Message Page
To: If you wish to email this message to someone (either instead of, or as well as posting to the newsgroup) then enter their email address in this field. Multiple email addresses should be separated by a comma. Note that when you select to 'Reply' to a message, the author's email address is inserted here automatically. Leaving this field blank means that the message is posted only to newsgroups (and this is what you would normally do).
Newsgroups: The newsgroup or groups you wish to post to. The currently selected newsgroup is entered here as standard, but you may change it. Multiple newsgroups should be separated by a comma, eg: 'comp.sys.amiga.misc,comp.sys.amiga.hardware'. If this field is blank, then the message won't be posted to any newsgroups (so you can send a message by email only). Click on the '+/-' button to bring up a menu to easily add or remove newsgroups.
Subject: The subject for your message. This will already be set if replying to a message, and in this case you should only change it if the topic of your message is no longer related to the subject already there. NewsCoaster will not let you post a message without a subject.
Main Text Area Here you type your message.
Attachments Page
Here you can attach files to your messages, eg, text files, pictures, sound files and applications. Note you should *never* post binaries (ie, anything accept text) to a newsgroup unless it is a newsgroup which allows them (signified by having 'binaries' in its name). If you want to send binaries to people on the newsgroup, then either place it on a webpage and post the URL, or ask who wants it, and email it to them individually.
NewsCoaster supports the MIME Version 1.0 standard for attaching files, and uses base64 encoding to attach files.
To add an attachment, select 'Add Attachment', and choose the file using the file requester. NewsCoaster will attempt to 'guess' the file type from the extension, and set the popup box on the right accordingly. You should make sure that it is set correctly; if not, click the popup gadget, and choose the correct file type ('MIME Type').
'Delete Attachment' removes the attachment from the list (it doesn't delete the
original file!)
If you are editing a message that had attachments, NewsCoaster will do its best to reconstruct the attachment list from the message. It should get it right, but it might be worth quickly checking this page to make sure!
Options Page
From: This is what will appear in the From header field (it also appears in the Message-Id header). As a default it is set up with what you entered in the Program Settings window.
Followup-To: If you are crossposting to lots of newsgroups, you should specify one of the here for the discussion to continue on. When people follow up to a message, if this field is blank then the new message goes to the newsgroups that the original message was posted to. If the Followup-To field is not empty, it will be sent to the newsgroup listed there. Also, you can type 'poster' here to indicate you would prefer replies via email. Click on the '+/-' button to bring up a menu to easily add or remove newsgroups.
Bottom Panel
Send to Queue: When you have finished the message, this button sends it to outgoing, ready to be sent next time you click 'Send News'.
Postpone: Use if you wish to finish the message later. It is still copied to outgoing, but marked with an 'H'. Such messages won't be sent when you select 'Send News'. Select 'Edit Message' from the Messages menu to continue a postponed message (and then click 'Send to Queue' or 'Postpone' again when you are done).
Rot13: This rot13s the selected text - this means each letter is cycled through the alphabet by 13 letters. This is sometimes used on newsgroups as a way of hiding information - for example, the answer to a puzzle or joke. That way, people will only see the answer when they want to.
Cancel: Either cancel the message entirely if this is a newly created message, or cancel the changes if you are editing a message (ie, the original will not be lost).
Signature Cycle Gadget: Select which signature you wish to be added at the bottom of your message (as defined in Program Settings. The signature will automatically be inserted into the text window (of the Message page), and the signature that was there (if any) removed.