How to Change the AltME New-Message Sound

Problem

You want to play a different sound when a new message arrives in AltME.

Solution

It turns out, you can change the sound to use a valid .wav sound file. But first, a few notes:

1. You cannot use just any .wav file. There are many formats for .wav files, and only the most common ones will work. For example, most of the .wav files found in the Windows c:\windows\media directory will work fine.

2. Due to a bug, the sound will be played for each new message in each group. So, you will hear the sound many times if you have many new messages. (So, pick a nice sound!) Also, use a short sound, because if you use a long one, and you get multiple messages, the sound will go on for a while.

3. You will need to edit your AltME preferences file. So, you need a text editor. Notepad will work fine. Do not use MS Word or a word processor.

Steps

Here is how to change your new-message notification sound. It's easy.

1. Close all copies of AltME.

2. Locate your AltME installation directory. This is normally:

C:\Program Files\altme

3. Open the prefs directory. You will see a file called prefs.txt. Double click it to edit it.

4. Look for the line that begins with:

sound-new-message:

It may be set to true or false, it does not matter. Change the line to something like:

sound-new-message: %"/c/windows/media/chime.wav"

or:

sound-new-message: %"/c/windows/media/windows xp notify.wav"

Do not forget the % or the quotes. This is the file path (in REBOL file notation) to your sound file.

5. Save the prefs.txt file and exit from your editor.

6. Restart AltME. Test it by having someone send you a new message. (Sending a message yourself will not make the sound.) If it does not work, see the section below.

Troubleshooting

If your sound does not play, it could be due to one of these problems:

1. The format of your wave file may not be valid in AltME. Try a different file.

2. You might have a mistake in your file path line above. Check it again, then check one more time.

3. If your file path line above was not valid, AltME may have reset your entire prefs.txt file. Open it in the editor and check it.

The Future...

Future versions of AltME will allow you to set the sound file from the settings control panel.