Castanet Notifier

Description

A Java applet which scrolls through a list of files in the Castanet channel directory in which it resides.

Installation (Server)

Populate the Channel Directory
First determine the directory from which your channel will be published. This is your publish directory.

Copy all the .class files and the help.txt file from the Notifier directory (0supportDir/CastanetNotifier/)to the publish directory.

Publish a Castanet Channel

To use the Notifier in conjunction with a Castanet channel, it is necessary to Publish the channel in a specific way.

Using the Castanet Publisher, add a new channel specifying the publish directory.

Configure the channel with the following options set:

TRANSMITTER
Transmitter Host: [Transmitter]
Transmitter Port: [Transmitter port]
Transmitter Password: [Blank]
Channel Ignore: [Accept Default]
Channel Password: [Blank]

GENERAL
Name: [Your channel Name]
Type: Applet
Classpath: [Blank]
Code: Notifier.class
Code base: [Blank]
Width: 200
Height: 75

UPDATE
Inactive Update Frequency: Hourly
Inactive Data Available Action: ignore
Active Update Frequency: Frequently
Active Data Available Action: ignore

Leave all other sections blank.

Run PAM

You have now prepared your channel to be published. There is no data, however, in your channel. To get data, the Push Agent Manager (PAM) software must be configured with the PutLocalPublisher DIM. See the PAM documentation to configure the PAM Software.

Basically, in your PAM configuration file, you will need to configure the PutLocalPublisher DIM as follows:

(putLocalPublisher "output to Castanet"
(targetSpec "[Publish Directory]")
(commandProgram "[Drive]:\\Location\\Of\\Publisher\\Executable\\Publish.exe")
(commandLineOptions "-transmitter [transmitter:port] -channel [channelName])
(nameOfURLListFile "castnotifier.links")
(nameOfIndexFile "indexer.html")
(keepFiles "Notifier.class, Link.class, LinkVector.class, PrefsDialog.class, HelpDialog.class, PropertyWithSpace.class, help.txt, properties.txt"))

Installation (Client)

Subscribe to the Notifier-enabled channel
Start the tuner and select the desired transmitter. From the listing of available channels, subscribe to the channel specified during the Server Installation. Use the tuner channel functions to start, update and stop the channel.

Configure Proxies

Configure your proxies to 'Manual Proxy Configuration'.
Set HTTP Proxy: localhost
Set Port: 5283

 

How it works

When the Notifier is started it will automatically start scrolling through the files in the channel's directory. Click on any of the scrolling text. If it's a link, it will be displayed in your default browser. After you've clicked on a link, it will be displayed as purple. Recent links will be displayed in green.

Preferences

Double-Click anywhere on the notifier and you will see a dialog box with settable parameters. The Archive Buffer must be set to an integer >= 5 and the Pause Value must be set to an integer >= 10.

Archives

When the Archives button is pushed, the Notifier will scroll through all the files received since the Notifier was started.

Recent

When the Recent button is pushed, the Notifier will scroll through only the files received in the last update.

Hide

When the Hide button is pushed, the Notifier will remove itself from your desktop. The Notifier will still be running in the background, however. When the Notifier gets its next update, it will be displayed once again.

Help

When the Help button is pushed, you will see a dialog box with some help documentation.

Revised: 31 March 1998