message on a custom pop-up

Hi Experts,

  I have created a custom pop-up which acts like a search for contracts. This opens when i click a custom button on the standard screen. But I need to display some information on the pop-up on how to enter  the search criteria and if there is any error in the entry. If I use 'add message' , I see the messages on the standard screen after I close the pop up. But when I directly execute the pop up component , I see the messages on the component itself on the right corner. Can you please let me know how should i get the messages.

Thank you,

Geetha