Notify: Help
Overview
This is the communication age. Email, IM and SMS are great for one-to-one or one-to-a-few messaging. However, there are occasions where it's necessary to communicate a simple message to a large number of people very quickly for which these established methods are not appropriate. For example, in an office situation, it would be useful to be able to broadcast messages across the entire office network.
There is nothing new about network broadcasts but the Notify application uses a friendly interface to make it easier to send and receive messages. Broadcasts can vary from notices such as "the meeting starts in 10 minutes" and the "sandwich guy has arrived and is taking orders in the foyer" to alarms such as "the building is on fire, assemble in the car park".
| WARNING: The basic version of Notify uses UDP for message delivery.
This is not 100% reliable and should not be depended upon. |
| Help for Notify is divided into the following sections: |  |
Installing & Uninstalling
Notify is built using Java Web Start technology. This makes installation easy. If you already have Java 6 update 1 or above installed on your computer, all you need to do is click on the hyperlink on the Notify download page and the necessary files will automatically be downloaded and installed on your computer.
Furthermore, the use of Java Web Start means that whenever updates for Notify are released, your copy will automatically be upgraded if you launch the program while connected to the Internet.
After downloading the files, you may be prompted to a security certificate. You will also be asked if you want icons to be placed on your desktop and in the Start menu. These help make launching Notify easier.
Uninstalling Notify is also straightforward. From the Windows Control Panel, double click on Java to open the Java Control Panel. Click on the Settings button, then View Applications. This will open the Java Application Cache Viewer. To remove Notify, select it from the list of cached applications and simply click on the Remove button.
Launching
If, during the initial download of Notify, you opted to install icons on your desktop and Start menu then launching Notify is easy. Simply double click on the desktop icon or select the Start menu item just as you would any other application. Otherwise you can start the application from the Java Application Cache Viewer described above. You can also choose to install shortcut icons from the Cache Viewer if you did not do so originally.
As mentioned above, being a Java Web Start application, Notify will check for upgrades each time it is launched so long as you are connected to the Internet. If there are updates available, they will be downloaded and installed automatically. The technology ensures that you always have the latest version of Notify on your computer.
It also sense to have Notify launch automatically each time you log in to your computer. That way, it will be ready to receive any important broadcast messages. On Microsoft Windows®, you can configure Notify to start automatically by copying the desktop icon into the Startup folder on the Start menu.
The System Tray Icon
When first launched, Notify simply adds an icon to your computer's System Tray. The program merely sits in the background, consuming very few resources, listening for any broadcast messages. Right clicking on the icon launches a popup menu from which you can choose any of the major functions. In addition, double clicking on the icon opens the main window.
The icon changes to indicate that you have no messages but Notify is actively listening 
, you have received messages 
or you have received at least one serious alert 
.
The Main Window
The main Notify window is divided into three panels, each accessible from a tab at the bottom of the window. The first panel contains a list of the messages that have been sent since you last launched the application. The second panel enables you to send messages. The third and final panel lets you configure Notify to suit your own preferences and to be consistent with other users on your network.
Receiving Notices
You can configure how Notify displays messages (see below). You can choose to have messages displayed as simple 'bubbles' emanating from the icon in your system tray. However, the messages are more likely to attract your attention if you opt to display them in separate windows. In the latter case, serious alerts will open in a window that covers your entire screen whereas information messages will appear as smaller windows within close proximity to your system tray. You can close either type of message window by clicking on the 
Close icon in the top right corner.
Messages received since you last launched the application are listed in the Received panel of the main application widow. You can reopen messages by selecting the appropriate row with a mouse click and pressing the 
Open button or by double clicking the row. You can, if you wish, delete any one 
or all 
of the messages in the table. The system tray icon will be updated to reflect the messages that you retain in the list (see above).
Sending Messages
If you wish to send an information message or a serious alert and the main window is closed, either double click on the system tray icon or right click, in order to show the popup menu, and choose the relevant option. The second panel of the main window allows you to enter the subject or heading and the body of your message. You can use HTML tags in the body of your message. You can even add hyperlinks. Anyone receiving the message - in a message window - can click on the link and the target URL will open in their default browser (note HTML tags will not be formatted when displayed in bubble windows).
Configuration
On the third panel of the main Notify window, labeled Configuration, you can specify how you prefer to have messages displayed.
Moreover, you must specify the Multicast IP address and UDP port that messages should be sent to and received from. In order to receive messages from your colleagues these two settings MUST be the same for all users on the network.
Once you have selected your options, you should apply them by pressing the 
Save button.
Summary of Commands
The following table presents the different options and commands that are available from the main Notify window.
| File Menu | ||
|---|---|---|
| Exit | Closes the application. | |
| Received Menu | ||
 |
Open | Launches a new window to display the selected message. You can accomplish the same effect by double clicking on the corresponding row. |
 |
Delete | Deletes the selected message. If this affects the type and number of messages remaining in the list, the tray icon will change to reflect this. |
 |
Delete All | Deletes all messages in the table. The tray icon will be updated accordingly. |
| Send Menu | ||
 |
Send | Sends the message that you have entered according to the options selected on the Send and Configure panels. |
| Configure Menu | ||
 |
Save & Apply | Saves and applies the settings entered on the Configure panel. |
| Help Menu | ||
 |
Help | Launches this Help system within your preferred browser. Note: requires an Internet connection. |
| Licence | Displays the Licence Agreement covering the use of Notify. Again, this requires you to be online | |
 |
About Notify | Provides you with copyright and version information for Notify. |
© 2007 Dakine Wave Limited