The ZIP News Reader (ZNR) Usenet

Date: [3rd Sep 2025]
Categories: [download], [ms-dos]

znr

The ZipNews Reader provides fully threaded newsreading of Usenet and other newsgroups distributed via the Internet. It obtains its news packets from the ZipNews Door. The system operates in a manner quite similar to the QWK-compatible readers and doors. A big difference is the accessability to the fantastic Internet in a familiar and easy manner. There is no compromise in Internet functionality by having to traverse a gateway. There are no addressing kludges that must be mastered in order to force some measure of compatiblity between the one format (such as QWK) to the pure Internet/Usenet format as per the standards set forth in RFC-822 and RFC-1036.

znr093b.zip (0.2 MB) v0.93b 1994/07/21 (corresponding cfg file)
Here for more Information and registering the product legally

This reader provides for the selection of newsgroups and the maintenance of last article read pointers from remote via packet upload. Use the "Setup" menu in the reader, "News Selection". To add/delete newsgroups, you must first obtain a list of those available from the BBS through which you access the ZipNews door. You request the list from the door (if v0.96e or later) by choosing C)onfigure from the door menu, cycle through the various options, and answer Y to the prompt asking if you wish a list of the newsgroups.

When you first use the ZipNews Door accessed from a PCBoard or Wildcat! BBS, you are prompted to register your Internet login ID with the door. You also are given an opportunity to choose the archiving utility to be used to compress your news, the file transfer protocol to be used, and whether Internet e-mail is to be included in your packet (available from registered versions of the ZipNews door, and usable by registered versions of this reader).

A successfully completed download results in a *.ZNS file being received in your download directory. From the Northern Lights, you will receive NLBBS.ZNS files. Before attempting to work with such a file, run INSTALL.EXE. And, if you are using a registered copy, copy ZNREADER.KEY to the same directory you have chosen for your ZipNews executables. You do NOT need to have a registered copy or ZNREADER.KEY to obtain full newsreading capability from the reader.

Should you choose to register your ZipNews Reader, it becomes a mailer as well. This will allow you to use your own editor to compose postings to newsgroups and private mail messages and replies to sent via the Internet. The registered reader also can read your Internet E-mail messages downloaded from a registered ZipNews Door. The reader not only integrates with your favorite editor, but it may integrate also with a spell checker of your choice, and with a public/private key encryption system of your choice. (See ZNRORDER.FRM for information on how to register your reader.)

To try out the reader with an evaluator's key (versions 0.92w and later), see ORDERING.KEY in the distribution archive.

To install the ZipNew reader, merely unZIP the distribution archive into a work directory and enter the command: INSTALL

Fill in the fields that are pertinent to your operation, save, and exit. Note that hitting F1 at the entry of any configuration parameter will provide a unique help screen with more info regarding use and specification of that parameter.

Here are the basics of running your reader:

Use a packet (nlbbs.zns) produced ONLY in ZipNews Reader Format by the ZipNews Door (or on Unix systems by uqwk 1.7 or later). After downloading with your usual communications program, it should be in the directory you have named as the "incoming" directory in ZNREADER.CFG.
Invoke the newsreader with the command: znr To access the packet, pick IMPORT - NEW in the reader's menuing scheme. Thereafter, I think you'll see how to use the reader.
Once you have finished with a packet, you may "store" it away along with info indicating which articles of the total packet remain unread. To "store", pick EXPORT - STORE. To re-access this packet, merely choose IMPORT - RETRIEVE. Simple, huh?
When you quit out of the Group Selection screen, or when quitting out of the reader entirely, you may re-enter the newsreading mode very quickly by choosing NEWS - READ. This will bring things up instantly, bypassing the re-generation of the index files since they exist in the current directory. Should you ever have to re-index a packet, select INDEX. (This option is provided should you manually unarchive a packet and place its contents in the current directory. To bring up the articles in readable form you would have to use INDEX.) Within each major area of the newsreader operation (showing/selecting groups, or threads, or reading an article) there is a unique help screen indicating the action keys. Hit "h" or "?" or "F1" to invoke the help.
If you are using a registered form of the reader, there is a MAIL section that operates pretty much like the NEWS section. Look at the help screens at the various levels to see what commands are available. (The commands pertaining to the posting or follow-up of news, and the commands dealing with various mailing operations are not functional in the unregistered form of the reader.)

Beginning with the v0.92b release of the software the Waffle Sysop's LOCAL mode of operation is supported. The reader can be used locally on Waffle BBSs for newsreading (and, with the registered version of the reader, for posting news follow-ups, and for various e-mail operation). This is bound to become a very popular tool for Waffle sysops AND their callers via the ZipNews Door. (Sysops: Please read WHATSNEW.93b for more on operating this software in local mode on your system, it is first introduced in the v0.92b section.) Version 0.92e of the reader provides for a unique, new feature of LOCAL mode operation, that of "accumulating" news. When using the "Accumulate" sub-function of IMPORT, new news articles are added to the indices built earlier, so that you can accumulate several days worth of news to and readily refer back to older articles in threads of interest. This feature is not available in the normal packet reading mode of the reader.

Although this software product is still in beta testing, most functons are working solidly. I hope you like the product. Please let us know of any problems you encounter with the reader.

Jack Kilday, Sysop (jkilday@nlbbs.com)
The Northern Lights BBS
207-761-4782 (v.32bis/V-HST)

July 21, 1994

znr092d.zip 03-Sep-2025 21:32 85K znr092e.zip 03-Sep-2025 21:32 88K znr092i.zip 03-Sep-2025 21:32 98K znr092n.zip 03-Sep-2025 21:32 102K znr092s.zip 03-Sep-2025 21:32 116K znr092u.zip 03-Sep-2025 21:32 126K znr092w.zip 03-Sep-2025 21:32 161K znr092x.zip 03-Sep-2025 21:32 166K znr092y.zip 03-Sep-2025 21:32 168K znr093a.zip 03-Sep-2025 21:32 169K znr093b.zip 03-Sep-2025 21:32 169K