To test a Usenet server with NewzToolz, click the Newsgroups tab on the main window and then click the Test News Server button.
Purpose: This window is for testing the connection to your Usenet server when you are having connection problems. It can also be used to send commands to the server.
Usenet server software often does not give you good information when it encounters a problem. If you log onto your server here, you will see all of the messages it sends, and this can often provide vital clues as to what the problem is.
If you make changes to your Usenet server(s) on the Setup Servers window the changes will not be reflected here until you close, and re-open the window.
Instructions – Make sure the correct server is selected in the pop-up menu at the top of the window, and then click the Connect button. You don’t need to understand everything the server sends back. If you can send the Help command, and get back a list of all the commands the server supports, then you have successfully connected. If you cannot, then you can copy-and-paste the text and send it to your ISP, or read it to them over the phone. The lines that begin with “–>” indicate what NewzToolz is sending to the server.
Advanced Example – You can also type commands to the server if you know how. See the screenshot above. (The Windows version is shown, and the Mac version is identical.) You can see that after connecting, the “group” command was used to switch to the alt.binaries.howard-stern newsgroup. Then the “head” command was used to look at the message-headers of the last post in the group. This is very handy when your newsreader has a problem with a particular post. Test Server can shed light on whether or not the problem is with the server or with your newsreader. (For details on Usenet server commands, Google RFC977.)