XRN(1)

NAME

xrn - an X-based interface to the USENET news system that uses the NNTP remote news server

SYNOPSIS

xrn 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

xrn [+/-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. xrn 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 customization (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 section titled "BUTTONS, SCROLL BARS, and SELECTION" can be skipped.

xrn 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'.

xrn 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 subscribed 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 xrn 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 newsgroups, re-visit the most recently visited group, and quit xrn. 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 Newsgroup 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 `newsgroups'. Each newsgroup deals with a subject or set of subjects. The subjects for newsgroups are varied: from discussions about particular versions of UNIX to movie reviews, 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 xrn, 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 information 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 xrn 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 xrn 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.

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 messages. 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 accomplished 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 accomplished 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 middle 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.

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 xrn to enter Article mode in that newsgroup. Clicking 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 xrn. 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 unsubscribed; 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 xrn 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 xrn dialog boxes hitting carriage return is the same as clicking in the rightmost button of the dialog box).

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 xrn.

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 command. 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 (subscribe 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 typing 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 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 subscription 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 xrn, 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. xrn normally updates the `.newsrc' file on `rescan' and `quit' in Newsgroup mode. This allows you to update the `.newsrc' file without exiting xrn 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 Article mode for more information.

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 bottom 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 beginning 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 particular 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 Newsgroup 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

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 previous 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 function 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; otherwise, display the first unread article AFTER the cursor position. If no unread articles exist, xrn 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.

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]:' garbage). 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 articles 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 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 expression 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 direction of the search without retyping the expression).

continue (artContinue)
    Continue the last regular expression search by searching for the same regular expression in the same direction.

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 emacs(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 window: 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 article at the current cursor location. The include article button is omitted if there is no current article (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. xrn normally updates the `.newsrc' file on `rescan' and `quit' in Newsgroup mode. This allows you to update the `.newsrc' file without exiting xrn 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 command 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 rn(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 article 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.

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 xrn options can be specified on the command line or using X resources. With the exception of the display name, all xrn options can be specified using X resources. Options specified on the command line take precedence 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 arguments). Under VMS all command line arguments are in lowercase.

+/-authorFullName
    Display the full name of the author or the user/hostname of the author.

-breakLength len
    Break lines longer than `len' characters into multiple 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.

+/-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. `command' must be a string in sprintf(3) format containing a `%s', which will be replaced by the file name to be edited. The command will be executed using the bourne shell (sh(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, 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 sprintf 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 xrn window size and location. The window manager may choose to ignore this specification.

-iconic
    Start up xrn with the window iconified.

-iconGeometry +X+Y
    Specification of the initial xrn 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 newsgroups 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 ("|> ").

+/-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 rn(1) for documentation about how kill files work (however, see the BUGS section below for a description of the limitations in xrn'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 xrn 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 disabled (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 command must take all of it's input from stardard input (xrn 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 subject 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 subject line scrolls only at the bottom and only one line at a time.

-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 followups. 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 messages.

-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 `subdirs'.

-saveMode mode
    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 `~/.signature'.

+/-sortedSubjects
    Display the subject lines in the subject window sorted by subject.

+/-subjectRead
    When using the space bar to scroll, when an article 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 specified in the global xrn 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, xrn will look for the environment variable TMPDIR. The default is `/tmp'.

-topLines number
    The number of lines to be used for the top text window (where the unread groups and article subjects 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 rn key bindings as possible. See the X toolkit documentation on `Translation Tables' for information on the format of `bindings'. The actions defined in xrn are the same as 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

xrn takes a number of specifications for colors, fonts, border widths, and other program options. The format for an xrn X resource is

xrn.x.y....z.a: value

where x.y....z specifies the path from the top level of xrn to a particular item (think of xrn as a hierarchical collection 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 value 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...

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
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 hostname (optional)
/usr/local/lib/news/hiddenhost    location of the hiddenhost 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 version
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.

SEE ALSO
emacs(1), readnews(1), rn(1), sh(1) sprintf(3), vnews(1), X(1), nntpd(8)

COMMENTS

The name (xrn) is a bit of a misnomer. xrn 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 xrn 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' command 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.

xrn 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 xrn, 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 specified for xrn, no two users' xrn displays need to be the same).

xrn uses the XHDR command of the Berkeley NNTP news server (XHDR is not part of the protocol defined by RFC 977). xrn 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.

xrn assumes a `smart' or `lucky' mailer.

xrn notices that the `.newsrc' file has been updated by another program while xrn 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 xrn will recover.

xrn strips `<character>^H' from articles.

The v{f,s}printf implementation included with xrn is from Robert A. Larson <blarson@skat.usc.edu>.

The strtok implementation included with xrn 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 matching is always done against both the ``From:'' and ``Subject:'' 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 xrn 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 massive 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!