Sound file for new PMs?

[Pilot]

Can we have an option to play a sound file when new PMs arrive please?

However this should not keep being played each time you visit the forum index in the same session - which is what happens if you hack the HTML to add a bgsound to the New PM gif tags.

What I want is a single audible notification of new or unread mail (or both) when I start the VB session and when new mail arrives during it.

It should not play the sound file more than once a session for the same new or unread mail.

Thanks

[Wayne Luke]

Actually if you have a default sound applied in Windows (or whatever OS you use), then you will get a sound everytime there is a PM popup.

However if you want to get more complicated you will have to edit the javascript for that popup to play the sound of your choice. I don't however see this as a standard feature when 90% of the Internet population is still hampered by dialup bandwidth.

[Mark Hewitt]

Is there no way in javascript to say "play windows standard new mail sound" ?

[Wayne Luke]

It would be a Windows only solution but it could be possible.

You will have to check out Microsoft's MSDN at http://msdn.microsoft.com to find out how to access sounds by their registry key.

[Pilot]

A 10K wav file is perfectly acceptable to dial up users (like me).

So it could be made an option, anyway that's what I am asking for.

I don't have PM pop-ups configured - is this a VB option and what does it do? Sounds like this option would incur a performance overhead.

I am referring to the main forum index new mail visual notification being inadequate - and not anything else. Adding sound would be one way to improve matters without the database loading that repeated checking would cause.

[Wayne Luke]

Actually the PM Popup is a user option in vBulletin and it adds a little javascript to each page. If you get a new PM it pops up an alert box. It adds negligible overhead to the system.

[Pilot]

So why does the control panel say - this option results in checking the PM database every time a page is read?

(or words to that effect?)

[tubedogg]

The CP says...Selecting yes for this option will cause the system to check the PM database every time a user loads a page, and will display a visible prompt for it.It doesn't say anything about adding load...?

[Pilot]

So how does it check the PM database each time a page is loaded without adding a load?

It read like a "load" warning to me so I turned it off.

[Kaizen]

It will add an extra query but I dont think you will notice a speed or load difference.

[tubedogg]

Adding one query will not add noticable load.

It's not a load warning, it's an explanation.