Reader Greg H. wrote me about a problem he as having reading Usenet newsgroups.
Hey Terry-Seems like my newsgroup access has gone away. I’m running XP Pro and never had trouble like this before. Usually, I’d launch Outlook, click on View, then News>Go To and go from there. Now, the News option in the dropdown is completely missing. I am with the same internet provider and haven’t really changed anything. I reinstalled Outlook 2000 but nothing changed. Can you help here?
Thanks,
Greg
Greg’s first problem is that Outlook really is not a newsreader. Outlook Express is, though, and Microsoft made provisions for Outlook to use Outlook Express for Usenet news.
From Outlook 2003′s Help:
Start the newsgroup reader
The first time you use the newsreader, you must add the News command to the Go menu.
- Add the News command to the Go menu.
- How?
- * On the Standard toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.), click the Toolbar Options arrow .
- Point to Add or Remove Buttons, and then click Customize.
- Click the Commands tab.
- In the Categories list, click Go.
- In the Commands list, click News, and drag it, without releasing the mouse, until it rests over the Go menu. When the menu displays a list of commands, point to where you want the command to appear, and then release the mouse.
- Click the Go menu, and then click News.
(click on the image for a larger version)
Personally, I use Agent, which is available in a free or paid version (I use the paid version). I find it is much friendlier than OE’s newsreading functions. You can download Agent from Forte Inc’s site – http://www.forteinc.com
I tried their APN news service for a while and found it kept messages longer than cox.net did. But, then I switched over to Giganews News Server Access — huge retention times and they’re FAST.
See these related articles:
- Usenet = Internet News = News Groups
- What programs can I use to read Usenet News?
- Software Review: Agent Usenet Newsreader
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