MailAlert v1.53 ReadMe

Thank you for trying MailAlert 1.53. This version includes the features our customers most often asked for, some bug fixes, and some features that we thought were cool or useful. Try it out and be sure to let us know what you think. We can be reached via e-mail at MailAlert@diamondridge.com, or on our web site www.diamondridge.com.

Notes for Users of MailAlert beta
Since MailAlert now stores passwords encrypted, you will need to re-enter your password and dial up networking password on the ‘Mailbox Setup’ property page. If you do not re-enter them, you will be unable to log on to your mail system.

New Features
Direct support for POP3 protocol. This means you no longer have to use the Exchange Inbox to read your mail from an Internet Service provider or other POP3 postoffice. MailAlert will now notify you of new mail, which you can then read with your favorite mail program like Eudora, Pegasus, Netscape, MS Internet Mail and many other internet mail client programs.

Built-in support for Dial-Up Networking. You can now instruct MailAlert to dial for you instead of letting Exchange Inbox do the dialing.

Better handling of dial up errors such as lost connections. line busy, etc. The errors are logged (and optionally displayed), but there are no 'OK' buttons to press sitting on your screen for hours while you are out. MailAlert can then try again at the next scheduled time. Also, when using a dial-up connection and new mail is found, you are given the option to stay connected so that you can run your e-mail client without it having to dial again.

Ability set up a flexible schedule for when you want to check for mail. (Most useful for non-LAN users without a direct network connection).

Support for multiple mailboxes - This feature was added due to popular request. It works by running multiple instances of MailAlert. A future version of MailAlert will support multiple mailboxes in a single instance of MailAlert.

Improvements in MAPI handling. Now should work with any service for MS Exchange Inbox.

Another popular request is Message Preview. You can now preview the first 100 lines of POP3 messages and the full MAPI messages without having to run your mail program.
Note: You must have an active network connection (dial-up or LAN) to preview or delete a message when using POP3.

While you could always run any program from a custom notification, you can now pass the message subject, author, date, etc as parameters to a program.

How to use some new features

POP3 Option - You need to enter your postoffice user name and password as well as the name or ip address of your internet mail postoffice server. Typically this is something like 'mail.netprovider.com'. If you already have an e-mail program set up, you should be able to find the correct entry there. See our helpfile for instructions for the most common mail programs.
 
Dial-up Option - Use this option for dial up access to either POP3 or MAPI mail servers. MS Exchange will also dial for you, so you have that alternative if you are using Exchange. The password is encrypted to ensure security.

Multiple Mailboxes - You can now run multiple instances of MailAlert. To run a second or third copy of MailAlert, you need to start MailAlert with a command line parameter of mailbox=mbname. mbname should be some simple word to identify the MailAlert instance. For example, if you have 2 people sharing a computer, you could both be notified of new mail with MailAlert. Run the following commands to start MailAlert (usually you will set up an icon, and copy it to your startup folder or Check the ‘Run MailAlert on Startup’ checkbox on the Mailbox setup property page):
	MailAlert.exe mailbox=husband
	MailAlert.exe mailbox=wife
Now there will be 2 icons on the taskbar. Note that the tooltip for each icon shows the name you entered on the command line. Currently this is the only way to identify which icon is which, other than by the position on the taskbar.

MailAlert Introduction

This readme file contains some selected topics from the help file. See the help file for full documentation. You can contact us at MailAlert@diamondridge.com. For the latest version, frequently asked questions (FAQ) and other information, check out our web site at www.diamondridge.com.

To Install MailAlert:
1.	MailAlert is now distributed in a self-extracting zip file which will unzip, execute the install program, and then remove the temporary files. All you need to do is run MAInst.exe
2.	Run MailAlert.exe. The properties dialog will come up so you can configure MailAlert.
4.	Note that in the Mailbox Setup property page you can check the Run MailAlert on Windows Startup box  to create a shortcut to MailAlert.exe in your StartUp folder.

Overview
MailAlert is a convenient utility for Microsoft Windows 95 and NT operating systems that notifies you when you have received electronic mail. MailAlert works with a variety of commercially available mail systems, and has the advantage of taking up very little memory when in use.  Since you do not have to keep your mail system in memory, MailAlert improves the performance of your other applications, while still keeping you informed of any incoming messages.  You can customize MailAlert to respond to incoming mail differently based on author or subject.

Basic Notification
MailAlert displays an icon in the notification area of your Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 task bar. When you receive new mail, the icon will change to show that you have new mail, and will slowly flash until you click on the icon to acknowledge the new mail. You can configure MailAlert to beep, play a sound or video, show a picture, or run any program or document when you receive new mail. You can also have a message box displayed with the Envelope information (author, subject, and date) of any new messages displayed.

Custom Notification
You can also customize MailAlert to notify you differently based on the message author or subject. For example, you could play a special sound file when you get e-mail from your boss, or execute a program to page you when your spouse sends you an e-mail. For each custom notification you set up, you have the notification options as above, and you can also display a custom message box.

Ignore Unwanted Messages
If you receive lots of mail, there are two ways to limit which messages you are notified of. Using a custom notification, you can configure MailAlert to ignore messages from a particular author, or having a subject that contains some specified text. For example, you can set up a custom notification to ignore all messages from a particular coworker that contain the word “Help” in the subject. In addition, there is an option to only notify you of messages for which you have set up at least one custom notification. Of course, when you run your e-mail program, all messages will be there regardless of whether you didn’t want to be notified of them as they arrived.

Works with almost any LAN or Dial up E-Mail service
MailAlert works with the POP3 protocol, which is used by most internet mail readers such as Eudora, Pegasus, Netscape, MS Internet Mail and others. MailAlert will also check for new mail on Microsoft Exchange postoffices, any MAPI (Messaging API) compliant postoffices, and any other postoffice type which is supported by the Microsoft Exchange client (also known as Inbox or Windows Messaging). The postoffice can be located on the same network as the user, or can be reachable by modem using dial-up networking.  MailAlert will dial-up and check for new e-mail at the time interval specified in the properties dialog.

Multiple Mailbox Support
You can use MailAlert to check for new mail for more than one user by running multiple instances of MailAlert. A future version of MailAlert will support multiple mailboxes in a single instance of MailAlert.  

ShareWare
MailAlert is a shareware program written by Diamond Ridge, Inc.  You can try it out for 30 days free of charge. If you find MailAlert useful and desire a registered (non-expiring) copy, please refer to the Registration section of the help file.

The MailAlert Icon

When the MailAlert icon is visible, you have several ways to interact with it.

Moving the cursor over the MailAlert icon brings up information about the number of new and unread messages.

Single left-click on the MailAlert icon acknowledges mail (and stops the icon from flashing)

Single left-click and hold on the MailAlert icon brings up the Envelope Information dialog box.  If you don't have any new mail, your system will beep once.

Double left-click on the MailAlert icon brings up your mail system (configured in the Default Settings property page).

Single right-click on the MailAlert icon brings up the MailAlert menu (see below).

Menu options:

Run Mail Program brings up your mail system (configured in the Mailbox Setup property page).

Compose Message brings up your mail system's New Message screen.

Envelope Information brings up the Envelope Information dialog box which displays the headers of any new messages.

Check Now performs the check for new mail immediately, instead of waiting the amount of time specified in the Schedule property page. Shift+Check Now for MAPI users will cause a check without dialing, so the state of any messages already on the local machine will be updated.

Notify Again checks for new mail and if there are notification action(s) specified in the Property pages for any new messages, those alerts will happen again.

Properties brings up the Property pages.

Help Topics brings up this help file.

View Log brings up the Activity Log, showing each mail check, the number of new messages found, and any errors which interfered with MailAlert’s checking.

About MailAlert brings up a window with information about the MailAlert program.

Suspend MailAlert temporarily stops MailAlert from checking for mail (signified by a red circle and slash through the MailAlert icon), until Suspend MailAlert is selected again.

Exit closes MailAlert.  Note that if you choose this option you will no longer be notified when you receive new messages.

How To Register:

Price: $15 per copy. New York State Residents must add 7% Sales Tax.

Volume Pricing Schedule

Please see our web site at http://www.diamondridge.com for the latest pricing information.

You can pay via credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express) by calling us at the following telephone number:

US 518-371-0078

or

Send us a check or money order drawn on a U.S. bank made payable to Diamond Ridge, Inc.
Our address is:

Diamond Ridge, Inc.
Attn. Software Registration
3 Cabot Way
Clifton Park, NY  12065

You can pay by credit card if you have an account on Compuserve:

	Go swreg
	click on Register and search for MailAlert.

or 

Contact us and we can send you an invoice if you need one for a purchase order, or arrange for a wire transfer for international orders.

We prefer to send you your registration number (and instructions) via e-mail if at all possible to cut down on the Mailing expenses, and to serve you faster. If you don't have an internet e-mail address however, we will be glad to send it to you over US Mail.

There are several benefits to registering your copy of MailAlert.  
•	You will receive a registration number to enable you to continue using MailAlert after 30 days. One registration number can be used for each copy that you register together.
•	You will receive the latest version of MailAlert.
•	You will be eligible for free software upgrades for a year after your purchase, and reduced price upgrades thereafter.
•	If you choose, you will be placed on the Diamond Ridge, Inc. mailing list, to be notified of new versions and products.

In addition to your payment, we need the following information to register the software:
Name:
Mailing address:
E-mail address:
Number of copies:
Windows system and version:
Do you want to be informed of new versions of MailAlert?
Do you want to be informed of other Diamond Ridge, Inc. products?

We would appreciate this optional information:
Company:
Title:
E-mail system:
How you heard about this product:
Where you got your copy of MailAlert from:

We welcome comments and questions about the registration process at (518) 371-0078.
E-mail: MailAlert@diamondridge.com

Also, please feel free to pass along a copy of the downloaded version of MailAlert to friends, family, co-workers, your MIS department, etc. for their evaluation.

To Remove MailAlert:
From the control panel Add/Remove programs, highlight MailAlert in the list and click the Add/Remove... button.