Home Screen and Basic Search

The home screen is the first screen you will encounter in the NewsLazer browser. From here, you will be able to browse newsgroups; you can filter by most recent posts (“Latest File Groups” tab), most highly rated posts (“Best File Groups” tab) or you create a custom search in the top right of the browser window by using the the Global Usenet Search box. Global Usenet Search will display matching results from all newsgroups and for all file types. Because it will only search binary newsgroups, text only group search is not available. All new searches will open a new tab and results from your searches are shown in those new tabs in the main window, below the main icon bar.

Downloading Files

To initiate your download, double click a post. When you double click, a dialogue box will appear that asks you confirm and begin the download. You can also view detailed information on the post. To see all of your active downloads, click the Transfers button; number of current downloads that are queued and active are displayed within the red square.

When your downloads finish, you can view files by clicking the “Download Folder” button. This will open your default download folder.

On a Mac or Linux you can find the downloaded files within the NewsLazer folder that is inside the main Downloads folder, on Windows 7 at C:\Users\ [user]\Downloads\NewsLazer, and on Windows XP at C:\Documents and Settings\(user name)\Downloads\NewsLazer.

Finding Newsgroups to Browse

To browse newsgroups, click the “Newsgroups” button at the top. This will show a list of all newsgroups available from Usenet in the main window.

Sort newsgroups by name by clicking the “Newsgroup” bar. To sort by the number of articles available, click the “Articles” bar.

Use the “Search for:” text field to search for a specific newsgroup by keyword. Enter a keyword or topic and the list will auto-populate with any matching newsgroup names. To filter results by newsgroup size, use the “Show only newsgroups with at least:” and set a number of articles.

Working with Bookmarks

Your NewsLazer browser comes equipped with two default bookmark folders: “Text” and “Binary.” These bookmark folders are displayed on the left side of the browser. You can further customize this list by adding and deleting new folders and newsgroups.

Delete a newsgroup or folder from this list, by right clicking on the item and selecting delete. It is important to note that if you delete a folder that contains a newsgroup, those newsgroup links will also be removed.

Add a folder by right clicking the bottom of the bookmark list and selecting Add Folder. Add a specific newsgroup to your bookmarks by clicking the Newsgroups button at the top (it looks like a newspaper) and selecting on the (+) icon next to the name of the newsgroup in the newsgroup list you would like to add. You will then be prompted to choose the folder where you want to put it; simply choose your desired folder and click “Ok”. Note that you can also drag and drop a newsgroup into the bookmark bar from the main window.

Browsing Bookmarks

After you’ve saved your favorite newsgroups your bookmarks, you can begin browsing them. View the most recent posts in a bookmarked newsgroup by clicking on the newsgroup’s name. The main panel on the right will refresh with the posts in that group. You can also scroll and page through posts in the main panel.

When browsing a binary group, you can sort the posts by file type (videos, audio, documents, ISO, software and images) or you can choose to view all. View all is the default view.

Settings (Preferences on Mac)

Login

Input your username and password to gain access to the NewsLazer browser. Forgot your password? Simply reset it by clicking the forgot password link.

Usenet Index

Set default behavior for downloads, thumbnail settings, and turn on the text panel when browsing binary newsgroups in the index menu.

Search

Choose between Usenet search engines and set search history options.

General

Control private data settings, file system settings, and several user interface settings.

Connection

Set a download speed limit, choose a different connection port, choose a different connection type, change the number of connections used, turn on secure (SSL) connections, and/or set the SSL port.

Downloads

Choose how subfolders are created and control the handling of PAR2 and RAR files.

Import

Use the NZB Auto Import feature to automatically download files. This monitors a specified folder for NZB files, and then imports and removes them automatically after the download completion.

Scheduler

Set the time of the day you wish to download content. This can be customized for normal downloads, prevews, and images.

Video

Link to the VLC video player of your choice and/or set video preview settings.

Safe Search

Filter out adult content. Simply click the checkbox to enable it.

Text

Set the default sender’s information for all text newsgroup posts posted by you. You also can set the number of text newsgroup headers that are automatically loaded.

Jumpstart Your Usenet Experience

Access shortcuts by right clicking an item in the main window on the right. For example, right clicking on any file group will bring up options and actions available specific to that group, like “Download”, “Show details” or “Show Automatic Preview”. Right clicking on items being actively downloaded will give you allow you to instantly cancel that download or change its priority.

Previews and Automatic Previews may be available for some video file groups. If a preview is available, you will be able to select the “Show Automatic Preview” option when you right click on an item in the list.

For video playback, we recommend VLC Media Player. It’s an open source, free media player that works best for viewing and using all types of video and audio content you find on the Usenet. It can be found here.