NotifyMe version 1.1   Shareware                      mgoguen@netzone.com
Copyright (C) 1995, 1996 MPG Software

   NotifyMe is a simple yet powerful messaging system for the Windows desktop.
It will run on Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and Windows NT.  NotifyMe displays as
a non obtrusive marquee which scrolls across the bottom or top of the screen.
It is most useful when installed on a LAN drive and executed by many users.
Athough it may be used as a simple reminder system on a stand alone PC.

   NotifyMe was developed as an information solution for a major Incoming Call 
Center.  The client had two major problems.  The first dealt with some reps 
not receiving critical information when it was placed on the electronic display 
boards.  The problem was not with the boards, it was with the reps.  Ninety 
percent of the time when they read the display board it wouldn’t have any new 
information.  As time passed, they tended to read the information on the display 
boards less often which caused a significant delay in getting critical 
information to the reps on the phone.  This caused improper information to be 
given to the customer or orders to be taken which couldn’t be filled in a timely 
manner.  The second problem was that the Call Center was growing and all of the 
reps could no longer fit into the main room.  Some were actually moved into 
another building across the street.  These reps could no longer see the display 
boards and where therefore not able to stay current on important information 
they needed to do their jobs.  The solution NotifyMe provided addressed both of 
the major problems as well as providing some additional benefits.

   NotifyMe, as it's name implies, notifies the user when a new message has 
arrived, thereby alleviating the need for the rep to constantly be looking for 
new messages.  The program now let them know when there was a new message.  The 
second problem was solved just by the nature of the program each rep had their 
own little display board on their workstation desktop. So all reps could once 
again stay informed of important information. Additional benefits gained by the 
Call Center utilizing NotifyMe were the ability to prioritize messages, the 
ability to have messages automatically start and stop at predetermine times, 
and the ability to force all users to view some message types while allowing 
each user to subscribe to view other message types.

   The Call Center was broken into teams and each member of a team would view the 
messages for their team as well as the overall Call Center messages. This allowed 
leaders to communicate with their reps without disturbing all of the other reps on 
the floor. NotifyMe has two methods of notifying a user of a newly arrived message. 
Based on the priority of the new message, the color of the text will change and a 
user defined audible .wav file will play. Once the user has read the message, they 
just click the mouse on the scrolling message and the color returns to the normal 
color. If the rep returns to their workstation from a break or lunch and the color 
of the message is still the same, they know there are no new messages to read. The 
program can also be run minimized, as an icon. When new messages arrive, the icon 
will flash to alert the user of a newly arrived message. 

   Users have full control of their individual preferences on how NotifyMe is 
configured on their desktop. Based on the priority of a new message, each user 
can set the following attributes: text color of the message; the audible .wav 
file which is played; and whether a new message will pop up in front of any other 
application that is executing at the time the message arrives. Each user can also 
select the font and size of the message text, the speed of the scrolling message, 
whether the message displays at the top or bottom of the screen or if it displays 
as an icon.

   NotifyMe is currently being distributed as shareware.  This allows anyone to 
download it from the Internet and evaluate it in their environment before 
purchasing the software.  Shareware is a way of marketing software, not a category
of programs.  Software marketed using the shareware method, in a lot of instances
is as robust and feature packed as the competing commercial products.  In other
cases developers create a shareware program out of necessity, when there is no
commercial software available to fill a niche.  That is the case with NotifyMe.
Shareware is often considerably less expensive than commercial software.  This in
no way reflects a lesser product.  The low pricing is achieved by defrayed marketing,
packaging and warehousing costs.  Companies interested in acquiring NotifyMe can 
download it from http://www.netzone.com/~mgoguen.

   The shareware version of NotifyMe is exactly the same as the commercial version 
with two exceptions: it has a menu selection which opens a registration window and 
every five hours or so it will send a message to the users stating that they are 
running a shareware version of the program.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Some Basic Features of NotifyMe include:
* User's may subscribe to message files or may be forced to view message files.
* The Message Editor makes it easy to specify the priority of a message and
  when the message is to be displayed.  Athough message files do not have to be
  created using the Message Editor.  For example a productivity statistics message
  file may be created by a program and statistics automatically displayed on the
  user's desktop.
* User's may set their own preferences as to how NotifyMe will notify them when
  a new message is displayed based on the new message's priority.
* User's may also choose the font and size of the message as well as how fast the
  message scrolls and foreground and background color of the message window.

Basic interface Tips:
* Click the RIGHT mouse button on the scrolling message to display the popup menu.
* Click the LEFT mouse button on the scrolling message to discontinue notification
  of a new message.
* Hold down the LEFT mouse button on the scrolling message to stop the message
  from scrolling until you release the LEFT mouse button.
* Double click the LEFT mouse button on the scrolling message to minimize the window.

Who can edit messages:
* I suggest that you handle who can update message files by utilizing the file
  security mechanism designed into your network operating system.  So a user may be
  able to open a message file but the write of any changes would fail on the server
  if you only give the user read access to the files in the NotifyMe directory.
* To prevent the Message Editor from being available to a specific user you can
  set CantEditMsgs=1 in the [NotifyMe] section of the user's win.ini file.
