Re: Pop-up message

not knowing much about php myself but you could ask phpBB about their private msgs. i cant recall whther it is a mod that pops the window up on receiving a msg or whether the user is online (probably configurable). But as far as direction, that is where i would be heading :) Greg "Richard Lynch" <ceo@l-i-e.com> wrote in message news:3331.66.99.91.45.1109632823.squirrel@www.l-i-e.com... > Lester Caine wrote: >> At the risk of being shouted at because *I* know it's not a PHP problem! > > Actually, it's a client problem :-) > >> I have a page that is being refreshed every 30 seconds or so, and >> displays a list of 'tickets' waiting to be dealt with on a list from a >> database query. No problems there, but a couple of sites now want me to >> add a pop-up warning when a ticket is added that has a staff ID matching >> the logged in user. > > Your first task is to convince the client what an incredibly stupid idea > this is. > > And that it won't work with all the popup blockers. > > And if it did work, it would just annoy the [bleep] out of their users. > > I know I'm preaching to the choir, here, but I have to go on record with > this statement. > >> I can drive a sounder in the target browser, but need kicking in the > > A sounder? You mean like make my browser make noise? ICK!!! > >> right direction for a method of adding a pop-up window. Ideally it needs >> to be browser agnostic, which is where the problem comes given the >> pop-up blockers and other 'toys' that are being added to the browser end >> of things. > > You're not going to defeat the popup blockers in the long run. > > You are better off using clean simple code in an onLoad in your body tag > to open the new window. Something like: > <body onLoad="window.open(URL);"> > where the URL loads in that user's recently added items. > > Either the users will accept the popup and whitelist it in their popup > blocker, or they won't. > > And if a lot of them don't accept it, as they shouldn't, that tells you > right there what a dumb idea this was. :-) > > But running around to find code to "defeat" the popup blockers will be a > total waste of time -- and you'll end up with something so hacked and so > un-maintainable that you'll have to fix it every six months, even if the > popup blockers don't find workarounds to block your workarounds that popup > the windows that they don't want popped up. > >> So can anybody point me in the right direction for a CURRENT method of >> achieving this, many of the bits I've found so far are somewhat >> antiquated, and fail in one way or another :( > > Perhaps it would be better to segregate the tickets into those associated > with the User logged in, and those that are not. > > Or to at least sort them that way, regardless of their other sorting > options. > > For that matter, don't even *BOTHER* to show me items that aren't mine, > unless I specifically ask for them. > > Build a system that detects tickets that sit un-assigned for too long, and > randomly assigns them, or, better yet, assigns them based on factors such > as: > Ticket features (IE, interface tickets to interface team members) > Productivity (IE, don't assign as many tickets to your slow team members > as your fast ones) > User Status (IE, if I'm on vacation, don't assign me anything) > . > . > . > > That way, no tickets is left sitting there "too long" but nobody has to > deal with tickets that aren't assigned to them. > > Just an idea. > > In general, though, I only mean: > > Come back at the client with more than just "That's a dumb idea" (which it > is) > > Come back with a "Here's a MUCH better way to do this" proposal. > > "That's a dumb idea" just gets you more headaches. > > A solution for a better solution makes you look real smart. :-) > > Yes, this may turn out to be a waste of your time, because the client is > REALLY dead set on these popups, and you'll end up being miserable about > them not taking your proposal as well... Time to start looking for a new > client. :-v > > -- > Like Music? > http://l-i-e.com/artists.htm