[Pan-users] Re: Re: Re: Display of posts by date ?

[Duncan]

John Fitzsimons <address@hidden> posted
address@hidden, excerpted below, on  Tue, 23
May 2006 12:23:17 +1000:

> Even so, I would still be interested in knowing the correct "step by
> step"/syntax for the two date filters when you have time to look at them.

FWIW, I ran W98, but upgraded to Linux rather than eXPrivacy, because MS
demanded stuff in the EULA I simply couldn't agree to.  Ironically for
this formerly loyal MS customer, then, the only way I could have run it
was to "pirate" it -- their anti-piracy scheme was too anti-privacy to
agree too and therefore left me only piracy as an alternative, were I to
have chosen to stay with MS. Fortunately, Linux was there as a legal
alternative, so that's what I chose.  It's off topic for the list, but if
you decide too do the same and want some help, by all means, mail me, as
I've been there and would live to help.  However, while I make no secret
of my position on MS, I also know that until I was ready, it would have
been counterproductive to push me, as it's possible I would have tried
Linux, decided I didn't like it, and stayed with MS.  When I was ready,
there was no turning back.  Until then, it wasn't a good idea.  Thus, I'm
not going to be pushing anyone into doing it before they are ready,
regardless of what I now think of MS.

OK.  To answer your question.  (For anyone just joining this is in
reference to pan-0.14.x.)

Tools, Custom Filters.  Add.

Name the filter something like <30 day (or use the words, less than 30
day, if you prefer). Make sure the Show in Filter Menu box is checked.

Select the radio-button for Article is at least N days old.  Set "N" to 30.
Hit the Add New Line to the Filter button.

In the list of conditions, select the one you just added (Article is more
than 30 days old), and hit the Invert button.

It should now be what you wanted.  Hit OK and you should see it listed in
the filter list.  Hit close and it should now appear on the filter menu
where you can select it.

For the  range one, say 30-60 days, create another filter (Tools, Filters,
Add), name it appropriately and ensure the Show in Filter Menu checkbox is
checked.

In ordered to make a range, we have to set TWO conditions, and make sure
the BOTH apply.  So, first condition, Articles is at least N days old,
N=30, add new line.

Second condition, Article is at least N days old, N=60, add line, select
the 60-day line in the list, hit invert.

We want the filter to match ONLY if both conditions match, so the ALL OF
union is correct.  OK to add the filter, Close to close the list, and it
should now be listed and selectable in the filter menu.

Now, let's suppose you wanted to list all message /except/ the range 30-60
days.  There are actually two ways to do this.

The first way would be similar to the above, only you'd select ALL OF and
invert that to NONE OF.  Now it would match anything EXCEPT the 30-60 day
range we set.

The second way would be similar to the first, only you'd invert the 30 day
conditiion to less than, and leave the 60-day one as more than.  In this
case, you'd want EITHER condition to trigger the filter, so you'd select
the ALL OF line and hit the ANY OF to change it to match EITHER one.  

Once you get the hang of using the INVERT button, and how to use the ALL
OF vs ANY OF vs NONE OF distinctions, given the available conditions to
choose from, the custom filters can be more powerful than you might
otherwise expect.  The problem many people have is that they can't get the
hang of the invert button, and don't understand the distinction between
ANY OF and ALL OF.  If folks can't figure out those functions, then the
offered conditions look extremely limited, because it appears they can't
be negated and that there's no way to do an OR match rather than an AND
match.  Once you figure out the inversion and the OR/AND match logic, the
rest is easy and the combination is very powerful.

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman