First, you should check this manual to see if the answer you want is here somewhere. In particular, have a look at Planned Features. What you want to do might simply be impossible at this time.
If your problem involves trouble communicating with your news server in some way — if you can’t connect, can’t post messages, you get an error when you try to download, or something similar — you should investigate the NNTP Logging help topic. The program can log its NNTP conversations to a text file. If you’re fairly technical, the log file might give you enough information to solve your problem.
If you want to request a feature, talk to other Pineapple News users, ask questions, report a bug, or give feedback, I suggest that you go to the newsgroup alt.internet.talk.haven. It was abandoned by its original owners many years ago, but it still has very good propogation, and can be found on most of the world’s news servers. I have re-purposed it as the location for Pineapple News users to gather and talk. If it’s not available on your news server, here’s a free one that carries the group: freenews.netfront.net
If you can’t access that newsgroup, then you can come to my LiveJournal support community: pineapple_users. Or you could try the comp.sys.mac.* newsgroups, particularly comp.sys.mac.apps and comp.sys.mac.comm. I read most messages in those groups and I’ll probably see your question or comment. If I don’t, somebody else there is likely to know the answer to most questions.
You can also e-mail me directly, but I’d prefer you try the other options first. It could be that your question has already been asked and answered many times on one of the above-mentioned forums.
Finally, I’ve added some sections below that cover problems that are often encountered, and what you can do to solve them.
This is painless, and is covered in the Installation help topic.
Many views in the program can have their fonts changed by way of the Mac OS X font picker window. Click on the view you’re interested in, then press ⌘T to bring up the font picker window. More details can be found in the help topic Main Window Overview.
Yes, it’s true: every few weeks or months, the program expires, and you have to download a new version, if you want to keep using it. To check the expiration date, choose “Preferences ...” from the program’s application menu, then select the Registration tab.
The first reason for the expiration date is that this is a big program, almost guaranteed to have bugs. I like having a way to ensure that older, buggy versions stop being used at some point. A bug in a newsreader could have consequences not just for the person using it, but for everybody on USENET.
Second, I don’t have to get into bad situations with people who report bugs, having to resort to conversations like “Are you sure you’re using the latest one? Because I think I fixed that recently ...” This way I know what version they are using.
Third, the expiry dates keep me focused on continually improving the program. I have almost always released a new version at least a few days before the previous one expires, so you won't be left without a newsreader in the interim. So rather than seeing the expiration date as a bad thing, you should view it as your friend. It means that on or before the date shown, you’ll have a new version of Pineapple News with more features.
If you’ve paid for a registration key, then the program will never expire. My feeling is that paying customers have earned the right to override my decisions on this matter.
On the Transfer menu, there is a sub-menu called “Window” which has an item called “Auto-display.” By default it is checked. If you un-check it, the transfer window will not bring itself up ever again, unless an error occurs. If you need to see the window temporarily, you can select “Show” from the same menu.
When this happens, the program will display an error message in the scrolling text area, where you were expecting to see the message itself. Here are some common problems, and what you can do about them.
Cannot display message: Does not have a body
This is a headers-only message that has not yet had its body downloaded. You can double-click on the message in the headers view to make the program download it. However, if the message’s icon appears “ripped in half,” then the program has already tried and failed to download the body. The message has probably expired from your news server.
Cannot display message: File contents invalid
Reparse this message, then try again
This message file’s cached section data, which is stored in one of its headers, has gotten corrupted somehow. This can happen if you edit the message in a text editor, or if it was not downloaded properly. From the Message menu, select “Reparse,” then “Selected.” The program will try to correct the message file’s section data. If this happens very often, and you can’t account for how the message files are getting messed up, you should report it to the author as a bug.
Cannot display message: File not found
This folder’s cache database has almost certainly gotten out of sync with reality. From the File menu, pick “Folder,” then “Reindex.” For more on this subject, see the help topic Folders and Cache Databases.
Cannot display message: File is locked
The program tried to open the message file, but discovered that some other part of the program already has it open. This is a transient error. Try again in a few seconds, and the problem will likely go away.
I am very committed to fixing all crash scenarios for which I can get adequate information. If I can duplicate the crash, I will fix the program, guaranteed. It’s not enough to say “the program crashed,” I must be able to reproduce it on my own machine. You’ll have to describe exactly what you were doing, what buttons you pressed, what you were trying to accomplish, how far along you were in the process, what error messages you saw, and so on.
You must provide me with a crash report, which is easy to get. When the program crashes, Mac OS X puts up a window that says “The application ‘AppName’ has unexpectedly quit.” The first button on that window says “Submit Report ...” Click it, and you’ll be looking at another window with a whole lot of crash info. The window’s bottom section is labeled “Crash Report,” and that’s the part I’m interested in. Click somewhere inside that view, then press ⌘A and ⌘C to select all text and copy it to the clipboard. Now you’re ready to paste the crash report text into an e-mail or news message, along with a description of what you were doing, and send it to me.