Free Agent (part 2)

Default Properties

Click on the Group menu and then click on General Preferences.

Here you can decide how you want messages marked read (messages stored in your disk) when you retrieve new headers/bodies from server.

Here you can:

• define when Free Agent has to purge messages you did not retrieve but marked read, in other words those messaggi whose headers were retrieved but whose content wasn't read (Purge Read Messages Without Bodies)
• define when Free Agent has to purge messages you have retrieved and read ( Purge Read Messages With Bodies)
• define when Free Agent has to purge messages you have not retrieved or marked read (Purge Unread Messages Without Bodies)
• define when Free Agent has to purge messages you have retrieved but not yet read (Purge Unread Messages With Bodies)
• retrieve a complete list of available messages whenever Free Agent gets new headers (Always get complete list of available messages from server)

Here you can define when Free Agent has to purge messages

Here you can specify how many messages Free Agent has to download (limit number of headers retrieved per session to). If this field is unchecked Free Agent will download all headers. Besides you can retrieve bodies for all new messages (retrieve bodies for all new messages). However if this field is checked it takes a lot longer to download messages. So you could check this field and enter a value to limit the size of bodies that are automatically retrieved. For example you could limit the size of bodies to 10 lines (Do not retrieve bodies longer than)

Here you can define your default group settings about postings. For example you can define a signature for all your posting and email. Besides you can set default values for header fields. For example you could set the value of the 'From:' field (your email address).

Here you can define how handle attachments. For example you can define the attachments directory (Binary Attachments Directory).

General Preferences

Click on the Options menu and then click on General Preferences.

Here you have to specify information about you such as your email address and you full name. Besides you can define your user name (and optionally your password) if you use a news server which require an authorization login.

Here you have to enter the name of your news (NNTP) server or its IP address. Besides you have to enter the name of your email (SMTP) server or its IP address. If you don't know their names, ask to your ISP. If your ISP doesn't provide a NNTP server, you can use a public server. However if you use a public server it takes a lot longer to download messages. Click here to know how to find public news server.

Here you can define settings that affect how Agent works. For example you can define how many times Free Agent has to retry to reconnect when a news server refuses a connection (it usually happen when the server is too much busy). Besides you can decide to go offline after a certain period of no activity.

I'm considering this window now, only because you should pay attention to an option: 'Double-clicking a message launches its binary attachment'. In fact if this field is checked, Free Agent will launch the binary attachment when you perform a double click on a message. This could be dangerous, because binary attachments can contain viruses. So I think you should check ALL downloaded files with an antivirus before launching them. So don't check this field.

Posting Preferences (General)

Here you can set up general posting preferences. For example you can define the maximum number of characters that can appear on a single line. You can include a copy of the original text in follow-up Usenet messages and email replies (Include original text in follow-ups and replies). You can quote the original text in forwarding email. In other words you can put a symbol in front of each line of the original message's text (Quote original text in forwarded email). Besides you can specify the symbol for quoting (however usually that symbol is '>').

Posting Preferences (Attachments)

Here you can specify how to send attachments. You can send them as a single file or you can split them into more files.