flash a window on toolbar

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From: CW (CW_at_nospam.com)
Date: 10/12/04 

Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 05:56:00 +1000

I have written a chat program using asp.net. It basically has a hidden frame
that's constantly refreshed and uses document.write to write new messages to
the chat transcript frame. Because chat windows can be obscured either by
other browser windows or other applications altogether on the desktop, I am
trying to find a way to notify user that a new message has arrived, yet do
it unobtrusively.

I have currently used window.focus method whenever new messages are
received. If user running another application, IE icon on the toolbar would
flash as required. However, if user is merely in another IE screen, the
message window would pop on top and gain focus. This is a problem when user
may be typing away in another chat window. The newly focussed window would
take focus away from the chat window in which user is typing in messages.

Is there anyway to simply flash the IE icon on the toolbar without bringing
the actual IE screen on top? If not, I would appreciate any suggestions on
making user aware of new messages unobtrusively.

thanks in advance

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