Using Tracker

Tracker allows you to maintain a list of your online friends and colleagues. You create your personal Tracker List and can control who can see you in their list.

Once you've registered and signed on, the program runs in the background, using minimum memory and Internet resources. You are notified when someone on your list signs on, and you can send messages directly from the Tracker window.

Click on one of the links for information on taking advantage of Tracker features:

Registering
Signing in to the Server
Setting Up Your Tracker
Managing the List Display
Maintaining Your Privacy
Finding People
Sending Private Messages
Managing Your Tracker Application
Managing Your Password and Profile
Reconnecting to the Server
Getting Help

Registering

You need to register once so that each time you sign in the server will recognize you and allow you to connect.

Select Sign In from the File menu.
The Sign In dialog is displayed.
Press Register to register.
Your Web browser is opened to the registration form.
Complete the form to register in the community.
Return to the Sign In to sign in to the server.

Signing in to the Server

You sign in to server each time you connect to the net. Once you've signed in, the program runs in the background, notifying you when your "pals" sign in or send you a Private Message.

Note that you must be registered in order to sign in to the server.

Select Sign In from the File menu.
The Sign In dialog is displayed.
Enter your email and password.
Optionally deselect the Save Password option if you don't want your password saved between sessions.
Press Sign In to sign in to the server; press Cancel to exit without signing in.

Setting Up Your Tracker

You can set up a new list by adding groups and individuals, or import an existing one.

Importing and Exporting Tracker Lists

You can import an existing list, or export the current list to a file for later import.

Importing a Tracker List
Following are instructions for importing a saved Tracker List:

Select the Import List... option from the File menu.
If the current list is not empty you are prompted to continue.
The Open dialog is displayed.
Select a file to import and press Open.
The imported list is displayed.

Exporting a Tracker List
Following are instructions for exporting a Tracker List to a saved file:

Select the Export List... option from the File menu.
The Save as dialog is displayed.
Type a new file name and press Save.
The exported list is saved.

Adding Groups and People

You determine who will be displayed in your Tracker List by adding groups of people. Should you wish to maintain your privacy, you should group the people in a way that will be convenient for you to determine who sees you.

Open the Add dialog by either selecting Add from the People menu, pressing the Add button, or pressing the Insert key.
The Add Person/Group dialog is opened.
Click Person to add a person or Group to add a group.
Add the person or group:
- To add a person, enter a nickname and email, select the group from the list, and press Add Person.
- To add a group, enter the group name and press Add Group.
The Add Person/Group dialog is closed and the name is added to the list.

Removing Groups and People

You can remove groups or people simply and easily.

Select Remove from the People menu or press the Del key.
You are prompted to delete the person or group (and all its members) from your group.
Press OK to remove; press Cancel to leave the name.

Moving People Between Groups

You can easily move people between groups.

Click on a name and hold the mouse down.
Drag the name to another group and release the mouse

The name is now listed in the new group.

Managing the List Display

You can manage your Tracker List display by renaming groups or people, and by determining your view of the list.

Renaming Groups and People

You should define individual and group names which will allow you to easily identify those listed.

Select a person or group on the list.
Select the Edit name option from the People menu.
The Edit Name dialog is displayed.
Change the person or group name:
- To change a person's information, optionally change the name and/or email address and press Done.
- To change a group name, change the name and press Done.
The Edit Name dialog is closed and the name is updated on the list.

Showing Online or All People

You can display either all people in your Tracker List or only those who are currently online.

To show only online people:

When all people are displayed, select Show online people only from the Options menu.
The list displays only those people on your list who are currently online. The menu option toggles to Show all people.

To show all people:

When only those online are displayed, select Show all people from the Options menu.
The list displays all people on your list. The menu option toggles to Show only online people.

Maintaining Your Privacy

You can maintain your privacy by making yourself invisible to others either temporarily, or on a more permanent basis. The status indicator above the status bar indicates whether you are visible or invisible.

Making Yourself Invisible

At the click of the mouse you can easily make yourself temporarily invisible to others.

When you are visible to others, select the Make me invisible option from the Options menu.
When you are not visible to others, select the Make me visible option from the Options menu.

Determining Who Sees You

By setting allowed people you can determine, on a more permanent basis, who will not see you online.

Select the Allowed people option from the Options menu.
The Allowed People dialog is displayed.
Determine to whom you want your presence published:
- To publish your presence to all people click All members under Publish my presence to:
- To publish your presence to a specific group select the group name under Publish my presence to:
- To not publish your presence to all people click All members under Do NOT publish my presence to:
- To not publish your presence to a specific group select the group name under Do NOT publish my presence to:
Press OK to save your changes; press Cancel to exit without saving changes.

Finding People

You can access the Web page containing the community people directory as follows:

Select the Directory option from the People menu.
Press the Search button.
Press the People Directory button in the Add Person/Group dialog.

Sending Private Messages

You can send a private message to anyone else who is also online, no matter where in the world they are physically located.

Sending a Private Message

You can quickly and easily send a private message to anyone who is online.

Open the Send Message dialog by doing one of the following:
- Double-click on a name in the Tracker List.
- Select a name in the Tracker List and press the Message button.
- Select a name in the Tracker List and press the Enter key.
- Select a name in the Tracker List and select Send Message... from the People menu.
Type your message in the dialog box text area.
Press the Send button in the dialog box or the Enter key on the keyboard to send the message.

Responding to a Message

When someone sends you a message, a Message dialog box is displayed on your screen.

Press the Respond button.
Type your message on the text line.
Press the Send button or press Enter on the keyboard to send the message.

Closing a Message Dialog

You can close a Message at any time by simply closing the Message window.

To close the Message dialog, press Cancel in the Message window.
The Message dialog is closed.

Managing Your Tracker Application

There are several options for managing your Tracker application, and which alerts you hear. You can also iconize the application, allowing it to run in background mode.

Tracker Options

You can toggle the following options in the Options menu on or off:

Status Bar toggles whether or not the status bar is displayed
Always on top toggles whether the Tracker window is always on top of all other windows
Launch at startup toggles whether or not the application is started on Windows startup
New message alert toggles whether you are alerted when someone sends you a Message
People entry alert toggles whether you are alerted when someone on your Tracker List signs on to the server

Iconizing and Exiting

To iconize the application, select the iconize icon in the application title bar.
To exit the application, select the close icon in the application title bar or select Exit from the File menu.

Opening the Iconized Application

You can open the iconized application in one of the following ways:

Double-click on the application icon in the Windows 95 system tray.
Right-click on the application icon in the Windows 95 system tray and select the Open Tracker option from the menu.

Managing Your Password and Profile

To change your password, select the Change password option from the File menu. A Change Password form will be displayed in your Web browser.

To change your profile, select the Change profile option from the File menu. A Change Profile form will be displayed in your Web browser.

Reconnecting to the Server

If you become disconnected from the server, select the Reconnect option from the File menu. When you successfully reconnect, the message "Connected" is displayed in the status bar.

Getting Help

These files contain online help for the application. To access this help from within the application, select the How to use option from the Help menu.