Binary Vortex

(c) 1998 Scott M Baker, smbaker@binaryvortex.com or smbaker@sb-software.com

The BinaryVortex home page is http://www.binaryvortex.com/

Description:

BinaryVortex is a tool designed to allow you to download files (or pictures) from Binary Newsgroups. BinaryVortex is designed to perform this task automatically without user intervention. It can run in a fully unattended configuration, or if you are present, you can watch files as they are downloaded with the built in thumbnail viewer.

BinaryVortex is intended to be easy to use, as well as powerful. It is shareware, and has no delays, limits, crippled features, or other nags that would deter your enjoyment of this product.

Step-by-Step Installation Instructions:

1. Run the Setup Program (Setup.Exe). This will install all of the BinaryVortex files into a subdirectory of your choice and create a Win95 program group for them.
2. Load BinaryVortex:
   1. Press the Windows-95 <Start> button
   2. Find the program group entitled "BinaryVortex"
   3. In the BinaryVortex program group, select the item "BinaryVortex" to launch the program.
3. Configure your news host identity. You will need to know some specific information about your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to complete this section of the Installation. You will need to know your News Host Name, User Name, and Password. If you are unsure of these items, then you should contact your ISP. You may also be able to find the information in an existing program, such as Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer, which you have already configured to receive newsgroups.
   1. The first option is your News Host Name. This is the Internet Name of the computer that you must connect with to receive usenet news. It is usually "news.ispname.com" or "nntp.ispname.com" (ispname being the name of your Internet Service Provider). For example, if you were using Supernews, the name is "news.supernews.com". If you are using primenet, then the name is "news.primenet.com". If you are unsure about this name, then contact your ISP; They will be happy to give you the information.
   2. The next option is your User Name. This is usually the name that you use to logon to the Internet. Again, your ISP may be able to give you this information if you don't know it. Note: A User Name (and Password) is not always required. Many ISP's will grant access to normal newsgroups, but not the alt.binary hierarchy unless you specify a name and password.
   3. The final option if your Password. The password corresponds to the User Name in the above step, and if you know one, then you probably already know the other.
4. Set your download path. By default, BinaryVortex will download into the current directory. If this is what you want, then leave it alone. If not, then designate a directory of your choice.
5. Press the "Groups" Tab at the top of the dialog to configure your newsgroups
   1. Use the <Add> button to add a new newsgroup.
   2. If you know the name of the newsgroup you want to add, then just type it into the dialog and hit ok.
   3. Otherwise, you can get a list of groups from your News Server.
      1. Press the <Refresh> button in the add newsgroup dialog.
      2. BinaryVortex will connect to your news server and download a group list. This will take several minutes.
      3. Numerous things can go wrong here if you have something misconfigured (i.e. the wrong news host name, a bad password, etc). If something does go wrong, then get the correct info (contact your ISP!), enter it into the setup tab, and try again.
   4. Once the newsgroup list is downloaded, you can scroll through it and pick the groups you want.
   5. Repeat 1-4 until you've added all the groups you desire.
6. Click the "Download!" tab at the top of the dialog to begin downloading.
   1. On the download page, there is a button with the caption "Click to Start!". Click this button.
   2. Congratulations! Your are now downloading binary news!

Program Features and Options

The program is organized in a tabular fashion.

• The "Setup" tab contains information for configuring the program to your ISP and hard drive. You should only need to use it once.
• The "Groups" tab is where you add and remove newsgroups from the download list. You can tell BinaryVortex to switch to a new newsgroup (after the current file has finished processing) by using the Set-Next button. The Enable button will let you turn a group on or off without actually removing the group.
• The "Download!" tab is where all the action occurs. Various message information is presented on the left, while a thumbnail image (for jpeg files) is displayed to the right. The "Click to Start!" button starts and stops everything.
  • You can push "Skip" to skip and delete the current image
  • "View" will view the current directory in a big full-screen viewer
  • "Kill String" will enter the current author and/or poster into the kill string database
• The "Filter" tab is where you configure kill strings. A kill string is just a batch of text that if it appears in a message, will prevent that message from being downloaded. For example, enter "Phone Sex" into the kill string database, and BinaryVortex will avoid any messages with the phrase "Phone Sex" in the subject or author.
• The "Diagnostics" tab is where you go when something bad happens. The status window shows a play-by-play listing of what is being communicated to your news server, and the kill-string log shows what messages have been zapped by kill strings.
• The "Registration" tab is where you go to pay the hard-working author of this software for all his effort.

Registration:

The registration fee is $19.95 and may be paid by mail, fax, or online at my website. For full details, see http://www.binaryvortex.com/order/

Contacting the Author:

You may email me at smbaker@binaryvortex.com or smbaker@sb-software.com

You may send me us-mail at:

SB Software
2241 W Labriego
Tucson, Az 85741

Revision History:

• Version 1.0
  • Initial Public Release
• Version 1.1
  • Widened group list
  • Made skip button also delete the file
  • Changed to Borland C++ Builder 3.0 (What a pain in the ass!)
  • Added register button to registration page
  • Added version number to registration page
  • Hid news password
  • Robustized bmp support in viewer
  • Added filter-by-message-lines
  • Vortex now remembers it's previous screen coordinates
  • Child dialog boxes now auto-center in their parents
  • Error dialog and auto-restart on remote server disconnect
  • Better handling of authentication problems
  • Deactivated following of ThreadPrev
• Version 1.2
  • Fixed problem with group list not working when >32000 groups
  • Added search box to newsgroup listing
  • Added progress bar to newsgroup listing
• Version 1.3
  • Fixed wrong dialog box size on systems with large fonts
  • Recompiled with BCB 3.0
  • Fixed problem with kernel32 crash if date > 2033
• Version 1.4
  • Prevented blank groups from being added via add dialog
  • Viewer now remembers previous mode and slideshow delay
  • Viewer remembers previous position
  • Updates to viewer