NewsPro - Web Site



Welcome to the NewsPro Web site.

NewsPro is a CGI/Perl script used to update a news page on a Web site. Some of its features include:

  • Easy install & configuration (done via the Web).
  • Supports multiple users and secure login via "cookies".
  • Easy to change the way your news looks, via a web-based configuration form.
  • News is written to a text file, instead of generated dynamically; safer and more secure
  • Ability to quickly remove or edit previously posted news. Optionally users can only have permission to remove/edit their own posts.
  • Auto-deletion of old news (optional)
  • Auto-archiving of old news (optional; either in a single file or monthly archives)
  • Built-in e-mail news list functionality.
  • Includes full online help.
  • Display a list of new or recently modified pages on your site along with your news.
  • Users can search through news.
  • Optionally show users only news posted since their last visit.
  • Possible to add your own news fields fairly easily.
  • Simple interface (with the same style and colours as this page).

NewsPro is currently free for all users. However, commercial sites must display a link, and sites with illegal or pornographic content cannot use NewsPro.

The current version is: Current Version

Download NewsPro

ENGLISH: New users download this ZIP file and read readme.txt. Existing users visit this page for customised upgrade instructions. (Upgrades usually take 5-10 minutes and involve no data loss.)

DOWNLOAD NOTE: Bandwidth and web hosting for the NewsPro project is funded solely by donations and advertisements. If you would like to contribute to the project please contact us.

OTHER LANGUAGES:The standard-user sections of NewsPro have been translated into several languages. However, both documentation and the administrative sections of NewsPro are available only in English. To install a new copy in a non-English language, first download the English version and copy the files to your server as per the instructions in readme.txt. Before accessing NewsPro via your Web browser, copy the files inside the language ZIP file you downloaded to your server, overwriting the English versions. Then continue with the install. To upgrade an existing version, follow the English upgrade instructions, but before accessing NewsPro via your Web browser, copy nplang.pl from inside the language ZIP file you downloaded to your server, overwriting any English versions. The following language ZIP files are available: French, Swedish, Spanish, Afrikaans, German, Dutch, Russian, Portuguese (European), Portuguese (Brazilian), Polish in either the ISO (recommended) or CP-1250 coding systems, Chinese (Big5), Finnish, Italian, Hungarian, and Norwegian.

ADDONS: A variety of addons are available for NewsPro. They add many new features, and the list is required reading before sending any support messages.


Get Information & Help

DOCUMENTATION: The first place to look is readme.txt, included in the NewsPro ZIP file. Also look at the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and the Advanced Usage page (this page includes instructions on how to make the date appear once above all the day's news).

SUPPORT: The best place for support is the NewsPro Forum. Do not post to the forum or request support until you have fully read both the readme and FAQ! If your question is answered in either of these two sources, your support requests will not be answered.

 

NewsPro News & Updates (created by NewsPro, of course):

Sunday, July 15, 2001

Version 4.0 Beta Released Posted @ 9:32 PM
The first beta version of Coranto 4.0 is now available here. (As of the next version, NewsPro will be renamed Coranto.) This is a significant new version, a near-complete rewrite with a new interface and several new features.

NewsPro upgrade support isn't yet available, only a few addons have been released, and documentation is thin, but otherwise the beta is feature-complete. Try it out, and be sure to report bugs at the new Coranto Forum (if you registered NewsPro before July 10th, your existing username and password will work there).

Friday, May 11, 2001

Version 3.8 Released Posted @ 3:22 PM
NewsPro version 3.8 is now available. Existing users can upgrade in about two minutes.

Mostly a maintenance release, version 3.8 includes new help and documentation, links to the new NewsPro site, has new upgrade support, and provides or extends support for addons.

Friday, April 13, 2001

Site Move Posted @ 7:47 PM
If you're reading this, you've reached this site's new and improved server. As the move is still in full swing, you may run into a Not Found error or two.

Monday, January 8, 2001

Updates Posted @ 6:35 PM
I've been receiving a lot of e-mail lately about whether this site is still alive, much of it due to the fact that it's been down for about five days. Apologies for this: I was away until yesterday and so couldn't get things fixed (or, rather, e-mail the host to get things fixed).

Also, many people have asked why there haven't been updated or new versions for a very long time. This is for three reasons.

First, there is a new version in the works, specifically version 4.0. It's a near-complete rewrite, entirely new structure, tons of new features, etc. A large portion of it is complete, and it's currently in semi-public alpha. (Semi-public because signup was open to all for a week, but is now closed. Please don't request to join the alpha: the next stage will be a public beta, hopefully within a few months.)

Second, I have increasingly little time to devote to this. Answering support e-mail absorbs most of that time -- I get a lot. And if I'm to have any hope of getting this site in working order and ever finishing version 4, I can't afford to spend all that time. So, unfortunately, I'm going to have to stop providing free e-mail support. (As it is, e-mails sometimes take a week or more to answer.) The forum is still available, and there are many helpful people there.

Finally, there haven't been any major problems with version 3.7.5. There are no major bugs that I know of, and many people are using it and like it. There have been no pressing reasons to release new versions, except for adding new features, and all new-feature work has been going into version 4.

Oh, and just so that this message can look dated when it's still up weeks from now: happy New Year!

Tuesday, July 25, 2000

Don't send e-mail Posted @ 3:01 PM
Until early August, support e-mail will not be answered. So, if you have a problem, don't send e-mail: take it to the Forum. But, be very sure to read readme.txt and the FAQ first. If your question is answered there, chances are it simply won't be answered if asked in the Forum. (UPDATE: Back, e-mail being answered slowly. You should still use the forum, though.)

Wednesday, May 31, 2000

Security Update: 3.7.5 Posted @ 4:31 PM
Version 3.7.5 has been released. It fixes a just-discovered security bug, and as such all users should upgrade. Upgrading is quick (less than 5 minutes usually), painless, and involves no loss of data or settings.

This bug only affects servers with a certain implementation of encryption (the crypt() function). Not all servers are affected, but all users should upgrade. The bug allows users who exploit it to gain access to NewsPro. Access is gained as a Standard-level user: this means that the user can post news items but cannot change settings or modify/remove news items posted by others.

Tuesday, May 9, 2000

New Addons Posted @ 4:17 PM
A few new addons are available. kTalk 2.0 has been out for quite a while now; it adds support for all kinds of things, notably user registration. SpellCheck 1.0.1 has just been released. As you've probably guessed, it checks spelling (via spellchecker.net's advertiser-supported service).

IE5/Mac Problems Posted @ 3:14 PM
The recently released IE5 for Macintosh browser would cause problems when editing news style via Change Settings. This has been fixed and the newspro.zip file updated. This isn't a large enough problem to warrant a new version, so we're still at 3.7.4 (though the build is now 23). Unless you're using IE5/Mac, there's no need to upgrade. If you are using it, then replace your current newspro.cgi with a new one. (That's the only changed file.)




Disclaimer: This site is reconstructed from scratch to mimic the look and feel of several websites that no longer exist. This site is to be used solely for educational purposes and is protected under US Copyright Law.