Sun Java System Instant Messaging 6 2004Q2 Online Help |

Contents Index

> # Creating Alert and News Channel Messages

> This section contains the following information:

> - Send Alert Message/Post News Message Window Overview
> - To Send an Alert
> - To Post News Channel Messages

> ## Send Alert Message/Post News Message Window Overview

> To compose an alert message click on the Contacts tab then click on the Alert button in the main Instant Messenger user interface window.

> For a news message click on the news button in the main messenger window. Select the tab for the desired news channel, then click the Post New Message button.

> The compose window is similar for both types of message.

> The Post news Message is used to create and send new alert messages, and to create news channel messages.

> When creating an alert, the title of this window is “Send alert message.” When creating a news channel message, the title is “Post news message.” The only difference in the window is that when creating a news channel, there is no Recipient button and no “Show message status” checkbox as there is for the Send Alert window.

> The four main areas in this window are:

> - Recipients and Subject
> - Message Creation Tab
> - Attachments Tab
> - Web Poll Tab

> ### Recipients and Subject

> This section of the window contains the following items:

> - Recipients scrollable box - When composing an alert, this box displays the alert’s recipients. When composing a news channel message, this box displays the name of the news channel.
> - Edit Recipients button - (Send Alert only) Click to display the Edit Recipients window where you select the contacts to whom the alert is to be sent. The contacts you initially selected before clicking the Alert icon are automatically added as recipients for the alert. See Edit Recipients/Invite Other Users Window Overview for more information.
> - Subject - Type the subject of the message in this text box.

> ### Message Creation Tab

> The Message Creation tab contains the following buttons and other items to configure and manage alert and news messages:

> - Open Message button - Opens an Open pop-up window where you can browse for existing content to use for the message.
> - Save Message button - Displays a Save pop-up window box where you can select a drive, directory, and file name for the message.
> - Bold, Underline, and Italic buttons - Provide the standard Windows character formatting functions.
> - Attach button - Attaches a file to your message. For best performance, attach files smaller than 80K.
> - Image button - Opens a pop-up window that enables you to format and insert an image into your message.
> - Add URL Link button - Inserts an HTML hyperlink. Users can click a link in a message to open their default browser and display the link contents.
> - Background Color list box - Displays a menu of colors from which you can select a background color for your message.
> - Text Color list box - Displays a menu of colors from which you can select the text color for your message.
> - Text Size list box - Displays a menu of font sizes from which you can select the text size for your message.
> - Text Type list box - Displays a menu of fonts from which you can select the font for your message.
> - Text Area - Use this area to type, edit, and format the message.
> - Show message status check box - (Send Alert only) Select if you want to display a pop-up window showing the status of each alert recipient. The following status conditions are reported:
> - “Received” indicates that the alert has reached the recipient of the alert.
> - “Offline” indicates that the alert message cannot reach the user because the user is not running the Instant Messenger user interface program. To check if a user is running the Instant Messenger program, look at contacts in the Contact List tab. See User Status for more information.
> - “Read” indicates that the recipient has viewed the alert.
> - “Access Denied” indicates that the recipient has denied access to the sender.
> - “User not Logged on” indicates that the recipient has not logged on and has not forwarded the alert to an email address.
> - “Offline - Forwarded” indicates that the recipient has not logged on but has forwarded the alert to an email address.
> - Send button - Sends the completed message (alert) or posts it as a message (news channel).
> - Cancel button - Cancels the message composition.
> - Help button - Displays this Help topic.

> ### Attachments Tab

> The Attachment tab enables you to attach a file to a message or remove an attached file from the message.

> Add button - Click Add to attach a file to your message. The selected file appears in the Attachment tab window.

> Remove Selected - Select the attachment and click Remove Selected to remove the file attached to the message.

> When the attachment is sent, a pop-up message appears on the user’s screen, with options to save or launch the attachment.

> ### Web Poll Tab

> The Web Poll tab contains the following items:

> - Display URL to poll from text box - Type the address of the URL that you want to include in the message.

> Note | Using the URL to poll from text box displays the actual web page in the message pane for each user who receives or views the message. To include only the URL itself, enter that in the text area of the Message Creation Tab. Users can then click the URL to launch it in a browser.

> - View URL button - Click to preview the URL in your own message pane before sending. This is useful to verify the URL address.

> ## To Send an Alert

> Use alerts, rather than chat, to send notifications. The alerts are displayed as pop-up messages on the recipients screen.

> Note | You need the Alert privileges to be able to send alerts. Contact your administrator for more information.

> 1. With the Contact List tab selected, click the contacts to whom you want to send the alert.

> You can send an alert to one or more contacts. Use the Shift or Control keys for multiple selection. See Selecting Contacts and Contact Groups for more information.

> Note | You can click the Alert icon without selecting any contacts and then add them later. See Step 3.

> 2. Select Alert from the Tools menu option or click the Alert icon:

> The “Send alert message” window appears. Recipients of the alert (if any) appear in a scrollable list box. If you do not need to add or delete recipients, skip to Step 4.

> 3. To add or delete recipients, click Edit Recipients to display the Edit Recipients window.

> The Edit Recipients window enables you to create a recipient list for the alert. After adding or deleting recipients, click OK.

> See Edit Recipients/Invite Other Users Window Overview for more information.

> 4. In the “Send alert message” window, type the alert message subject in the Subject text box. Type the text of the message. Use the text formatting tool bar options to format your message.

> Select “Show message status” check box, if you want to display a pop-up Status window on your desktop showing the status of each recipient.

> 5. When done, click Send.

> The alert appears on the recipients’ desktops, and in the Alerts tab in their News Channels window if the recipients have subscribed to that channel. If you selected the “Show message status” check box, a Status pop-up appears on your desktop.

> Note | You can chat with the sender of an alert. In the “Alert received” window select “Chat with sender” from the Tools menu.

> ### See Also:

> - Creating Alert and News Channel Messages
> - Receiving Alerts
> - Viewing Alert and Poll Status

> ## To Post News Channel Messages

> 1. In the Main window, select News from the Tools menu or click the News icon:

> The News Channels window appears.

> 2. Select the tab of the news channel to which you want to post a message.

> The first message for that news channel is displayed.

> 3. Right-click in the message pane to display a pop-up menu, and select “Post new message.”

> The “Post news message” window appears.

> Tip | You can also post a new message by clicking Manage in News Channel window. Select the news channel and then click “Post new message”. The “Post news message” window appears.

> 4. Type a subject and message. When done, click Send.

> See Message Creation Tab for more information.

> 5. The new subject is displayed in the Messages pane in the News Channels Management window, and is posted to the news channel.

> The News Channels window is updated to show the new message.

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