Usenet Explorer User's Manual/Versions

This chapter contains the change log of Usenet Explorer.

The primary source of information for this page is the Usenet Explorer Forums Release history.

v2.2.1

Released 26 August 2008.

- if a removable drive which is the save destination has been disconnected - UE will suspend the save queue. - unpack "auto add" entry has been removed from the main menu as too drastic option, it can now only be accessed through properties. - as running quickpar autorepair concurrently is certainly not recommended and cannot be handled completely, if quickpar did autorename misnamed files - UE won't overwrite them, but rather will give a rename error. - auto collection grouping has been improved by handling additional non-standard cases, those kinds of posts formerly separate now are included into a collection. - for new installs the default "save all" and "save queue" every x min in properties->general has been changed from empty (option not in use) to 90 min and 30 min respectively. - small unpack refinements.

v2.2

Released 18 July 2008.

- recent folders entry has been added to the unpack main menu, the toolbar and modified&custom browse for folders dialogs. - ssl code has been recomplied with zlib code to enable zlib compression for zlib aware servers which may increase header download speed. zlib aware ssl servers are shown with yellow lock and the rest with dark cyan lock on the server icon. - article tasks now are optionally disengaged from disabled servers. the option is enabled by default, properties->tasks, disengage article tasks from disabled servers. it prevents stuck pending tasks waiting for disabled servers to become reenabled. - when download becomes repairable and there are pending tasks on disabled servers or servers with maximal number of tasks set to zero - unpack will take over instead of waiting for the user-incapacitated servers. - proper prompts are given when disabling a server will affect article tasks or when there are no active destination servers for the group so marking for download doesn't result in any action. - compact binary groups are now much friendlier with threads enabled as to threaded binary (mal)posts (a weird posting mode in power post), when marking for download if an entry is moved into a thread - the thread is automatically expanded, so it doesn't look like the entry disappeared from the view. - create folder prompt is now optional (edit menu->properties->general->miscellaneous). - a number of other improvements.

v2.1.5

Released 17 July 2008.

v2.1.4

Released 13 July 2008.

v2.1.3

Released 8 July 2008.

v2.1.1

Released 3 July 2008.

v2.1

Released 2 July 2008.

- par2 repair performance has been greatly increased, on average repair is now noticeably faster than quickpar and it is at least marginally faster than quickpar on any repair even without taking into account quickpar pre-repair stage. - added option to associate UE with par2 files (properties->unpack->associate with par2 files). - repair is now optionally multi-core, but because the optimized repair code is so fast and may saturate memory bus even with one core - press the question sign button near the option in properties->unpack->multi-core repair to learn how to check whether it is really needed. - manual add files to unpack pane option has been refined (unpack context menu->add), in additon to former add files option - par2 files with related files can be added with or without scan for misnamed with optional forcing reload of already listed files for the case they were changed outside UE. - reload exact files option in (unpack context menu->advanced) to e.g. reload par2 set and its data files as they are listed in the unpack pane without choosing par2 file through open file dialog in add option, useful when e.g. files were changed outside UE. - added recent folders entry in the unpack context menu to show recent save / unrar folders with clear all option to clean up the menu, it allows to easily locate folders even after all files were cleared from the unpack pane. - par2 menu has been added. par2 zero file can be now optionally downloaded first (checked by default), they can be downloaded with the highest priority (unchecked by default) and the rest of par2 files can be marked for download last (unchecked by default given their download is postponed anyway). when queue is sorted by date the download par2 zero files with the highest priority is recommended. - unrar password can be now set almost anywhere, e.g for par2 set, it will propagate to rar files or rar set after they have been downloaded given the associated par2 set, which is useful along with the par2 download with highest priority option so unrar password can be set well in advance before downloading any rar files. - collections both auto and forced with size previously displayed as >4GB are now shown outright with the exact size (not only in properties) and can be sorted by it. - when associated with .nzb files UE will now feature its own distinct .nzb icon, but you need to reassociate UE in properties->general, associate with nzb files for the change to take effect. - other changes including a number of subtle refinements of unpack behaviour; links to forum/email support were added in the help menu.

v2.02

Released 8 June 2008.

added "open with" and "open in editor" unpack context menu entries in the advanced submenu, "show password" for unrar password dialog is now perstistent as it was intended to be; introduced in v2.01 features needed small additional article tasks <-> unpack sync refinement.

v2.01

Released 6 June 2008.

includes several organic refinements of unpack behaviour as postponing download of subsequent par2 files (instead of setting/relying on download queue order), applying save attachments settings when discarding download/save tasks (e.g. unneeded par2 files) instead of deleting bodies, plus a couple of fixes, almost all after constructive user feedback.

v2.0

Released 25 May 2008.

Unpack feature has been introduced which can handle par2 verifying / repair / joining of split files, unraring with subsequent cleanup with customizable degree of automation. No additional utilities are needed, the program is still contained in the single executable. for details see http://www.netwu.com/ue/help/unpack.htm and the help button in edit menu->properties->save/unpack, the bottom help ( "? >>" )button in the middle of the properties pane. by default full automation mode is activated, all can be customized in edit menu->properties->save/unpack. several non-unpack related changes added to v2.0 like shell open/explore mode in properties->general; few small issues with pre-unpack code fixed e.g. not remembering the last current import group in the search service bar. as to search service we may expect higher uptime after a module has been added to constantly monitor the server state and notify if a connection lost or a server computer went down. Attention: please note that launching pre v2.0 versions will empty the v2.0 unpack pane in the task manager, since it is sharing string file with prior versions so the unpack related data in the file will be lost leading to discarding the rest of the unpack pane content.

v1.9.9.8

Released (unknown).

the release accompanies the v2.0 release. it is based on pre-unpack code derived from v1.9.9.7 fixing few small issues with older releases like always reverting to the default import group in the search service bar on program restart instead of remembering the last one.

v1.9.9.7

Released 10 November 2007.

v1.9.9.5

Released 8 November 2007.

v1.9.9.3

Released 7 November 2007.

v1.9.9.2

Released 29 October 2007.

v1.9.9.1

Released 27 October 2007.

v1.9.9

Released 1 September 2007.

v1.9.8

Released (unknown).

fixed bug accidentally introduced by missed nesting while adding forcing collections - related to importing corrupted nzb files (it appears only one site generates them like <file poster="" date="" subject="">, data contains empty fields probably because of their corrupted sql database. fixed a glitch which had place until recently when during search service restart instead of "service starting after maintenance" notification search returned "communication error". it was handled afterwards by patching the server side, but now the client has been rightly adjusted. in addition one day before the release the search service configuration change had place - the search server retention has been increased to 150 days in the terms of the current usenet volume (i.e. it may vary depending on the usenet volume) except for the picture groups which are drawn from the old server in the meantime due to large volume of random spam there, the issue might be handled later if requested by the users.

v1.9.7

Released 23 July 2007.

this is a major upgrade addressing how the search service is organized. the new scheme has improved scalability and given ordinary hardware it is able to provide unlimited retention without affecting search service performance. first though we'll run it with the same retention as previously, then the retention will be bumped several times (the older data is available here) when additional hardware will be installed (it won't require software update).

v1.9.6

Released 14 July 2007.

in properties->newsgroups it is not possible any more to set initial filter for the newsgroup list view (filters created in the filter editor are not relevant for the newsgroup list). fixed a rare potential issue with crossposted articles which was handled by non-exact code workaround in prior versions. added more help messages to pinpoint problems after crashes caused by malfunctioning or disconnected hardware.

v1.9.5

Released 17 June 2007.

when using the import folder - the destination directory is now always set correctly according to properties->newsgroups->save (when "import&download&save" is selected in properties->general); the default for new installs has been changed from "import only" to "import&download&save").

v1.9.2

Released 17 June 2007.

the default for collections is changed from "None" to "Custom". when importing nzb or making a search with enabled collections the focused item will be the first selected item instead of unchanged since navigation and choosing default file name is based on the focused item.

v1.9.1

Released 1 June 2007.

the version notes will be kept short so not to obstruct v1.9 release notes. most likely v1.9.1 finalizes the collection topic in the meantime. refined initial state of check boxes in the 'add to collection' dialog and dynamic changing newsgroup view state icons for files inside collections. added another level of settings protection - user manageable settings rollback when a problem is detected.

v1.9

Released 26 May 2007.

• Introduction of Custom Collections.

- custom collections - a new major feature introduced. it is an option to group arbitrary headers into persistent static collections. the feature can be employed through newsgroup context menu->custom collections, add to collection, delete from collection, rename collection and set as current collection (the latter to add to this collection headers without retyping collection subject and author). in addition in properties->general->import/search there is now "import as collection" option checked by default. it means nzb and search results will enter into header views as custom collections. prior collections has remained as "auto collections". if a header from auto collection is being included into a custom collection in the state column there is a small left-downward arrow of the same color as custom collection icons to indicate that. operations on auto collections will do include headers belonging to custom collections (but the opposite is not true), if you intend to do something else just expand auto collection and select its files instead. custom and auto collections can be enabled or disabled one by one or both in properties->general. newsgroup view toolbar buttons (or threads menu->show auto collections/show custom collections) can hide or show collections one or both kinds or none as well. custom collections can be operated with the same ease as auto collections. they can be used in both binary and text newsgroups.

- with the introduction of the increased collection capabilities newsgroup navigation code has been revised as to expanding/collapsing threads and collections with arrow or +/- keys and as to displaying search results and newly imported nzb files, the navigation is now much smoother than before.

- in the filter editor new filter options were added which allow to filter all collections or auto/custom collections. e.g. you can create a simple filter "messages" are "custom collections" to see all custom collections in the view filtering out the rest.

- improved some error messages, especially those indicating a problem with a third party buggy driver installed in the system.

v1.8

Released 14 May 2007.

- search service protocol has been changed to address future needs

- quick filter "find mode" match cyan color oval sign now is shown in the newsgroup list as well

this release is the concluding conservative release in the series to secure last changes before proceeding with further development 

v1.7.7

- fixed accidentally disabled dragging newsgroups between folders while refining multiple selection workspace view code.

- this completes the latest series of updates resolving all small issues and user requests as the development is now moving to larger onces.

v1.7.6

- size left is shown along with time left in the status bar

enable the status bar using View > Status bar

- added right/left arrow keys shortcuts in addition to plus/minus sign to expand/collapse threads and collections in newsgroup views

to expand threads and collections in newsgroup view press or +, to collapse press <- or -

- further refined multiple selection code in vista plus now it is possible to select several areas like in newsgroup view using e.g. ctrl+mouse then shift+mouse

- fixed non-working context "newsgroup list" submenu from within newsgroup list view

- ssl access now can connect through a proxy server (edit menu->properties->proxies)