Release history v5.x
Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:21 am
Release history v7.x
Release history v6.x
- v5.9.9.2 -
- When Edit menu->Properties->Unpack, Unrar to subdir was unchecked - the "Unrar folders" context menu subentry under "Recent folders" wasn't shown, which made it less straightforward to look for recent folders where files were unrared into - even as the folders were listed under "Recent folders" directly.
- The option Edit menu->Properties->Search/Import", Auto - create folder name out of nzb name is now unchecked by default as it used to be the case in the past, it will only affect new installs.
- This version can be run intermittently with v7.4.2 with later settings preserved.
- v5.9.9.1 -
- When posting a large number of files, the legacy 32K Windows limit on the console window command string length (which for an unknown reason wasn't addressed as Windows evolved) could be exceeded which resulted in par2cmdline console application not starting. Thus the par2cmdline code which had been already modified years ago was additionally enhanced with an option to get input files from a file instead of the command line. It is all handled transparently to the user. The par2cmdline version has been updated from v1.0 to v1.1 and it will ask to upgrade when attempting to post, while it remains compatible with older UE versions.
- As the par2cmdline call code has been updated, also the hide console option was copied from v7 to keep the posting source code fully identical.
- In Edit menu->Properties->Unpack, Unrar, the "File names" combo box (used e.g. to rename unrared files after the nzb name) was mistakenly shown under "Unrar to subdir" static control and greyed out when "Unrar to subdir" was unchecked, while the option of course works independently.
- The option Edit menu->Import, "Collection name out of nzb name" is not required anymore to be checked to store the nzb file password, since nzb files with random names may still have legible subjects, so the password (if any) is just added to the name of the custom collection whether it is derived from the subject or from the nzb file name.
- The last two corrections were made while preparing the summary of options available for handling misnamed files which can be found here.
- The "Expand imported entry" option which was added in v7.1 is now present in this version as well.
- v5.9.9 -
- A warning popup message will be displayed on the program start if the total or article number of tasks were set to zero to avoid being confused with the tasks stuck in the pending state.
- Added the option Edit menu->Properties->Search Import, Import folders, "Delete NZB files used more than x days ago". When dropped into an import folder the [nzb] files are moved to the "Old" subfolder after import. At that point the file creation date is updated to the current time and the time count starts. By default the option edit box is empty, rendering the option inactive as it was the case previously, it just can be set up if needed. The file cleanup is performed on the program start.
- Fixed a cosmetical problem when the interpret quick filter Newsgroups field as substring check box for the search view boolean wildmat patterns wasn't greyed out when "All words" was selected in Edit menu->Properties->Search/Import.
- v5.9.8 -
- The set unrar password dialog code has been refined, so more options are enabled when it is not associated with an unpack entry.
- When initiating "Download&save attachments" from a search service view the program will correctly show in the title "Download&save attachments" instead of just "Save attachments" even as the download function itself wasn't affected.
- In Properties->Newsgroups, Properties->Post, Properties->Watch and Properties->Kill filters the subscribed newsgroup names followed by their nicks in parentheses will be shown in the list instead of the nicks only for the nicknamed newsgroups when "Show nicks" is checked in the workspace view context menu. The list is sorted in the alphabetical order by newsgroup name, so the sort order when nicks were assigned and shown without newsgroup names was confusing.
- The help "?" button has been added to the set unrar password dialog with the explanation about its options and how they apply. In addition, the set unrar password dialog code has been polished in general. "Set unrar password" is an option in the relevant context menus to display the dialog.
- Check for updates will be reenabled in this version once if it was disabled by the user, but it will be now separate from the latest version, polling the webpage "version_old_reg.htm" instead of "version_reg.htm" as the latest version does when check for updates is enabled in properties->general.
- v5.9.7 -
- All words quick filters are implemented internally as boolean wildmats in such a way that all words search patterns are converted into boolean wildmat search patterns. When there were quotes in the pattern and "exact phrase" was checked in edit menu->properties->search the generated pattern could clash with the repetitions boolean wildmat syntax introduced in v5.9.6 and there were no matches as the result.
- Also when the all words pattern contained a non-alphanumeric character followed by space and "Non-alphanumeric" checkbox was unchecked with quoted pattern and exact phrase checked the created wildmat pattern wasn't optimal and could result in less or no matches.
- Improved xml parsing function to address some recent nzb files.
- There was an original largely forgotten limit around 1M+ (64 bit version) files per collection when collections shown in the newsgroup view and around 16M files with collections enabled in "Edit menu->Properties->General, Auto collections", but not shown in the newsgroup view (oddly enough in the 32 bit version the limit for the newsgroup view with collections shown is 4 times higher than in the 64 bit version, so around 4M). Incredibly, somehow over the years at least in one newsgroup this limit has been breached. So an option has been added in "Edit menu->Properties->General, Collections, Limit size to x entries with the default 100K. If the edit control is empty it will be the maximum number of entries, which can be contained in a collection. The excess will be still added as separate entries. In practice such situation of course don't arise unless to know the newsgroup and the sufficient retention range to hit the limit, so the solution has been added mostly to maintain the code robustness.
- v5.9.6 -
- Added the number of character repetition pattern to boolean wildmats without compromising the search code speed. Search service side has been updated as well and can handle the pattern. The change in syntax is so subtle that the previous search patterns should not be normally affected.
- Fixed inaccurate unrar progress bar when sometimes the progress reached 100% while the actual progress has been less. It was rather a cosmetical issue only, the unraring function itself wasn't affected.
- Multicore repair is now enabled by default also for the older installations as well when this version is run in the first time. The default retention will change from 120 days to 365 days (see v6.1.1 release notes) for older installations too, but it won't change if it had been changed by the user already. The default maximum number of tasks for a new server was only 3 historically which nowadays is too small, if that number wasn't changed by the user it will be increased to 10 when running this version in the first time, and if the maximum number of tasks for every server is also 3 - the number of tasks for every server will be increased to 10 as well, since then it is likely to be the case that the user had only relied on the default settings and the connection speed is underutilized.
- When the program is exited while performing par2 repair - on the program restart the status column will show "Repairing" instead of "Repair cancelled" while in fact the relaunched repair was in progress.
- v5.9.5 -
This version accompanies v6.1.1 adapting the following changes:
- When the Import as collection option was enabled in Edit menu->Properties->Search/Import in rare cases two custom collections could be created instead of one.
- The default newsgroup retention for new installs has been changed from 120 days to 365 days as a more logical choice, while the last headers were left at 30M (Edit menu->Properties->Newsgroups, the topmost Default entry). Those settings can be changed manually of course.
- Automatic deep scan option for misnamed and corrupted (at the same time) files wasn't engaged as it should.
- Rearranged the Par2 menu for clarity
- Fixed a minor issue very rarely losing newsgroup header entries after restart/unload when their article bodies have just been deleted without doing anything else that would mark the newsgroup as modified.
- In some very rare or more likely only a hypothetical case the import type of group could "forget" the posted groups, which would though have only a cosmetical effect, the issue surfaced during the v6.1.1 development and was handled too.
Later note: The version has proven to have a perfect reliability record for 3 week duration, so it concludes the v5.x series.
- v5.9.4 -
This version accompanies v6.1 adapting the following changes:
- The search service protocol has been updated, so the search service can be accessed with this version as well.
- Fixed a few minor issues discovered during the v6.1 development.
- Just in case added the full rollback feature from the compact binary import group type introduced in v6.1. It is automatically activated on the program start when relevant, with the choice to proceed or abort the program start.
- v5.9.3 -
Some further minor issues were detected while working on the next major release, so they were fixed retroactively:
- Fixed rare race condition causing retaining unpack pane entries which were supposed to be cleared.
- The Cancel option works fast when cancelling par2 repair.
- Fixed an old GUI rare glitch causing not redrawing frames of some status bar panes e.g. after minimizing and then restoring the remote desktop window.
- This version won't waste CPU on trying to repair misnamed files before renaming them after repair when what appears to be a single .rar file is actually a part of a .rar set - if unpack is prioritized over save vs the default.
- This version is able to rename misnamed files even before repair, so they can be unrared immediately when possible, although it won't auto delete those files right away, since their data blocks may be needed for the future repair.
- v5.9.2 -
- This release fixes a minor issue when the status bar would stop updating after the system is powered for 50 days which was identified in the search server code, but also applicable to the client.
- v5.9.1 -
- Updated downloadable wildmat filter capabilities.
- Fixed a memory leak in the unrar related code incidentally discovered during the development which, it appears, didn't have noticeable manifestations.
- Because of the corrupted resource file a couple of insignificant menu entries didn't work, the resource file was fully restored before compiling this release.
- Refined memory allocation method for the time consuming unpack tasks which will play more important role in the future releases.
- v5.9 -
- Polished search service code for sets concluding the v5.8.3+ updates, this version should run statistically clean, the same as the previous version released 2 months ago.
- The release has been submitted and whitelisted for Microsoft Defender along with the previous version, after it was found out accidentally that the previous version was affected in some degree by misidentification, so it looks like the proper way currently, although the duration until the process is complete may differ for future releases.
- v5.8.8 -
- Fixed incompatibility between sets and obsolete non-compact newsgroup types which are not normally used - when resetting, deleting or detaching a server.
- This release mainly concludes the recent work on statistical reliability based on several years of diagnostic data.
- v5.8.7 -
- Fixed a race condition during the process of downloading search service results before they are displayed while at the same time downloading headers or loading a newsgroup - related to the code which added sets to search results view. Notwithstanding the rarity and being already handled as an unknown cause, the issue was only possible while using the search service concurrently and the search service protocol had changed in v5.8.3, so it is now irrelevant for earlier versions.
- Observed and fixed a rare issue when the displayed count of entries in a newsgroup could cross zero, being unsigned positive it was shown as a large number in the workspace view, the issue, which didn't affect the newsgroup content, was self rectifying upon restart.
- v5.8.3 to v5.8.7 -
- Added handling of obfuscated par2 files without the .par2 extension.
- Double clicking in the search service view on a compact set will trigger download with the immediate priority instead of doing nothing (as there is nothing to expand).
- Improved downloadable kill filter capabilities.
- Calling the browser with secure connection to download the next version instead of http.
- The search protocol had to be upgraded to fix the 3 bytes (16.7M) number of sets limit per server instance.
- Fixed not releasing unneeded set names in certain situations.
- Fixed an old memory allocation issue which was unlikely, but could happen e.g. in parts view.
- Fixed maximum posted file size limit, so now it is possible to post files larger than 4GB.
- v5.8.2 -
- Greatly improved unpacking of nzb files when imported as collections (default), including queuing and cleanup of heavily obfuscated posts (also see the latest forum posts, but the update goes beyond that).
Note: The new version will load tasks stored with previous versions just fine, but the previous versions may not be able to load the tasks saved with this version, since additional information is being stored for unpack tasks between launches to allow the more advanced unpacking.
- v5.8.1 -
- Added logging options for built-in kill filters in edit menu->properties->kill filters, build in filter.
- The automatically added asterisks in boolean wildmats in quick filter (subject, author, newsgroups) can now be optional, it is mostly useful for newsgroup names - edit menu->properties->search/import, Boolean wildmats (Quick filter).
- Refined loading and handling of obfuscated nzb files.
- Updated built-in hardcoded kill filter to filter out new kinds of obfuscated post flood.
- v5.8 -
- Built-in kill filter: the hardcorded filter has been updated. Also added a filter file which contains the list of suggested wildmat expressions which are automatically downloaded and applied without the necessity to update the program. In addition users can add their own wildmat expressions to the custom section of the filter file instead of using the filter editor. The file is automatically downloaded from the UE website while preserving the custom section. The edit filter file and enable/disable options are in edit menu->properties->kill filters, built-in filter. The built-in filter is only effective when downloading headers, not for import or search service.
- Improved handling of obfuscated posts with autorenaming obfuscated files in certain cases. If necessary the feature will be refined further based on user requests.
- Added latest TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 modes which can be set explicitly in edit menu->properties->general, SSL mode to ensure more secure connection.
- Search service newsgroup list has been updated on the server side.
- v5.7.1 -
- Collection detection code refined to include the case when a separate par2 set is generated per every rar part.
- Updated the built-in kill filter.
- v5.7 -
- Added the clear buttons at the right side of the search service and quick filter bars. Every press clears one field at a time.
- Fixed exporting nzb files directly from the search service view, when sometimes duplicate crossposted files were present which caused duplicate downloads with some downloaders.
- Several other fixes.
- v5.6.1 -
- Added option to import nzb files through import folder with delay (Edit menu->Properties->Search/Import, Nzb files, Import folder, Delay).
- The currently selected import group in the Import folder properties mentioned above (to associate with an import folder or to set the delay) now persists within the same running session.
- v5.6 -
- An option to derive unrared file names from the nzb/custom collection name (Edit menu->Properties->Save/Unpack, Unpack, Unrar to subdir, File names). When enabled it is only applied in limited cases, see the option context help.
- Derive folder name options introduced in v5.5 weren't saved between launches and other small fixes.
- The task manager database files in v5.6 are slightly upgraded comparing to previous versions to make the new option persistent. Running previous versions may cause the failure of tasks to load with the prompt to delete the directory where the saved tasks are located.
- v5.5 to v5.5.3 -
- Additional unrar to subdir derive folder name options: "from nzb collection name" and "from custom collection name" (Edit menu->Save/Unpack, Unpack, Unrar to subdir, Derive name).
- Added "Separate folder per collection (auto)" option in the newsgroup view and the search service view context menus. When several collections are selected at once for download&save, each collection will be saved into a separate folder. The option is only recommended when rar files and the corresponding par2 set are under the same collection.
- Added "Trim subject in the middle" option in Edit menu->Properties->Save/Unpack, Save, Auto download&save. When the auto-created save folder name is too long - the subject used as part of it will be trimmed in the middle vs from the right. The setting also will apply to the suggested save folder name and to the unrar folder name when the save path is too long.
- Added "Limit save path" option in Edit menu->Properties->Save/Unpack, Save, Auto download&save. It is now possible to set the auto save path length limit within some range, instead of a fixed limit previously.
- Added "Search by author" option in the newsgroup view context menu. The author will be copied into the search service bar after which e.g. pressing "Enter" will initiate the search by the author.
- Better handling of rar set posts which appeared recently, when each rar file has its own par2 set.
- The unrar password code was refined to discern nzb collections.
- Improved unrar password propagation into article tasks and their associated unpack tasks after custom collection unrar password has been created or changed.
- Updated the built-in kill filter.
v5.5.1:
- Correct download order for the "Separate folder per collection (auto)" option (according to the Import group sort order).
- Import headers - collection and set entries will be selected as well in addition to the actual headers.
v5.5.2:
- Fixed issue in v5.5.1 not marking for download cross-posted headers imported from the search service view.
v5.5.3:
- Recent unrar password options were sometimes ignored by "Detect passworded rar files" (Edit menu->Properties->Articles). It also affects v5.4+ (upgraded from v5.4.1 to v5.4.2).
- v5.4 to v5.4.1
- Added "Set unrar password" option to the context menu of the task manager "Articles", "Downloads", "Errors" and "Save" views.
- Added "Set unrar password" option to the context menu of newsgroup/import views.
- Nzb files containing unrar password have now the password associated with the imported headers automatically.
Note:
The last two features rely on custom collection names, so leave the following options checked (as per default):
1. Edit menu->Properties->General, Collections, "Enable custom collections".
2. Edit menu->Search/Import, Import options, "Import as collection" and "Collection name out of nzb name".
- Articles with associated unrar password will have asterisk added to the subject.
v5.4.1: Fixed a bug introduced in v5.4 which happened when custom collections were disabled by the user (they are enabled by default).
- v5.3 -
- Search service protocol change to allow even higher retention and potentially faster search by supporting sets on the server side directly (will be engaged on the server side gradually as needed). To the client side code added the capability to accept sets format from the search servers.
- v5.2.3 -
- Fixed a recently introduced issue when for certain randomized subject posts extra .par2 extension was added to par2 file names which in turn could lead to downloading excessive par2 files without clearing them.
- v5.2.2 -
- Added option Par2 menu -> Download one par2 file per par2 set at a time. It prevents downloading excessive par2 files. The option is relevant when unpack is busy performing a long operation and par2 files are accumulating in the save queue waiting to be processed by unpack. The option needs sets to be enabled (Edit menu->Properties->General, Sets).
- Added support for handling nzb files containing duplicate file names.
- The number of files one can import from the search service search results view per single import action was increased 8 times (both server and client code was adjusted and the limit can be increased further if necessary).
- The default setting for Par2 menu -> Mark par2 recovery files for download last is now checked by default for better handling of par2 sets containing misnamed files. It is also set to checked when upgrading from previous versions.
- SSL2 support disabled
- Files without extension can now be added to unpack manually
- When download errors happened - sometimes auto repair didn't start automatically.
- Other improvements and refinements.
- v5.2.1 -
- The option Edit menu -> Properties -> Articles, Downloading bodies, Handle known obfuscated downloads introduced in v5.1 has been updated to handle new kinds of obfuscated posts reported by users recently.
- v5.2 -
- Added the capability to use unrar password list files in the task manager unpack pane context menu -> Set unrar password. Since unrar may take some time before returning a wrong password error - trying several passwords may lengthen the time needed for the successful unrar.
- Added option Edit menu -> Properties-> Tasks -> Sockets/Network , Network threads, Reuse (don't destroy), checked by default. With the option enabled the program won't destroy the worker threads, but will suspend and reuse them instead, so even when there are no active tasks - the Windows task manager will show all worker threads still there. While there is no noticeable impact on the system performance (as those are just the thread context data), the feature effectively addresses buggy third party drivers failing when an application creates/destroys many threads.
- Missing parts in header properties now shows range instead of enumerating all missing parts individually.
- Updated the built-in kill filter.
- v5.1.2 -
- It is now possible to set the maximum size of the quick filter and search service bars to less than the UE window width (View menu -> Size filter/search bars).
- The built-in kill filter optimized/updated.
- When the posting server was not disabled, there was still the disabled server warning given.
- v5.1.1 -
- The auto deep scan option (Edit menu -> Properties -> Save/Unpack, Unpack, Auto, Deep scan) is now checked by default for databases created with the earlier versions (so no need to check it manually).
- Fixed a problem when auto deep scan was invoked and the article queue contained headers marked for download only without save.
- v5.1 -
- Flagged messages without article bodies will now expire and reset newsgroup will clear them.
- Added options to clear recent unpack folders: Edit menu->Delete history, Recent: Save folders, Recent: Unrar folders.
- Added option Edit menu -> Properties -> General, Purge deleted headers automatically either on newsgroup first load or newsgroup every load. There is also a check box to restrict the option only to the import group type. The option is useful especially for import group to prevent it from growing too big, you can set unlimited retention, set the headers to be deleted after download and save (Edit menu->Properties->Save/Unpack, Save, Saving attachments, Delete headers), then the deleted headers will be automatically purged using the option.
- Added option Edit menu -> Properties ->Search/Import, Import options, Collection name out of nzb file name, so the custom collection name will be derived from the nzb file name instead of the post subject.
- Added par2 set deep scan option. The deep scan option will scan files from the unpack pane in the same directory where the par2 set files are located and even when the files are both misnamed and corrupted, but have matched data blocks - they will be detected. In the unlikely case when all data files are corrupted it needs to be applied manually. The option is useful when downloading intentionally misnamed files with names which don't match the file names listed in the par2 set. It can be invoked manually in the task manager unpack pane context menu or automatically Edit menu -> Properties -> Save/Unpack, Unpack, Auto, Deep scan.
- Removed practical limit on the number of parts in a partial due to recently appearing posts which contain huge files as a single partial message by at least one mass poster. Because of previously existing limit of 10000 parts per partial such posts were ignored. The search service was updated to include those few missed files which were posted previously.
- The quick filter and search service bars are now autoresized to match the width of the program window.
- When replying to a post - the quoted reply length can be now set in Edit menu->Properties->Post, Truncate reply quote; when the field is empty the reply quote won't be truncated at all.
- When posting server is disabled, there will be a warning given.
- Added option to export headers into nzb file directly from the search results view context menu -> Advanced -> Export Headers.
- Added option Edit menu -> Properties -> Articles, Downloading bodies, Handle known obfuscated downloads. When enabled, in part certain mass posts using consistently corrupted yEnc encoding will be decoded without errors.
- Timer frequency for launching tasks etc. was increased to address high connection speeds which may results in higher download speed.
- Collection detection code refined.
- Updated the built-in kill filter.
- SSL library updated.
- Other refinements and fixes.
- v5.0.3 -
- Filters created in the filter editor containing "Messages" are collections/sets/partials/singles can be now applied to the search service results view.
- Added option "Edit menu->Properties->Search/Import, Import, Program startup, Open Import group on (program) start".
- Expiration warning code was accidentally disabled, now it is working again with additional improvements.
- Small fixes.
- v5.0.2 -
- Fixed a problem with custom collections when the custom collection contained a relatively rare mix of headers (e.g. a single set with file numbers along with other files without file numbers). The problem was more prominent in v5.0+ and much less likely in earlier versions. Nevertheless the prior releases were updated as well.
- v5.0.1 -
- Updated the built-in kill filter.
- Bug found in the Rar 5.0 unrar code, when incorrect password, Rar with encrypted file names and delete files after successful unrar checked in properties - the downloaded files were deleted after the unsuccessful unrar. As the code was added long time ago in v4.6 and didn't change since then (the bug was never reported) - it also affects v4.7+ (upgraded from 4.7.3 to 4.7.4) and v4.9+ (upgraded from 4.9.7 to 4.9.8).
- v5.0 -
- Server bandwidth counters can now count beyond 4TB.
- Added the option "Reset bandwidth counters on program start" in the tasks menu.
- "Detect passworded rar files" option in edit menu->articles->properties has been now updated to work with the Rar v5.0 format.
- The group kill filter in edit menu->properties->search can be now disabled with a check box without deleting the filter expression itself.
- Added option to pause the console content update in the console context menu ("Pause"), so it is now possible to lock the current content and scroll the console when the content was changing too fast.
- Added built-in kill filter which discards known spam streams which are difficult to define in a regular filter. The filter can be disabled in edit menu->properties->kill filters, built-in kill filter. The filter can be updated on user requests followed by a minor release.
- Updated the default "Recoverable errors" edit control content in edit menu->properties->tasks, as the previous default expression didn't catch error messages when the connection limit was exceeded for some servers and realizing there is the need to change it manually is not so apparent.
- The search service code was significantly upgraded to work with more compact search service server side format, but for now it won't be engaged on the server side.
- Sometimes par2 sets in search results were shown incomplete while they were complete upon import headers.
- The options "Keep system on while the program is running / tasks are running" in the tasks menu were accidentally disabled starting with some previous version.
Release history v4.x
Release history v3.x
Release history v2.x
Release history v1.x
Release history v6.x
- v5.9.9.2 -
- When Edit menu->Properties->Unpack, Unrar to subdir was unchecked - the "Unrar folders" context menu subentry under "Recent folders" wasn't shown, which made it less straightforward to look for recent folders where files were unrared into - even as the folders were listed under "Recent folders" directly.
- The option Edit menu->Properties->Search/Import", Auto - create folder name out of nzb name is now unchecked by default as it used to be the case in the past, it will only affect new installs.
- This version can be run intermittently with v7.4.2 with later settings preserved.
- v5.9.9.1 -
- When posting a large number of files, the legacy 32K Windows limit on the console window command string length (which for an unknown reason wasn't addressed as Windows evolved) could be exceeded which resulted in par2cmdline console application not starting. Thus the par2cmdline code which had been already modified years ago was additionally enhanced with an option to get input files from a file instead of the command line. It is all handled transparently to the user. The par2cmdline version has been updated from v1.0 to v1.1 and it will ask to upgrade when attempting to post, while it remains compatible with older UE versions.
- As the par2cmdline call code has been updated, also the hide console option was copied from v7 to keep the posting source code fully identical.
- In Edit menu->Properties->Unpack, Unrar, the "File names" combo box (used e.g. to rename unrared files after the nzb name) was mistakenly shown under "Unrar to subdir" static control and greyed out when "Unrar to subdir" was unchecked, while the option of course works independently.
- The option Edit menu->Import, "Collection name out of nzb name" is not required anymore to be checked to store the nzb file password, since nzb files with random names may still have legible subjects, so the password (if any) is just added to the name of the custom collection whether it is derived from the subject or from the nzb file name.
- The last two corrections were made while preparing the summary of options available for handling misnamed files which can be found here.
- The "Expand imported entry" option which was added in v7.1 is now present in this version as well.
- v5.9.9 -
- A warning popup message will be displayed on the program start if the total or article number of tasks were set to zero to avoid being confused with the tasks stuck in the pending state.
- Added the option Edit menu->Properties->Search Import, Import folders, "Delete NZB files used more than x days ago". When dropped into an import folder the [nzb] files are moved to the "Old" subfolder after import. At that point the file creation date is updated to the current time and the time count starts. By default the option edit box is empty, rendering the option inactive as it was the case previously, it just can be set up if needed. The file cleanup is performed on the program start.
- Fixed a cosmetical problem when the interpret quick filter Newsgroups field as substring check box for the search view boolean wildmat patterns wasn't greyed out when "All words" was selected in Edit menu->Properties->Search/Import.
- v5.9.8 -
- The set unrar password dialog code has been refined, so more options are enabled when it is not associated with an unpack entry.
- When initiating "Download&save attachments" from a search service view the program will correctly show in the title "Download&save attachments" instead of just "Save attachments" even as the download function itself wasn't affected.
- In Properties->Newsgroups, Properties->Post, Properties->Watch and Properties->Kill filters the subscribed newsgroup names followed by their nicks in parentheses will be shown in the list instead of the nicks only for the nicknamed newsgroups when "Show nicks" is checked in the workspace view context menu. The list is sorted in the alphabetical order by newsgroup name, so the sort order when nicks were assigned and shown without newsgroup names was confusing.
- The help "?" button has been added to the set unrar password dialog with the explanation about its options and how they apply. In addition, the set unrar password dialog code has been polished in general. "Set unrar password" is an option in the relevant context menus to display the dialog.
- Check for updates will be reenabled in this version once if it was disabled by the user, but it will be now separate from the latest version, polling the webpage "version_old_reg.htm" instead of "version_reg.htm" as the latest version does when check for updates is enabled in properties->general.
- v5.9.7 -
- All words quick filters are implemented internally as boolean wildmats in such a way that all words search patterns are converted into boolean wildmat search patterns. When there were quotes in the pattern and "exact phrase" was checked in edit menu->properties->search the generated pattern could clash with the repetitions boolean wildmat syntax introduced in v5.9.6 and there were no matches as the result.
- Also when the all words pattern contained a non-alphanumeric character followed by space and "Non-alphanumeric" checkbox was unchecked with quoted pattern and exact phrase checked the created wildmat pattern wasn't optimal and could result in less or no matches.
- Improved xml parsing function to address some recent nzb files.
- There was an original largely forgotten limit around 1M+ (64 bit version) files per collection when collections shown in the newsgroup view and around 16M files with collections enabled in "Edit menu->Properties->General, Auto collections", but not shown in the newsgroup view (oddly enough in the 32 bit version the limit for the newsgroup view with collections shown is 4 times higher than in the 64 bit version, so around 4M). Incredibly, somehow over the years at least in one newsgroup this limit has been breached. So an option has been added in "Edit menu->Properties->General, Collections, Limit size to x entries with the default 100K. If the edit control is empty it will be the maximum number of entries, which can be contained in a collection. The excess will be still added as separate entries. In practice such situation of course don't arise unless to know the newsgroup and the sufficient retention range to hit the limit, so the solution has been added mostly to maintain the code robustness.
- v5.9.6 -
- Added the number of character repetition pattern to boolean wildmats without compromising the search code speed. Search service side has been updated as well and can handle the pattern. The change in syntax is so subtle that the previous search patterns should not be normally affected.
- Fixed inaccurate unrar progress bar when sometimes the progress reached 100% while the actual progress has been less. It was rather a cosmetical issue only, the unraring function itself wasn't affected.
- Multicore repair is now enabled by default also for the older installations as well when this version is run in the first time. The default retention will change from 120 days to 365 days (see v6.1.1 release notes) for older installations too, but it won't change if it had been changed by the user already. The default maximum number of tasks for a new server was only 3 historically which nowadays is too small, if that number wasn't changed by the user it will be increased to 10 when running this version in the first time, and if the maximum number of tasks for every server is also 3 - the number of tasks for every server will be increased to 10 as well, since then it is likely to be the case that the user had only relied on the default settings and the connection speed is underutilized.
- When the program is exited while performing par2 repair - on the program restart the status column will show "Repairing" instead of "Repair cancelled" while in fact the relaunched repair was in progress.
- v5.9.5 -
This version accompanies v6.1.1 adapting the following changes:
- When the Import as collection option was enabled in Edit menu->Properties->Search/Import in rare cases two custom collections could be created instead of one.
- The default newsgroup retention for new installs has been changed from 120 days to 365 days as a more logical choice, while the last headers were left at 30M (Edit menu->Properties->Newsgroups, the topmost Default entry). Those settings can be changed manually of course.
- Automatic deep scan option for misnamed and corrupted (at the same time) files wasn't engaged as it should.
- Rearranged the Par2 menu for clarity
- Fixed a minor issue very rarely losing newsgroup header entries after restart/unload when their article bodies have just been deleted without doing anything else that would mark the newsgroup as modified.
- In some very rare or more likely only a hypothetical case the import type of group could "forget" the posted groups, which would though have only a cosmetical effect, the issue surfaced during the v6.1.1 development and was handled too.
Later note: The version has proven to have a perfect reliability record for 3 week duration, so it concludes the v5.x series.
- v5.9.4 -
This version accompanies v6.1 adapting the following changes:
- The search service protocol has been updated, so the search service can be accessed with this version as well.
- Fixed a few minor issues discovered during the v6.1 development.
- Just in case added the full rollback feature from the compact binary import group type introduced in v6.1. It is automatically activated on the program start when relevant, with the choice to proceed or abort the program start.
- v5.9.3 -
Some further minor issues were detected while working on the next major release, so they were fixed retroactively:
- Fixed rare race condition causing retaining unpack pane entries which were supposed to be cleared.
- The Cancel option works fast when cancelling par2 repair.
- Fixed an old GUI rare glitch causing not redrawing frames of some status bar panes e.g. after minimizing and then restoring the remote desktop window.
- This version won't waste CPU on trying to repair misnamed files before renaming them after repair when what appears to be a single .rar file is actually a part of a .rar set - if unpack is prioritized over save vs the default.
- This version is able to rename misnamed files even before repair, so they can be unrared immediately when possible, although it won't auto delete those files right away, since their data blocks may be needed for the future repair.
- v5.9.2 -
- This release fixes a minor issue when the status bar would stop updating after the system is powered for 50 days which was identified in the search server code, but also applicable to the client.
- v5.9.1 -
- Updated downloadable wildmat filter capabilities.
- Fixed a memory leak in the unrar related code incidentally discovered during the development which, it appears, didn't have noticeable manifestations.
- Because of the corrupted resource file a couple of insignificant menu entries didn't work, the resource file was fully restored before compiling this release.
- Refined memory allocation method for the time consuming unpack tasks which will play more important role in the future releases.
- v5.9 -
- Polished search service code for sets concluding the v5.8.3+ updates, this version should run statistically clean, the same as the previous version released 2 months ago.
- The release has been submitted and whitelisted for Microsoft Defender along with the previous version, after it was found out accidentally that the previous version was affected in some degree by misidentification, so it looks like the proper way currently, although the duration until the process is complete may differ for future releases.
- v5.8.8 -
- Fixed incompatibility between sets and obsolete non-compact newsgroup types which are not normally used - when resetting, deleting or detaching a server.
- This release mainly concludes the recent work on statistical reliability based on several years of diagnostic data.
- v5.8.7 -
- Fixed a race condition during the process of downloading search service results before they are displayed while at the same time downloading headers or loading a newsgroup - related to the code which added sets to search results view. Notwithstanding the rarity and being already handled as an unknown cause, the issue was only possible while using the search service concurrently and the search service protocol had changed in v5.8.3, so it is now irrelevant for earlier versions.
- Observed and fixed a rare issue when the displayed count of entries in a newsgroup could cross zero, being unsigned positive it was shown as a large number in the workspace view, the issue, which didn't affect the newsgroup content, was self rectifying upon restart.
- v5.8.3 to v5.8.7 -
- Added handling of obfuscated par2 files without the .par2 extension.
- Double clicking in the search service view on a compact set will trigger download with the immediate priority instead of doing nothing (as there is nothing to expand).
- Improved downloadable kill filter capabilities.
- Calling the browser with secure connection to download the next version instead of http.
- The search protocol had to be upgraded to fix the 3 bytes (16.7M) number of sets limit per server instance.
- Fixed not releasing unneeded set names in certain situations.
- Fixed an old memory allocation issue which was unlikely, but could happen e.g. in parts view.
- Fixed maximum posted file size limit, so now it is possible to post files larger than 4GB.
- v5.8.2 -
- Greatly improved unpacking of nzb files when imported as collections (default), including queuing and cleanup of heavily obfuscated posts (also see the latest forum posts, but the update goes beyond that).
Note: The new version will load tasks stored with previous versions just fine, but the previous versions may not be able to load the tasks saved with this version, since additional information is being stored for unpack tasks between launches to allow the more advanced unpacking.
- v5.8.1 -
- Added logging options for built-in kill filters in edit menu->properties->kill filters, build in filter.
- The automatically added asterisks in boolean wildmats in quick filter (subject, author, newsgroups) can now be optional, it is mostly useful for newsgroup names - edit menu->properties->search/import, Boolean wildmats (Quick filter).
- Refined loading and handling of obfuscated nzb files.
- Updated built-in hardcoded kill filter to filter out new kinds of obfuscated post flood.
- v5.8 -
- Built-in kill filter: the hardcorded filter has been updated. Also added a filter file which contains the list of suggested wildmat expressions which are automatically downloaded and applied without the necessity to update the program. In addition users can add their own wildmat expressions to the custom section of the filter file instead of using the filter editor. The file is automatically downloaded from the UE website while preserving the custom section. The edit filter file and enable/disable options are in edit menu->properties->kill filters, built-in filter. The built-in filter is only effective when downloading headers, not for import or search service.
- Improved handling of obfuscated posts with autorenaming obfuscated files in certain cases. If necessary the feature will be refined further based on user requests.
- Added latest TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 modes which can be set explicitly in edit menu->properties->general, SSL mode to ensure more secure connection.
- Search service newsgroup list has been updated on the server side.
- v5.7.1 -
- Collection detection code refined to include the case when a separate par2 set is generated per every rar part.
- Updated the built-in kill filter.
- v5.7 -
- Added the clear buttons at the right side of the search service and quick filter bars. Every press clears one field at a time.
- Fixed exporting nzb files directly from the search service view, when sometimes duplicate crossposted files were present which caused duplicate downloads with some downloaders.
- Several other fixes.
- v5.6.1 -
- Added option to import nzb files through import folder with delay (Edit menu->Properties->Search/Import, Nzb files, Import folder, Delay).
- The currently selected import group in the Import folder properties mentioned above (to associate with an import folder or to set the delay) now persists within the same running session.
- v5.6 -
- An option to derive unrared file names from the nzb/custom collection name (Edit menu->Properties->Save/Unpack, Unpack, Unrar to subdir, File names). When enabled it is only applied in limited cases, see the option context help.
- Derive folder name options introduced in v5.5 weren't saved between launches and other small fixes.
- The task manager database files in v5.6 are slightly upgraded comparing to previous versions to make the new option persistent. Running previous versions may cause the failure of tasks to load with the prompt to delete the directory where the saved tasks are located.
- v5.5 to v5.5.3 -
- Additional unrar to subdir derive folder name options: "from nzb collection name" and "from custom collection name" (Edit menu->Save/Unpack, Unpack, Unrar to subdir, Derive name).
- Added "Separate folder per collection (auto)" option in the newsgroup view and the search service view context menus. When several collections are selected at once for download&save, each collection will be saved into a separate folder. The option is only recommended when rar files and the corresponding par2 set are under the same collection.
- Added "Trim subject in the middle" option in Edit menu->Properties->Save/Unpack, Save, Auto download&save. When the auto-created save folder name is too long - the subject used as part of it will be trimmed in the middle vs from the right. The setting also will apply to the suggested save folder name and to the unrar folder name when the save path is too long.
- Added "Limit save path" option in Edit menu->Properties->Save/Unpack, Save, Auto download&save. It is now possible to set the auto save path length limit within some range, instead of a fixed limit previously.
- Added "Search by author" option in the newsgroup view context menu. The author will be copied into the search service bar after which e.g. pressing "Enter" will initiate the search by the author.
- Better handling of rar set posts which appeared recently, when each rar file has its own par2 set.
- The unrar password code was refined to discern nzb collections.
- Improved unrar password propagation into article tasks and their associated unpack tasks after custom collection unrar password has been created or changed.
- Updated the built-in kill filter.
v5.5.1:
- Correct download order for the "Separate folder per collection (auto)" option (according to the Import group sort order).
- Import headers - collection and set entries will be selected as well in addition to the actual headers.
v5.5.2:
- Fixed issue in v5.5.1 not marking for download cross-posted headers imported from the search service view.
v5.5.3:
- Recent unrar password options were sometimes ignored by "Detect passworded rar files" (Edit menu->Properties->Articles). It also affects v5.4+ (upgraded from v5.4.1 to v5.4.2).
- v5.4 to v5.4.1
- Added "Set unrar password" option to the context menu of the task manager "Articles", "Downloads", "Errors" and "Save" views.
- Added "Set unrar password" option to the context menu of newsgroup/import views.
- Nzb files containing unrar password have now the password associated with the imported headers automatically.
Note:
The last two features rely on custom collection names, so leave the following options checked (as per default):
1. Edit menu->Properties->General, Collections, "Enable custom collections".
2. Edit menu->Search/Import, Import options, "Import as collection" and "Collection name out of nzb name".
- Articles with associated unrar password will have asterisk added to the subject.
v5.4.1: Fixed a bug introduced in v5.4 which happened when custom collections were disabled by the user (they are enabled by default).
- v5.3 -
- Search service protocol change to allow even higher retention and potentially faster search by supporting sets on the server side directly (will be engaged on the server side gradually as needed). To the client side code added the capability to accept sets format from the search servers.
- v5.2.3 -
- Fixed a recently introduced issue when for certain randomized subject posts extra .par2 extension was added to par2 file names which in turn could lead to downloading excessive par2 files without clearing them.
- v5.2.2 -
- Added option Par2 menu -> Download one par2 file per par2 set at a time. It prevents downloading excessive par2 files. The option is relevant when unpack is busy performing a long operation and par2 files are accumulating in the save queue waiting to be processed by unpack. The option needs sets to be enabled (Edit menu->Properties->General, Sets).
- Added support for handling nzb files containing duplicate file names.
- The number of files one can import from the search service search results view per single import action was increased 8 times (both server and client code was adjusted and the limit can be increased further if necessary).
- The default setting for Par2 menu -> Mark par2 recovery files for download last is now checked by default for better handling of par2 sets containing misnamed files. It is also set to checked when upgrading from previous versions.
- SSL2 support disabled
- Files without extension can now be added to unpack manually
- When download errors happened - sometimes auto repair didn't start automatically.
- Other improvements and refinements.
- v5.2.1 -
- The option Edit menu -> Properties -> Articles, Downloading bodies, Handle known obfuscated downloads introduced in v5.1 has been updated to handle new kinds of obfuscated posts reported by users recently.
- v5.2 -
- Added the capability to use unrar password list files in the task manager unpack pane context menu -> Set unrar password. Since unrar may take some time before returning a wrong password error - trying several passwords may lengthen the time needed for the successful unrar.
- Added option Edit menu -> Properties-> Tasks -> Sockets/Network , Network threads, Reuse (don't destroy), checked by default. With the option enabled the program won't destroy the worker threads, but will suspend and reuse them instead, so even when there are no active tasks - the Windows task manager will show all worker threads still there. While there is no noticeable impact on the system performance (as those are just the thread context data), the feature effectively addresses buggy third party drivers failing when an application creates/destroys many threads.
- Missing parts in header properties now shows range instead of enumerating all missing parts individually.
- Updated the built-in kill filter.
- v5.1.2 -
- It is now possible to set the maximum size of the quick filter and search service bars to less than the UE window width (View menu -> Size filter/search bars).
- The built-in kill filter optimized/updated.
- When the posting server was not disabled, there was still the disabled server warning given.
- v5.1.1 -
- The auto deep scan option (Edit menu -> Properties -> Save/Unpack, Unpack, Auto, Deep scan) is now checked by default for databases created with the earlier versions (so no need to check it manually).
- Fixed a problem when auto deep scan was invoked and the article queue contained headers marked for download only without save.
- v5.1 -
- Flagged messages without article bodies will now expire and reset newsgroup will clear them.
- Added options to clear recent unpack folders: Edit menu->Delete history, Recent: Save folders, Recent: Unrar folders.
- Added option Edit menu -> Properties -> General, Purge deleted headers automatically either on newsgroup first load or newsgroup every load. There is also a check box to restrict the option only to the import group type. The option is useful especially for import group to prevent it from growing too big, you can set unlimited retention, set the headers to be deleted after download and save (Edit menu->Properties->Save/Unpack, Save, Saving attachments, Delete headers), then the deleted headers will be automatically purged using the option.
- Added option Edit menu -> Properties ->Search/Import, Import options, Collection name out of nzb file name, so the custom collection name will be derived from the nzb file name instead of the post subject.
- Added par2 set deep scan option. The deep scan option will scan files from the unpack pane in the same directory where the par2 set files are located and even when the files are both misnamed and corrupted, but have matched data blocks - they will be detected. In the unlikely case when all data files are corrupted it needs to be applied manually. The option is useful when downloading intentionally misnamed files with names which don't match the file names listed in the par2 set. It can be invoked manually in the task manager unpack pane context menu or automatically Edit menu -> Properties -> Save/Unpack, Unpack, Auto, Deep scan.
- Removed practical limit on the number of parts in a partial due to recently appearing posts which contain huge files as a single partial message by at least one mass poster. Because of previously existing limit of 10000 parts per partial such posts were ignored. The search service was updated to include those few missed files which were posted previously.
- The quick filter and search service bars are now autoresized to match the width of the program window.
- When replying to a post - the quoted reply length can be now set in Edit menu->Properties->Post, Truncate reply quote; when the field is empty the reply quote won't be truncated at all.
- When posting server is disabled, there will be a warning given.
- Added option to export headers into nzb file directly from the search results view context menu -> Advanced -> Export Headers.
- Added option Edit menu -> Properties -> Articles, Downloading bodies, Handle known obfuscated downloads. When enabled, in part certain mass posts using consistently corrupted yEnc encoding will be decoded without errors.
- Timer frequency for launching tasks etc. was increased to address high connection speeds which may results in higher download speed.
- Collection detection code refined.
- Updated the built-in kill filter.
- SSL library updated.
- Other refinements and fixes.
- v5.0.3 -
- Filters created in the filter editor containing "Messages" are collections/sets/partials/singles can be now applied to the search service results view.
- Added option "Edit menu->Properties->Search/Import, Import, Program startup, Open Import group on (program) start".
- Expiration warning code was accidentally disabled, now it is working again with additional improvements.
- Small fixes.
- v5.0.2 -
- Fixed a problem with custom collections when the custom collection contained a relatively rare mix of headers (e.g. a single set with file numbers along with other files without file numbers). The problem was more prominent in v5.0+ and much less likely in earlier versions. Nevertheless the prior releases were updated as well.
- v5.0.1 -
- Updated the built-in kill filter.
- Bug found in the Rar 5.0 unrar code, when incorrect password, Rar with encrypted file names and delete files after successful unrar checked in properties - the downloaded files were deleted after the unsuccessful unrar. As the code was added long time ago in v4.6 and didn't change since then (the bug was never reported) - it also affects v4.7+ (upgraded from 4.7.3 to 4.7.4) and v4.9+ (upgraded from 4.9.7 to 4.9.8).
- v5.0 -
- Server bandwidth counters can now count beyond 4TB.
- Added the option "Reset bandwidth counters on program start" in the tasks menu.
- "Detect passworded rar files" option in edit menu->articles->properties has been now updated to work with the Rar v5.0 format.
- The group kill filter in edit menu->properties->search can be now disabled with a check box without deleting the filter expression itself.
- Added option to pause the console content update in the console context menu ("Pause"), so it is now possible to lock the current content and scroll the console when the content was changing too fast.
- Added built-in kill filter which discards known spam streams which are difficult to define in a regular filter. The filter can be disabled in edit menu->properties->kill filters, built-in kill filter. The filter can be updated on user requests followed by a minor release.
- Updated the default "Recoverable errors" edit control content in edit menu->properties->tasks, as the previous default expression didn't catch error messages when the connection limit was exceeded for some servers and realizing there is the need to change it manually is not so apparent.
- The search service code was significantly upgraded to work with more compact search service server side format, but for now it won't be engaged on the server side.
- Sometimes par2 sets in search results were shown incomplete while they were complete upon import headers.
- The options "Keep system on while the program is running / tasks are running" in the tasks menu were accidentally disabled starting with some previous version.
Release history v4.x
Release history v3.x
Release history v2.x
Release history v1.x