Utility: LANegram - NET SEND Replacement [VB6]

[dilettante]

This project should be useful as a utility and also as a source of sample code for using Mailslots in VB6 programs. The Mailslot.ctl in this Project should prove usuable for most simple applications of Mailslots in VB6. Just copy Mailslot.ctl and Mailslot.ctx to your Project folder and then use Add file... to add the control.

Full source is provided here.

Precompiled binary files were scanned with AVG Free 8.5 and should prove virus-free. They may currently be downloaded as LANegram.msi (http://www.box.net/shared/sokdac0d9t) (1.3MB). See updated version below before downloading this one. Size limitations prevent the installer from being attached here.


Description
Right or wrong, the Windows Messenger Service was victimized as being vulnerable to "messenger spam." I suspect that users and the press confused the Windows Messenger Service with IM applications such as MSN Messenger and Windows Messenger. In any case the Messenger Service is gone starting with Vista and disabled under later Windows XP Service Packs.

People have been advised to use the MSG utility instead of NET SEND in order to send alerts within intranets. This can be problematic since MSG is part of Terminal Services (and its subset Remote Desktop) which is not present in all editions of Windows and may even be disabled on versions and editions of Windows that have it.

Nonetheless many people relied on using NET SEND for putting out different kinds of administrative alerts, and they need an alternative. Home and small business users trying to use Vista or Windows 7 Home editions in particular are left with no out of box solution. LANegram is one attempt at a replacement for NET SEND and the Messenger Service.


Features

Command line Send.exe for sending broadcast or directed messages to users on the LAN.
Tray application LANegram.exe monitors and displays incoming alerts.
Supports alternate channels for subgroup messaging.
Incoming alerts produce a tray popup balloon.
Individual users can temporarily suppress balloons if engaged in a task this might disturb.
Double-clicking the tray icon brings up a window displaying a list of recently received alerts.
/NOEXIT switch can be used to suppress the Exit menu choice from the tray icon's menu.
LANegram can still be exited via "End Process" or Ctrl-X while the GUI window has focus.
Precompiled binary supplied as a Windows Installer package.


Author
Bob Riemersma


System Requirements
The enclosed precompiled binary uses Microsoft-built VB6 SP6 merge modules for its dependencies. It should run properly on all supported versions of Windows: Windows 2000 and later. Tested on XP SP3, Vista SP2, and Windows 7 RC.


License
Unencumbered public domain freeware. May be used by anyone in whole or in part in either source or binary forms. No guarantees or support offered. LANegram is made available as-is for use at your own discretion.

A serious attempt has been made to debug the LANegram package but errors may still exist.

[dilettante]

Suggestions from early feedback prompted me to take another look at LANegram. In particular there is a need for a simple interface that just pops up a message box instead of having the elaborate tray icon, balloons, and alert log.

The following changes have been made:

New /SIMPLE switch that can be used to select the alternate user interface.
PATH environment variable updated by the Installer package, making it easier to use Send from a command prompt.
Reworked the readme file, now provided in .RTF instead of .TXT format.

The precompiled package is at LANegram 3-1.msi (http://www.box.net/shared/gj6uo7uoan) at the present time. It installs a copy of the readme to the program directory.

I have attached a new source code package here as well. I hope no new bugs have been introduced.

[xpinvader]

how to send one sample message?

[dilettante]

Once the application is installed sending messages is much like using NET SEND. For example you can open a command prompt and type:

send * Hello World


I'll add that you can navigate to the LANegram folder in Program Files using Windows Explorer, then either double-click on Send.exe or right-click and choose Create Shortcut (or Send to|Desktop) and use this shortcut. This will bring up a command window where you can enter one or more Send commands.

[dilettante]

Almost two years later this remains a popular small utility. Since Windows 7 was even more popular than Vista the XP-exodus continues to ramp up.

Please remember that LANegram requires Windows 2000 or later, Win9x is not supported.


Here is a new version 3.2 that contains only small changes. It should be fully compatible with 3.1 so a mixed network should work fine, allowing incremental deployment of the update. Because of the relative insignificance of the update there is no compelling reason to move from 3.1 to 3.2 and you can take your time.

Changes:

Minor changes to a few tooltip messages.
/SIMPLE UI "Ok" button changed to "Cancel" and only activated via mouse click or Escape keystroke.

The second change is the important one. Some users reported a problem where work typing in another window caused a popup dialog arrival to be dismissed by those other keystrokes. Changing Ok to a Cancel means mouseless users can still interact with the dialog without frequently dismissing the LANegram dialog inadvertantly as often.


The prebuilt MSI package can be downloaded from LANegram 3-2.msi (http://www.box.net/shared/3k0u7ifzx9k601fni0bl) at this time.

The full source code is attached here as a ZIP archive.

Note:

Some people must not use many Installer packages, because I was asked why MSIEXEC continues to run after the installation completes. This is normal, as described in Microsoft's support forums:

MSIEXEC Process Remains in Memory (http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/hu-HU/netfxsetup/thread/056cf1c7-4732-4b4d-9216-df6dedfab3a2)
The Windows Installer service (msiexec) stays running for 10 minutes after performing any installation activity. This is designed to be a performance enhancement in case multiple MSIs are installed sequentially. It should not stay running for more than 10 minutes under normal circumstances though unless installation activities are still happening on the system. You should be able to see descriptions of installation activities by going to the application event log on your system and looking for events with the source name MsiInstaller.

[dilettante]

Oops!

I should have mentioned that to install 3.2 you must uninstall 3.1 first. Product/patch code management was not handled in these MSI packages, so running the 3.2 MSI where 3.1 is already installed just produces an uninstall/repair session, which won't help you.

The 3.2 MSI uses a red banner with LANegram icons in it, so if you are seeing the blue-gray and shoreline banners you are not installing the updated 3.2 version. I hope that helps.

Corrected!

The reposted 3.2 MSI has a unique ProductCode and the same UpgradeCode, so Installer will properly replace 3.1 by 3.2 if you use this one and already have 3.1 installed.

[dilettante]

Ok here we go again: Version 3.2.0.1

Small improvements to the Cancel button handling of 3.2, and hopefully will install over 3.1 without issues. When in doubt uninstall the old then install the new.

Source attached, .MSI package at LANegram3-2a.msi (http://www.box.net/shared/dbhtscgpvlubbgonncjs)

[kgraafei]

A few of my users are getting Error 62, "Input past end of file" when launching LANegram.exe. They are all on Windows 7, HP workstations. It works fine for all other users with the same setup. It is working fine on all my XP and XP x64 machines.

Have uninstalled/reinstalled; updated to latest version; tried to run it in compatiblitiy mode; restarted; etc. It always gives the same error.

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for a reliable and easy replacement to NET SEND.

Sincerely,

Kevin

[dilettante]

Hmm.

Sounds like a corrupted settings file. I'm not sure how else this error can occur. The file should be at:

C:\Users\user name\AppData\Roaming\BVO Computing Services\LANegram Messenger\0.dat

One detour might be to simply delete the file and let the progam create a new one.


I'm wondering if the problem is related to putting this into the roaming profile. The settings involve screen coordinates and different PCs may well have different monitor dimensions. It may also be related to High DPI settings on your HP machines.

Still, I'm not sure why this I/O error would occur. Can you post the contents of this file from a machine/user where the problem occurs?


I can see several small tweaks that might help and of course some error trapping/recovery could help too. Seeing a settings file first might save several go-rounds trying to "fix" the wrong problem though.

[kgraafei]

Deleting the file worked. Thank You! Most of those 0.dat files were empty. I don't use roaming profiles, however I use a profile wizard to migrate setups. Maybe that is the root of the problem. Let me know if you need any more information to further debug.

Thanks Again,

Kevin

[dilettante]

One thing I find laughable is the number of "magic uninstaller" vendors peddling their wares to "help you uninstall LANegram."

In most cases any uninstall problem stems from trying to uninstall it while you have a copy of it running! Simply shut it down, or if you're desperate use Task Manager to kill it. No big deal.

If you really want to get rid of the few tiny files it creates under Users' profiles see post #9 above.

It's pretty much that simple.

Softpedia (http://www.softpedia.com/progClean/LANegram-Clean-151445.html) gives it a "100% clean" award.
http://www.softpedia.com/base_img/softpedia_clean_award_f.gif

[R.U.Wasted]

I have a question. When the program gets to 100 messages, it stops showing new messages. I there a way I can have the newest message delete the oldest message, maybe after 50 messages?

Thanks!

[dilettante]

I have a question. When the program gets to 100 messages, it stops showing new messages. I there a way I can have the newest message delete the oldest message, maybe after 50 messages?
This confused me at first because new messages past 100 were intended to delete the oldest and then add the new 100th entry.

It turns out this was a bug I missed in testing that nobody has ever brought up before.


New version, 3.3:

So this bug (which only impacts "standard UI" users and not "simple UI" users) has been corrected.

In addition a more visible change reversed the order of the listed messages in the standard interface. These used to run top to bottom, newest at the bottom and the oldest at the top.

Now the newest message is listed at the top, "pushing" the older ones down. And once the 101st comes in the oldest gets deleted before the new 100th entry is added (at the top). I hope this makes more sense for most people.

The readme.rtf file has been updated to reflect these changes. This appears at the end, in the change history.

This version will work fine in a network where other machines are using an earlier version, so you can gradually update machines if you choose.


Caution:

As several people have commented before, even though these Installer packagers were authored to allow a new version install to replace an older one, there are some sequencing problems I have not had time to work on. The result is that you can end up with multiple entries in Add/Remove Programs and some general confusion if you try to revert a newer version to an older one by uninstalling the new one.

So... I recommend that if you have an older version already installed you first remove (uninstall) the old LANegram, and then install the new one.


Downloads

MSI (binary installer) package is at LANegram 3-3.msi (http://www.box.com/s/1zu5nep9rj0u5e7ccyx4)

Source attached below.


I hope this works. When you get away from a project it can take time to get your head back where it was so you rebuild everything correctly and especially get the repackaging right. I spent some time testing the new version and it seems fine. I verified the "upgrade" issue still exists.

I'm also hoping most people won't have a problem with the messages listing in newest-first order too.

[R.U.Wasted]

Thanks for your help!

[dilettante]

P.S.

I would try moving this to another site, since most of the users never need the source code anyway. But there are a ton of links out there now pointing here and I'd risk breaking them.

I still might do so though, with an entry here pointing to the new location after it happens.