version 2.3, coded by matro, rome (italy)

What is RealPopup
Using RealPopup
What is a thread
The network browser
Application
Layout and languages
Messages
Users and groups
 RealPopup states
Command line support
Registry settings

RealPopup HomePage
Matro HomePage

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Hi, welcome to the RealPopup help!
This help document contains detailed explanations about some sophisticated options and features. Since RealPopup is very easy to use and understand, you should begin by sending and receiving messages, check and uncheck some options, then read here if you want to learn more.

What is RealPopup
RealPopup replaces old winpopup with a full featured freeware tool which remains stable and simple as its predecessor. RealPopup is compatible with system messenger services as well as old win9x and win3x system messaging tools, in other words it's fully integrated with your LAN environment. it support many useful features such as hypertexts, options for users and groups, an internal network browser, names auto complete and more.

Using RealPopup
RealPopup is very easy to install: just run the Setup that comes with the zip file!
If you find RealPopup useful, it would be better if you tell it to automatically run and put in the tray area at Windows boot up: easily go to the Application options tab , then check the Execute on Windows startup option, then close the tab. That's all folks! :)

The installation tool will install MFC42.DLL V6.0.8665.0, MSVCRT.DLL V6.1.8637.0, MSVCP60.DLL V6.0.8168.0 and RICHED20.DLL V5.30.23.1203. RealPopup also needs COMCTL32.DLL version 5.80 and later; if you don't have this, click here to download the standard Microsoft upgrade pack. Once run, RealPopup checks if there's the environment to run: first searches a valid network transport protocol, then tries to open the Winpopup handler. You will receive an error if one of these steps fail. If you want RealPopup to be compatible with other Winpopup clients, remove your Winpopup from the startup folder! If you're running Windows NT or 2000, RealPopup will check for the running messenger service, asking you if it can disable it and take control. You decide: if you don't want RealPopup to take control and be compatible with standard messaging service, then choose to 'leave as is' and RealPopup will exchange messages with other RealPopup clients only. If you don't know what a messenger service is, and you have the authorization of you network administrator, then let RealPopup take control: you'll use it as its best! 

Once installed and run, RealPopup scans the local network for incoming messages. CPU time used to do this job is not relevant (0.02% on P166) and memory usage is very low (around 500kb of allocated memory, less than most of tray icon utility). Based on your option settings, RealPopup will pop up whenever a new message arrives, showing you the sender, time of receiving and the body. Quoted text is blue, while hypertexts, emails and network paths are green: click on them to activate Windows shell and launch the job. By using the toolbar, you can (buttons order) send a new message, answer to a message, answer to all the recipients of a message (if an user send a message to more than one user) and forward a message you received to other users, following email handling standards. Copy and Save buttons will copy to clipboard and save to a file the message (if you first select part of the message then click Copy, just the selected part will be copied). Use last buttons to delete a message, to ignore a current thread and to move through received messages, and the Network Browser to select recipients for a new message. While you're typing a new message or answering to a received one, RealPopup will change text color and activate green text handling according to what you type. You can use the links to shell directly, for test purposes. For example, if I were typing this message in the RealPopup Send window and I type http://www.realpopup.it/matro, RealPopup will automatically and immediately show it with green color and I could easily click on it to shell to that address.

What is a thread?
Suppose you send a message to two of your friends; one of them answers to both you and the other friend; this last one also answers to the first and you, then you'll probably answer to them... this is commonly called a (discussion) 'thread'. RealPopup V2.0 and later keeps track of threads, so to let you ignore them, with the appropriate button,  if you're one of the destinations but you're really not interested about the running discussion. Select the 'resume threads' menu option to be active again on previously ignored threads.

The Network Browser
The Network browser window acts like the standard windows network neighborhood icon: select it then navigate through your local network PCs and domains. PCs with RealPopup installed and running will be shown with classical RealPopup icon. Click on one or more users to select them (with red exclamation mark), the click on OK to paste them in the appropriate field, i.e. the To field on the Send window or one of the users fields on the Users and groups option tab. Your last visited domain will be opened as default next time you open the Network Browser.

Be careful: remember to think before to send messages to an entire network domain! An appropriate warn will remind you that.

Options: Application pane
Here are the options to control RealPopup application behaviour.

Execute on windows startup if you check this option, RealPopup adds itself in the self running applications list; you don't need to put it in the startup folder, since RealPopup can automatically tell the system to launch itself. All you have to do is to check this option and wait next reboot to see the effects. On the other side, if you want to remove RealPopup from the self running applications, uncheck this option. Do not put RealPopup in your startup folder! Use this option instead. 
Warn on exit this message will be shown just to ensure you don't shut down RealPopup with a single and unwanted click. If you're sure about your movements, uncheck it.
Warn on cancelling a send again, this check will prompt the user with a warning message when he's going to cancel an edited message. If you're sure about your actions, uncheck it.
Always on top leave this option checked and RealPopup will be always on top of other windows.
Warn when send to domains sending a message to a domain means every Winpopup compatible listener will receive it; if you unexpectly perform this action, results may be embarrassing or just boring! So, uncheck this option only if you're really an expert user.
Left button activates tray menu a right button click is normally needed to activate RealPopup tray menu, check this option if you think pressing the left one would be nicer.
RealPopup activation hotkey Choose your preferred systemwide activation hotkey! Systemwide means you can activate RealPopup from everywhere at anytime! For example, try CTRL+SHIFT+N, then you'll be able to send a message from everywhere with the magic combination CTRL+SHIFT+N then CTRL+N then type the destination name, TAB, message, then CTRL+S! Faster than a blink! :-) Note: I forced you to use CTRL+SHIFT or CTRL+ALT, just to ensure not to interfere whit application hotkeys. Note also that you cannot use an hotkey already defined by another application; RealPopup will warn you, then you got to change your hotkey.
Support for standard Messenger  If you're running Windows NT or 2000, RealPopup can take the control of your messaging service, being compatible with other standard Winpopup clients. RealPopup will check for the presence of the messenger service at startup, asking you this option. However, you may want to change it lately: do it with these radio buttons.

If you decide to let RealPopup take control, it will disable the messenger service if active every time it is launched. Likewise, if you decide to leave the standard messenger, RealPopup will disable its winpopup compatible protocol when launched, and will use the RealPopup protocol only.

Options: Layout and languages pane
These options control the position, size and font used by RealPopup. Moreover, you can choose your preferred language.

Position buttons decide where RealPopup should appear, and its size; once moved and sized, press upper button to store informations for the future; click lower button if you want to restore default position and size. RealPopup will take care of both main dialog and (last) Send dialog appearance.
Font buttons choose how RealPopup should display its output: upper button for message pane, the lower one for information fields; you can decide font type, size and attributes. Note that this setting is for your RealPopup client, not for your friends!
Language listbox choose your preferred language! To let RealPopup use your selected one, you must exit then restart it again. Every language uses its appropriate codepage; for example, Cyrillic fonts must be installed in order to display Russian language correctly. Give thanks and praises to the localization contributors who gave their work for free. If you haven't found your language, browse the RealPopup web pages and look for it! Go there for language upgrades also.

Options: Message pane
These options control the way RealPopup acts on incoming and/or outgoing messages; these settings have priority over Users and groups options, but can be overridden by the menu items checks.

Delete original message when replied once you are familiar with RealPopup, by checking this option the replied message will be automatically deleted. However, you cannot access deleted message anymore, unless you choose to log or save it. Checking this option may speed up your incoming messages handling, specially if they are one-spot that need to be replied often. By checking both this option and 'Minimize when deleting last message', the process of reading and answering to a single message could be faster than you think!
Minimize when replied check this option if you want to minimize the main window once replied to a message; this should speed up your message handling if you use to answer more than send.
Minimize when deleting last message this is another option very useful if you are familiar with RealPopup, like the previous ones. If you check this option, RealPopup automatically minimizes itself once you have deleted the last message. By checking both this option and 'Delete original message when replied', the process of reading and answering to a single message could be faster than you think!
Automatically show last message RealPopup automatically shows you last message arrived; anyway, you can uncheck this option and let it follow old Winpopup style, ie. it shows first message of your recipient.
Put caret on top when replying when replying, normally RealPopup will show your quoted text on top, then the caret at the bottom. This option exchanges this behaviour, putting the quoted text at the bottom.
Disable delete button for a while This option control delete button behaviour on main dialog: check it and it will be disabled for a while once received new message
Beep on new message check this option to be warned by a beep on incoming messages.
Play WAV file on new message you can choose a WAV file to play on incoming messages: easily press the '…' button and select a WAV file. Preview it by selecting the play button.
Popup on user online warning if you check the 'Warn when comes online' option for an user or a group, you'll receive a warning message in the statusbar telling you this nice event. Check this option and you'll receive a message too.
Double click to activate hyperlinks a single click is normally needed to activate an hyperlink, but someone experienced unwanted jumps, so if you think double clicking would be safer, check this option.
Set away when ScreenSaver runs RealPopup has a state called I'm away; once set, users sending messages to you will receive a message warning you're not here, so you'll read messages later. You can set or unset this state on the Environment menu, however check this option and RealPopup will switch to the I'm away state whenever your ScreenSaver runs. Once stopped, RealPopup automatically goes back to the normal state. This feature works with Windows 98, NT and 2000. Windows 95 is not supported. The ScreenSaver must follow the Windows ScreenSaver standards.
Send always pc name on from field by default, RealPopup will send messages to an username with your username on the From field; check this option and the pc name will always be used instead.

Options: Users and Groups
The users and groups tab controls an options set you can associate with a single user or a group of users. The main list shows the users and groups you have defined, along with the default group (ALL USERS). Items follow high to low priority, ie. if you set options for the user MATRO and then options for the group MYGROUP with members (MARLEY,MATRO) you should care about who is above who. Options can have three states: unchecked, checked and grayed: if you choose the last one, RealPopup will look forward for the setting; since the default grooup (ALL USERS) cannot have grayed options, it acts as a default group.

User or group input field use the input field at the top of the tab to specify an user or a group; if it's already in the list it will be selected along with all the options: you can modify these ones, remove the item or change its priority with the two arrows at the right of the field. Consider whenever RealPopup needs to know a setting about an user, it first scans the list beginning from the top and going down: if it finds the user, or a group containing him, it reads all the options checked or unchecked, then it continues the searching for the other grayed options. Because (ALL USER) is always the last item and it cannot have grayed options, it contains all the defaults.
Options for an user or a group first decide if you are defining an user or a group by checking the User or Group radio buttons; if you decide to define a group, fill the members field with a list of users separated by commas, for example VILLA,ADA,POSSE. Once defined a group, you can easily send a message to all the members typing the group name in the Send window. Don't choose an user name as a group name or you cannot send to the user anymore. You can define a search string along with an user or group definition: enclose the search criteria in brackets or press the insert criteria button (near the Add button); search criteria can contain more words separated by a trailing slash | character; matching key is any, that means "consider this user or group which message contains one of these words". For example, the group MYGROUP[DISK|SPOOLER] with members MATRO and LASLUPI will consider messages from MATRO or LASLUPI which body contains the words DISK or SPOOLER.
Ignore messages check this and messages from the user or the group will be ignored; you still can redirect messages to other users if you want to. This option can be ignored if you select 'Force wake up' item in the menu.
Pop up on new messages usually RealPopup stays in the tray area; check this option and it will pop up on the screen whenever a new message appears.
Uses RealPopup for sure, uses Winpopup for sure consider there is no way to know whether Winpopup is running on a machine or not. If you check this option and choose "Uses Winpopup for sure", RealPopup will assume this and will use Winpopup protocol. However, there is no way to know whether a Winpopup message reaches destination, so you'll never know that. Choose "Uses RealPopup for sure" and RealPopup will consider its main protocol: you'll be warned if a message doesn't reach the other end. If this option is unchecked, RealPopup tries to see if destination machine has got RealPopup, then it will decide which protocol to use. This can handle most unknown situations, but it can also be really slow.
Warn when comes online check this and RealPopup will warn you when the user or the group will be online; control how this will be handled by the 'Popup on user online warning' in the Messages options tab.
Redirect messages check this option, then define a list of users separated by commas, for example CIOK,BAND: RealPopup will redirect all messages coming from the user or the group to the members you defined here. This option could be very useful: consider you have two PCs but you usually work on one of them: you can install RealPopup on both the machines and tell to one of them to ignore all messages and redirect them to the other machine! In this case, RealPopup will act as a "message gateway". Whenever you need to use RealPopup on the pc you usually don't work with, check "Force wake up" and use!
Log messages check this option, choose a file and RealPopup will log all message from and to the user or group to the file. You can define yourself as an user and check this option to log all the messages you write; on the other hand, you can check it in the (ALL USERS) to log every message you receive. The log file is a standard ASCII; messages will be appended to the existing file, if any.

Environment and tray menu: RealPopup states
You can set three different states that modifies normal RealPopup behaviour. Check or uncheck the appropriate option in the Environment menu or directly in the tray menu.

Do not disturb use this state not to receive any message from anyone; users will be informed you decided to disable messages notification, RealPopup users will have the ability to send the message again. An appropriate icon in the tray area will inform you about the Do not disturb state.
I'm away set this state when you go away from your computer: users will be informed whenever they send a message to you, however your RealPopup will keep on receiving them. An appropriate icon in the tray area will inform you about the I'm away state. Check the Set away when ScreenSaver runs on the Message tab in the options to let RealPopup automatically set this state whenever your ScreenSaver begins! RealPopup will set back to its normal state when you'll disable it. This feature works with Windows 98, NT and 2000. Windows 95 is not supported. The ScreenSaver must follow the Windows ScreenSaver standards.
Force wake up this special state will disable any message ignore and redirection you set through the Users and groups pane in the options tab. Use this state when you set your RealPopup as a gateway ie. you set it not to show messages and to redirect them to another machine: if you sporadically need to use RealPopup on the fly, set to Force wake up and use!

Command Line support
RealPopup supports command line arguments for basic operations; before to send a message from the command line, RealPopup must be launched one time at least: the operation will start the message pump.

-send <to> <message> send a message to an user or group; you can define more than one destination, separated by commas. Enclose the message in quotes if you use spaces; put the ASCII(13) and ASCII(10) for carriage return.
-noactivate this switch causes RealPopup not to activate when invoked by the command line.
-posreset reset window size and position to default values.

Example:
realpopup -send MATRO,NEURAL "Hey man! This rocks! :-)" -noactivate

Advanced registry settings
RealPopup stores its registry settings at key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Matro\RealPopup
there are four folders here:

(version) this folder is created by the setup tool; it contains informations about the installation step.
Environment RealPopup stores all the options you set by using the dialogs here.
SendAClist this is the list of suggestions RealPopup uses in the edit boxes for the autocomplete feature.
SendMRUlist this is the list of suggestions RealPopup uses in the combo box for the most recently used feature.
Advanced these options cannot be set by the RealPopup user interface; you must use the registry editor and modify them manually.

read on the RealPopup website for complete explanation.