Title and Close menu

Maybe you know maybe you not about "Title menu" and "Close menu". I've created one simple note to show you those two menus.

So now when I have note created I will show you both of them. When you right mouse click on a note title you get "Title menu" like this one on the image below.

As you can see I set alarm and expiration on this note. Now you can see small and simple title menu. Here you can edit title text, select title font and set title text color. Also cool item is "Roll up" I hope you know what is this. "Roll up" shortcut is to double click (left mouse) on the title. Later you will see image of this note rolled up.

On image above you can see "Close menu" which you get when you click on small square icon located on the title right. Same as on previous menu you get "Roll up" item with "Hide note" and "Delete note" items. If you didn't know you can remove this menu in the program settings, under "General settings" tab. There you have two questions regarding this close icon and close menu. "Show close button in the note title right corner" default is "Yes" and "Disable menu on note close button click" default is "No". This are default settings but you can change it and remove close icon or just remove close menu. Your choice. If you like default settings then like me I click on the "Roll up" menu item and get this image below.

Now my note is rolled up. But you can see note title text, also info about alarm and expiration if you move mouse under alarm or expiration icons. Also you got now "Roll down" icon and in the "Title menu" note there is "Roll down" item now.

That is all you have to know about title menu and close menu. I hope you are satisfied, because maybe you learn something you didn't know.

Kind regards,

Ozren Sirola
ShixxNOTE Program Author

Send note to recipient anonymously

If you want to send a note anonymously to someone or to a group of note recipients read this article. By default ShixxNOTE is working like this, for example imagine local network with many computers in it. Your computer name is "STEVEN-PC" and you want to send note to computer "PETER-PC". You will write some text on note and with ShixxNOTE option "Send note to" - "Other" you will add "PETER-PC" in your recipients list and you will click send button. User of the computer "PETER-PC" is some guy Peter. Then Peter will receive note and he will see that received note is from computer "STEVEN-PC", also on a note title there will be time stamp and immediately he will have new note menu option "Reply to STEVEN-PC". But lets say that Steven user of the "STEVEN-PC" computer doesn't want anybody to know that he is a sender. Steven for some reason wants to send anonymous note to few of his co-workers.

To send anonymous note you can do it always when you are in "Send note to" - "Other" dialog where you can change "Sent from:" drop down list and select "Anonymous" so nobody can not trace to you. But now I will show you how you can set in ShixxNOTE program "Anonymous" as a default setting. Right mouse click on a ShixxNOTE tray icon which is located at your taskbar to get program main menu. From main menu select  "Settings" and  then go to "Network settings" tab.

There you find drop down list "Default sent from:" where default is "Computer name". That is a program default setting so if you are sending note to other they will see your computer name in menu item "Repy to COMPNAME". But if you select "Anonymous" in that list then yours recipients will receive exactly the same note as you have on your screen, with the same text in the note title. Which is different because normally text in title show you time when note has arrived and also note font is set to Arial Narrow. So simply select "Anonymous" in the list and click on a "Save and apply changes". From now on notes sent from your computer will not have time stamp, Arial Narrow font and note will be without "Reply to ..." note menu item.

Sometimes it can be usefull to be anonymous in this Big Brother world which is surrounding us :-)

P.S. As you have noticed you can select also your "IP Address", "E-Mail" or "Name" when you can put any name which will be then showed to recipient.

Kind regards,

Ozren Sirola
ShixxNOTE Program Author

Create and save note theme(s)

In this article I will show you how easy is to create your custom note theme(s). First you change note color for example in dark green, set note text color to white, then also change title color like I did on image bellow. After that open note menu and select "Theme" - "Save themes as ..." item in note menu.

You will get small dialog to write the name of your custom theme. That is all !

You have created your custom note theme. Also your theme is saved in list on themes in note menu. So if you want to change note theme on some other note you simply open note menu and select your saved theme. Then your for example yellow note will be changed.

And finally in note menu under "Theme" sub menu you can select "Organize themes" item and then you will get dialog like this one on the image below and in that dialog you can change order of your custom saved theme(s) also you can change name of your theme. I hope now you understand how easy is to create and use note theme(s).

Kind regards,

Ozren Sirola
admin@shixxnote.com
ShixxNOTE program developer

Example of using ShixxNOTE in your office

Hello,

In this post I will show you on an image how ShixxNOTE program can be effectively use in your office or at any network (LAN). This example is about software company and how can developers in it use program to speed up a process of development.

From this image you can see communication between two developers Carl and Shawn. For example Carl sends a sticky note to Shawn, because Shawn is on the second floor or the office but he is in network (LAN) he receive note promptly. He simply modifies note and copies his code. After that he use ShixxNOTE note menu option "Reply to CARL-PC". After that in a second Carl receive modified note with code which he needed and loop is complete.

This example shows how only 2 computers with ShixxNOTE installed on it can communicate promptly. But Carl could send his note to Shawn, Peter and Marc which are his work colleagues. He could save that recipient list as a "Project X Team" and after that he simply create note and from note menu send note to saved group "Project X Team" and then Shawn, Peter and Marc will receive notes promptly.

I hope you understand how this is cool ! You have one program ShixxNOTE and all communication goes through it. In my company we use this for more than 5 years. But my latest customers are from medical background. Many dental offices from US, medical institute from France, etc. I find out that they have a need for ShixxNOTE. Hope they will spread out the word about my program ShixxNOTE.

P.S. At the program site, you can find new version of program which now have some cool transparency effects and some minor improvements. This is release from September 2012.

Kind regards,

Ozren Sirola
ShixxNOTE Program Developer

ShixxNOTE Quick look video

Editors from FindMySoft site created short video for ShixxNOTE program. So now you can look video at the program home page site or here. Video is very cool. Still I have plan to release more video material for ShixxNOTE especially about sending notes. Because in this video there is only just a quick look at the program. But I always say that ShixxNOTE is not just simple desktop sticky note program, it is also LAN messenger program with many communication options.

Click play and enjoy this short video !



Kind regards,

Ozren Sirola
ShixxNOTE Developer

Send note to a saved group of recipients

Let's say you have company on three floors, and you have 5 managers in your company. And you decided to have a meeting at 11am. But you don't want to go on the third floor just to say your sales manager about meeting. Instead of that you can use ShixxNOTE for that. First you create note and write on it when and where is meeting. When you get "Send note to" other dialog, you must click on every manager you want to be present,  but let's say you always have meeting with same managers. First time you click or enter IP address of every manager, but then you click on "Save Group" button on "Send note to" other dialog.

Then program will ask you to enter group name for saved recipients. That will be here "Managers Group". See picture below.

Your group "Managers Group" will appear in the list box above the recipients list. So any time later when you want to call a meeting again with same persons you will just select "Managers Group" from list of saved group. You can have how many you want saved groups.

After that your group is saved as a "Managers Group". So you can always select it from list in send note to other dialog and add some more recipients or one ideal solution is that all your saved groups will appear in note menu "Send note" and you will see your saved group "Managers Group". And click on it and all recipients in saved group will receive note promptly. You can also see that Group with more than one recipient in it will have different icon (many small boxes).

Kind regards,

Ozren Sirola
www.shixxnote.com
admin@shixxnote.com

ShixxNOTE Licensing policy and registering program

Maybe you know maybe you didn't but ShixxNOTE program is a shareware program. After you download program from pogram download site or some other shareware download site(s) you get ShixxNOTE trial 30-days valid version with full functionality. When 30-days period is expired you can register ShixxNOTE and became program customer with full tech support. On program order page http://www.shixxnote.com/html/order_now.html you can select which license you want, which license suits your needs and then click on the button "Buy Now". Then you will be transferred to my payment processor company SWREG which is part of Digital River, Inc. company and MyCommerce solution. There you can choose method of payment, currency, if you want they can save program to CD and send it to you. Anyway SWREG accept all types of payment so don't worry.

After you buy ShixxNOTE 6.net 5-Users License you will receive email with download link for you registered version. Off course that link will be valid only for few days after that it expires. 5-Users License means that you can install ShixxNOTE registered version on 5 different computers (5 different IP addresses). If you have some small company with 5 computers and some extra one, than 5-Users License will be enough.

SWREG payment processor company owned by Digital River corporation.

After you install program on that 5 computers in your LAN, program will automatically at Windows start run network neighborhood search. Program is server and client in same time. It have one thread which is always listening on port 2000 (default port can be changed) for ShixxNOTE note data. When you send note to for example 4 recipients in your LAN they will promptly create desktop note and play sound when note data is received through port 2000. That is one way how program communicate. Also you can put in a recipient list email address, IP address or name of computer in your LAN which doesn't have program installed. Then what ?

ShixxNOTE will first try to send note data to that entered computer name or IP address if port is not open (maybe some firewall is blocking port 2000) than it will try to use NET SEND command to deliver just a message text and sender name. So you do not need to have ShixxNOTE installed to receive text from someone  who has installed program. That NET SEND command is part of Windows Messenger service but it works only Windows 9X/Me and XP/2K if you enable it in your services. I wrote before article about how to start that service on Windows XP/2K. I didn't forget email recipient. For that program first create note picture in JPEG or BMP format, after that it create email with note picture in an attachment and all necessary note informations in email body, also email subject contains text "ShixxNOTE note from" computer. When email recipient receives note he will see it in his Inbox first but if he has ShixxNOTE installed on computer than right mouse click on ShixxNOTE tray icon and on main program menu select "Check for Email notes". After you click on that menu item program will search through your Inbox and will find all emails created by ShixxNOTE program and if email contains all necessary data in body program will parse data from email and create note on computer desktop, after that it will clean Inbox and delete that mail.

Finally maybe now you are aware how program works. And I tried to describe all three was how ShixxNOTE program is sending note to recipient (directly through port, NET SEND command and via email). So I hope you will go to ShixxNOTE program homepage and buy program license which most suits your needs. Maybe in your company or ar home. But I will be glad to have one more customer.

To be sure you will not miss "Buy Now" button on program homepage. These are direct order links for ShixxNOTE program versions which will redirect you to secure payment processor site:

• 5-Users License....................$25.00
• 10-Users License..................$50.00
• 25-Users License..................$100.00
• 50-Users License................$150.00
• 100-Users License..............$250.00
• Unlimited License................$400.00
• Redistribution License..........$700.00

P.S. Check for special offer on ShixxNOTE program home page. Also for more info about license write directly to me. Because I also can make customized version or modified version to suit your need.


Kind regards,

Ozren Sirola
Program Developer
ozren.sirola@ri.t-com.hr
admin@shixxnote.com

Hide note(s) and set password

If you have some important note(s) which you want to hide temporary from the desktop all you need to do is to click on note menu item "Hide note". After that note will be not display after computer restart until you click on program main menu "Show all notes". But there is also option in "Settings" dialog where you can lock hidden note(s) with password.

Here you can see on those three pictures how you can hide note(s) and lock it with password. So when you click on main menu program item "Show all notes" you will be prompted to enter password.

ShixxNOTE program on Wikipedia

Check popular encyclopedia Wikipedia and you will find ShixxNOTE in it. There is a page with all info about ShixxNOTE program and some images. Also you can find program under many categories on Wikipedia. It is listed in categories Desktop notes, LAN messengers and instant messaging. That is great award for all effort I used as a programmer and developer.

Default and saved Themes in ShixxNOTE

By default in ShixxNOTE program you have 11 default themes. This notes can not be deleted. But you can always change note and title color, note font and after that if you like your new customized theme you can save it under your own name. That saved note will appear on every note. So you create new note and apply your saved Theme and voila colors and font is changed. I have about 20 Themes on my computer. But I am always playing with colors. Also there is option that every new created note have random Theme. Check that under main program settings. On this image you can see only 11 default notes which will be avaiable in version 7.net which will be released soon. If you have some cool note themes you can send me note by email and then I can save your note theme in my theme collection.

Kind regards,

Ozren Sirola

admin@shixxnote.com

Main menu in Windows 7

In Windows 7 when you install program and run it after program tray icon is visible for few seconds. Then program icon disappear but you can always find it. This is important for ShixxNOTE program because main program menu with "Settings" item is located on it. So check this picture to see how to get ShixxNOTE program main menu on Windows 7 if tray icon is not visible.

On this picture you will see how to find and get ShixxNOTE program main menu.

Kind regards,
Ozren Sirola,
admin@shixxnote.com

ShixxNOTE 7.net New version release date

It is time for new version of my program ShixxNOTE. There are lot of changes (autodetect URL in note text, transparency, etc.) and few bug fixes in program which you will be able to see on page "What's new" on program home page. Default ShixxNOTE language is English new version will be localized on German, Spanish and Italian language. New program version ShixxNOTE 7.net will work on any Windows platform. It doesn't need any framework or runtime so you can install program on old Windows 95 or new Windows 7. Still program is written in C++ and because of that it is quick, small and neat. It is client/server application so you have to enable in your Firewall program default ShixxNOTE program port "2000" or just click on button "Allow access" on dialog which appears on first program start on Windows 7. You have to do that if you want program to work properly in your LAN (sending and receiving notes). Because one program thread is listening on default port for received note data. In new version there is new function for reading your network (LAN) at program startup and it is faster then previous one. New version release will be available for download in December 2012.

On this image you can see screen shot of ShixxNOTE 7.net beta version (click to see larger picture):


Every potential customer who register current ShixxNOTE 6.net program version till December 2012 will get new stable version of ShixxNOTE 7.net and a license bonus for the same price. That means, if you now register for example ShixxNOTE 6.net 5-Users License which costs $24.95, in December 2012 you will get registered ShixxNOTE 7.net 10-Users License version, because you have license bonus.

So register now current program release and get license bonus for new version which will be released in December, 2012.

Kind regards,

Ozren Sirola
ShixxNOTE developer
admin@shixxnote.com
http://www.shixxnote.com/

ShixxNOTE 6.net on Windows 7

I can say that ShixxNOTE 6.net is working on latest Microsoft operating system Windows 7 (all editions Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate). Soon I will put some screenshots so you will be able to see it.

Reason for this is that ShixxNOTE program is written in C++ program language using Visual Studio 6. And because of that it doesn't require any framework or runtime. Program is using all functions from Microsoft original libraries (DLL's) except one "dll" which is used for image handling but this "dll" is also written in C++ program language.

So my ShixxNOTE program is ready for all future operating systems released from Microsoft Corporation as the latest one Windows 7 which is really good operating system.

But there is one minor "problem". When you start your computer ShixxNOTE is reading your network neighborhood, before on Windows Vista and all old Windows operating systems that last few seconds or maximum few minutes. On Windows 7 you can experience that you see small ShixxNOTE program dialog above the clock in the task bar, which says "Reading your network neighborhood. Wait for few seconds ...", for up to 5 minutes if you have more than 20 computers in your LAN. In a new version which will be soon released I have implemented fast network reading which will solve this little "problem" and program will read your network in a seconds on all old and future Windows operating systems.

Also if you have problems with sending or reading note(s) then you should manage Windows Firewall and add "ShixxNote.exe" program in exception program list. If you get dialog like picture bellow, click on button "Allow access" and check box like on the picture. This is picture from Windows Security and that could be reason why suddenly you can send or receive note. If you still experience some problems with firewall be sure that port 2000 is open for ShixxNOTE to run normally and that “ShixxNote.exe” file should be in list where are programs that are not blocked by firewall or some other security program.

Write me if you have any problem running ShixxNOTE on Windows 7 operating system if you read this article. I will always answer you promptly on any email with some question.

Kind regards,

Ozren Sirola

admin@shixxnote.com

ozren.sirola@ri.htnet.hr

ShixxNOTE Program Developer

http://www.shixxnote.com/

Backup your notes

If you didn't know there is option in program for exporting all notes or just one note to a file on your disk. File extension is „*.shx“. In that file program save all info about note(s) like note text, font, color, size, etc.

For example maybe you have bought new computer and you want to import all note(s) from your old computer to this new one. This is very easy task. Just follow this steps.

Open program main menu (right mouse click on program tray icon) and select „Export note(s)“ option from menu. See picture below.

After you select option „Export note(s)“ from ShixxNOTE main menu, you will get „Export note(s)“ dialog with all notes from your desktop or hidden notes. If you want to backup (export) all notes click on button „Check all“ it will check all notes in list. If you want you can uncheck (remove) note(s) you don't want to backup. See picture below.



When you are finished with checking note(s), click on „Export“ button. Then you will be prompted to write file name and to choose directory where to create ShixxNOTE program backup file („*.shx“ extension). In my case file name is „MyBackupNotes.shx“ located in „C:\Temp“ directory on my hard disc.

So now you have all your notes in just one file with all data in it. After that for example copy file „C:\Temp\MyBackupNotes.shx“ to USB memory stick and copy file in some folder on new computer with ShixxNOTE installed. Now on new computer open main program menu (right mouse click on tray icon) and select „Import note(s)“ item and browse to “MyBackupNotes.shx“ ; click on button „Import“ and you will get all your exported notes on your desktop.

So please use this options to backup your notes or to export it from one computer to another (both computers have ShixxNOTE installed).

Kind regards,

Ozren Sirola
ShixxNOTE Program Developer
http://www.shixxnote.com/

Sending note via NET SEND

ShixxNOTE 6.net can send note to other computer in your LAN which doesn't have installed program, that receipient will receive simple message box with note text. Program is using NET SEND command and Messenger Service.

Here is example picture of what will recipient receive (which doesn't have ShixxNOTE program installed) if you send him note (computer name or IP address) :

Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista has a special program - Messenger Service - that provides for receiving and sending winpopup-compatible messages. If this service is running, the system will receive messages. The received messages are immediately displayed as simple message boxes. To send messages, you can use any winpopup-compatible messenger and also ShixxNOTE 6.net
Windows XP operating systems have this service. Before SP2 service was started automatically, but after release of SP2 for Windows XP this service has been stopped by default. So when ShixxNOTE 6.net is sending (trying to send) note via NET SEND and recipient doesn't have Messenger Service started he will not receive note text in simple message box. That is why you should have Messenger Service running for NET SEND to successfully send a message.
You can start or stop Messenger Service at any time. And you can also configure it in such a way that it would start automatically at the system startup. There is a special program for controlling all services in the system - Services.

See below the guide on how to launch Messenger Service and configure it to be launched automatically.

Windows XP Professional

1. Click Start->Settings ->Control Panel
2. Click Administrative Tools
3. Click Services
4. Double Click Services Scroll
5. Scroll down and highlight "Messenger"
6. Right-click the highlighted line and choose Properties
7. Click the Start button
8. Select Automatic in the Startup Type scroll bar
9. Click OK

To receive messages in Windows 95/98/Me you can use Microsoft Winpopup to receive and send messages. The program is included in the standard distributive package, but you could have failed to install it when you were installing the system.
To install it or to make sure that it is installed:
Windows 95

1. Open Add/Remove Programs from Control Panel.
2. Select Windows Setup tab.
3. Select Accessories and click Details
4. Check Winpopup and click Ok
5. Click Ok

Windows 98

1. Open Add/Remove Programs from Control Panel.
2. Select Windows Setup tab.
3. Select System Tools and click Details
4. Check Winpopup and click Ok
5. Click Ok

In ShixxNOTE 6.net recipient list you can insert computer name or IP address of recipient who doesn't have installed ShixxNOTE program. In this case program will use NET SEND command and will send note text to recipient via Messenger Service. Off course if recipient doesn't have Messenger Service started he will not receive nothing and ShixxNOTE will inform sender that note was not delivered.

ShixxNOTE 6.net ready for Windows Vista

Everybody is talking about Windows Vista and how will old programs work on new Microsoft Windows platform. So I decided to check if ShixxNOTE 6.net is ready for Windows Vista. I have installed Windows Vista Ultimate version on one new computer in my LAN. Everything was prepared for installation of ShixxNOTE 6.net latest release (December 2006).

After running setup file, I got security message if I trust publisher (simple click on yes). Then second question from Windows Firewall asking you to choose „Block“ or „Unblock“ ShixxNOTE program, you must click on „Unblock“ button because network functions, sending and receiving notes will not work properly if you click otherwise (read more about this topic in previous articles). And that was all, installation was completed and ShixxNOTE 6.net was ready for use.

I must say that I was very excited with new look and style of all program dialogs and menus. Dialogs and menus really looks great on Vista. Here you can see some screenshots.

Sending and receiving notes works without any problem. I have tested sending and receiving notes, between computer running ShixxNOTE 6.net on Windows XP and this new one running program on Windows Vista Ultimate and everything works perfect. Reading network neighborhood and all other network features works normal.

So if you have bought Windows Vista you can freely install ShixxNOTE 6.net program on your computer. Program is 100% „Windows Vista ready“ and you can be sure it will work.

So at the end I must say that I am proud, because ShixxNOTE 6.net (developed in Visual C++ 6.0) works on every Windows operating system from Windows 95 to newest one Windows Vista. And you can send and receive note(s) without worrying which Windows operating system is installed on other computers in your LAN.

Ozren Sirola

admin@shixxnote.com

New Release December 2006

I have just released new program major release. ShixxNOTE 6.net (Released December 2006) Build 125. This new version is now available on program homepage site under Download section.

• Critical security bug is now fixed. Parsing network message is improved and now possible attacker can not cause buffer overflow. This bug was discovered by Luigi Auremma.
• Important bug fixed. All received notes will be visible after computer or program restart. Problem with disappearance of received notes is now fixed. In previous version, received notes sometimes were lost after program restart. Now in this new release you will always see all your received notes and no more lost notes.

Luigi Auremma discoverer of security bug was informed and he changed his ShixxNOTE program change log file with new update that bug is fixed and that new release is now available on his site. Check now ShixxNOTE program info on his official security site.

UPDATE 27 Dec 2006: The author has released a patched version (build 125)

Also I have to inform you that ShixxNOTE 6.net is ready for Windows Vista, check program homepage under section What's New or Awards to see more.
Ozren Sirola
http://www.shixxnote.com

Set Alarm to note(s)

In note menu (right mouse click on note) you have option "Set Alarm". When you click on that menu item you will get dialog where you can choose alarm settings.

As you can see from picture above. For this note I set alarm with sound at 14:50 which will be repeated every month on day selected in "Date" text box. If you have more than one note, you can set different alarm settings on each one. After you set and apply alarm settings to note, small alarm icon will appear in note title on left side.

When note alarm you, it will play a sound and will popup in front of all other windows you have on your screen, so you will hear it and see it for sure. Also small alarm icon in title will change color to red.

In note menu you have also "Set Expiration" option. With this you can set when note will expire. When note expire it will be deleted. Dialog settings are similiar with alarm settings.

Regards to all,

Ozren Sirola
ShixxNOTE program developer

Windows Firewall and ShixxNOTE

If you have Windows Firewall activated on your computer and it is "On", after ShixxNOTE program first start you will probably get Windows Security Alert dialog. If you have Windows 7 installed then you will get dialog (first picture above) asking you to allow access to ShixxNOTE program ; if you have Windows XP then dialog (second picture) will appear asking you to unblock program (check the picture above). This is normal because ShixxNOTE is multi thread client/server application (LAN messenger). You can send note and receive notes to others in your LAN. For sending and receiving notes ShixxNOTE program communication port must be open. So if you get this dialog you have to click on Unblock or Allow access button to enable sending and receiving note(s) feature. After you click "Unblock" or "Allow access" ShixxNOTE program will be added in Windows Firewall - Exceptions dialog and will work properly in your network.

If you have Windows 7 installed then you can open Windows Firewall with Advanced Security dialog and if you allowed access to program you will get dialog like picture bellow.

If you click Cancel or Keep Blocking button then you will not be able to receive notes from others. Because Windows Firewall will block incoming note data for ShixxNOTE program.

Also you can always open ShixxNOTE communication port "2000" manually in "Local area connections" - "Advanced tab". If you don't know how write me and I will help you.

If you have any problems with sending or receiving notes in program, check your firewall settings first. If you didn't fix the problem ask your network administrator to help you.

And finnaly write me if you have any problem regarding sending and receiving notes, or any other problems with program.

Ozren Sirola
admin@shixxnote.com

Save your own note theme

If you click (right mouse) on note you will get note menu with many options. One of them is "Theme" which contains submenus with few default themes. And when you click on i.e. "Green", selected theme will be applied on note. Maybe you didn't know but you can create and save your own theme under some name and then in Theme submenu you will get new created theme listed. This is the way you can create your favourite theme(s) with other colors for note and for note title. Here in this picture you can see that I have more that 6 custom themes which I like and use. "Blue Invert Cool" is my favourite. You just need to change colors and go to "Theme -> Save Theme as ..." option, you will be asked for a name for your custom theme and that is all. Your new custom theme will appear under Theme submenu always.



In program there is plenty of options you can use to customize your notes. So investigate program options and you will see how many cool stuff can be done with notes.

Regards to all,

Ozren Sirola
ShixxNOTE 6.net
www.shixxnote.com