Downloading Cherple™

Downloading the Cherple™ application to your computer from the Cherple™.com Web site is a simple process. Follow these easy steps and you will be well on your way to chatting with your mobile phone-bound friends and family right from the comfort of your own computer.

Step 1: Go to http://www.cherple.com. (You’ve probably already done this part since you are reading these help pages from the Web site.)

Step 2: From the Cherple™ homepage click on the Downloads button on the left-hand side of the screen. It’s indicated by the red box and arrow in the image above. You will be taken to the Cherple™ Downloads page.

Step 3: From the Downloads page click on the Start Download button on the left-hand side of the page to begin the download process. If you’re having trouble finding it, it’s indicated by the red box and arrow in the image above.
Depending on your operating system and Web browser, a window like the one below may appear. Just click on the Save File button and follow the prompts to download the application setup files to your computer.

NOTE: Be sure to remember where you saved the Cherple™ files as you will need to access them to install Cherple™. The icon for the Cherple™ setup file will look similar to this:

Installing Cherple™ on Your Computer

Step 1: Begin installing Cherple™ on your computer by finding and clicking on the setup file you downloaded from the cherple.com Web site. Depending on how your computer system is set up, you may have to double-click on the file. A screen like that below will be displayed.

Click on the Run button to proceed with the Cherple™ installation. A window displaying the the Cherple End User License Agreement will be shown.

Step 2: Read the Cherple™ EULA carefully as it describes your rights and responsibilities in the use of Cherple™. You must agree to the EULA in its entirety before installing the application. Indicate your agreement by selecting the Accept button. If you do not agree to the terms and conditions in the EULA, you may cancel the installation by clicking the Decline button. If a screen like that shown below is displayed, proceed by clicking the Install button.

Step 3: Upon acceptance of the EULA and clicking the Next button, you will be asked to specify the location on your computer where you wish the program files to be installed. A default location will be displayed. If you wish to install the program files to the default location (recommended) click the Next button. If you wish to install to a different location on your computer, you may enter the new path or use the Browse button to navigate to your desired location and then click the Continue button.

NOTE: Cherple™ requires approximately 3MB of free space on your computer’s hard drive.

Step 4: Once all selections have been made and the Continue button has been clicked, Cherple™ will be installed on your computer. If the default settings were accepted, the application will start upon completion of the installation and you will be ready to begin cherpling immediately..

Embedding Cherple™ in Your Favorite Web page

Using Cherple™ chat

Initiating the Cherple™ chat session

Once Cherple™ is installed on your computer, you are ready to begin cherpling your mobile phone equipped friends and family right from the comfort of your computer. Follow the simple steps below to initiate a text chat session with any US-based mobile phone.

Step 1: Launch Cherple™ by locating the Cherple™ shortcut icon on your computer desktop. It looks like this:

A screen like the one shown below might appear briefly as Cherple™ checks for a live Internet connection and connects to the Cherple™ network.

If an error message appears, see the Troubleshooting help topic for possible causes and resolutions.

When a successful connection is established with the Cherple™ network, the Cherple™ invitation screen will appear.

Step 2: Use the Cherple™ invitation screen to send an invitation to any US-based mobile phone user to chat with you. Enter the required information in this screen as follows:

• In the FROM field: Enter your name or a name that the mobile use will recognize as you. This field is limited to eight alphanumeric characters.


• In the TO field: Enter the name of the mobile user you want to chat with. This field is also limited to eight alphanumeric character.


• In the MOBILE# field: Enter the 10-digit valid US mobile phone number of the person you wish to chat with. Enter only the digits of the phone number. Dashes will be inserted for you when a valid number is entered.

Chatting with friends

The Cherple™ chat screen:

The Cherple™ chat screen is where all the action takes place once you have initiated your Cherple™ chat session with a mobile user. It consists of two text areas (panes), a Send button and a character counter.

Text entry pane: The lower text pane is where you will compose the text message you wish to send to the mobile user.

Chat Record pane: The upper pane is where you will see your text message once it has been sent, response text messages from the mobile user and any system messages from the Cherple™ system or network.

Send button: The send button is where you will click to send your message to the mobile user once you have finished composing it in the Text entry pane. Alternately, you may send your message by pushing the Enter key on your keyboard.

Character Counter: Cherple™ is based on the standard messaging system that all mobile phones are equipped to use. The SMS system limits messages to 160 characters – including spaces and punctuation. Cherple™ reserves part of that allotment for system use leaving you 145 characters for your text messages. The character counter will appear when you type in the text entry pane to indicate the total number of characters you have used of those available for that one message.

Using the Cherple™ Chat Screen

Step 1: After completing the Cherple™ invitation screen and clicking through the Cherple™ information screen, you will be ready to begin your actual Cherple™ session. You begin by entering your first message into the Text Entry pane on the Cherple™ Chat Screen. Click the Send button to send your message.

NOTE: Your invitation won’t be sent to the mobile user until you enter this first text message and click the Send button.

What Happens that You Don’t See:
Upon clicking the Send button, your initial message is held by Cherple™ and a system notice is first sent to the mobile user telling them you wish to chat with them from Cherple™. In order to accept the chat session, the mobile user will be prompted to enter ‘YES’ or ‘Y’ to indicate their willingness to proceed, The mobile user is also given an option to “Opt Out” and never receive messages from the Cherple™ network. See Reactivating an Opted Out Mobile Number below for more information.
Once the mobile user accepts your invitation, your initial message will be delivered.

Step 2: Once you receive notice from a Cherple™ that your mobile user has agreed to the chat session, you may begin immediately chatting normally. Your text will appear in the Chat Record pane in the upper part of the Cherple™ Chat screen. Messages your friend sends to you will also appear in the Chat Record pane.

HINT: You might want to wait a minute for your initial message to be delivered and for your mobile user to respond to it before you send any more messages to them as the Opt in process delays delivery of your initial message.

Step 3: When you have completed your Cherple™ session, click on the X icon in the upper right hand corner of the Cherple™ chat screen. This will return you to the initial Cherple™ invitation screen where you can begin another session with another – or the same – mobile user.

What Happens that You Don’t See:
If you terminate the Cherple™ chat session, one final text message will be sent to the mobile user letting them know you have closed the session.

Return to Help Topics

A Note About SPAM

Cherple™ is very concerned about SPAM and abuse of the text messaging system (SMS) for unsolicited and unwanted communications. We are committed to your privacy and respect your right to only Cherple™ with those you wish to. In order prevent abuse, Cherple™ has some built-in safeguards to ensure you continue to have an enjoyable experience free from unwanted intrusion.

During the course of a Cherple™ session, you may be asked to confirm or reconfirm that you are a legitimate human user by entering a piece or text or set of characters exactly as prompted by the Cherple™ system.

Similarly, the mobile user may be periodically prompted by Cherple™ to re Opt In to continue a session.
Such requests help to ensure that you and the mobile user you are chatting with have an enjoyable and SPAM-free Cherple™ experience.

Troubleshooting

Cherple says another instance is running.
In some circumstances the Cherple™ user may encounter a warning that indicates too many instances of the application are running:



Solution: The basic version of Cherple is restricted to one chat session per computer at one time. Future premium versions of the application may include multiple chat support. In some rare cases, a user may close a session and immediately begin a new session and receive this same error message. The application requires 2-3 seconds to clear an ended session, so a simple refresh should begin the new session normally.

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Cherple™ is unable to connect to the Cherple™ network
If the application is unable to connect to the Cherple network a message like the one below will be displayed:



Possible Solutions:

1. Check to make sure that your Internet connection is operating properly. Cherple™ requires a live Internet connection to operate.
2. Cherple will not operate properly behind a proxy server. If you or your ISP uses a proxy server, disable it or ask to have it disabled in order to use Cherple™.
3. Similarly, Cherple™ may not operate properly behind a restrictive firewall. Check with your system administrator to see if Cherple™ can be passed through for you.