diff --git a/gui/ChronoShareGui.pro.user b/gui/ChronoShareGui.pro.user
index 30d20df..a40f863 100644
--- a/gui/ChronoShareGui.pro.user
+++ b/gui/ChronoShareGui.pro.user
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <!DOCTYPE QtCreatorProject>
-<!-- Written by Qt Creator 2.6.0, 2013-01-17T23:46:43. -->
+<!-- Written by Qt Creator 2.6.0, 2013-01-18T00:57:47. -->
 <qtcreator>
  <data>
   <variable>ProjectExplorer.Project.ActiveTarget</variable>
diff --git a/gui/chronosharegui.cpp b/gui/chronosharegui.cpp
index 0285f78..6faa80b 100644
--- a/gui/chronosharegui.cpp
+++ b/gui/chronosharegui.cpp
@@ -23,10 +23,15 @@
 
 ChronoShareGui::ChronoShareGui(QWidget *parent) :
     QWidget(parent),
-    m_fileDialogWidget(new QWidget())
+    m_settingsFilePath(QDir::homePath() + ".cronoShare")
 {
     // load settings
-    loadSettings();
+    if(!loadSettings())
+    {
+        // prompt user to choose folder
+        openMessageBox("First Time Setup", "Please select your shared folder location.");
+        openFileDialog();
+    }
 
     // create actions that result from clicking a menu option
     createActions();
@@ -47,9 +52,32 @@
     delete m_trayIcon;
     delete m_trayIconMenu;
     delete m_openFolder;
+    delete m_viewSettings;
     delete m_changeFolder;
     delete m_quitProgram;
-    delete m_fileDialogWidget;
+}
+
+void ChronoShareGui::openMessageBox(QString title, QString text)
+{
+    QMessageBox messageBox(this);
+    messageBox.setWindowTitle(title);
+    messageBox.setText(text);
+
+    messageBox.setIconPixmap(QPixmap(":/images/friends-group-icon.png"));
+
+    messageBox.exec();
+}
+
+void ChronoShareGui::openMessageBox(QString title, QString text, QString infotext)
+{
+    QMessageBox messageBox(this);
+    messageBox.setWindowTitle(title);
+    messageBox.setText(text);
+    messageBox.setInformativeText(infotext);
+
+    messageBox.setIconPixmap(QPixmap(":/images/friends-group-icon.png"));
+
+    messageBox.exec();
 }
 
 void ChronoShareGui::createActions()
@@ -58,6 +86,10 @@
     m_openFolder = new QAction(tr("&Open Folder"), this);
     connect(m_openFolder, SIGNAL(triggered()), this, SLOT(openSharedFolder()));
 
+    // create the "view settings" action
+    m_viewSettings = new QAction(tr("&View Settings"), this);
+    connect(m_viewSettings, SIGNAL(triggered()), this, SLOT(viewSettings()));
+
     // create the "change folder" action
     m_changeFolder = new QAction(tr("&Change Folder"), this);
     connect(m_changeFolder, SIGNAL(triggered()), this, SLOT(openFileDialog()));
@@ -75,6 +107,8 @@
 
     // add actions to the menu
     m_trayIconMenu->addAction(m_openFolder);
+    m_trayIconMenu->addSeparator();
+    m_trayIconMenu->addAction(m_viewSettings);
     m_trayIconMenu->addAction(m_changeFolder);
     m_trayIconMenu->addSeparator();
     m_trayIconMenu->addAction(m_quitProgram);
@@ -120,11 +154,18 @@
 void ChronoShareGui::openFileDialog()
 {
     // prompt user for new directory
-    m_dirPath = QFileDialog::getExistingDirectory(this, tr("Open Directory"),
+    QString tempPath = QFileDialog::getExistingDirectory(this, tr("Choose a new folder"),
                                                     m_dirPath, QFileDialog::ShowDirsOnly |
                                                      QFileDialog::DontResolveSymlinks);
+    QFileInfo qFileInfo(tempPath);
+
+    if(qFileInfo.isDir())
+        m_dirPath = tempPath;
+    else
+        openMessageBox("Error", "Not a valid folder, Ignoring.");
 
     qDebug() << m_dirPath;
+    openMessageBox("Current Folder", "Current Shared Folder:\n" + m_dirPath, "You may change the folder by selecting \"change folder\" from the icon in the system tray.");
 
     // save settings
     saveSettings();
@@ -139,11 +180,30 @@
     }
 }
 
-void ChronoShareGui::loadSettings()
+void ChronoShareGui::viewSettings()
 {
+    // simple for now
+    openMessageBox("Chronoshare Settings", "CurrentFolder:\n" + m_dirPath);
+}
+
+bool ChronoShareGui::loadSettings()
+{
+    bool successful = false;
+
     // Load Settings
     QSettings settings(m_settingsFilePath, QSettings::NativeFormat);
-    m_dirPath = settings.value("dirPath", QDir::homePath()).toString();
+    if(settings.contains("dirPath"))
+    {
+        m_dirPath = settings.value("dirPath", QDir::homePath()).toString();
+        successful = true;
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        m_dirPath = QDir::homePath();
+        successful = false;
+    }
+
+    return successful;
 }
 
 void ChronoShareGui::saveSettings()
diff --git a/gui/chronosharegui.h b/gui/chronosharegui.h
index c1ae9b2..48e2bc3 100644
--- a/gui/chronosharegui.h
+++ b/gui/chronosharegui.h
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 #include <QDir>
 #include <QFileDialog>
 #include <QCloseEvent>
+#include <QMessageBox>
 
 class ChronoShareGui : public QWidget
 {
@@ -52,6 +53,9 @@
     // handle left click of tray icon
     void trayIconClicked(QSystemTrayIcon::ActivationReason reason);
 
+    // view chronoshare settings
+    void viewSettings();
+
 private:
     // create actions that result from clicking a menu option
     void createActions();
@@ -63,11 +67,17 @@
     void setIcon();
 
     // load persistent settings
-    void loadSettings();
+    bool loadSettings();
 
     // save persistent settings
     void saveSettings();
 
+    // prompt user dialog box
+    void openMessageBox(QString title, QString text);
+
+    // overload
+    void openMessageBox(QString title, QString text, QString infotext);
+
     // capture close event
     void closeEvent(QCloseEvent* event);
 
@@ -76,14 +86,13 @@
     QMenu* m_trayIconMenu; // tray icon menu
 
     QAction* m_openFolder; // open the shared folder action
+    QAction* m_viewSettings; // chronoShare settings
     QAction* m_changeFolder; // change the shared folder action
     QAction* m_quitProgram; // quit program action
 
     QString m_dirPath; // shared directory
 
     QString m_settingsFilePath; // settings file path
-
-    QWidget* m_fileDialogWidget; // file dialog widget
 };
 
 #endif // CHRONOSHAREGUI_H