ANSWERING MACHINE FOR WINDOWS VERSION 2.0 WHAT IS ANSWERING MACHINE FOR WINDOWS? Answering Machine for Windows Version 2.0 is an application that runs under the Microsoft Windows Operating System Version 3.0 or higher. It is meant to be a replacement for NWPOPUP.EXE. Answering Machine for Windows has implemented much more functionality into an application still under 60,000 bytes in file size, hardly overwhelming for a Windows application. In order to give Answering Machine for Windows Version 2.0 complete control over the messaging at your workstation, remove NWPOPUP.EXE from the RUN line in your WIN.INI file. WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 2.0? What's new in Version 2.0 you ask? Well, to put it most directly, ALMOST EVERYTHING! Version 2.0 has gotten quite a facelift as well as even more functionality and configuration options. About the only thing that you will recognize is the program's icon when the program is minimized. That still works the same, but if you're running Microsoft Windows 3.1, you'll notice a difference there as well! Under Microsoft Windows 3.1, I was able to eliminate the annoying white background behind the icon through some improvements implemented in Microsoft Windows 3.1. Continue reading to find out exactly what has changed! MAIN WINDOW The first thing that you should notice is that the useless main window and menu are gone only to be replaced by a fully functional list of messages and a series of buttons. By pressing a button, the appropriate action is performed. Also, you will notice that ALL actions performed by the buttons can be selected from the Control Menu, even when Answering Machine for Windows Version 2.0 is minimized. Read further for individual details. CONFIGURE By pressing the Config button or selecting Configure from the Control Menu, you are presented a dialog box with several configuration options. By pressing the OK button, all changes will be saved to the ANSMACH.INI file. - Intercept Messages from DOS Windows Selecting this option will cause Answering Machine for Windows to intercept messages while you are in a DOS window. Use this option to avoid those pesky messages appearing on line 25 of your display. - Send Busy Signal Message Selecting this option will cause Answering Machine for Windows to record all incoming messages and place them in the main window list box. Also, if you input a Busy Signal Message to Send, Answering Machine for Windows will send that message to anyone sending you a message when this option is selected. - Log Incoming Messages to Backup File Selecting this option will cause Answering Machine for Windows to place ALL incoming messages into the ANSMACH.LOG file located in your Windows subdirectory. All logged messages are time and date stamped for future reference. - Beep On Incoming Recorded Messages Selecting this option will cause Answering Machine for Windows to send a standard beep sound (or .WAV sound if you use a sound driver) whenever a message arrives while you have the Send Busy Signal Message option selected. - Beep On Incoming Unrecorded Messages Selecting this option will cause Answering Machine for Windows to send a standard beep sound (or .WAV sound if you use a sound driver) whenever a message arrives while you have the Send Busy Signal Message option unselected. - Destructive Reply Selecting this option will cause Answering Machine for Windows to remove any message from the Main Window message list after exiting the Reply Dialog. You may also remove a message from the Main Window message list by clicking on a message and pressing the DELETE key. - Add Answering Machine to WIN.INI Selecting this option will cause Answering Machine for Windows to insert itself into the WIN.INI file so that it will automatically load upon the startup of you Microsoft Windows session. - Notify If Message(s) Not Send Selecting this option will cause Answering Machine for Windows to display a dialog box containing a list of all messages that were not sent to other users. Simply press the OK button to remove the dialog box. - Always on Top Selecting this option will cause Answering Machine for Windows to take on the highest priority for an application running under Microsoft Windows. Turning this option on forces Answering Machine for Windows to place itself in front of ALL other applications, except those taking on the same priority. This option is the same as that available in the CLOCK application supplied with Microsoft Windows. - Message Reminder Selecting this option will cause Answering Machine for Windows to beep three times every minute when new messages arrive. Once you view your messages, the chiming automatically resets and will not begin again until more new messages arrive. - Busy Signal Message to Send By placing text in this edit control, Answering Machine for Windows will send the entered text to anyone sending you a message while you have the Send Busy Signal Message option set. INFORMATION By pressing the Info button or selecting Info from the Control Menu, you are presented a dialog box with information about your current Netware connection. By pressing the OK button, you can exit this dialog box. The information presented includes Connection Name, Connection Number, Connection Date and Connection Time. SEND By pressing the Send button or selecting Send from the Control Menu, you are presented a dialog box with several controls used to create a message that you may send to other users on your file server. The User List is a multiple-selection list box allowing you to choose more that one individual. The Group List is a single-selection list box. By selecting a group, Answering Machine for Windows Version 2.0 will select ALL currently logged-in users on your file server that are members of that group. The Message Text field is an edit control that allows you to enter a message in length up to the restrictions set by Netware. The maximum length of a message that you may send is determined by the following formula : w - (x + y + (3 * z)) where w = Maximum Netware Broadcast Message Length (55) x = Length of User Login Name y = Number of Digits in Connection Number z = Delimiting Characters The Send Button only becomes active when at least one user has been selected from the User List and text has been entered in the Message Text field. Once this button is pressed, your message will be sent to everyone selected in the User List. The Clear Button only becomes active when at least one user or group has been selected. By pressing this button, ALL selections in the User and Group Lists will be cleared. The Cancel Button is always active and allows you to abort the sending of a message. ABOUT By pressing the About button or selecting About from the Control Menu, you are presented with a dialog box displaying information about Answering Machine for Windows Version 2.0 and its author. You can get rid of this dialog box by pressing the OK button. REPLY This reply dialog box may be brought up in a number of ways including pressing the Reply button, selecting Reply from the Control Menu, double-clicking on a message in the Main Window message list or receiving a message when you aren't sending a busy signal. The Message Statistics group shows information about the message to which you are replying including sender name, sender connection and time stamp of the message when it was received. Just below that is the actual message that was sent to you. The Reply to Send section is an edit control for you to input the message you wish to send back. The length of this message is determined as follows : w - (x + y + (3 * z)) where w = Maximum Netware Broadcast Message Length (55) x = Length of User Login Name y = Number of Digits in Connection Number z = Delimiting Characters The Send Button is only active when you have placed text in the Reply to Send edit control. By pressing this button, you will send any text in the Reply to Send edit control to the originator of the message to which you are replying. The Abort Button is always active and allows you to abort the sending of a reply. If you didn't select the Reply option from the Main Window, Control Menu or double-click on a message in the Main Window message list, the message is lost forever. PURGE By pressing the Purge button or selecting Purge from the Control Menu, Answering Machine for Windows will remove ALL messages waiting in your Main Window message list. This is a quick way to clear the list out. You may also click on a message in the Main Window message list and press the DELETE key to remove only that message. QUIT By pressing the Quit button or selecting Quit from the Control Menu, you will tell Answering Machine for Windows Version 2.0 that you wish to terminate you're current session. If you have any messages remaining in your Main Window message list, the program will ask if you wish to save them. If you answer yes, the program will save the messages out to a file and will reload them when you restart Answering Machine for Windows Version 2.0. The author can be contacted via the following sources: Michael Ball 500 Maryland St. NE Warren, Ohio 44483 (216) 395-1945 Compuserve: 70410, 3043 Single User registrations are $45.00 Site Licenses are available through the author on a tiered scale.