Storing your account password in the news reader's configuration is a potential security risk. If you are unsure please refer to our FAQ at http://news.cis.dfn.de/faq.html#1.6.

It is not necessary to enter a password if your institution is a member of the institutional access scheme (Anwenderzulassung) and you are accessing the server from your institution's network.

Type your Username and Password for our service in the appropriate boxes, and make sure to check Always authenticate (and if you want to Save Password).

6
To read news, you could simply double-click on the name of a newsgroup in the Full Group List window. To find the name of a newsgroup, you can select Find from the Edit menu.

Since the full group list is rather long, you will want to subscribe to a selection of newsgroups. To do that you can drag the name of the newsgroup in question from the Full Group List window into your group window (which will still be called "untitled" at this point).

7
A double-click on a newsgroup's name transfers the list of articles in that group.

A double-click on an article header transfers that article.

8
Save your preferences when you quit NewsWatcher. From now on you can start NewsWatcher by double-clicking on your group list file or the "News Watcher Prefs" file in your personal folder.

9
If you are using the program on a computer that other people have access to and if you have saved your password by checking the Save Password option, please make sure to delete your password again (via menu File / Preferences / Authentication) before you quit because otherwise it will be possible for anyone to post articles in your name using your account.