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Fequently Asked Questions and Answers

 

Q: I just installed the TriggerNews client and when I attempt to connect for the first time, I get an error message.

A: By default, the TriggerNews client attempts to connect directly to the TriggerNews server. If you use a firewall, your firewall may detect the attempt to create this connection and ask you to allow this communication. If this occurs, simply grant permission to connect.

However, if your firewall still does not allow a direct connection to the TriggerNews server using the default settings, invoke the client and click on the Preferences button on the top row.

Now click on the setting that says Use HTTP to connect (for firewall). Nine out ten times that will be all that is required. Click on the OK button in the Preferences form and then click the green button in the upper-left corner of the TriggerNews client to connect to the server. To confirm the connection is established, click on the News Sources button and then click the Request Test Alert button. You should receive a popup alert after answering the Do You Wish To Continue? question.

In a corporate environment, your system may have been set up to use proxy servers. If so, you will have to get the appropriate Host name and Port number from your IT department to enter the correct settings into the parameter immediately below that one before proceeding, but in most cases this is not necessary.

The TriggerNews client supports proxy authentication. If you know you are behind a firewall but are unable to connect after enabling HTTP-based communication, your proxy server may require authentication. Contact your IT support personnel to obtain the correct user name and password to enable proxy authentication.

Tip: TriggerNews gives you the ability to send yourself a test alert to ensure you are connected and receiving alerts properly. You will find the button to manually generate your own alerts by clicking on the View News Sources button.

Q: After I receive a pop-up alert and click on the Go To Article, my system won’t open a browser window. What is going on?

A: The TriggerNews client assumes a default location for your browser based on your Windows operating system. Sometimes individuals or companies place the browser in a different location. This is easily remedied in TriggerNews. Simply display the client window and click on the Preferences button. At the top of the Preferences window is the pointer to a default browser location. Use the Browse button on the right to point TriggerNews to the location where your browser is presently located. If you do not know its location, use the Start Menu/Search function to locate it. As an example, to find Internet Explorer, in the search field type iexplore.exe and hit Return. The search command will locate it for you. Record the full path name and enter it into the Brower location of the Preferences window and hit Okay.

Q: Will other content providers be added to your site?

A: Yes. It is our intent to continue to add more content providers. These are added on the server side and will automatically show up in your TriggerNews client the next time you log in. Additionally, we encourage you to recommend new ones to us that you feel will provide value. Please fill out and submit the form in the Contact Us section of the TriggerNews web page.

Q: I sometimes receive duplicates of news releases. What’s that?

A: TriggerNews scanners point to a number of content providers. Sometimes different news sources may issue releases on the same subject. Depending on the trigger you have set, you may end up receiving more than one release on the same subject. Simply Delete or Dismiss those you don’t want.

Q: Is there a way I don’t have to manually invoke TriggerNews each time I want to use it?

A: Most users will elect to log in to TriggerNews automatically at the time of system startup. A user-selectable option for doing this can be found in Preferences by clicking on the Preferences button. Note: This will not work for dial-up accounts, because TriggerNews will have already attempted to connect with the server before your dial-up connection was made.

Tip: If you prefer to log into TriggerNews manually, you might consider dropping a shortcut onto your task bar so an icon is always there for fast invocation.

Q: When I try to enter certain words as a trigger, I get an error that says, "Trigger contains the following TriggerNot words". What is that?

A: Part of our patented TriggerEngine® technology includes a unique filtering mechanism to disallow certain common words from being acted on as triggers. Words like "the", "or", "for", et al, fit this category. The reason we programmed it this way was to reduce the volume of news stories not related to your specific triggers.

Q: Sometimes I receive too many similar stories, each from different news sources. The number has increased to the point where I am getting too many pop-ups. Is there anything I can do?

A: TriggerNews gives you the ability to selectively disable news sources. Click on the News Sources button. You will see Scanned and Unscanned Sources columns. Highlight the news source you no longer want in the Scanned Sources column and move it into the Unscanned Sources column by clicking the Remove button. Reverse this process if you later want to include an unscanned service back into a scanned service.

Q: Sometimes I receive pop-ups or extra messages in my Messages folder based on triggers I did not define in my Trigger list. What is this?

A: One of the major features of TriggerNews is the ability to receive Global Trigger alerts. These alerts are triggered by key words or phrases that are entered and managed by the TriggerNews Administrator. They are routed to all subscribers of TriggerNews, regardless of a user’s individually assigned triggers. A word of caution: They will produce a substantial number of additional triggered messages, which you may find useful because you will get news about companies you didn’t know about. You may also find they produce too many alerts, which is why TriggerNews initially has them turned off.

Global Trigger settings are found in News Sources. There are 3 options of how they can be handled:

  1. Route Global Trigger messages to the Messages folder and don’t pop an alert window.
  2. Route Global Trigger messages to the Messages folder and do pop an alert window.
  3. Exclude Global Trigger messages from being received (default).

Global Triggers may be turned on (Options 1 or 2) by going to News Sources, highlighting Global Triggers in the Excluded Alerts column and clicking the Add button. To disallow Global Trigger popups, yet still continue to receive and route them to your Messages folder (Option 1), click on the checkbox below the Special Alerts section.

If users decide to stop receiving them again, the process can be reversed by going to News Sources, highlighting Global Triggers in the Included Alerts column and clicking the Remove button. Note this will not permanently delete them; only disable them until the user decides at some future date to re-enable them.

Tip: You may want to turn Global Trigger alerts off when away for extended periods like vacations or lengthy business trips. The queuing of messages in TriggerNews works on the principal of Last in, First out, so if your message queue limit is set to 50 (default), you will only receive the 50 most recent messages. If Global Triggers were set on, a number of those queued messages will most likely be messages based on Global Triggers mixed in with messages triggered on your own personal triggers. By turning Global Triggers off for extended absences, you guarantee only messages based on your own triggers will be waiting for you.

Q: I’m working on an important project on my computer and TriggerNews keeps interrupting me with pop-up windows. How can I temporarily disable them?

A: There are three ways to temporarily disable pop-ups. One is to click on the Temporarily Disable Pop-ups button when an alert window pops up. Another is to position the cursor over the TriggerNews icon in the system tray and right click on the mouse. From there, simply click on the appropriate button. The last choice is to go into Preferences and check the box that says "Temporarily disable pop-up alerts". Note that performing any of these functions does not save it when you exit out of TriggerNews, meaning it will come up in the default setting you originally "saved" in Preferences the next time you login.

Tip: If you temporarily disable pop-up windows, you might want to keep the alert sounds active so you will still know when alerts come in or watch for the TriggerNews newspaper icon in the system tray to be bordered in yellow, meaning you have new alerts waiting to be viewed. A forward slash through the icon identifies pop-ups alerts are currently disabled and a backward slash indicates sound alerts are temporarily disabled.

Q: At the bottom of each pop-up alert are 6 boxes with different or non-existent information in them. What are these?

A: Pop-up alerts have a special feature called InfoButton® locations. These provide user-selectable "bytes" of information from a variety of sources (things like your local weather conditions, the current national terrorist threat level, the top headline from different news sources, etc) that will be displayed at the time of a pop-up alert. You can select which source you want as well as what button to put it into by clicking on the News Sources button. In that dialog box is a section called InfoButton locations. Simply highlight the source and click on the button you want it to be assigned to.

Q: My Messages window tab is showing a number that is less than the total number of messages (Example: 25/75, meaning 25 messages showing out of a possible 75). Why is that?

A: TriggerNews provides the ability to hide messages based on triggers. To confirm a trigger has been hidden, in the Messages window, click on the Filter Messages button. More than likely, there are one or more triggers showing in the Triggers of Hidden Messages column. Simply select the ones you no longer want to hide and hit the Add button to move them into the Triggers of Displayed Messages column. Previously hidden messages should now appear in the Messages window.

Q: For Internet access, I use a dialup configuration and TriggerNews continuously tries to make a connection every 5 minutes. How do I stop this?

A: Go to Preferences and click on the setting "Start TriggerNews on login to Windows". This simply invokes TriggerNews when you log in (but does not attempt a connection).

Next, click off the setting in your the login window which says "Automatically log in". By turning this off, it stops the automatic connection attempt with the TriggerNews servers.

Tip: In dialup situations like this, it is recommended you drag the TriggerNews shortcut icon to your system tray for quick and easy single-click manual connections.

Q: How do I re-download my TriggerNews software? My system went down and I lost the application.

A: To re-download the TriggerNews software at anytime, go to the TriggerNews Support web page at http://www.triggernews.com/support and click Download in the Navigator window on the left. You will be asked to log in. After doing this, you will be directed to the Download page. Scroll down and click on the Download Using HTTP button on the bottom. Save the TriggerNews installer to your desktop. When complete, click on the installer icon and a wizard will guide you through installation from there.

Q: I am receiving alerts, but none of them are popping up on my screen.

A: There are two things to check here. First, open the client window and click on Preferences. Make sure that "Disable popup alerts (saved)" and/or "Temporarily disable popup alerts (Not saved)" are not checked. Second, open your system Date and Time and make sure the time zone setting matches the time zone you are in. If not, make that change.

Q: I use a Zone Alarm firewall and keep getting a message that says it blocked access to TriggerNews.

A: Change your settings to put TriggerNews' IP address of 66.45.2.222 in your Trusted Zone.

Q: I have far too many messages in my Message log. How do I delete all or most of them at one time?

A: Open the client window by left clicking on the TriggerNews system tray icon. That will put you in the Messages log. Click on any message in the window, then hit CTRL A (this will select ALL messages in your log).

At this point you can use Delete (the red X at the top) and it will delete ALL your messages. Before doing that however, if there are any you want to retain, hover over one, hold the CTRL key down and left click the mouse simultaneously. This will unselect that specific message. Repeat CTRL and left click for all messages you want to keep. After you have unselected the ones you want to remain, use the red X to delete the remaining messages (all of the ones which are still selected).