WorldFlash News Ticker 2.0


Here are some general tips for using WorldFlash^Ž News Ticker:
To move headlines left and right - click-and-drag with the mouse. To view the full story - double-click. To personalize WorldFlash - right-click and select Customize menu. To search the Web - type your search terms and hit Enter.
General Operation Notes
After installation, WorldFlash is ready to run. The first time you run WorldFlash, it will take a few minutes to begin updating its internal database. Also, you may be asked for your Email password. This is so that WorldFlash can check for your incoming email messages and display them in a scrolling window. If you prefer not to use this WorldFlash feature, just hit Cancel. You can always configure your email service at a later time.
Docked and Floating Windows, Window Sizing
You can use the mouse to pick up the WorldFlash window and move it to a "docked" position at the top or bottom of your screen. You can also resize the window. WorldFlash remembers your window position and size for the next time you start up the program. You can also pick up the ad and place it on the left or right side of the window, if you prefer.
Browse Headlines feature
If you choose the Browse Headlines right-button menu option, WorldFlash will create a list of all currently scrolling headlines and display it in your Internet browser.
Marked-For-Later Headlines feature
You can mark some headlines for later viewing. Marked-for-later headlines have a portly blue checkmark at the end. You can also automatically mark-for-later any headlines that have your keywords/phrases in them. When you are ready to view your marked headlines, just right-click for the menu and choose View Marked Headlines. Another convenient way to mark your headlines is to "hold still" the headline with the mouse for about 3 seconds. The blue checkmark will appear at the end, indicating that this headline can be viewed later.
Using the Customize WorldFlash dialog box
The Customize dialog box is divided into 7 separate property sheets. If you push "OK", the information you enter here is saved for future use. The News Headlines page lets you set up your preferred information services. You can choose to enable as many or as few of these "extra" news sources as you wish. This list will change every now and then, as news services are added or removed. The news sources that are active (i.e. visible) in your ticker are listed on the left, and the inactive ones are listed on the right. The Change Order page lets you set the order in which news headlines from different news sources will appear. You can select individual news sources and move them up and down in the list. You also set your preferences for your General News categories: International, Business, Technology, Politics, Sports, Entertainment, and Health. You can choose as many of these categories for the main news ticker as you want. On the Check My Mail page, you can set up your personal Email account info so that WorldFlash can periodically check for your incoming Email. Please note that if your email address is "foo@bar.com", then your Email name is "foo" and your POP3 mail server might be something like "mail.bar.com" or "postmaster.bar.com". See the information provided by your Internet Service Provider to determine the name of your POP3 mail server. WorldFlash also supports Free Web-based email boxes from Hotmail, Mailexcite, ZDNetMail, Yahoo, Email.com and Netscape's WebMail. You can configure up to 8 separate email accounts, and for each one you can choose how often this mail server should be checked for new mail. To use a service like Hotmail, put "hotmail.com" in the Mail Server box, your hotmail name in the Mail Name box, and your password in the Password box. On the Stocks page, you can change the stock symbols and stock indices tracked in the scrolling quotes window. To delete a stock symbol, select it and hit the Delete Sym button. To add a symbol, enter its lookup symbol and push the Add Sym button. If you mess up, you can hit Cancel to restart the operation with the original list. You can have up to 80 symbols tracked at once, including stock indices. Also, you can set alerts for the stock symbols. Each symbol can have up to 3 separate alerts: Price High, Price Low, and Price Change (plus or minus). To set an alert, simply select the company symbol and type the appropriate values in the boxes. You can also change the text label associated with this company in the stock ticker. Hit OK to confirm your changes. Stock Alerts show up as contrasting displays in the Stocks ticker. You can also turn off the stock ticker and just display news headlines in their place. The Weather and Sports page lets you define which weather stations to include on the scrolling weather forecast window. To add a weather city, select the city in the main list box and push Add City. To delete a city, select that city from the small box and push Remove City. You can also switch to Centigrade temperatures. You can also choose which portal page(s) your personal sports ticker gets information from. If you prefer no sports ticker, just leave these checkboxes blank. To manage your teams, go to the portal page referenced in the checkbox and choose your teams of interest from there, WorldFlash will automatically recognize your choices. The Keywords page allows you to manage a list of up to 64 keywords. WorldFlash will alert you when a key word/phrase appears in a news headline. To add a keyword or keyphrase, type it in the box and select Add Keyword. If the keyword is found, it appears in a contrasting color and a keyword sound effect can be triggered. The checkbox next to the keyword is used to control the sound effect for that word. The Flashing Titlebar effect is also used to draw your attention when a keyword is about to be displayed--use the checkbox to turn off this effect for all keywords. You can also manage your marked-for-later headlines here. You can choose to have your keywords also be marked, change the maximum number of marks that are stored, and view or clear the current list of marked headlines. The Program Options page allows you to change several things about the WorldFlash window. You can set WorldFlash to create a new Browser window (e.g. Netscape) when you double-click, or it can re-use your existing window. You can adjust WorldFlash's use of your computer's Internet connection. Moving the Internet Connection Usage slider to the left reduces the WorldFlash Internet usage, moving it to the right increases the overhead. If your Internet connection is faster than the typical 56K Modem, you may want to move the slider to the right to get information faster. If you are running with a 28.8K Modem or a slower wireless connection, you should probably move the slider to the left. Experiment to find the optimal setting for your individual situation. Single Mouse Click Linking. Setting this option allows you to jump to a story in a WorldFlash window just by clicking on it once with the mouse. You may find this more convenient than the default double-click link. Stop Ad Animation. Choose this option if the animated ads are bothering you. You can prevent the motion, but the ads still appear. Mute All Sound Effects. Set this option to make WorldFlash run quietly. You can also delete the individual .WAV files, or record your own ones! Don't Save Search Terms. Turn this on if you prefer that your search terms not be saved in the WorldFlash main search box. Mouse Slide Speed. This setting affects how fast a headline scrolls when you click-and-drag with the mouse. Move the slider to the right to make the headlines scroll faster. When Closing WorldFlash, Automatically show. Use this option if you want WorldFlash to display headlines in the browser when you close the program window. If you choose All Headlines, all of the current headlines will be brought up, or you can use Marked Headlines to show only those headlines that have been marked. The default is nothing. Auto-Launch WorldFlash. You can control the auto-launch of WorldFlash if you are using a Dial-Up Connection to the Internet. If you choose Never, this feature will be turned off. If you choose Confirm, then WorldFlash displays a small confirmation message when you connect. If you choose Always, the WorldFlash will automatically launch when you connect, without asking you first. Name of Browser: If you prefer to use a browser that isn't Netscape, go ahead and enter the path to that browser here. Use IExplore to specify Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Proxy Authentication: If you are using WorldFlash from within a corporate Proxy/Firewall network, then you may need to enter your user name and password in these boxes. Scroll Speed/Pane Speeds: You can vary the overall scrolling speed as well as the scrolling speed of the individual panes. Experiment with these settings to get the smoothest scroll effect on your screen. Color1-4: You can change the base background color of each of the four scrolling panes. Experiment with different colors to find the most pleasing hues. Finally, he Personal Profile page allows you to enter OPTIONAL user information, which is used to customize the Ad pane (this feature does not affect the operation or functionality of the program). However, we want to hear your comments, ideas, feedback, and locations of Web pages you would like to see--you can easily send us mail at any time by clicking the Send Mail to WorldFlash button. Our privacy policy contains much more detailed information.
Note to Users Behind Proxy/Firewall Servers
WorldFlash supports you through the Windows 95/98/NT/2K Internet Control Panel settings, i.e. if you use a Proxy/Firewall server it must be properly set up in the Windows Control Panel/Internet Settings--Connection (Proxy Server). You may need to enter your special Proxy Server name and password in WorldFlash's Customize/Program Options dialog box.

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