• A replacement DLL (PRONEWS.DLL) compiled from the available sources. This is quite a large file to download (about 0.5MB). In addition, this DLL is for a particular build of the 1.50 beta 1 version, although it probably works with all of the 1.50 betas. It is available here as pn2_15b1_y2k_dll.zip.
• The latest version (still under active development). The recommended solution. It has many other bugs fixed, and is available here as pn2152cp012.zip.
• A binary patch for PRONEWS.DLL. This supports some of the 1.50 beta 1 versions, and the download size is negligible. It is available on this site (see below).

The patch

As mentioned above, the patch retains the spell checking functionality, while fixing some of the more pressing issues, such as the following (the number after each item is the patch level at which it was implemented):

• Correct the erroneous use of a year of 3900, and 'every day is Sunday', in followup and reply message annotation [01]
• Fix the premature purging of articles as soon as a group view is closed. [01]
• Fix the 501 error (on many news servers) when an attempt is made to update the groups list (the NEWGROUPS problem) [01]
• Product Information dialog now displays the patch level after the version number [01]
• Patch level now displayed in X-Newsreader and X-Mailer headers [02]

• The 1.50 beta 1 version available here as pn2_15b1.zip. This version has a PRONEWS.DLL dated the 8th of May 1998, and its size is 1053831 bytes.
• A 1.50 beta 1 version available from the Panacea site just before it closed down. This version has a PRONEWS.DLL dated the 10th of May 1998, and its size is 1053847 bytes.
• A 1.50 beta 1 version available from the Panacea site a little while before it closed down. This version has a PRONEWS.DLL dated the 6th of May 1998, and its size is 1053335 bytes.
• A 1.50 closed beta 1 version, often known as 'Build ia119' (this appears in the Product Information dialog); it is dated the 4th of June 1998, and its size is 2434644 bytes.

Note that the file date is changed during installation; to check the original date, unzip the distribution file, and the INSTALL.ZIP within it, and look at the date on PRONEWS.DLL there.

The patch procedure will automatically use the correct patch file, as long as the DLL appears to correspond to one of the above versions. The date on the DLL does not have to be as above.

All you need for the patch is the file PNY2KPAT.ZIP, available here; it is under 6KB in size. Full instructions are included.

Thanks to Trevor Hemsley for getting me started, for his work on a new DLL, and to many others for their help and support!

Other files

Some users may be interested in the UK version of the Spellguard dictionary, used with ProNews/2, It can be downloaded here as sg_ukdct.zip.

The toolkit for OS/2 version 1.3 is a useful resource. It contains, at least, some useful documentation and header files for the 16 bit interfaces still present in 32-bit OS/2. The toolkit is available as a set of diskette images, which can be unpacked (to a diskette, real or virtual) using the LOADDSKF utility.

The diskette images (and their MD5 signatures) can be downloaded here:

Innoval was well known as a producer of OS/2 software, specifically two mail clients and a web filter/URL recorder. They have now discontinued OS/2 support, but have made those products generally available at no charge. Copies of each product can be downloaded here; for more details of the Innoval position, download a copy of their announcement.

Fixes are also included for bugs in Post Road Mailer:

• Lines starting with a dot are sometimes corrupted. This is due to the fact that Post Road Mailer fails to implement the 'dot stuffing' algorithm that is part of the SMTP and POP3 protocols. The bug was reported to Innoval more than once, but never fixed. Happily, two small REXX user exits (provided here) solve the problem.
• Attachments are reported when in fact there are none in the message.
• Fix for using Post Road Mailer with PGP 5.0.

Select the name of each product if you wish to download it. To use Post Road Mailer, you will need a serial number; Innoval say that you should use the number 31571728.

POSTROAD.ZIP	Post Road Mailer version 3.0
PRDOTFIX.ZIP	Fix for dot stuffing bug in Post Road Mailer
EPOTCPIP.ZIP	Fix for when Post Road Mailer reports attachments but does not decode them properly
PGP fix	Fix for using Post Road Mailer with PGP 5.0
JSTREET.ZIP	J Street Mailer (in Java); needs Java 1.1.4, or later if possible
WILLYO30.ZIP	Web Willy Watch. Intended as a parental filter, but excellent at recording and recalling URLs

J Street Mailer has been taken over by another group, and worked on actively. It is now known as the Polarbar Mailer. See the home page at http://www.polarbar.net. It is well worth a visit.

CDS was well known as a producer of OS/2 backup software. They sold the rights to another company who promptly dropped OS/2 support. Demo versions can be found here; they are limited in function (length of backup) unless you have a key.

Select the name of each product if you wish to download it.

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