AllegroChat™, The AllegroServe Chat Program

It seemed appropriate to use AllegroServe to chat about AllegroServe so that is what we are doing. We will be distributing the source for this chat program once the documentation is complete.

The chat window has three frames. The large upper frame contains the messages. The messages are listed from most recent to least recent (which is the opposite of normal reading order). This is done so that you don't have to use the scroll bar to see the most recent messages.

The lower right frame allows you to select the number of seconds between automatic refreshes of the upper chat window. It also allows you to set the number of messages displayed. Once you change a field you must click on "Update Messages" to register the change. Also , any time you want to see the current set of messages without waiting for the next auto-refresh, you can click on "Update Messages". If you leave the Seconds field blank then this will turn off auto-refresh. This is useful if you've come into the chat late and want to read over all old messages without being bothered by the refresh.

The lower left frame is where you enter your messages. First put your name in the box at the top. Then enter your message in the large box. If you type Return it will show up a new line when the message is displayed. After you've typed your message you click on "Post Message" to send the message to the server. When your message has been sent, the large text block will clear. You will not see your message appear in the chat window on top until the window is refreshed, or until you click on Update Messages.

If you are entering data in the large text window you can post it without using the mouse by typing "<tab><return>" (at least this works on Netscape and IE).

You can post pictures by typing a url to a .jpg or .gif file .... e.g., http://mymachine.foo.com/mypicture.jpg The image will be displayed in the chat in the chat window.

You can post a link by entering a url, e.g. http://franz.com . The result will be an active link in the chat that when clicked will open a new window on the link.