There are quite a few little tricks and techniques that I employ when reading Usenet news listings. Most of them are too simplistic to expand into an entire column, but taken as a group, they make an interesting toolkit. In some cases, they reveal user interface limitations in specific programs, in other situations; they simply reflect the way one person has chosen to optimize frequent routines. Without further preamble, here is a look at my own bag of tricks.
Missing segments in multi-part posts is a constant headache, but there are a few things you can do to fill the holes. The reason that segments disappear varies, but often it is just a matter of timing. There is always a chance that articles arrived the before previous time you checked a group and they are already marked as read, or perhaps the missing article is not on the server at all. Here are a couple of things to try: Close the message list, and search on several words in the subject line. Searches look at every file on the server, not just those that are unread. If the server has the article, searching will reveal it. If a search does not work, reopen the message list and check the date and time. If they are recent, it could be that the missing article just has not arrived yet. Wait a few hours or a day, and it might stagger in. If that does not work, or you are impatient, try another server. Not all servers are equal, either as recipients or as senders, and sometimes an article missing on your primary server will appear a different server.
Thoth’s interface is a victim of too many windows, some of which don’t remember their positions very well. Often the only way to find what you’re looking for is to pick the window’s name from the Window menu. But I use a different technique: QuicKeys. If you have never used a macro utility, then you don’t know what you are missing. QuicKeys can create small floating button-infested windows, where you can create and install the functions you want. Since the window floats, it is a permanent interface object that contains your personal, most frequently used commands. Mine contains buttons to extract binaries, search the current group, mark the current messages as all read and download the next group, and a create new message button. Group names seldom change, also making it possible to create a set of buttons that provide single click access to items in the Window menu.
Because QuicKeys is a system utility, it can reach beyond the newsreader client. For example, I also have a button that opens the Finder and reveals the download folder. You can learn more about QuicKeys from
www.quickeys.com.
The key to optimizing your workflow is to take a step back from the way you have always done things, and try to look at what you do though fresh eyes. Frequent tasks can be automated with a macro, frustrating dead ends can be blasted though or sidestepped, and when a program’s interface doesn’t suit your needs, utilities such as QuicKeys can go a long way toward making your Mac work for you, rather than the other way around.
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"Little Techniques That Deliver Big Rewards"
