VFUG Instant Messenger (VIM) New Message Page Help

The "New Message" page is where you can post new messages to the Forum area. These messages will always be available to all members in the future. This area is used for open discussions on technical topics.

Msg Sections

This "drop down combo" control contains a list of the current message sections. Choose a message section that best fits the subject of your message.

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Msg Subject

Enter the subject (topic) of your message. Make the subject as descriptive as possible. This will help others later when reading the list of new messages or especially when someone wants to search through messages in the Message Search section.

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Message

Enter the text of your message here. Make you message as short and as concise as possible. A long rambling message is hard to understand plus others may not have the time or patience to read it. Do yourself a favor and only enter a single topic to be discussed. If you enter multiple topics in one message there is a greater chance of not receiving a response from someone else. Please be sure to supply any background info you can about what you are doing such as the version of software you are using, the service pack and operating system it is running on. This will help others to help you better.

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Msg Name To

The name of the person who the message is to. Note: 99.9% of the time leaving the default value is best. Do not change this unless you know exactly what you are doing.

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Msg EMail To

The e-mail address of the person who the message is to. Note: 99.9% of the time leaving the default value is best. Do not change this unless you know exactly what you are doing

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Msg Options

New Command Button -- All of the "New Message" options (controls) are by default disabled when you enter this page. This is to prevent accidental messages from being sent and cluttering up the forum. To enable all of the controls press this button. You will be greeted with a blank message area. After you send a message you can then click on this button again to enter another message. Repeat the process until you have all of the messages you want sent entered and "sent" (via the "Send" button).
Send Command Button -- After you compose your message you press this button to actually transmit your message to the forum server. If VIM receives no error messages and all appears OK then this button will be disabled again. If for any reason this button is still enabled after you pressed it once, check the status line to see if any error messages are displayed. Most of the time the message is sent the first try and the button becomes disabled until you press the "New" message button again. The status of this button is a very good indicator of the condition of your sent message. If you need verification your message was sent, go to the "Read Messages" tab and check (you may want to to a "copy" from the short cut menu first). But "please" do not send a message a second time unless you are absolutely sure the message was not received by the server the first time. This is one area where the VIM interface shines above the web page interface. Multiple copies of the same message appear far less often then when some people use the web interface. You other friends online will appreciate you more also.

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Status

Status Line: At the bottom of the page frame and just above the Copyright notice is the Status line. System messages will appear here as you use VIM. Keep an eye there as it will present a lot of valuable information as you use VIM.

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