[RESOLVED] help with message system

[blckspder]

Hello,
I am creating a small message system for internal use for my IT dept. We want a graphical notification for new messages. We have a link that says SonoMail and when a new message or when there are un-read messages we want a small graphic of an envelope to appear... I just need to be pointed in the right direction to get started... should I do a mysql query and check against a flag? and how would I do that with out a while loop so the graphic only appears once? thanks for your help and I hope I explained things well enough.

[Roger_Ramjet]

Do it the same way they do it here. When there are messages with a timestamp more recent than the user's last visit, or messages not flagged as read, then display the graphics. A simple cookie with a timestamp will suffice for tracking the 'more recent' messages. Even easier if you require your users to login.

[blckspder]

ah good idea... i was thinking of doing something way more complex lol.... thanks for your help.