NewsPlex Quick Start
NewsPlex combines content from many different usenet news-servers into a single database that you can access with any news-reader. However, many new users are overwhelmed by the documentation, and find the program difficult to set up. This brief introduction is intended to help new users get up and running quickly. It assumes you are running the Windows version.
Extract the ZIP file into C:\newsplex\. Using Explorer, navigate to C:\newsplex\ and right-click on the "newsplex.exe" file. Select "Send to" and then "Desktop (create shortcut)." Confirm that you want to create a new shortcut on your desktop.
When executed for the first time, NewsPlex will automatically create a number of sub-folders and files. It may also open a connection to the Internet and attempt to connect to its best guess as to your ISP's news-server (this guess will probably fail). After configuring itself, NewsPlex will exit. Look in the C:\newsplex\etc\ folder. You should see several *.ini files including one named servers.ini and one named newsplex.ini Open the newsplex.ini file in notepad and scroll down to the [groups] section. You can leave the default "yes=*" (all groups), or limit it to "yes=alt.binaries.*". It is NewsPlex's ability to combine headers and bodies from many servers that makes it especially useful in binary groups which tend to be incomplete on individual servers. Next edit the [startup] section to enable background operation (required for WinNT based systems) as follows: "runInBackground=1". Next enable asynchronous article retrieval for all binary articles over one line. Go to [async] and change the lineTrigger entry to "lineTrigger=1". Next edit the waitEnter entry under [shutdown] to "waitEnter=1". This entry may help prevent database corruption in the event of an accidental shutdown. Under [explore] edit the deferredOnStartup entry to "deferredOnStartup=1" which prevents downloading of headers on startup if they have already been downloaded recently.
Another file in C:\Newsplex\etc is "servers.ini." After you run NewsPlex for the first time, this file may be populated by a large collection of free specialized news servers along with NewsPlex's best guess as to your ISP's news server. Unless you want them for some reason, we recommend deleting the specialized servers by editing the servers.ini file with Notepad BEFORE running NewsPlex for the second time. If you run NewsPlex without deleting those servers and wish to delete them later, you will have to use the web interface to delete their databases before deleting them manually from the "servers.ini" file. If you are interested in finding free news-servers with binaries, you may wish to explore some of the resources and links listed at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewsPlex/links/Free_NewsServer_list_001042442964
Also, if you are a member of the Yahoo NewsPlex group, you may also want to try some of the servers along with suggested settings which have been posted at:
You will need to register as a member of the Yahoo NewsPlex group to view this file.
Then configure your news-reader to point to localhost (instead of the single news server you were using), and point your browser to http://localhost/. Your browser provides an interface for you to control NewsPlex. Properly configured with a selection of free servers, NewsPlex can provide a full speed, full feed, with completeness and retention competitive with many premium NNTP providers.
An unofficial NewsPlex FAQ has been posted at:
http://home.pacbell.net/robbie22/NewsPlex/NewsPlexFAQ.htm
If you have any further questions, please feel free to post in the NewsPlex discussion group at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewsPlex/
Revised 4 July 2006