A Requester is normally a window that has buttons on it with information, instructions and/or a question too. It is called a Requester because it requests you to take some kind of action. For example. The buttons might be named YES and NO. The question might be Are You Sure You Want To Move This File To The Recycle Bin?

Fig 1.1  The DELETE FILE Message Requester

The above requester is requesting that you choose (click on) either the YES button or the NO button and the window's Title Bar is giving some information as to what is going on - Delete File. The question is Are You Sure You Want To Move This File (john.jpg) To The Recycle Bin? Clicking on the YES button will delete (move into the Recycle Bin) the file called john.jpg, whereas clicking on the NO button will not delete (not move into the Recycle Bin) the file called john.jpg. It will cancel the delete (move into the Recycle Bin) operation instead.

With requesters in general. If you are unsure which button to click on just click on the CLOSE (red eXit) button in the top-right corner of the requester, if it has a CLOSE button, to do nothing (to Cancel the request/operation).

This next requester has two buttons on it, YES and NO, and an information link called Learn About AutoComplete. It is asking if you want to switch on a feature called AutoComplete that allows Internet Explorer for example to automatically complete words/sentences/phrases for you, based on what you have previously typed. For example. If you typed Paul and Peter yesterday and today you type P both names will appear as suggestions for AutoComplete. But if you then type e, so you have Pe typed, the suggestion will be changed to Peter only. You do not have to choose Peter. You could be typing a new word like Pebble. Clicking on the Learn About AutoComplete link will bring up a help file that explains AutoComplete. Clicking on YES will switch AutoComplete on and clicking on NO (or the CLOSE button) will not switch on AutoComplete.

Fig 1.2  The AutoComplete Requester

The next requester not only has buttons on it but it also has a check (tick) box. A check box is a button that when clicked on either puts a tick inside the box (Checked/On/Set) or removes the tick already inside the box (Unchecked/Off/Cleared). In this requester a file called EBook_DEMO.exe is being downloaded from the internet, so at the moment you can click on the CANCEL button or the CLOSE (red eXit) button to stop the file from being downloaded onto the computer (Fig 1.3 below). You also have the choice of clicking on (ticking) the CLOSE THIS DIALOG BOX WHEN DOWNLOAD COMPLETES check box which will close the requester (also known as a Dialog Box) when the file has been downloaded.

If you leave the check box unticked the OPEN and OPEN FOLDER buttons will become active (not faded). This means once the file has been download onto the computer it can be opened by clicking on the OPEN button or you can go inside the file's download folder by clicking on the OPEN FOLDER button (Fig 1.4). As well as the buttons this requester also gives out so much useful information, such as the download time (Estimated Time Left), where the file is being downloaded to (Download To), how much data has been downloaded so far (49% copied) and the transfer rate/speed (Transfer Rate: 803KB per sec). The download Path Name (Download To) is only meant as a reminder to where you are downloading to and what file you are downloading, as you should already know what file you are downloading and where you are downloading it to.

With certain types of requester Windows 7 tries to help you by glowing the default/suggested button. For example. In Fig 1.4 I am clicking on the OPEN FOLDER button but the CLOSE button has a blue glow around it to suggest that I should CLOSE the requester. If I was doubtful what to do I would click on the CLOSE button for sure, and this is something I recommend you do when in doubt, but if you know which button to click you can ignore Windows 7's suggestion.

Fig 1.3  Click on CANCEL to stop the download

Fig 1.4  Click on OPEN FOLDER to open the file's download folder

Some requesters are simple but the choice you have to make is not so simple. Take the next requester for example. It is asking you if you would like to run (launch/execute) a program that has no Publisher Certificate. With the Title Bar saying Security Warning you might panic. You might think the program is a security risk, such as a Virus, when in fact it is purely a program that has no Publisher Certificate.

This could be because the program is using an unknown file type or because the owner did not buy a certificate for whatever reason(s). Clicking on the CANCEL button (or CLOSE button) will not allow the program to run whereas clicking on the RUN button will allow the program to run. However. Clicking on the CANCEL button is not always the right thing to do because you might be stopping an important program from running by doing so. A program that all subsequent programs might rely on. Saying this, it is better to CANCEL first. If something does not work because of the CANCELation you can always click on the RUN button next time to run the program. If in doubt click on the HOW CAN I DECIDE WHAT SOFTWARE TO RUN? link at the bottom of the requester - it will guide you further with help.

Fig 1.5  RUN or CANCEL - What will you do?

The next requester is simply informing you about Internet Security. It is informing you that some of the items (i.e. data transactions, uploads/downloads, scripts, images and so on) used on the next web page you are going to view will not be using a secure server connection(s). For example. If you see this requester on a company's Log-In web page it could mean your log-in details (Username and/or Password) are sent for verification to that company unsecurely (using an unsecure internet connection between your computer and the company's computer).

This could be because that company does not feel your username and password details need encrypting and/or that the details displayed on the next web page do not need a high level of security. Put another way. Internet explorer's security is overreacting because of the nature of the data being a username and password. However. It could also mean that the pictures and scripts, for example, used on that company's website are coming from (being downloaded from) a non-secure server connection (i.e. from another website that does not use encryption for its downloadable pictures and scripts).

The risk of displaying mixed (secure and non-secure) items is that a script from a non-secure website (server) for example might be able to access information from the secure items (i.e. your username and password). So you might start off on a secure web page but that web page might then get its pictures from an unsecure website.

If you click on NO you might not be granted access to the web page/website you are trying to log-in to and/or view. And even if you are allowed to be logged-in, all the information on that web page/website might not be available to you. For example. You may receive script errors. Clicking on YES should allow you to view the complete content of the web page/website, unless there are natural restrictions on it. In general, only click on YES if you know the web page/website to be trustworthy and its content to be good (i.e. not harmful).

Fig 1.6  Display unsecure content - YES or NO?

With some requesters you need a little more (advanced) knowledge of the subject and some careful reading, otherwise they can appear to be misleading and/or be misinterpreted. Making the wrong decision could stop you from doing what you intended to do. This next example is a classic.

A document has been created with Microsoft Word 2007 and needs to be printed. Upon using the PRINT function the following error requester appears stating that The Margins Of Section 1 Are Outside The Printable Area Of The Page. At this point you would probably say something like "What is Section 1?", "My wording has been typed within the document area". And so on.

Being unsure about this error requester you would probably then click on the NO button to stop the printing going ahead, to play safe, when really you should click on the YES button to allow the printing to go ahead. The reason being that all this error requester is stating, in this case, is that the Margins within the document have been moved to an area outside of the normal print (document) area - The margins have been made smaller, moved towards the edge of the paper (outside the normal document area). In other words. The error requester is just informing you that your printer and/or its drivers (printer installed software) might have a problem trying to print the document's wording when its print head gets towards the edges of the paper. Your printer might not support edge-to-edge printing for example.

Fig 1.7  Do you understand what this requester is saying?

Fortunately this error requester has additional buttons on it to help you. Clicking on the SHOW HELP button expands the error requester to give you more information, and help, about what caused the requester to appear in the first place.

Fig 1.8  Click on the SHOW HELP button to get more information / help




Fig 1.9  An explanation of the possible problem(s) / error(s)

If you cannot view the information/help properly click on the OPEN IN HELP WINDOW button (above) to get a better view. Although reason number 5 (below) best suits this example error, to come to this conclusion (your conclusion) you should monitor what you are doing so that when an error requester like this one does appear you can say "I have a normal document that prints normal, but when I alter the Margins of the same document I get this error". Therefore you would then know to click on the YES button (Fig 1.8 or 1.9 above) because you know Microsoft Word 2007 is really giving you a warning as opposed to an error.

Fig 1.10  A better view of the possible problem(s) / error(s)

I said at the start of this page "A Requester is normally a window that has buttons.....on it" as this is true most of the time. However. Sometimes the requester is not shown at first. What happens is a balloon (pop-up) message/notification is shown instead, within the notification area of the desktop (located next to the clock in the bottom-right corner of the desktop screen) - It displays a message/notification (known as a balloon message/pop-up) inviting you to take action by clicking on an icon. Look at the following example.

Fig 1.11  A Security Message (Notification/Pop-Up Message)

The balloon message has popped up to inform you that Windows Security Center has not detected any Anti-Virus software installed on Windows. The reason for this is that either there really is no anti-virus software installed or Windows Security Center could not recognise (detect) it. Either way, you have a choice. Ignore the message by closing it with its CLOSE (red eXit) button or let it naturally disappear after a few seconds. Or click on the flag/x that belongs to the Action Center whereby you will then be shown more information about the problem and how to fix this particular anti-virus software problem.

Fig 1.12  Click on the flag/x belonging to the Action Center for more information

Another example of the balloon message is the message that appears when you try to eject a CD or DVD whilst data is being copied (written) to that CD or DVD, by Windows 7. It informs you that Windows 7 must close the session (finish copying data/put an End-Of-Session marker on the CD or DVD) before it can eject the CD or DVD. In this case just wait for the message to dissolve/disappear.

Fig 1.13  An Information Message

Not all requesters and messages are for security and/or information. Some requesters for example are used solely for one purpose, such as the File Requester, which allows you to open or close a file. You can see examples of a file requester in the How To Open A File and How To Save A File sections.

Although it is beyond the scope of this web page to mention and/or show an example of every requester and message, simply because there are too many of them, you should now know what a requester is and what to do if you see one. There are other requester and pop-up message examples dotted around this website as well.

A Pop-Up window is nothing more than a window, or a requester (which is a window), that appears (pops up) suddenly from nowhere. They usually appear when you are on the Internet, as annoying windows with Advertisements on them. Annoying because they obstruct your view by appearing on top of the internet window (web page) you are currently viewing.

Some pop-up windows are worse. They appear as FAKE Security Warnings (Requesters) informing you to take some "Good" action to prevent a bad thing (i.e. Virus) from happening or to cure Windows 7 because it is already infected by something bad. In reality there is probably no security risk to Windows 7 and therefore the security warning is fake, in which case you should ignore the pop-up window by closing it with its CLOSE (red eXit) button.

NEVER click on its other buttons (CANCEL, YES, NO and so on) as they could allow the pop-up window to perform bad things on Windows 7, like download bad software (if you are connected to the internet at the time) and so on. The buttons can be programmed in this way because the pop-up window programmer owns them and their actions, whereas the red x button is programmed and owned by microsoft so there is not a lot the pop-up window programmer can do with it. With the release of Internet Explorer 7 microsoft tightened the rules for the pop-up window programmer by creating a built-in Pop-Up Blocker that automatically blocks pop-up windows until you say otherwise. An extension of this feature is the Information Bar.

Despite the above information, not all pop-up windows are bad. For example. When you go to download some software from the internet a pop-up window might appear informing you that in order to do/complete the download you must fill out a Registration Form. The pop-up window might be a message window only or the registration form itself (or both). This kind of pop-up window is quite normal. If you do not want to download and/or register the software you always have the choice of not downloading it and/or not registering it. Pop-up windows asking you to download additional Installer software are also quite normal, as with Windows Updates. If you do not want to download the additional installer software you have that choice, as well as the choice to download it at a later time, but if the original downloaded software does not work because you denied the additional installer software you will know why.

Here is an example of a download. AVG, a program that is a part of the AVG Anti-Virus software, wants to connect to the AVG Server (Database computer) to check for any possible update files (Virus Definition Files) in order to keep AVG up-to-date and my computer safe. However. Zone Alarm, a personal Firewall that also helps to protect my computer, has displayed a pop-up window (requester) asking me if I want to ALLOW the AVG setup.exe program to connect to its AVG Server or DENY it from doing so. In this case I clicked on the ALLOW button because I know AVG (and its Update service) is a good/harmless program that is a part of the AVG Software.

Fig 2.0  A Pop-Up window (Requester)

Fig 2.1  ALLOW or DENY the AVG (Stub.exe) program an internet connection?

The ZoneAlarm pop-up window (requester) not only has buttons on it but also a check (tick) box. Putting a tick next to the option REMEMBER THIS SETTING means you will, normally, only answer ALLOW or DENY once for the program or software that is requiring an internet connection. In this case the AVG setup.exe program.

As you should realize by now, regardless of what these windows are called (Dialog Box, Requester, Message or Pop-Up Window) at the end of the day they are just normal windows with options on them (RUN, SAVE, CANCEL, YES, NO, X and so on). And that once you have identified them as a requester and/or pop-up window the next thing to do is make sure you understand the information/warning on them so that you end up making the correct decision(s).

The two general rules to this are 1) Try and identify the program/software that is being mentioned and 2) Ignore the request at first if you do not understand the request and/or do not know the mentioned program/software. If cancelling/denying a request does not allow you to do something with the mentioned program/software you have played safe. The next time the requester/pop-up window appears ALLOW it to do what it wants (i.e click on the YES or ALLOW button), but only if you are absolutely sure. If in doubt, check the internet by typing the name of the mentioned program/software into a search engine first (i.e. type into the search engine: what is AVG).

Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.  As stated here by the Microsoft Corporation.