This short, two-step tutorial shows you how easy it is to send messages to other computers on your LAN.
This method can also be used to send messages to multiple computers on the LAN simultaneously with just a little
bit of modification.
Step 1 - Picking A Destination:
To send a popup message to a computer on your local area network, first identify the computer's name you want to send the message to by logging into your router and checking the device list or wherever the computers on your network are listed within your router's configuration pages. Pick one or more computer(s) from the list to send the message to.Step 2 - Sending The Message:
Both Windows Vista and Windows 7 come prepackaged with a command for sending messages to other local area network users. It is called ‘msg’. To use it, use the syntax below.Syntax:
C:\Windows\System32> msg /SERVER:[type computer name here] * /TIME:[type amount of time (in seconds) to display message before it’s automatically closed] “[type the message you want to send here]”
Example 1:
C:\Windows\System32> msg /SERVER:Jeffs-PC * /TIME:300 “Hi Jeff! The server will be shutting down at 11:45 PM tonight for security and maintenance purposes. Please be sure to finish and save all of your work by then. Thanks –James”
That’s really all there is to it. Be sure to use the help command ( /?) included with the 'msg' command to see more options and features you may use, and practice with sending messages to your own PC until you feel more confident and comfortable with using the command to send important, real messages to others.
