Files
The OpNews.dat file contains application settings, including details of your server and group selections. It is not easily editable.
The groupname.dat (for example: alt.binaries.pictures.dat) contains the headers for the group. Note: These files may grow quite large! For example a group with 1000 multipart articles (with an average of 20 parts each) will use a file of 20Mb. Remember, you can always store the dat files in a different directory or on a different disk: Select Settings from the Options menu and use the Directories tab.
While you're using OpNews, a log file OpNews.log is generated that can be useful in troublshooting problems. If you contact us with a specific problem, we may ask you to send us this file.
Errors
There are some common error messages that you may come across when using OpNews.
CRC32 check failed while decoding file X. Expected Y, got Z.
This error indicates either that the file is corrupt, or that it was incorrecly compressed. If the last part of the message begins "Expected 1", this indicates that the file is probably not corrupt, but the program that created it did not include the correct information. Following this, you will be prompted to continue or abort the download. If you choose to continue, the resulting downloaded file may be corrupt; use it with caution. If possible find another method to verify the file. The author may also have posted PAR or SFV files, so try using them to check that everything's OK.
Server Errors
Errors returned from the news server contain a number and some explanatory text. This page lists the commonly encountered errors and what they mean.
Bugs
There are some known problems with the current release of OpNews, there are a list of them here.