Adding messages to your application

To provide feedback to users of your application, you can display messages that inform users about errors that have occurred or that help them decide what to do next.

VA Smalltalk provides three ways to add messages to your application. You can use a Message Prompter part available in the parts palette. A Message Prompter part takes only minutes to add to your application and is suitable for use in small applications.

You can create messages using the NLS Workspace - Indexed Messages window. To open the window, select NLS > Maintenance > Workspace: Indexed Messages from the Tools menu of the System Transcript window.

Or, you can create messages using the NLS Workspace - Pool Dictionaries window. To open the window, select NLS > Maintenance > Workspace: Pool Dictionaries from the Tools menu of Transcript.

The Message Prompter part and the message boxes displayed using scripts function much the same way. On the OS/2 and Windows platforms, however, a message prompter uses the platform's message prompter, while a message box behaves like a Motif message box. On the UNIX platforms, a message prompter and a message box both behave like a Motif message box. Further, a message box provides a Help push button, enabling you to advise users on how to respond to a message.