SNNTP Control

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The SNNTP Control is used to read, search, and post articles on Usenet news servers.

Syntax

SNNTP

Remarks

The SNNTP Control is the S/MIME enabled equivalent of the IPWorks NNTP control. In addition to standard NNTP functions the SNNTP control can sign, encrypt, decrypt, and verify message signatures. The methods and properties for encrypting, signing, decrypting, and verifying signatures are identical to those provided with the S/MIME control. After setting the certificate properties, and specifying ArticleText, call the Encrypt, Sign or SignAndEncrypt method before posting, and the result will be stored in ArticleText. When attempting to verify a signed message or when decrypting a message, call the Decrypt, VerifySignature, or DecryptAndVerifySignature methods and the resulting text will be replaced in ArticleText.

The SNNTP Control implements a standard Usenet news reader as specified in RFC 977. It can be used to browse Usenet news groups and to read and post articles.

The CurrentGroup property sets the current newsgroup. From then on, news articles from that group can be read by setting the article number in CurrentArticle and then calling the appropriate method. Properties, such as ArticleCount, FirstArticle, and LastArticle, provide information about the current state.

The headers and text of the articles are received through the Header and Transfer events, respectively. Additionally, up to MaxLines from the article body are provided in the ArticleText property. The GroupOverview event returns information about a range of articles (OverviewRange) in CurrentGroup, and the GroupList event is used when listing newsgroup names. The PITrail event provides a trace of the interaction with the server.

The control supports posting of articles through the ArticleText and AttachedFile properties. The article text is specified in one or both of the above, and then the PostArticle method is called. Article headers are given in a series of properties, such as ArticleFrom, ArticleSubject, and Organization, that map directly to the Usenet article header with the same name.

Property List

The following is the full list of the properties of the control with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Method List

The following is the full list of the methods of the control with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Event List

The following is the full list of the events fired by the control with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Config Settings

The following is a list of config settings for the control with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

ArticleCount Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the estimated number of articles in CurrentGroup .

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ArticleCount

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property contains the estimated number of articles in CurrentGroup. The value of this property is 0 if there is no current group (CurrentGroup is ""). Otherwise, when CurrentGroup is set, it is the number of articles in the group as shown by the news server. For most news servers, this is an estimated value of the number of the articles, rather than the exact value.

This property is read-only.

Data Type

Long64

ArticleDate Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the date of the current article.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ArticleDate

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the date of the current article. If the control is not connected or CurrentArticle is empty, the value of this property is an empty string. Otherwise, it contains the date of the article as reported by the server. The NewsServer is asked about the headers of the article only if the CurrentArticle property has changed. If CurrentArticle has not changed, the control returns a cached value.

This property is read-only.

Data Type

String

ArticleFrom Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the email address of the author (for posting articles).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ArticleFrom[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the email address of the author (for posting articles). The string in this property is posted with a From article header to the news server.

If the resulting header is longer than MaxHeaderLength, then it is folded according to RFC 850 specifications.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

ArticleHeaders Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the full headers of the article as retrieved from the server.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ArticleHeaders

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the full headers of the article as retrieved from the server. If the control is not connected or the CurrentArticle is empty, the value of this property is an empty string. Otherwise, it contains the full headers of the article as reported by the server.

The NewsServer is asked about the headers of the article only if the CurrentArticle property has changed. If CurrentArticle has not changed, the control returns a cached value.

This property is read-only.

Data Type

String

ArticleId Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the message identifier of the current article.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ArticleId

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the message identifier of the current article. If the control is not connected or the CurrentArticle is empty, the value of this property is an empty string. Otherwise, it contains the message identifier of the article as reported by the server. The NewsServer is asked about the headers of the article only if the CurrentArticle property has changed. If the CurrentArticle has not changed, the control returns a cached value.

This property is read-only.

Data Type

String

GroupOverviewCount Property (SNNTP Control)

The number of records in the GroupOverview arrays.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupOverviewCount

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property controls the size of the following arrays:

• GroupOverviewArticleLines
• GroupOverviewArticleNumber
• GroupOverviewArticleSize
• GroupOverviewDate
• GroupOverviewFrom
• GroupOverviewMessageId
• GroupOverviewOtherHeaders
• GroupOverviewReferences
• GroupOverviewSubject

The array indices start at 0 and end at GroupOverviewCount - 1.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

GroupOverviewArticleLines Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the number of lines of an article in a newsgroup overview.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupOverviewArticleLines(GroupOverviewIndex)

Default Value

0

Remarks

This is the number of lines of an article in a newsgroup overview.

The GroupOverviewIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupOverviewCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Long64

GroupOverviewArticleNumber Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the number of an article in a newsgroup overview.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupOverviewArticleNumber(GroupOverviewIndex)

Default Value

0

Remarks

This is the number of an article in a newsgroup overview.

The GroupOverviewIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupOverviewCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Long64

GroupOverviewArticleSize Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the size of an article in a newsgroup overview.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupOverviewArticleSize(GroupOverviewIndex)

Default Value

0

Remarks

This is the size of an article in a newsgroup overview.

The GroupOverviewIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupOverviewCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Long64

GroupOverviewDate Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the date of an article in a newsgroup overview.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupOverviewDate(GroupOverviewIndex)

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the date of an article in a newsgroup overview.

The GroupOverviewIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupOverviewCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

GroupOverviewFrom Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the sender of an article in a newsgroup overview.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupOverviewFrom(GroupOverviewIndex)

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the sender of an article in a newsgroup overview.

The GroupOverviewIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupOverviewCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

GroupOverviewMessageId Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the unique message Id of an article in a newsgroup overview.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupOverviewMessageId(GroupOverviewIndex)

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the unique message Id of an article in a newsgroup overview.

The GroupOverviewIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupOverviewCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

GroupOverviewOtherHeaders Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the remaining headers of an article in a newsgroup overview.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupOverviewOtherHeaders(GroupOverviewIndex)

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the remaining headers of an article in a newsgroup overview.

The GroupOverviewIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupOverviewCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

GroupOverviewReferences Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the references of an article in a newsgroup overview.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupOverviewReferences(GroupOverviewIndex)

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the references of an article in a newsgroup overview.

The GroupOverviewIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupOverviewCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

GroupOverviewSubject Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the subject of an article in a newsgroup overview.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupOverviewSubject(GroupOverviewIndex)

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the subject of an article in a newsgroup overview.

The GroupOverviewIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupOverviewCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

ArticleReferences Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes articles to which the posted article follows up.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ArticleReferences[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains articles to which the posted article follows up. If this property contains a nonempty string, a References article header is created for the article. This header shows the article identifiers for the posted article to which it refers.

The references must be separated by space characters.

If the resulting header is longer than MaxHeaderLength, then it is folded according to RFC 850 specifications.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

ArticleReplyTo Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the address to reply to (for posting articles).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ArticleReplyTo[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the address to reply to (for posting articles). If this property contains a nonempty string, a Reply-To article header is created for the article. This header shows the address to use for replies, which is useful if this address is different from the one in ArticleFrom.

If the resulting header is longer than MaxHeaderLength, then it is folded according to RFC 850 specifications.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

ArticleSubject Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the article subject (for posted articles).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ArticleSubject[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

The string in this property is posted with a Subject article header to the news server.

If the resulting header is longer than MaxHeaderLength, then it is folded according to RFC 850 specifications.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

ArticleText Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the full text of the article (without the headers).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ArticleText[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the full text of the article (without the headers). If the control is not connected or CurrentArticle is empty, the value of this property is an empty string. Otherwise, it contains the full text of the article as reported by the server.

The NewsServer is asked about the text of the article only if the CurrentArticle property has changed. If CurrentArticle has not changed, the control returns a cached value.

When posting articles, this property contains the full text of the article to post.

It is advisable that the text contained in this property be a collection of lines with lengths less than or equal to 80 bytes separated by CRLF (Chr$(13) & Chr$(10)) . The text in the article lines must contain 7-bit characters so that the article can be successfully transferred through the various Usenet news servers on the Internet.

The control automatically escapes lines that start with a "." by adding another "." as specified in RFC 977. The article text is unescaped by the news server, so the process is fully transparent.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

AttachedFile Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes a filename for which the contents will be appended to the ArticleText when posting articles.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.AttachedFile[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

The content of this property is appended to the text in ArticleText (if any) and sent to the news server. This property is useful for posting arbitrarily large articles or sending MIME attachments.

It is advisable that the text contained in the file be a collection of lines with lengths less than or equal to 80 bytes separated by CRLF (Chr$(13) & Chr$(10)) . The text in the message lines must contain only 7-bit characters so that the message may be sent successfully through the various Usenet news servers on the Internet.

The control automatically escapes lines that start with a "." by adding another as specified in RFC 822. The article text is unescaped by the news server, so the process is fully transparent.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

CertEncoded Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the certificate (PEM/base64 encoded).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.CertEncoded[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the certificate (PEM/Base64 encoded). This property is used to assign a specific certificate. The CertStore and CertSubject properties also may be used to specify a certificate.

When CertEncoded is set, a search is initiated in the current CertStore for the private key of the certificate. If the key is found, CertSubject is updated to reflect the full subject of the selected certificate; otherwise, CertSubject is set to an empty string.

To read or write binary data to the property, a Variant (Byte Array) version is provided in .CertEncodedB.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Binary String

CertStore Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the name of the certificate store for the client certificate.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.CertStore[=string]

Default Value

"MY"

Remarks

This is the name of the certificate store for the client certificate.

The CertStoreType property denotes the type of the certificate store specified by CertStore. If the store is password protected, specify the password in CertStorePassword.

CertStore is used in conjunction with the CertSubject property to specify client certificates. If CertStore has a value, and CertSubject or CertEncoded is set, a search for a certificate is initiated. Please see the CertSubject property for details.

Designations of certificate stores are platform dependent.

The following designations are the most common User and Machine certificate stores in Windows:

When the certificate store type is PFXFile, this property must be set to the name of the file. When the type is PFXBlob, the property must be set to the binary contents of a PFX file (i.e., PKCS#12 certificate store).

To read or write binary data to the property, a Variant (Byte Array) version is provided in .CertStoreB.

Data Type

Binary String

CertStorePassword Property (SNNTP Control)

If the type of certificate store requires a password, this property is used to specify the password needed to open the certificate store.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.CertStorePassword[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

If the type of certificate store requires a password, this property is used to specify the password needed to open the certificate store.

Data Type

String

CertStoreType Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the type of certificate store for this certificate.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.CertStoreType[=integer]

Possible Values

cstUser(0), 
cstMachine(1), 
cstPFXFile(2), 
cstPFXBlob(3), 
cstJKSFile(4), 
cstJKSBlob(5), 
cstPEMKeyFile(6), 
cstPEMKeyBlob(7), 
cstPublicKeyFile(8), 
cstPublicKeyBlob(9), 
cstSSHPublicKeyBlob(10), 
cstP7BFile(11), 
cstP7BBlob(12), 
cstSSHPublicKeyFile(13), 
cstPPKFile(14), 
cstPPKBlob(15), 
cstXMLFile(16), 
cstXMLBlob(17), 
cstJWKFile(18), 
cstJWKBlob(19), 
cstSecurityKey(20), 
cstBCFKSFile(21), 
cstBCFKSBlob(22), 
cstPKCS11(23), 
cstAuto(99)

Default Value

0

Remarks

This is the type of certificate store for this certificate.

The control supports both public and private keys in a variety of formats. When the cstAuto value is used, the control will automatically determine the type. This property can take one of the following values:

Data Type

Integer

CertSubject Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the subject of the certificate used for client authentication.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.CertSubject[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the subject of the certificate used for client authentication.

This property must be set after all other certificate properties are set. When this property is set, a search is performed in the current certificate store to locate a certificate with a matching subject.

If a matching certificate is found, the property is set to the full subject of the matching certificate.

If an exact match is not found, the store is searched for subjects containing the value of the property.

If a match is still not found, the property is set to an empty string, and no certificate is selected.

The special value "*" picks a random certificate in the certificate store.

The certificate subject is a comma-separated list of distinguished name fields and values. For instance, "CN=www.server.com, OU=test, C=US, E=support@nsoftware.com". Common fields and their meanings are as follows:

If a field value contains a comma, it must be quoted.

Data Type

String

CheckDate Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the date (format YYMMDD HHMMSS) to check for the creation of new groups. If the group was created after the date specified, it is considered new.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.CheckDate[=string]

Default Value

"000101 000000"

Remarks

This property contains the date (format YYMMDD HHMMSS) to check for the creation of new groups. If the group was created after the date specified, it is considered new. The value of this property is used as an argument for the ListNewGroups method.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

Command Property (SNNTP Control)

This property is used to send additional commands directly to the server.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Command[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property can be used to send additional commands directly to the server. Check the LastReply property or trap the PITrail events coming from the server to get the response.

This property is write-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

Connected Property (SNNTP Control)

This shows whether the control is connected.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Connected[=boolean]

Default Value

False

Remarks

This property is used to determine whether or not the control is connected to the remote host.

Note: It is recommended to use the Connect or Disconnect method instead of setting this property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Boolean

CurrentArticle Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the number or message identifier of the current article.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.CurrentArticle[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies either a message identifier or an article number uniquely identifying a particular article. It is then used as an argument to methods such as FetchArticle.

Data Type

String

CurrentGroup Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the name of the current group.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.CurrentGroup[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the name of the current group. When this property is set to a valid group name, the control sends a Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) GROUP command to the NewsServer and enters the specified group. If the command is successful, FirstArticle, LastArticle, and ArticleCount are set to the reported values for the group. This property is then used for all references to articles (until it is changed to another group).

Note: It is recommended to use the ChangeCurrentGroup method instead of setting this property.

Data Type

String

EncryptingAlgorithm Property (SNNTP Control)

The property includes textual description of the encrypting algorithm.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.EncryptingAlgorithm[=string]

Default Value

"3DES"

Remarks

This property contains either the name of the algorithm (such as 3DES or AES), or an object identifier (OID) string representing the algorithm.

Possible values are as follows:

• "3DES"
• "DES"
• "RC2CBC40"
• "RC2CBC64"
• "RC2CBC128" or "RC2"
• "AESCBC128" or "AES"
• "AESCBC192"
• "AESCBC256"
• "AESGCM128" or "AESGCM"
• "AESGCM192"
• "AESGCM256"

Data Type

String

FirewallAutoDetect Property (SNNTP Control)

This property tells the control whether or not to automatically detect and use firewall system settings, if available.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.FirewallAutoDetect[=boolean]

Default Value

False

Remarks

This property tells the control whether or not to automatically detect and use firewall system settings, if available.

Data Type

Boolean

FirewallType Property (SNNTP Control)

This property determines the type of firewall to connect through.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.FirewallType[=integer]

Possible Values

fwNone(0), 
fwTunnel(1), 
fwSOCKS4(2), 
fwSOCKS5(3), 
fwSOCKS4A(10)

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property determines the type of firewall to connect through. The applicable values are as follows:

Data Type

Integer

FirewallHost Property (SNNTP Control)

This property contains the name or IP address of firewall (optional).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.FirewallHost[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the name or IP address of firewall (optional). If a FirewallHost is given, the requested connections will be authenticated through the specified firewall when connecting.

If this property is set to a Domain Name, a DNS request is initiated. Upon successful termination of the request, this property is set to the corresponding address. If the search is not successful, the control fails with an error.

Data Type

String

FirewallPassword Property (SNNTP Control)

This property contains a password if authentication is to be used when connecting through the firewall.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.FirewallPassword[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains a password if authentication is to be used when connecting through the firewall. If FirewallHost is specified, the FirewallUser and FirewallPassword properties are used to connect and authenticate to the given firewall. If the authentication fails, the control fails with an error.

Data Type

String

FirewallPort Property (SNNTP Control)

This property contains the transmission control protocol (TCP) port for the firewall Host .

Syntax

snntpcontrol.FirewallPort[=integer]

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property contains the transmission control protocol (TCP) port for the firewall FirewallHost. See the description of the FirewallHost property for details.

Note: This property is set automatically when FirewallType is set to a valid value. See the description of the FirewallType property for details.

Data Type

Integer

FirewallUser Property (SNNTP Control)

This property contains a user name if authentication is to be used connecting through a firewall.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.FirewallUser[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains a user name if authentication is to be used connecting through a firewall. If the FirewallHost is specified, this property and FirewallPassword properties are used to connect and authenticate to the given Firewall. If the authentication fails, the control fails with an error.

Data Type

String

FirstArticle Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the number of the first article in CurrentGroup .

Syntax

snntpcontrol.FirstArticle

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property contains the number of the first article in CurrentGroup. The value of this property is zero if there is no current group (CurrentGroup is "").

This property is read-only.

Data Type

Long64

GroupListCount Property (SNNTP Control)

The number of records in the GroupList arrays.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupListCount

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property controls the size of the following arrays:

• GroupListCanPost
• GroupListFirstArticle
• GroupListGroup
• GroupListLastArticle

The array indices start at 0 and end at GroupListCount - 1.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

GroupListCanPost Property (SNNTP Control)

This property indicates whether a group in a newsgroup listing allows postings or articles.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupListCanPost(GroupListIndex)

Default Value

False

Remarks

This property indicates whether a group in a newsgroup listing allows postings or articles.

The GroupListIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupListCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Boolean

GroupListFirstArticle Property (SNNTP Control)

This property shows the first available article in a newsgroup listing.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupListFirstArticle(GroupListIndex)

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property shows the first available article in a newsgroup listing.

The GroupListIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupListCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Long64

GroupListGroup Property (SNNTP Control)

This property shows the group name in a newsgroup listing.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupListGroup(GroupListIndex)

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property shows the group name in a newsgroup listing.

The GroupListIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupListCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

GroupListLastArticle Property (SNNTP Control)

This property shows the last available article in a newsgroup listing.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupListLastArticle(GroupListIndex)

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property shows the last available article in a newsgroup listing.

The GroupListIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the GroupListCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Long64

Idle Property (SNNTP Control)

The current status of the control.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Idle

Default Value

True

Remarks

Idle will be False if the component is currently busy (communicating and/or waiting for an answer), and True at all other times.

This property is read-only.

Data Type

Boolean

IncludeCertificate Property (SNNTP Control)

This property specifies whether to include the signer's certificate with the signed message.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.IncludeCertificate[=boolean]

Default Value

True

Remarks

If this property is set to True, the certificate used to sign the message will be encoded and included in a message signature when calling Sign or SignAndEncrypt.

Including a certificate is the preferred method of building signed messages. If you do not include a certificate, the message recipient may not be able to verify the sender's signature.

Data Type

Boolean

IncludeChain Property (SNNTP Control)

This property specifies whether to include the signer's certificate chain with the signed message.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.IncludeChain[=boolean]

Default Value

False

Remarks

If this property is set to True, the entire certificate's chain that was used to sign the message will be encoded and included in the message signature when calling Sign or SignAndEncrypt.

Note: To include the chain, the IncludeCertificate property must also be set to true.

Data Type

Boolean

LastArticle Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the number of the last article in CurrentGroup .

Syntax

snntpcontrol.LastArticle

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property contains the number of the last article in CurrentGroup. The value of this property is zero if there is no current group (CurrentGroup is "").

This property is read-only.

Data Type

Long64

LastReply Property (SNNTP Control)

The last reply from the server.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.LastReply

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property indicates the last reply received from the server. It can be used for informational purposes. The same information and more can also be retrieved through the PITrail event.

This property is read-only.

Data Type

String

LocalHost Property (SNNTP Control)

The name of the local host or user-assigned IP interface through which connections are initiated or accepted.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.LocalHost[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

The LocalHost property contains the name of the local host as obtained by the gethostname() system call, or if the user has assigned an IP address, the value of that address.

In multi-homed hosts (machines with more than one IP interface) setting LocalHost to the value of an interface will make the control initiate connections (or accept in the case of server controls) only through that interface.

If the control is connected, the LocalHost property shows the IP address of the interface through which the connection is made in internet dotted format (aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd). In most cases, this is the address of the local host, except for multi-homed hosts (machines with more than one IP interface).

NOTE: LocalHost is not persistent. You must always set it in code, and never in the property window.

Data Type

String

MaxLines Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the maximum number of message lines aside from headers to retrieve.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.MaxLines[=long64]

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property is used to limit the number of text lines aside from headers retrieved for messages. This property is used in conjunction with the ArticleText property.

Note: Because of the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) limitations, the full text of the article is always retrieved from the server, but only MaxLines will be stored in ArticleText.

The default value of the property is zero. In this case, the entire message will be retrieved, without interruptions.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Long64

Newsgroups Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes a comma-separated list of newsgroups in which to post the article.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Newsgroups[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

The string in this property is posted with a Newsgroups article header to the news server. It specifies the list of groups where the article is posted (comma separated).

If this property contains "" (empty string), then the value of the CurrentGroup property is used to specify the target newsgroup for the posted article.

If the resulting header is longer than MaxHeaderLength, then it is folded according to RFC 850 specifications.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

NewsPort Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the server port for the secure Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) (default 119).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.NewsPort[=integer]

Default Value

119

Remarks

For implicit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), use port 563 (please refer to the SSLStartMode property for more information).

A valid port number (a value between 1 and 65535) is required for the connection to take place. The property must be set before a connection is attempted and cannot be changed once a connection is established. Any attempt to change this property while connected will fail with an error.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

NewsServer Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the name or address of a news server.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.NewsServer[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the IP address (IP number in dotted internet format) or the domain name for the news server. It is set before a connection is attempted and cannot be changed once a connection is in progress.

If this property is set to a domain name, a DNS request is initiated. Upon successful termination of the request, this property is set to the corresponding address. If the search is not successful, an error is returned.

If the control is configured to use a SOCKS firewall, the value assigned to this property may be preceded with an "*". If this is the case, the host name is passed to the firewall unresolved and the firewall performs the DNS resolution.

Data Type

String

Organization Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the organization of the author (for posting articles).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Organization[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the organization of the article's author. If this property contains a nonempty string, an Organization article header is created for the article. This header shows the organization of the author and is used for information purposes only.

If the resulting header is longer than MaxHeaderLength, then it is folded according to RFC 850 specifications.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

OtherHeaders Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes an RFC 850-compliant string consisting of extra headers (for posting articles).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.OtherHeaders[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains a string of headers to be appended to the message headers created from other properties like From and Subject.

The headers must be of the format "header: value" as specified in RFC 850. Header lines should be separated by CRLF (Chr$(13) & Chr$(10)) .

Use this property with caution. If this property contains invalid headers, article posting might not be successful.

This property is useful for extending the functionality of the control. A good example is posting of MIME attachments.

Special Case: If this property starts with an empty line (e.g., carriage return line feed, CRLF), then the value of this property is used instead of the normally computed article headers.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

OverviewRange Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the range for the GroupOverview method (first-last).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.OverviewRange[=string]

Default Value

"-"

Remarks

This property specifies a range of articles for which to retrieve article overviews from the server. The format is 'first-last' where first is "" (empty string) or a positive number, and last is "" (empty string), a positive number, or the token end.

The default value of this property is '-', meaning 'all articles in the group'.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

ParsedHeaderCount Property (SNNTP Control)

The number of records in the ParsedHeader arrays.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ParsedHeaderCount

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property controls the size of the following arrays:

• ParsedHeaderField
• ParsedHeaderValue

The array indices start at 0 and end at ParsedHeaderCount - 1.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

ParsedHeaderField Property (SNNTP Control)

This property contains the name of the HTTP header (this is the same case as it is delivered).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ParsedHeaderField(ParsedHeaderIndex)

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the name of the HTTP Header (this is the same case as it is delivered).

The ParsedHeaderIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the ParsedHeaderCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

ParsedHeaderValue Property (SNNTP Control)

This property contains the header contents.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ParsedHeaderValue(ParsedHeaderIndex)

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains the Header contents.

The ParsedHeaderIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the ParsedHeaderCount property.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

String

Password Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the logon password for the NewsServer .

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Password[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains a logon password for the NewsServer. If this property is set to a nonempty string, then when connecting to the NewsServer an AUTHINFO PASS command is sent to provide authentication information for the user. This command is not part of the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP), but it is widely used by popular news servers.

Data Type

String

RecipientCertCount Property (SNNTP Control)

The number of records in the RecipientCert arrays.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.RecipientCertCount[=integer]

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property controls the size of the following arrays:

• RecipientCertEncoded
• RecipientCertStore
• RecipientCertStorePassword
• RecipientCertStoreType
• RecipientCertSubject

The array indices start at 0 and end at RecipientCertCount - 1.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

RecipientCertEncoded Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the certificate (PEM/base64 encoded).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.RecipientCertEncoded(RecipientCertIndex)[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the certificate (PEM/Base64 encoded). This property is used to assign a specific certificate. The RecipientCertStore and RecipientCertSubject properties also may be used to specify a certificate.

When RecipientCertEncoded is set, a search is initiated in the current RecipientCertStore for the private key of the certificate. If the key is found, RecipientCertSubject is updated to reflect the full subject of the selected certificate; otherwise, RecipientCertSubject is set to an empty string.

The RecipientCertIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the RecipientCertCount property.

To read or write binary data to the property, a Variant (Byte Array) version is provided in .RecipientCertEncodedB.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Binary String

RecipientCertStore Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the name of the certificate store for the client certificate.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.RecipientCertStore(RecipientCertIndex)[=string]

Default Value

"MY"

Remarks

This is the name of the certificate store for the client certificate.

The RecipientCertStoreType property denotes the type of the certificate store specified by RecipientCertStore. If the store is password protected, specify the password in RecipientCertStorePassword.

RecipientCertStore is used in conjunction with the RecipientCertSubject property to specify client certificates. If RecipientCertStore has a value, and RecipientCertSubject or RecipientCertEncoded is set, a search for a certificate is initiated. Please see the RecipientCertSubject property for details.

Designations of certificate stores are platform dependent.

The following designations are the most common User and Machine certificate stores in Windows:

When the certificate store type is PFXFile, this property must be set to the name of the file. When the type is PFXBlob, the property must be set to the binary contents of a PFX file (i.e., PKCS#12 certificate store).

The RecipientCertIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the RecipientCertCount property.

To read or write binary data to the property, a Variant (Byte Array) version is provided in .RecipientCertStoreB.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Binary String

RecipientCertStorePassword Property (SNNTP Control)

If the type of certificate store requires a password, this property is used to specify the password needed to open the certificate store.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.RecipientCertStorePassword(RecipientCertIndex)[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

If the type of certificate store requires a password, this property is used to specify the password needed to open the certificate store.

The RecipientCertIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the RecipientCertCount property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

RecipientCertStoreType Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the type of certificate store for this certificate.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.RecipientCertStoreType(RecipientCertIndex)[=integer]

Possible Values

cstUser(0), 
cstMachine(1), 
cstPFXFile(2), 
cstPFXBlob(3), 
cstJKSFile(4), 
cstJKSBlob(5), 
cstPEMKeyFile(6), 
cstPEMKeyBlob(7), 
cstPublicKeyFile(8), 
cstPublicKeyBlob(9), 
cstSSHPublicKeyBlob(10), 
cstP7BFile(11), 
cstP7BBlob(12), 
cstSSHPublicKeyFile(13), 
cstPPKFile(14), 
cstPPKBlob(15), 
cstXMLFile(16), 
cstXMLBlob(17), 
cstJWKFile(18), 
cstJWKBlob(19), 
cstSecurityKey(20), 
cstBCFKSFile(21), 
cstBCFKSBlob(22), 
cstPKCS11(23), 
cstAuto(99)

Default Value

0

Remarks

This is the type of certificate store for this certificate.

The control supports both public and private keys in a variety of formats. When the cstAuto value is used, the control will automatically determine the type. This property can take one of the following values:

The RecipientCertIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the RecipientCertCount property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Integer

RecipientCertSubject Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the subject of the certificate used for client authentication.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.RecipientCertSubject(RecipientCertIndex)[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the subject of the certificate used for client authentication.

This property must be set after all other certificate properties are set. When this property is set, a search is performed in the current certificate store to locate a certificate with a matching subject.

If a matching certificate is found, the property is set to the full subject of the matching certificate.

If an exact match is not found, the store is searched for subjects containing the value of the property.

If a match is still not found, the property is set to an empty string, and no certificate is selected.

The special value "*" picks a random certificate in the certificate store.

The certificate subject is a comma-separated list of distinguished name fields and values. For instance, "CN=www.server.com, OU=test, C=US, E=support@nsoftware.com". Common fields and their meanings are as follows:

If a field value contains a comma, it must be quoted.

The RecipientCertIndex parameter specifies the index of the item in the array. The size of the array is controlled by the RecipientCertCount property.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

SearchHeader Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes a header for the GroupSearch method.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SearchHeader[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property specifies the header to search for SearchPattern (e.g., Subject).

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

SearchPattern Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes a search pattern for the GroupSearch method.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SearchPattern[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains a search pattern for the GroupSearch method. The format of the pattern is the same as the patterns used by the UNIX Find command.

As an example, "* new *" will match all headers that contain the word "new".

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

SearchRange Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes the range for the GroupSearch method (first-last).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SearchRange[=string]

Default Value

"-"

Remarks

This property specifies a range of articles for which to do a search on the server. The format is First-Last where First is "" (empty string) or a positive number, and Last is "" (empty string), a positive number, or the token End.

The default value of the property is "-", meaning "search all articles in the group".

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

String

SignerCertEncoded Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the certificate (PEM/base64 encoded).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SignerCertEncoded[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the certificate (PEM/Base64 encoded). This property is used to assign a specific certificate. The SignerCertStore and SignerCertSubject properties also may be used to specify a certificate.

When SignerCertEncoded is set, a search is initiated in the current SignerCertStore for the private key of the certificate. If the key is found, SignerCertSubject is updated to reflect the full subject of the selected certificate; otherwise, SignerCertSubject is set to an empty string.

To read or write binary data to the property, a Variant (Byte Array) version is provided in .SignerCertEncodedB.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Binary String

SignerCertIssuer Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the issuer of the certificate.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SignerCertIssuer

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the issuer of the certificate. This property contains a string representation of the name of the issuing authority for the certificate.

This property is read-only.

Data Type

String

SignerCertSerialNumber Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the serial number of the certificate encoded as a string.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SignerCertSerialNumber

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the serial number of the certificate encoded as a string. The number is encoded as a series of hexadecimal digits, with each pair representing a byte of the serial number.

This property is read-only.

Data Type

String

SignerCertStore Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the name of the certificate store for the client certificate.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SignerCertStore[=string]

Default Value

"MY"

Remarks

This is the name of the certificate store for the client certificate.

The SignerCertStoreType property denotes the type of the certificate store specified by SignerCertStore. If the store is password protected, specify the password in SignerCertStorePassword.

SignerCertStore is used in conjunction with the SignerCertSubject property to specify client certificates. If SignerCertStore has a value, and SignerCertSubject or SignerCertEncoded is set, a search for a certificate is initiated. Please see the SignerCertSubject property for details.

Designations of certificate stores are platform dependent.

The following designations are the most common User and Machine certificate stores in Windows:

When the certificate store type is PFXFile, this property must be set to the name of the file. When the type is PFXBlob, the property must be set to the binary contents of a PFX file (i.e., PKCS#12 certificate store).

To read or write binary data to the property, a Variant (Byte Array) version is provided in .SignerCertStoreB.

Data Type

Binary String

SignerCertStorePassword Property (SNNTP Control)

If the type of certificate store requires a password, this property is used to specify the password needed to open the certificate store.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SignerCertStorePassword[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

If the type of certificate store requires a password, this property is used to specify the password needed to open the certificate store.

Data Type

String

SignerCertStoreType Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the type of certificate store for this certificate.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SignerCertStoreType[=integer]

Possible Values

cstUser(0), 
cstMachine(1), 
cstPFXFile(2), 
cstPFXBlob(3), 
cstJKSFile(4), 
cstJKSBlob(5), 
cstPEMKeyFile(6), 
cstPEMKeyBlob(7), 
cstPublicKeyFile(8), 
cstPublicKeyBlob(9), 
cstSSHPublicKeyBlob(10), 
cstP7BFile(11), 
cstP7BBlob(12), 
cstSSHPublicKeyFile(13), 
cstPPKFile(14), 
cstPPKBlob(15), 
cstXMLFile(16), 
cstXMLBlob(17), 
cstJWKFile(18), 
cstJWKBlob(19), 
cstSecurityKey(20), 
cstBCFKSFile(21), 
cstBCFKSBlob(22), 
cstPKCS11(23), 
cstAuto(99)

Default Value

0

Remarks

This is the type of certificate store for this certificate.

The control supports both public and private keys in a variety of formats. When the cstAuto value is used, the control will automatically determine the type. This property can take one of the following values:

Data Type

Integer

SignerCertSubject Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the subject of the certificate used for client authentication.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SignerCertSubject[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the subject of the certificate used for client authentication.

This property must be set after all other certificate properties are set. When this property is set, a search is performed in the current certificate store to locate a certificate with a matching subject.

If a matching certificate is found, the property is set to the full subject of the matching certificate.

If an exact match is not found, the store is searched for subjects containing the value of the property.

If a match is still not found, the property is set to an empty string, and no certificate is selected.

The special value "*" picks a random certificate in the certificate store.

The certificate subject is a comma-separated list of distinguished name fields and values. For instance, "CN=www.server.com, OU=test, C=US, E=support@nsoftware.com". Common fields and their meanings are as follows:

If a field value contains a comma, it must be quoted.

Data Type

String

SigningAlgorithm Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes a textual description of the signature hash algorithm.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SigningAlgorithm[=string]

Default Value

"SHA256"

Remarks

This property specifies the hash algorithm used to prepare the message digest for signature.

This property must contain either the name of the algorithm (such as MD5 or SHA1), or an object Id (OID) string representing the hash algorithm. Possible values are as follows:

• sha1
• md5
• sha-256 (default)
• sha-384
• sha-512
• sha-224

When read, the value of the property always contains the OID of the algorithm, or an empty string if the algorithm is unknown.

Data Type

String

SSLAcceptServerCertEncoded Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the certificate (PEM/base64 encoded).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SSLAcceptServerCertEncoded[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the certificate (PEM/Base64 encoded). This property is used to assign a specific certificate. The SSLAcceptServerCertStore and SSLAcceptServerCertSubject properties also may be used to specify a certificate.

When SSLAcceptServerCertEncoded is set, a search is initiated in the current SSLAcceptServerCertStore for the private key of the certificate. If the key is found, SSLAcceptServerCertSubject is updated to reflect the full subject of the selected certificate; otherwise, SSLAcceptServerCertSubject is set to an empty string.

To read or write binary data to the property, a Variant (Byte Array) version is provided in .SSLAcceptServerCertEncodedB.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Binary String

SSLCertEncoded Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the certificate (PEM/base64 encoded).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SSLCertEncoded[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the certificate (PEM/Base64 encoded). This property is used to assign a specific certificate. The SSLCertStore and SSLCertSubject properties also may be used to specify a certificate.

When SSLCertEncoded is set, a search is initiated in the current SSLCertStore for the private key of the certificate. If the key is found, SSLCertSubject is updated to reflect the full subject of the selected certificate; otherwise, SSLCertSubject is set to an empty string.

To read or write binary data to the property, a Variant (Byte Array) version is provided in .SSLCertEncodedB.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Binary String

SSLCertStore Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the name of the certificate store for the client certificate.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SSLCertStore[=string]

Default Value

"MY"

Remarks

This is the name of the certificate store for the client certificate.

The SSLCertStoreType property denotes the type of the certificate store specified by SSLCertStore. If the store is password protected, specify the password in SSLCertStorePassword.

SSLCertStore is used in conjunction with the SSLCertSubject property to specify client certificates. If SSLCertStore has a value, and SSLCertSubject or SSLCertEncoded is set, a search for a certificate is initiated. Please see the SSLCertSubject property for details.

Designations of certificate stores are platform dependent.

The following designations are the most common User and Machine certificate stores in Windows:

When the certificate store type is PFXFile, this property must be set to the name of the file. When the type is PFXBlob, the property must be set to the binary contents of a PFX file (i.e., PKCS#12 certificate store).

To read or write binary data to the property, a Variant (Byte Array) version is provided in .SSLCertStoreB.

Data Type

Binary String

SSLCertStorePassword Property (SNNTP Control)

If the type of certificate store requires a password, this property is used to specify the password needed to open the certificate store.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SSLCertStorePassword[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

If the type of certificate store requires a password, this property is used to specify the password needed to open the certificate store.

Data Type

String

SSLCertStoreType Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the type of certificate store for this certificate.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SSLCertStoreType[=integer]

Possible Values

cstUser(0), 
cstMachine(1), 
cstPFXFile(2), 
cstPFXBlob(3), 
cstJKSFile(4), 
cstJKSBlob(5), 
cstPEMKeyFile(6), 
cstPEMKeyBlob(7), 
cstPublicKeyFile(8), 
cstPublicKeyBlob(9), 
cstSSHPublicKeyBlob(10), 
cstP7BFile(11), 
cstP7BBlob(12), 
cstSSHPublicKeyFile(13), 
cstPPKFile(14), 
cstPPKBlob(15), 
cstXMLFile(16), 
cstXMLBlob(17), 
cstJWKFile(18), 
cstJWKBlob(19), 
cstSecurityKey(20), 
cstBCFKSFile(21), 
cstBCFKSBlob(22), 
cstPKCS11(23), 
cstAuto(99)

Default Value

0

Remarks

This is the type of certificate store for this certificate.

The control supports both public and private keys in a variety of formats. When the cstAuto value is used, the control will automatically determine the type. This property can take one of the following values:

Data Type

Integer

SSLCertSubject Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the subject of the certificate used for client authentication.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SSLCertSubject[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the subject of the certificate used for client authentication.

This property must be set after all other certificate properties are set. When this property is set, a search is performed in the current certificate store to locate a certificate with a matching subject.

If a matching certificate is found, the property is set to the full subject of the matching certificate.

If an exact match is not found, the store is searched for subjects containing the value of the property.

If a match is still not found, the property is set to an empty string, and no certificate is selected.

The special value "*" picks a random certificate in the certificate store.

The certificate subject is a comma-separated list of distinguished name fields and values. For instance, "CN=www.server.com, OU=test, C=US, E=support@nsoftware.com". Common fields and their meanings are as follows:

If a field value contains a comma, it must be quoted.

Data Type

String

SSLEnabled Property (SNNTP Control)

Whether TLS/SSL is enabled.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SSLEnabled[=boolean]

Default Value

False

Remarks

This setting specifies whether TLS/SSL is enabled in the control. When False (default) the control operates in plaintext mode. When True TLS/SSL is enabled.

TLS/SSL may also be enabled by setting SSLStartMode. Setting SSLStartMode will automatically update this property value.

This property is not available at design time.

Data Type

Boolean

SSLProvider Property (SNNTP Control)

This specifies the SSL/TLS implementation to use.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SSLProvider[=integer]

Possible Values

sslpAutomatic(0), 
sslpPlatform(1), 
sslpInternal(2)

Default Value

0

Remarks

This property specifies the SSL/TLS implementation to use. In most cases the default value of 0 (Automatic) is recommended and should not be changed. When set to 0 (Automatic) the control will select whether to use the platform implementation or the internal implementation depending on the operating system as well as the TLS version being used.

Possible values are:

In most cases using the default value (Automatic) is recommended. The control will select a provider depending on the current platform.

When Automatic is selected the platform implementation is used by default. When TLS 1.3 is enabled via SSLEnabledProtocols the internal implementation is used.

Data Type

Integer

SSLServerCertEncoded Property (SNNTP Control)

This is the certificate (PEM/base64 encoded).

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SSLServerCertEncoded

Default Value

""

Remarks

This is the certificate (PEM/Base64 encoded). This property is used to assign a specific certificate. The SSLServerCertStore and SSLServerCertSubject properties also may be used to specify a certificate.

When SSLServerCertEncoded is set, a search is initiated in the current SSLServerCertStore for the private key of the certificate. If the key is found, SSLServerCertSubject is updated to reflect the full subject of the selected certificate; otherwise, SSLServerCertSubject is set to an empty string.

To read or write binary data to the property, a Variant (Byte Array) version is provided in .SSLServerCertEncodedB.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

Data Type

Binary String

SSLStartMode Property (SNNTP Control)

Determines how the control starts the SSL negotiation.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SSLStartMode[=integer]

Possible Values

sslAutomatic(0), 
sslImplicit(1), 
sslExplicit(2), 
sslNone(3)

Default Value

3

Remarks

The SSLStartMode property may have one of the following values:

Data Type

Integer

Timeout Property (SNNTP Control)

A timeout for the control.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Timeout[=integer]

Default Value

60

Remarks

If the Timeout property is set to 0, all operations will run uninterrupted until successful completion or an error condition is encountered.

If Timeout is set to a positive value, the control will wait for the operation to complete before returning control.

The control will use DoEvents to enter an efficient wait loop during any potential waiting period, making sure that all system events are processed immediately as they arrive. This ensures that the host application does not "freeze" and remains responsive.

If Timeout expires, and the operation is not yet complete, the control fails with an error.

Please note that by default, all timeouts are inactivity timeouts, i.e. the timeout period is extended by Timeout seconds when any amount of data is successfully sent or received.

The default value for the Timeout property is 60 seconds.

Data Type

Integer

User Property (SNNTP Control)

This property includes a user identifier to login as in the NewsServer .

Syntax

snntpcontrol.User[=string]

Default Value

""

Remarks

This property contains a user identifier to login as in the NewsServer. If this property is set to a nonempty string, then when connecting to the NewsServer an AUTHINFO USER command is sent to provide authentication information for the user. Although this command is not part of the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP), it is widely used by news servers for authentication purposes.

Data Type

String

AddRecipientCert Method (SNNTP Control)

This method is used to add recipient certificates used to encrypt messages.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.AddRecipientCert CertEncoded

Remarks

This method is used to add recipient certificates to the internal MessageRecipients properties used to encrypt the Message. The recipient certificate must be a valid PKCS-encoded certificate. If the certificate provided is Base64 encoded, it will be decoded first by the object.

The CertMgr control may be used to retrieve the appropriate certificate from the system.

This method is used to add recipient certificates to the internal MessageRecipients properties used to encrypt the Message. The recipient certificate must be a valid PKCS-encoded certificate. If the certificate provided is Base64 encoded, it will be decoded first by the object.

The CertMgr control may be used to retrieve the appropriate certificate from the system.

ChangeCurrentGroup Method (SNNTP Control)

This method changes the current group.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ChangeCurrentGroup Group

Remarks

This method changes the current group. When calling this method, the control sends a Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) GROUP command to the NewsServer and enters the specified group. If the command is successful, FirstArticle, LastArticle, and ArticleCount are set to the reported values for the group.

Config Method (SNNTP Control)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Config ConfigurationString

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every control. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the control.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the control, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

Connect Method (SNNTP Control)

This method connects to the news server.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Connect 

Remarks

This method is used to connect to the news server. If the User and/or Password are set, then corresponding AUTHINFO commands are sent to the NewsServer as well.

Decrypt Method (SNNTP Control)

This method decrypts the current Message .

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Decrypt 

Remarks

This method attempts to decrypt the encrypted message using the certificate in Certificate.

DecryptAndVerifySignature Method (SNNTP Control)

This method decrypts and verifies the signature of the current message.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.DecryptAndVerifySignature 

Remarks

This method attempts to both decrypt and verify the signature of the message. All of the properties affected by calling the Decrypt and VerifySignature methods are affected in the same manner.

Note: This function does not attempt to check the validity of the signing certificate.

Disconnect Method (SNNTP Control)

This method disconnects from the news server.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Disconnect 

Remarks

This method is used to disconnect from the NewsServer. The control first attempts to send a QUIT command, and if that fails, the connection is broken.

DoEvents Method (SNNTP Control)

Processes events from the internal message queue.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.DoEvents 

Remarks

When DoEvents is called, the control processes any available events. If no events are available, it waits for a preset period of time, and then returns.

Encrypt Method (SNNTP Control)

This method encrypts the message.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Encrypt 

Remarks

This method encrypts the input message in a Public Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS)-encoded envelope with all of the recipient certificates specified in the MessageRecipients properties.

Note: The message headers, including the Sender, Recipient(s), and Subject, are not encrypted. If this is sensitive information, consider including these headers in the message body as a MIME entity, and providing other headers for the S/MIME wrapper.

FetchArticle Method (SNNTP Control)

This method gets the headers and body of an article specified in CurrentArticle .

Syntax

snntpcontrol.FetchArticle 

Remarks

This method gets the headers and body of the article specified in CurrentArticle. The headers are delivered through the Header event, and the article body is delivered through the Transfer event.

If a connection to the NewsServer does not already exist, a new one is created.

FetchArticleBody Method (SNNTP Control)

This method gets only the body of an article specified in CurrentArticle .

Syntax

snntpcontrol.FetchArticleBody 

Remarks

This method gets only the body of the article specified in CurrentArticle. The body is delivered through the Transfer event.

If a connection to the NewsServer does not already exist, a new one is created.

FetchArticleHeaders Method (SNNTP Control)

This method gets only the headers of an article specified in CurrentArticle .

Syntax

snntpcontrol.FetchArticleHeaders 

Remarks

This method gets only the headers of the article specified in CurrentArticle. The headers are delivered through the Header event.

If a connection to the NewsServer does not already exist, a new one is created.

GroupOverview Method (SNNTP Control)

This method receives an overview for the articles in range OverviewRange in the CurrentGroup .

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupOverview 

Remarks

This method receives an overview for the articles in range OverviewRange in the CurrentGroup. The overview data are delivered through the GroupOverview event.

If a connection to the NewsServer does not already exist, a new one is created.

GroupSearch Method (SNNTP Control)

This method receives an overview for the articles in the range SearchRange in the CurrentGroup .

Syntax

snntpcontrol.GroupSearch 

Remarks

This method searches the current newsgroup for articles in the range SearchRange in the CurrentGroup, where SearchHeader matches SearchPattern. The results are delivered through the GroupSearch event.

If a connection to the NewsServer does not already exist, a new one is created.

Interrupt Method (SNNTP Control)

Interrupt the current method.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Interrupt 

Remarks

If there is no method in progress, Interrupt simply returns, doing nothing.

ListGroups Method (SNNTP Control)

This method lists all newsgroups on the server.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ListGroups 

Remarks

This method asks the server to list all of its newsgroups. Use this method with caution as listing groups may take quite a long time over slow links. The group names and other information are returned via the GroupList event.

If a connection to the NewsServer does not already exist, a new one is created.

ListNewGroups Method (SNNTP Control)

This method lists all newgroups on the server.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ListNewGroups 

Remarks

This method asks the server to list all of the newsgroups created since CheckDate. The group names (if any) and other information are returned via the GroupList event.

If a connection to the NewsServer does not already exist, a new one is created.

LocalizeDate Method (SNNTP Control)

This method converts a valid RFC 822 message date to a local date and time.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.LocalizeDate DateTime

Remarks

This method can be used to convert an RFC 822 date and time string to the corresponding local date and time.

Note: Dates will be returned in the format: "MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss".

PostArticle Method (SNNTP Control)

This method posts the current article and attached file.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.PostArticle 

Remarks

This method posts the current article and attached file (if any). If a connection to the NewsServer does not already exist, a new one is created.

Reset Method (SNNTP Control)

This method resets the control.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Reset 

Remarks

This method will reset the control's properties to their default values.

ResetHeaders Method (SNNTP Control)

This method resets all of the article headers.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.ResetHeaders 

Remarks

This method resets all the article headers to "" (empty string). Use this method before posting a new article, so that headers from the previous article are not carried over to the next one.

SendCommand Method (SNNTP Control)

Sends the exact command directly to the server.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SendCommand Command

Remarks

This method sends the command specified by Command to the server exactly as it is provided. Use this method to send additional or custom commands directly to the server.

After calling this method check the LastReply property and/or monitor the PITrail event to obtain the server's response.

Sign Method (SNNTP Control)

Signs the current message.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.Sign 

Remarks

This method digitally signs the input data with the certificate provided. Certificates are provided by specifying the Certificate property. The IncludeCertificate property allows you to specify whether to include the certificate when signing the message.

SignAndEncrypt Method (SNNTP Control)

Signs and encrypts the current message.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.SignAndEncrypt 

Remarks

This method both signs and encrypts the input message into a single PKCS encoded envelope.

Please note that the message headers, including the Sender, Recipient(s), and Subject, are not encrypted. If this is sensitive information, consider including these headers in the message body as a MIME entity, and providing other headers for the S/MIME wrapper.

VerifySignature Method (SNNTP Control)

This method verifies the signature of the current message.

Syntax

snntpcontrol.VerifySignature 

Remarks

This method attempts to verify the signature of the input message. If the message does not have a certificate attached, the control will attempt to verify the signature using the certificate supplied in SignerCert (if any). If no certificate is found, the control fails with an error.

If this method is successful, the SignerCert property will contain the certificate information of the message signer.

Note: This function does not attempt to check the validity of the signing certificate.

ConnectionStatus Event (SNNTP Control)

This event is fired to indicate changes in the connection state.

Syntax

Sub snntpcontrol_ConnectionStatus(ConnectionEvent As String, StatusCode As Integer, Description As String)

Remarks

The ConnectionStatus event is fired when the connection state changes: for example, completion of a firewall or proxy connection or completion of a security handshake.

The ConnectionEvent parameter indicates the type of connection event. Values may include the following:

EndTransfer Event (SNNTP Control)

This event is fired when the article text completes transferring.

Syntax

Sub snntpcontrol_EndTransfer(Direction As Integer)

Remarks

The purpose of the EndTransfer event is twofold: (1) during article retrieval, it fires when the article body finishes transferring from the NewsServer to the local host; and (2) during article posting, it fires after the article body has been sent to the NewsServer.

If ArticleText is not empty, the EndTransfer event is fired when the ArticleText finishes transferring from the local host to the NewsServer. If ArticleText is empty, the event is not fired.

If a file is attached to the ArticleText through the AttachedFile property, then EndTransfer fires again when the file finishes transferring. Please see the description of the AttachedFile property for more information.

The Direction parameter shows whether the client (0) or the server (1) is sending the data.

Error Event (SNNTP Control)

Information about errors during data delivery.

Syntax

Sub snntpcontrol_Error(ErrorCode As Integer, Description As String)

Remarks

The Error event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during message processing. Normally the control fails with an error.

The ErrorCode parameter contains an error code, and the Description parameter contains a textual description of the error. For a list of valid error codes and their descriptions, please refer to the Error Codes section.

GroupList Event (SNNTP Control)

This event is fired while group data transfers (during group listings).

Syntax

Sub snntpcontrol_GroupList(Group As String, FirstArticle As Long64, LastArticle As Long64, CanPost As Boolean)

Remarks

The GroupList event is fired for every group reported by the NewsServer when the ListGroups or ListNewGroups method is called.

The Group parameter shows the name of the group.

The FirstArticle and LastArticle parameters contain the article numbers for the first and last articles in the group.

The CanPost is True or False depending on whether article posting is allowed in the group specified by Group.

GroupOverview Event (SNNTP Control)

This event is fired for each line of article overview data (during group overviews).

Syntax

Sub snntpcontrol_GroupOverview(ArticleNumber As Long64, Subject As String, From As String, ArticleDate As String, MessageId As String, References As String, ArticleSize As Long64, ArticleLines As Long64, OtherHeaders As String)

Remarks

ArticleNumber contains the number of the article within the group.

Subject contains the subject of the article.

From contains the email address of the article author.

ArticleDate contains the date the article was posted.

MessageId contains the unique message Id for the article.

References contains the message Ids for the articles this article refers to (separated by spaces).

ArticleSize contains the size of the article in bytes.

ArticleLines contains the number of lines in the article.

OtherHeaders contains any other article headers that NewsServer chooses to display for the article.

GroupSearch Event (SNNTP Control)

This event is fired for each line of group search data (during group searches).

Syntax

Sub snntpcontrol_GroupSearch(ArticleNumber As Long64, Header As String)

Remarks

ArticleNumber contains the number of the article within the group.

Header contains the matching header.

Header Event (SNNTP Control)

This event is fired for every article header being retrieved during article retrieval.

Syntax

Sub snntpcontrol_Header(Field As String, Value As String)

Remarks

The Field parameter contains the name of the header (In the same case as it is delivered). The Value parameter contains the header contents.

If the header line being retrieved is a continuation header line, then the Field parameter contains "" (empty string).

PITrail Event (SNNTP Control)

This event traces the commands sent to the news server, and the respective replies.

Syntax

Sub snntpcontrol_PITrail(Direction As Integer, Message As String)

Remarks

The PITrail event is useful for debugging purposes. It shows all the interaction between the client and the server, line by line, except for group listings, group overviews, article header, and article body transfers.

The Message parameter contains the full text of the message. The Direction parameter shows the originator of the message:

SSLServerAuthentication Event (SNNTP Control)

Fired after the server presents its certificate to the client.

Syntax

Sub snntpcontrol_SSLServerAuthentication(CertEncoded As String, CertSubject As String, CertIssuer As String, Status As String, Accept As Boolean)

Remarks

During this event, the client can decide whether or not to continue with the connection process. The Accept parameter is a recommendation on whether to continue or close the connection. This is just a suggestion: application software must use its own logic to determine whether or not to continue.

When Accept is False, Status shows why the verification failed (otherwise, Status contains the string OK). If it is decided to continue, you can override and accept the certificate by setting the Accept parameter to True.

SSLStatus Event (SNNTP Control)

Shows the progress of the secure connection.

Syntax

Sub snntpcontrol_SSLStatus(Message As String)

Remarks

The event is fired for informational and logging purposes only. This event tracks the progress of the connection.

StartTransfer Event (SNNTP Control)

This event is fired when the article text starts transferring.

Syntax

Sub snntpcontrol_StartTransfer(Direction As Integer)

Remarks

The purpose of the StartTransfer event is twofold: during article retrieval, it fires when the article body starts transferring from the NewsServer to the local host, and during article posting, it fires before the article body is sent to the NewsServer.

If ArticleText is not empty, the StartTransfer event is fired when the ArticleText starts transferring from the local host to the NewsServer. If ArticleText is empty, the event is not fired.

If a file is attached to the ArticleText via the AttachedFile property, then StartTransfer fires again when the file starts transferring. Please go to the description of the AttachedFile property for more information.

The Direction parameter shows whether the client (0) or the server (1) is sending the data.

Transfer Event (SNNTP Control)

This event is fired while the article text gets transferred (to or from the NewsServer ).

Syntax

Sub snntpcontrol_Transfer(Direction As Integer, BytesTransferred As Long64, PercentDone As Integer, Text As String, EOL As Boolean)

Remarks

One or more Transfer events are fired during article retrieval. The Text parameter contains the portion of article data being retrieved.

The BytesTransferred parameter contains the number of bytes transferred since the beginning of the article, including header bytes.

One or more Transfer events are also fired during article posting. Articles consist of ArticleText and an optional AttachedFile. The BytesTransferred parameter shows the number of bytes sent starting from the beginning of ArticleText and/or AttachedFile.

The Transfer event is fired for every line of the article. For complete lines, there is no terminating newline at the end of the Text parameter, and EOL is True. The EOL parameter is False when a line is broken (usually for being too long).

The Direction parameter shows whether the client (0) or the server (1) is sending the data.

The PercentDone parameter shows the progress of the transfer in the corresponding direction. If PercentDone can not be calculated the value will be -1.

Note: Events are not re-entrant. Performing time-consuming operations within this event will prevent it from firing again in a timely manner and may affect overall performance.

Config Settings (SNNTP Control)

NNTP Config Settings

TCPClient Config Settings

SSL Config Settings

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
MIIEKzCCAxOgAwIBAgIRANTET4LIkxdH6P+CFIiHvTowDQYJKoZIhvcNAQELBQAw
...
eWHV5OW1K53o/atv59sOiW5K3crjFhsBOd5Q+cJJnU+SWinPKtANXMht+EDvYY2w
F0I1XhM+pKj7FjDr+XNj
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
\r \n
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
MIIEFjCCAv6gAwIBAgIQetu1SMxpnENAnnOz1P+PtTANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQUFADBp
..
d8q23djXZbVYiIfE9ebr4g3152BlVCHZ2GyPdjhIuLeH21VbT/dyEHHA
-----END CERTIFICATE-----

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
MIIEKzCCAxOgAwIBAgIRANTET4LIkxdH6P+CFIiHvTowDQYJKoZIhvcNAQELBQAw
...
eWHV5OW1K53o/atv59sOiW5K3crjFhsBOd5Q+cJJnU+SWinPKtANXMht+EDvYY2w
F0I1XhM+pKj7FjDr+XNj
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
\r \n
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
MIIEFjCCAv6gAwIBAgIQetu1SMxpnENAnnOz1P+PtTANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQUFADBp
..
d8q23djXZbVYiIfE9ebr4g3152BlVCHZ2GyPdjhIuLeH21VbT/dyEHHA
-----END CERTIFICATE-----

Socket Config Settings

Base Config Settings

Trappable Errors (SNNTP Control)

NNTP Errors

The control may also return one of the following error codes, which are inherited from other controls.

TCPClient Errors

SSL Errors

TCP/IP Errors