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1994-09-27
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
NAME
xrn - an X-based interface to the USENET news system that
uses the NNTP remote news server
SYNOPSIS
_x_r_n is an X-based interface to the USENET news system that
uses the NNTP remote news protocol for accessing newsgroups
and articles on an NNTP server, thus allowing users to read
news from personal workstations by accessing a central news
repository. This manual page applies to version 6.17.
DESCRIPTION
_x_r_n [+/-authorFullName] [-breakLength len] [-cancelCount
number] [+/-cc] [+/-ccForward] [-confirm list] [-deadLetters
file] [-defaultLines count] [+/-displayLineCount] [-
distribution dist] [+/-dumpCore] [-editorCommand command]
[-includeCommand command] [-iconGeometry +X+Y] [+/-
includeHeader] [+/-extraMailHeaders] [-includePrefix "prefix
text"] [+/-includeSep] [+/-info] [+/-killFiles] [-
leaveHeaders list] [-lineLength len] [-lockFile file] [-
minLines number] [-mailer mailer] [-maxLines number] [-
newsrcFile file] [-nntpServer name] [-organization org]
[+/-pageArticles] [-printCommand command] [-replyTo name]
[-rescanTime time] [+/-resetSave] [-saveDir directory] [-
saveNewsrcFile file] [-saveString string] [-signatureFile
file] [-stripHeaders list] [-saveMode mode] [-savePostings
file] [+/-sortedSubjects] [+/-subjectRead] [-topLines
number] [-tmpDir directory] [+/-typeAhead] [+/-updateNewsrc]
[+/-useGadgets] [+/-verboseKill] [-addButtonList list] [-
ngButtonList list] [-artButtonList list] [-artSpecButtonList
list] [-allButtonList list] [-addBindings bindings] [-
ngBindings bindings] [-artBindings bindings] [-allBindings
bindings]
Along with the standard toolkit options, including display,
geometry, xrm, and iconic.
BASIC OPERATION
Don't let the size of this manual page alarm you. _x_r_n is
easy to learn on-line without reading the documentation.
This manual page describes many features that may be obvious
to the casual observer, along with a large section on cus-
tomization (such as choosing colors and fonts). It also
describes how to use scroll bars, buttons, and select text;
if you have used an X toolkit application before, the sec-
tion titled "BUTTONS, SCROLL BARS, and SELECTION" can be
skipped.
_x_r_n uses the `.newsrc' file to determine what groups need to
be read. If the `.newsrc' file does not exist, it is
created, and the user is subscribed to the news group
`news.announce.newusers'.
X UCB 1
XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
_x_r_n has four modes of operation: Add, Newsgroup, All, and
Article modes. Add mode will be entered on startup if there
are any groups that the news system knows about that are not
in the `.newsrc' file (_i._e., new groups). In Add mode, the
user is given a list of new groups. Groups can then be sub-
scribed to and placed in the `.newsrc' file at the first
position, the last position, or after a group already in the
`.newsrc' file. When Add mode is exited, any remaining
groups are added unsubscribed, so the user is not asked
about them the next time _x_r_n is started. On exit from Add
mode, or on startup if there are no new groups, Newsgroup
mode is entered. Newsgroup mode displays the subscribed to
groups that have unread articles and the range of available
articles. The basic functions available in this mode allow
the user to read a group, mark all articles in a group as
read, unsubscribe from a group, move the cursor around the
newsgroup window, change the order of the list of news-
groups, re-visit the most recently visited group, and quit
_x_r_n. In addition, the user can subscribe to a group and
specify its position in the `.newsrc' file, query the news
server for new articles and groups, and go to groups that
are either not subscribed to or currently have no unread
articles (_i._e., groups not displayed on the screen). From
Newsgroup mode the user can go into All mode. In All mode
the user is presented with a sorted list of all known groups
and their subscription status (subscribed or unsubscribed)
and can change their status or location in the `.newsrc'
file. On exiting All mode the user is placed back in News-
group mode. In order to read the articles in a particular
group, the user goes from Newsgroup mode to Article mode.
In Article mode the user can sequence through the articles
in the group forward or backward, mark a group of articles
as read or unread, mark all articles in the current group as
read, unsubscribe to the current group, return to the last
article visited, search forward or backward for an article
subject (either for the exact subject or for a regular
expression in the subject), locally kill all articles with a
particular subject, and quit (saving all changes) or exit
(leaving all articles marked unread). In addition, the user
can save the current article in a file, post an article to
the group, post a followup to the current article, mail a
reply to the author of an article, forward an article to
another user via mail, and return to Newsgroup mode.
NEWS SYSTEM
The news system is a set of bulletins, discussion groups,
program sources, and other bits of information distributed
around the world under the name `USENET'. The information
is generally called `news' and is broken up into `news-
groups'. Each newsgroup deals with a subject or set of sub-
jects. The subjects for newsgroups are varied: from dis-
cussions about particular versions of UNIX to movie reviews,
X UCB 2
XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
from information on the X window system to commentary on
current social and political issues.
For information on what newsgroups are available, answers to
commonly asked questions, and newsgroup ediquette, read the
articles in the newsgroup `news.announce.newsusers'. Users
who are new to the USENET are strongly encouraged to become
familiar with the contents of the articles in
`news.announce.newusers' before posting any messages.
NEWS SERVER
In order to run _x_r_n, you must have access to an NNTP news
server. If you do not have access to such a server and
would like to set one up, see the "USENET Software: History
and Sources" posting in news.announce.newusers for informa-
tion about where to get the appropriate software. Either
the file `/usr/local/lib/rn/server' (this filename may be
configured differently at some sites) must contain the name
of the server machine, the environment variable NNTPSERVER
must be set to the name of the server machine, the
nntpServer X resource must be set to the name of the server
machine, or the `-nntpServer' flag must be specified on the
command line (with the order of precedence being command
line, X resource, environment variable, file). The name can
be either the actual host name of the NNTP server (i.e.
shambhala.berkeley.edu) or the internet number (i.e.
128.32.132.54). If someone else has installed _x_r_n at your
site, then it is probably already configured to use the
correct news server and you don't have to worry about it.
SCREEN LAYOUT
The screen displayed by _x_r_n consists of seven sections: a
title bar, two scrollable text windows, two information
bars, and two button boxes. The title bar displays the
current version of the program. The top text window
displays information based on the mode. In Add mode, the
window displays all groups that are not currently in the
`.newsrc' file, one per line. In Newsgroup mode, the window
displays the groups containing unread articles. Each group
is represented by a line of the form:
Unread news in <group name> <num> article(s) + <old> old
<group name> is the name of the group, <num> is the number
of unread articles, and <old> is the number of read articles
that are still available (i.e. have not been expired) on the
news server. If "List old" is toggled on, then the word
"Unread" will not appear on the lines of newsgroups with no
unread articles, and furthermore, the words "news in" will
not appear on the lines of newsgroups with no available
articles at all.
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
In Article mode, the window displays a list of subjects for
the articles in the current group, with each subject line
being represented by a line of the form:
[+u][SP] <num> <subject of the article> [<lines>] <author>
where <num> is the article number, <lines> is the number of
lines in the article (when available), and <author> is the
author of the article. A `+' in the first position means
that the article has been read, a `u' in the first position
means that the article has been marked as unread, a 'S' in
the second position means that the article has been saved to
a file, and a 'P' in the second position means that the
article has been printed.
The top information bar displays information about the mode,
the buttons in the top button box, and error messages. The
top button box has buttons that are specific to the mode and
apply to the information in the top text window. The bottom
text window displays articles in Article mode and a list of
all known groups and their subscription status in All mode.
The bottom information bar displays information about the
mode, the buttons in the bottom button box, and error mes-
sages. The bottom button box has buttons that are specific
to the mode and apply to the information in the bottom text
window.
BUTTONS, SCROLL BARS, AND SELECTION
All button and text selection commands are done with the
left mouse button. Single-line text selection is accom-
plished by clicking the left mouse button on the desired
line. Multiple-line selection is accomplished by clicking
the left mouse button on the first line, holding the button
down, dragging the mouse to the last line, and releasing the
mouse button. Multiple-line selection can also be accom-
plished by left-clicking on the first line, and right-
clicking on the last line. Selected lines appear in reverse
video (the foreground and background colors are switched).
The text windows are scrolled with the scroll bar on the
left side of the window. Clicking the left mouse button in
the scroll bar will scroll the text down some fraction of a
page; clicking the right mouse button in the scroll bar
similarly scrolls up. Clicking the middle mouse button will
scroll over larger areas: clicking at the top of the scroll
bar will scroll to the top of the text, clicking in the mid-
dle will scroll to the middle of the text, and clicking at
the bottom will scroll to the bottom of the text. For those
who like using the keyboard, hitting control-V while the
mouse cursor is in a scrollable text window will cause the
window to scroll down one page, meta-V will scroll up one
page.
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
Hitting the space bar (while the mouse cursor is in the top
button box) will do the right thing; scroll the article text
window when appropriate, go to the next article at the end
of the current article, go to newsgroup mode when done with
all articles in the current group, and go to the next group
when in newsgroup mode.
Clicking the middle button on a newsgroup in Newsgroup mode
causes _x_r_n to enter Article mode in that newsgroup. Click-
ing the middle button on an article in Article mode causes
that article to be displayed.
MODES
The next few sections describe the individual modes in _x_r_n.
Each button in the various modes is described with the label
for the button and the name of the button. The name of the
button can be used in X resources, in the button lists, and
in the bindings tables.
ADD MODE
Add mode is entered when new groups have been detected
(groups that the news system knows about but are not in the
`.newsrc' file).
quit (addQuit)
Add remaining groups in the list to `.newsrc' as unsub-
scribed; go to group mode.
add first (addFirst)
Add the current group(s) to the beginning of the
`.newsrc' file and mark as subscribed. The current
group is the selected group(s), or the group on the
line containing the cursor.
add last (addLast)
Add the current group(s) to the end of the `.newsrc'
file and mark as subscribed.
add after group (addAfter)
Add the current group(s) after a group already in the
`.newsrc'. A dialog box is used to allow the user to
enter the name of the group to add the group after.
The mouse cursor must be in the dialog box for _x_r_n to
accept text (however, it does not have to be in the
type-in area). The dialog box has two options: abort
and add. No other buttons on the screen will work
until the user has selected an option in the dialog
box. Hitting carriage return is the same as clicking
the add button (in all _x_r_n dialog boxes hitting car-
riage return is the same as clicking in the rightmost
button of the dialog box).
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
add unsubscribed (addUnsub)
Add the current group(s) to the end of the `.newsrc'
file and mark as unsubscribed.
NEWSGROUP MODE
Newsgroup mode informs the user of the groups with unread
news and gives the user control over which groups are
visited. Clicking the middle button on a newsgroup entry
will enter that newsgroup.
quit (ngQuit)
quit _x_r_n.
read group (ngRead)
Read the articles in the current group. The current
group is either the first one selected (if one or more
are selected) or the one on the line containing the
cursor. If all groups have been read, the user can
still access groups by using the goto newsgroup com-
mand. Hitting the space bar with the cursor in the top
button box will call this function.
next (ngNext)
Move the cursor to the next group, leaving the articles
in the current group untouched.
prev (ngPrev)
Move the cursor to the previous group, leaving the
articles in the current group untouched.
catch up (ngCatchUp)
Mark all articles in the current group as read.
subscribe (ngSubscribe)
Subscribe to a group. A dialog box is used to allow
the user to enter the name of the group. The dialog
box has the following options: abort, prev group (sub-
scribe to the previous group visited), first (put group
in the beginning of the `.newsrc' file), last (put
group in the end of the `.newsrc' file), and current
position (put group at the position of the cursor).
This command can also be used to change the position of
a subscribed group. Hitting carriage return after typ-
ing in the name is the same as clicking the current
position button.
unsubscribe (ngUnsub)
Unsubscribe from the current group.
goto newsgroup (ngGoto)
Go to a group that is not currently displayed. The
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
first unread article is displayed. If all articles in
the group have been read, the last article in the group
is displayed. The name specified can be a substring of
the group name or a regular expression.
all groups (ngAllGroups)
Display all of the groups that exist, their subscrip-
tion status, and a set of buttons for changing the
status.
rescan (ngRescan)
Query the server for any new groups or articles.
prev group (ngPrevGroup)
Re-visit the previous group visited.
list old (ngListOld)
List all of the groups subscribed to, independent of if
they have any unread articles.
select groups (ngSelect)
Records the groups currently selected. If no groups
are selected, nothing is recorded.
move (ngMove)
Moves the groups previously selected with the select
groups command to the current cursor position. If the
cursor is currently inside the groups to be moved, no
groups are moved. If any other button is invoked after
select groups and before move, the selection is lost,
and no groups are moved.
exit (ngExit)
Quit _x_r_n, leaving the `.newsrc' file unchanged since
the last `rescan' operation or `checkpoint'. If
`updateNewsrc' is on, then the `.newsrc' file is kept
up to date with the last time Article mode was exited.
checkpoint (ngCheckPoint)
Update the `.newsrc' file. _x_r_n normally updates the
`.newsrc' file on `rescan' and `quit' in Newsgroup
mode. This allows you to update the `.newsrc' file
without exiting _x_r_n or reconnecting to the server (see
also 'artCheckPoint').
gripe (ngGripe)
Send a gripe (bug, bug fix, complaint, feature request,
etc.) to the authors of the program.
post (ngPost)
Post an article to a newsgroup. See "post" under Arti-
cle mode for more information.
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
ALL MODE
All mode allows the user to change both the subscription
status and the `.newsrc' file position of any available
group. All operations can apply to multiple groups. Thus,
the user should never have to use a text editor on the
`.newsrc' file. Hitting the space bar will scroll the bot-
tom text window.
quit (allQuit)
Update the `.newsrc' file and return to group mode.
subscribe (allSub)
Subscribe to the current group, leaving it at its
current position in the `.newsrc' file.
subscribe first (allFirst)
Subscribe to the current group and add it to the begin-
ning of the `.newsrc' file.
subscribe last (allLast)
Subscribe to the current group and add it to the end of
the `.newsrc' file.
subscribe after group (allAfter)
Subscribe to the current group and add it after a par-
ticular group (for which the user is prompted with a
dialog box) in the `.newsrc' file.
unsubscribe (allUnsub)
Unsubscribe the current group.
goto group (allGoto)
Go to the current newsgroup.
select groups (allSelect)
move (allMove)
Same as the "select groups" and "move" buttons in News-
group mode.
toggle order (allToggle)
Toggle the order of the newsgroups in the window
between `.newsrc' order and alphabetical order.
scroll forward (allScroll)
Scroll the all groups window forward a page.
scroll backward (allScrollBack)
Scroll the all groups window backwards a page.
ARTICLE MODE
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
Article mode is used for reading and manipulating articles
in a single group. When a group is entered, the list of
article subjects displayed contains those from the first
unread article to the last available article. Previous
articles can be obtained by using the prev or subject previ-
ous commands. Hitting the space bar in Article mode will
``do the right thing''; it will scroll an article if there
is more of the article to see and call the next unread func-
tion if there is no more of the article to see. Clicking
the middle button on an article entry will display that
article.
quit (artQuit)
Update the `.newsrc' file and return to group mode.
next unread (artNextUnread)
Display the selected article if it is unread; other-
wise, display the first unread article AFTER the cursor
position. If no unread articles exist, _x_r_n exits from
Article mode and returns to Newsgroup mode (or to All
mode, if Article mode was entered from All mode).
next (artNext)
Display the selected article, if any; otherwise,
display the next article in the current group. Exit
from Article mode after the last article has been
reached.
prev (artPrev)
Display the selected article, if any; otherwise,
display the previous article in the current group.
last (artLast)
Display the last article accessed before the currently
displayed one. This command only keeps track of one
previously accessed article, so invoking it repeatedly
simply toggles the display between two articles.
next newsgroup (artNextGroup)
Go directly to the next newsgroup with unread news,
bypassing Newsgroup or All mode.
catch up (artCatchUp)
Mark all articles in the current group as read; return
to Newsgroup mode. Articles marked as unread by 'mark
unread' will not be marked as read. It a particular
article is selected, catch up from the beginning of the
group to the selected article.
fed up (artFedUp)
Mark all articles in the current group as read; go to
the next newsgroup.
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
goto article (artGotoArticle)
Go to the specified article number (for which the user
will be prompted with a dialog box).
mark read (artMarkRead)
Mark an article (or group of articles) as read. This
command marks either the selected article(s) or the
article the cursor is on, and leaves the cursor at its
current position.
mark unread (artMarkUnread)
Mark an article (or group of articles) as unread. This
command marks either the selected article(s) or the
article the cursor is on, and leaves the cursor at its
current position. When an article is marked as unread,
a 'u' is placed in the far left column next to the
article's number. The next, prev, subject next, and
subject prev buttons will all display this article if
they come across it, but the next unread button will
not. The only way to mark an article as read once it
has been marked with a 'u' is to use the mark read
function.
unsubscribe (artUnsub)
Unsubscribe from the current group; exit from Article
mode.
subject next (artSubNext)
Find and display the next article with the same subject
as the current article (stripping the '[rR][eE]:' gar-
bage). If there are no more articles with the current
subject and there are more unread articles, the first
unread article is selected. If there are no more arti-
cles with the current subject and there are no more
unread articles, Article mode is exited.
subject prev (artSubPrev)
Find and display the previous article with the same
subject as the current article.
list old (artListOld)
List all articles available in the group, even those
that have been read. Note that this button does not
toggle (clicking this button twice will not put you
back to where you were).
session kill (artKillSession)
Mark all articles with the current subject as read, for
this session only.
local kill (artKillLocal)
Mark all articles with the current subject as read for
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
this group, for this and all future sessions.
global kill (artKillGlobal)
Mark all articles with the current subject as read for
all groups, for this and all future sessions.
author kill (artKillAuthor)
Mark all articles by the current author as read for
this session only.
subject search (artSubSearch)
Begin a regular expression subject search. When this
button is invoked, a window pops up querying the user
for a regular expression (of the form used in ed), and
a direction in which to search. If a regular expres-
sion is not typed in, the last regular expression is
used, and the search direction is the one specified in
the dialog box (this can be used to switch the direc-
tion of the search without retyping the expression).
continue (artContinue)
Continue the last regular expression search by search-
ing for the same regular expression in the same direc-
tion.
scroll forward (artScroll)
Scroll the article text forward a page.
scroll backward (artScrollBack)
Scroll the article text backward a page.
post (artPost)
Post an article to the current group. A scrollable,
editable text window will appear with a header and the
user's `~/.signature' file included. An appropriate
header will be generated with a number of blank header
fields that if left blank will be deleted from the
posting. The editor defaults to the standard X toolkit
editor (similar to _e_m_a_c_s(1)), Another editor can be
specified using the -editorCommand command line option
or by setting the same X resource (see the section on
command line arguments). The mouse buttons can be used
to select text in this window (which can then be placed
in a file, for example).
There are five buttons at the bottom of the editor win-
dow: abort to abort the article (or message, if a mail
message is being written rather than an article, send
to post/send it, save to save it in a file, include
file to include a file (for which the user is prompted
with a dialog box) at the current cursor location, and
include article to include the text of the current
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
article at the current cursor location. The include
article button is omitted if there is no current arti-
cle (e.g. if the user is sending a "Gripe" or if "post"
was selected from Newsgroup mode). Only one article or
message window can be active at a time.
exit (artExit)
Exit article mode, marking all articles listed in the
top window as unread.
checkpoint (artCheckPoint)
Update the `.newsrc' file. _x_r_n normally updates the
`.newsrc' file on `rescan' and `quit' in Newsgroup
mode. This allows you to update the `.newsrc' file
without exiting _x_r_n or reconnecting to the server (see
also 'ngCheckPoint').
gripe (artGripe)
Send a gripe (bug, bug fix, complaint, feature request,
etc.) to the authors of the program.
save (artSave)
Save the current article in a file, or use the current
article as standard input to a command. The save com-
mand will pop up a dialog box for the filename. The
dialog box has two buttons: abort and save. If the
filename begins with a `|', the article will be sent to
the command specified after the `|'. Otherwise, the
article will be appended to the file specified. If the
name is relative (does not begin with `/' or `~'),
`~/News/' will be prepended to it. If the name begins
with a `+' the name is assumed to be an MH mail folder
and a `refile' command will be done on the article. If
no name is specified, it will be saved in
`~/News/<groupname>', where `<groupname>' is the name
of the current group with the first letter capitalized
(following the _r_n(1) article saving conventions). If
-saveMode is set to `subdirs', then
`~/News/<groupname>/' will be used instead of
`~/News/'. If multiple articles are selected, all will
be appended to the same file; however, if the file name
has a %d in it, the %d will be replaced with the arti-
cle number and each article will be saved in a separate
file.
reply (artReply)
Reply (by mail) to the author of the current article.
See post for a description of how to create and send a
message.
forward (artForward)
Send the current article to another person via mail.
X UCB 12
XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
followup (artFollowup)
Post a followup article to the current article. See
post for a description of how to create and send an
article.
cancel (artCancel)
Cancel the current article.
rot-13 (artRot13)
Decrypt a encrypted article. In the newsgroup
`rec.humor', occasionally articles are submitted that
may offend certain people or groups of people. In
order to minimize the offense, these articles are
posted in an encrypted form. This button will decrypt
them.
toggle header (artHeader)
Show the full text of an article, including the full
header.
print article (artPrint)
Send the article to the printer (see the `printCommand'
command line option).
CUSTOMIZING XRN
Colors, fonts, and other _x_r_n options can be specified on the
command line or using X resources. With the exception of
the display name, all _x_r_n options can be specified using X
resources. Options specified on the command line take pre-
cedence over those specified using X resources.
COMMAND LINE ARGUMENTS
Here are the current command line arguments (the X resources
have the same names and values as the command line argu-
ments). Under VMS all command line arguments are in lower-
case.
+/-authorFullName
Display the full name of the author or the
user/hostname of the author.
-breakLength len
Break lines longer than `len' characters into mul-
tiple lines. Default is 0 characters. If set to
0, line breaking is disabled (see also
'lineLength').
-cancelCount number
The number of articles to search before popping up
the cancel button.
X UCB 13
XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
+/-cc Put 'Cc: user' in replies. (X resources class is
"CC".)
+/-ccForward
Put 'Cc: user' in forwarded messages. (X
resources class is "CC".)
-confirm list
Turn on confirmation boxes for the buttons listed.
These boxes pop up to ask the user to verify the
invocation of "dangerous" actions (such as catch
up and unsubscribe). The list of buttons is a
comma separated list of button names. The buttons
that can be confirmed: ngQuit, ngExit, ngCatchUp,
artCatchUp, ngUnsub, and artUnsub.
-deadLetters file
The name of the file to save failed postings and
messages. Defaults to `~/dead.letters'.
+defaultLines count
Number of lines to scroll.
-display display
specification of the X display.
+/-displayLocalTime
Display the 'Date:' field of the article using the
local time zone (instead of GMT).
+distribution dist
Set the default distribution to `dist'.
+/-dumpCore
Dump core when a signal is detected. The X
resources class for the "dumpCore" X resource is
"Debug".
-editorCommand command
Use an alternate editor for creating postings,
followups, forwards, gripes, and replies. `com-
mand' must be a string in _s_p_r_i_n_t_f(3) format con-
taining a `%s', which will be replaced by the file
name to be edited. The command will be executed
using the bourne shell (_s_h(1)). Examples are:
xterm -e vi %s
xterm -e microEmacs %s
emacsclient %s
The resulting command should handle all editing and
windowing. The article being followed up on,
X UCB 14
XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
replied to or forwarded is automatically included.
-includeCommand command
Use an alternate program for inserting current
article text when following up on, replying to or
forwarding a message. `command' must be a string
in _s_p_r_i_n_t_f format that contains two `%s's, which
will be replaced by the include prefix and the
article file name (in that order). Examples are:
sed -e 's/^/%s /' %s
xmh-insert-reply -separator '%s' %s
The command provided should output to its standard
output the text to be included in the message,
derived as desired from the prefix and the contents
of the article file. The command will be executed
using the bourne shell.
-geometry WxH+X+Y
Specification of the _x_r_n window size and location.
The window manager may choose to ignore this
specification.
-iconic Start up _x_r_n with the window iconified.
-iconGeometry +X+Y
Specification of the initial _x_r_n icon location.
The window manager may choose to ignore this
specification.
+/-includeHeader
Include or do not include the original header in
included articles. The default is to not include
the header.
+/-extraMailHeaders
When replying via mail to a posting, include or do
not include an "X-Newsgroups:" line with the news-
groups list from the posting and a "In-reply-to:"
line with its message ID.
-includePrefix prefix text
Change the standard prefix for each line of
included text from the default, "|> ", to the
given text string.
+/-includeSep
Include or do not include the prefix text ("|> ")
in front of included articles. The default is to
include the prefix text ("|> ").
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
+/-info Display all informative messages in the message
pane. Defaults to display all information in the
message pane.
+/-killFiles
Turn the use of kill files on/off. The default is
on. See _r_n(1) for documentation about how kill
files work (however, see the BUGS section below
for a description of the limitations in _x_r_n's kill
file handling).
-leaveHeaders list
The header fields to leave in the article; a comma
separated case-insensitive list of field names
(_i._e., subject,from,organization). This option
takes precedence over `stripHeaders'. If the word
`all' is specified instead of a list of fields,
then all headers will be retained (This can be
used in user X resources to override a resource
specified in the global _x_r_n application defaults,
or on the command line to override a resource
specified in either the application defaults or
the user X resources.).
-lineLength len
Length of lines that are broken. Default is 0
characters. If set to 0, line breaking is dis-
abled (see also 'breakLength').
-lockFile file
Set the XRN lock file name to `file'. Defaults to
`~/.xrnlock'.
-mailer mailer
The command to use for mailing replies. This com-
mand must take all of it's input from stardard
input (_x_r_n will not build a command line). The
default is `/usr/lib/sendmail -oi -t'. Under VMS,
the default is `MAIL'.
-minLines number
The minimum number of lines above the cursor in
the subject line display. If negative, the sub-
ject line display scrolls only at the bottom and
only one line at a time.
-maxLines number
The maximum number of lines above the cursor in
the subject line display. If negative, the sub-
ject line scrolls only at the bottom and only one
line at a time.
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
-newsrcFile file
The newsrc file to use. Defaults to `~/.newsrc'.
If a file with a name of the form `<newsrcFile>-
<nntpServer>' is found, it will be used.
-nntpServer hostname
The NNTP server to use (name or internet number).
-organization organization
Set the organization name in postings and follow-
ups. You can also set the environment variable
ORGANIZATION (NEWSORG on Apollo) to set the
default organization name.
+/-pageArticles
Space bar with either scroll the current article
or go to the next article.
-pointerBackground color
Set the background color of the mouse cursor. The
default color is whatever the default background
color is for xrn.
-pointerForeground color
Set the foreground color of the mouse cursor. The
default color is whatever the default foreground
color is for xrn.
-printCommand command
Set the command used for printing articles. The
article is sent to the command via standard input.
Defaults to `enscript -g'.
-replyTo name
Set the Reply-To field for articles and mail mes-
sages.
-rescanTime time
Amount of idle time (in seconds) before checking
for new articles.
+/-resetSave
Reset the string in the 'save' dialog box upon
entering each newsgroup.
-saveDir dir
The article saving directory. Defaults to
`~/News' when -saveMode specifies `onedir', or
`~/News/newsgroup' when -saveMode specifies `sub-
dirs'.
-saveMode mode
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XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
The mode for saving articles; a comma separated
list of options. The options can be `mailbox' or
`normal', `headers' or `noheaders', and `onedir'
or `subdirs'. The default is
`normal,headers,onedir'.
-saveNewsrcFile file
The saved `.newsrc' filename. Before the
`.newsrc' file is modified on startup, it is saved
in a backup file. Defaults to `~/.oldnewsrc'.
-savePostings file
The name of the file in which to save postings and
messages (via the `save' button in the composition
window). Defaults to `~/Articles'.
-saveString string
Use 'string' as the default in the 'save' dialog
box.
-signatureFile file
The signature file to use. Defaults to `~/.signa-
ture'.
+/-sortedSubjects
Display the subject lines in the subject window
sorted by subject.
+/-subjectRead
When using the space bar to scroll, when an arti-
cle is finished, the space-bar scrolling invokes
subject next instead of next unread.
-stripHeaders list
The header fields to strip from the article; a
comma separated case-insensitive list of field
names (_i._e., keywords,message-id). If the word
`none' is specified instead of a list of fields,
then no headers will be stripped (This can be used
in user X resources to override a resource speci-
fied in the global _x_r_n application defaults, or on
the command line to override a resource specified
in either the application defaults or the user X
resources.).
-tmpDir directory
The directory to use for the temporary storage of
articles fetched from the server. If this option
and the corresponding X resource do not exist, _x_r_n
will look for the environment variable TMPDIR.
The default is `/tmp'.
X UCB 18
XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
-topLines number
The number of lines to be used for the top text
window (where the unread groups and article sub-
jects are listed).
+/-typeAhead
Allow/disallow typeahead. Defaults to allow
typeahead.
+/-updateNewsrc
Update the newsrc file when leaving Article mode.
+/-useGadgets
Use 'gadgets' rather than full widgets (MOTIF
only).
+/-verboseKill
List subjects or just give a count when killing
articles. The default is on.
-ngButtonList list
-artButtonList list
-artSpecButtonList list
-addButtonList list
-allButtonList list
Use the given list of buttons for the particular
mode in the order given rather than all of the
buttons for the mode in the default order. The
list is a comma separated list of button names.
The names of the buttons appear next after the
button label in the button descriptions above.
For example, a list of buttons for Newsgroup mode
might be:
ngQuit,ngRead,ngCatchUp,ngRescan,ngSubscribe,ngPost
-ngBindings bindings
-allBindings bindings
-addBindings bindings
-artBindings bindings
Use the given bindings for the key/mouse bindings
for the particular mode. The default key bindings
are as close to the _r_n key bindings as possible.
See the X toolkit documentation on `Translation
Tables' for information on the format of `bind-
ings'. The actions defined in _x_r_n are the same as
X UCB 19
XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
the button names. For example, a set of bindings
for Newsgroup mode might be:
xrn.ngBindings: \
<Key>Q: ngQuit() \n\
<Key>N: ngRead() \n\
<Key>P: ngPrev()
X RESOURCES
_x_r_n takes a number of specifications for colors, fonts,
border widths, and other program options. The format for an
_x_r_n X resource is
xrn.x.y....z.a: value
where _x._y...._z specifies the path from the top level of _x_r_n
to a particular item (think of _x_r_n as a hierarchical collec-
tion of windows, panes, and buttons, and _x._y...._z is a path
from the top of the hierarchy to a node in the hierarchy), _a
is the type of default (_i._e., font, border, foreground,
background, borderWidth), and _v_a_l_u_e is the value of the
default (_i._e,. a color name or hex representation, a font
name, a numeric value). Specifying a default for a item at
some point in the hierarchy will set that default for all
items from that point down in the hierarchy. A higher level
default can be overridden by specifying a default at a lower
level directly.
XRN widget hierarchy:
vpane (Paned)
titlebar (Label) (optional)
index (Text)
indexinfo (Label)
indexbuttons (Box)
buttonName (Command)
articleText (Text)
textinfo (Label)
textbuttons (Box)
buttonName (Command)
Composition (Shell)
vpane (Paned)
label (Label)
text (Text)
box (Box)
abort (Command)
send (Command)
save (Command)
includeArticle (Command)
includeFile (Command)
dialogs...
X UCB 20
XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
Examples of defaults are:
#
xrn.newsrcFile: ~/.newsrc
xrn.nntpServer: pasteur
xrn.organization: UC Berkeley XRN Design Team
xrn.replyTo: user@machine.domain
xrn.iconGeometry: +64+521
xrn.leaveHeaders: subject,from
xrn.includeHeader: off
xrn.signatureFile: ~/.signature
xrn.geometry: =750x770+10+10
xrn.deadLetters: ~/dead.letters
xrn.savePostings: ~/Articles
xrn.topLines: 9
xrn.saveMode: mailbox,headers,onedir
xrn.minLines: 3
xrn.maxLines: 6
xrn.tmpDir: /tmp
xrn.mailer: /usr/lib/sendmail -oi -t
#
xrn.Gripe.geometry: +50+50
#
xrn.ngButtonList: ngQuit,ngRead,ngCatchUp,ngRescan,ngSubscribe,ngPost
xrn.artButtonList: artQuit,artNextUnread,artCatchUp,artPost,artNextGroup
#
xrn.ngBindings: \
<Key>Q: ngQuit() \n\
<Key>N: ngRead() \n\
<Key>P: ngPrev()
#
xrn*background: plum
xrn*foreground: red
xrn*font: 9x15
xrn*border: LightGray
#
xrn*Text*Background: DarkSlateGray
xrn*Text*Foreground: yellow
xrn*ScrollBarMgr.thickness: 22
xrn*ScrollBar.background: DarkSlateGray
xrn*ScrollBar.foreground: yellow
xrn*ScrollBar.border: White
xrn*Label.background: cyan
xrn*Label.foreground: blue
xrn*Command.foreground: White
xrn*Command.background: coral
#
xrn*Box.ngQuit.foreground: Black
xrn*Box.ngQuit.background: red
#
xrn*dialog*font: 9x15
xrn*dialog*background: LimeGreen
xrn*dialog*foreground: CornflowerBlue
X UCB 21
XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
xrn*dialog*Label.foreground: NavyBlue
xrn*dialog*Command.foreground: Black
xrn*dialog*Command.background: yellow
xrn*dialog*Text.background: Wheat
xrn*dialog*Text.foreground: SteelBlue
xrn*dialog*borderWidth: 2
#
FILES
~/.newsrc description of the groups and the articles
read in each group
~/.oldnewsrc backup of ~/.newsrc (created at startup)
~/.signature signature for use when sending messages
~/News directory where articles are saved
~/Articles where `saved' postings and messages are
stored
~/dead.letter where failed postings and messages are
stored
~/.xrnlock lock file
/usr/local/lib/rn/server location of the news server host-
name (optional)
/usr/local/lib/news/hiddenhost location of the hid-
denhost name (optional)
/usr/local/lib/news/pathhost location of the path host name
(optional)
/usr/local/lib/news/domain location of the domain name
(optional)
/etc/uucpname location of the UUCP name for your host
(optional)
/usr/lib/sendmail default mailer
CHANGES list of changes from the previous ver-
sion
TODO list of bugs and things to do
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
NNTPSERVER hostname of the news server
TMPDIR temporary directory
DOMAIN name of your internet domain
(".Berkeley.EDU", ".orst.edu")
HIDDENHOST full domain-style name of the host that you
want your return path to be from ("decvax.dec.com",
"Berkeley.EDU")
HIDDENPATH name of the host that you want put in the
Path field of messages.
USER login name of the user.
HOME home directory of the user.
FULLNAME full name of the user, used for the From field of
messages.
X UCB 22
XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
SEE ALSO
emacs(1), readnews(1), rn(1), sh(1) sprintf(3), vnews(1),
X(1), nntpd(8)
COMMENTS
The name (_x_r_n) is a bit of a misnomer. _x_r_n is not an X
interface to `rn' (the terminal-based news reading program
by Larry Wall), but is an X-based news reader that has had
part of the functionality of `rn' added since a number of
our users are (were?) `rn' users (all of the code is new).
Much of the `rn' funcionality that _x_r_n currently has was not
in the original plan (KILL files, for example).
The user interface look and feel is modeled after that of
`XMH' (by Terry Weissman).
The `.newsrc' file is updated on executing the `quit' com-
mand in Newsgroup mode, during every `rescan', and by
`checkpoint'. If the `updateNewsrc' option is set, the
`.newsrc' file will be updated everytime Article mode is
exited.
_x_r_n catches signals and X errors and will clean up on error
exit (remove temporary files, update the `.newsrc' file).
The cleanup will be done and then a death notifier box will
be posted (if the signal is SIGHUP or SIGINT, the death
notifier will be skipped and the program will exit). The
"click to exit" button must be pressed in the death notifier
box for the program to exit.
XREFS are handled by _x_r_n, however only articles that are
actually read (not marked as read by 'catchup' or 'mark as
read') have their XREFS chased and only groups that are
currently subscribed to have XREFed articles marked as read.
The default specifications for color and fonts can be
confusing (thousands of different X resources can be speci-
fied for _x_r_n, no two users' _x_r_n displays need to be the
same).
_x_r_n uses the XHDR command of the Berkeley NNTP news server
(XHDR is not part of the protocol defined by RFC 977). _x_r_n
will detect the presence of this command and complain if it
does not exist.
Since the NNTP protocol does not define a unique response
code for server timeout, timeout recovery may not work if
the format of the timeout error message changes.
_x_r_n assumes a `smart' or `lucky' mailer.
X UCB 23
XRN(1) USER COMMANDS 3 July 1991
_x_r_n notices that the `.newsrc' file has been updated by
another program while _x_r_n is running and informs the user
(and gives the user the option to quit without updating the
`.newsrc' or to continue on).
Article temporary files can be removed and _x_r_n will recover.
_x_r_n strips `<character>^H' from articles.
The v{f,s}printf implementation included with _x_r_n is from
Robert A. Larson <blarson@skat.usc.edu>.
The strtok implementation included with _x_r_n is from Henry
Spencer <henry@zoo.toronto.edu>.
PointerForeground is the resource name for the color of the
cursor (pointer). Some other programs use
PointerColor/CursorColor.
BUGS
See TODO for a full list of bugs and things that need to be
done.
Incomplete KILL file support: the THRU line is not updated,
the only actions supported are 'm', 'j', and 's', and match-
ing is always done against both the ``From:'' and ``Sub-
ject:'' lines of postings.
See config.h for a list of defines you may want to use based
on problems that may exist in your version of the X11
toolkit and widgets.
Report bugs and requests for features to
`xrn@eros.berkeley.edu' (...!ucbvax!eros!xrn).
Requests to be placed on the _x_r_n users mailing list should
be sent to `xrn-users-request@eros.berkeley.edu'
(...!ucbvax!eros!xrn-users-request).
ORIGINAL AUTHORS
Ellen M Sentovich (UC Berkeley, ellen@ic.berkeley.edu,
...!ucbvax!ic!ellen)
Rick L Spickelmier (formerly UC Berkeley, now Objectivity,
Inc., ricks@berkeley.edu, ...!ucbvax!ricks, ricks@objy.com)
Mike Yang <mikey@sgi.com> wrote the MOTIF interface.
Jonathan I. Kamens <jik@pit-manager.mit.edu> has done a mas-
sive amount of bug fixing and feature adding.
See the FIXERS/CHANGES files for a listing of those who have
really been doing most of the work over the last year or so!
X UCB 24