No matter how much you enjoy your favorite screensavers, sometimes they can be rather annoying. Don't like them interrupting your presentations? Hate them disturbing you watching movies? Look no further. This article will show you how to gain full control over your screensavers in no time.
There's no doubt screensavers bring a pleasant variety to your desktop. Not to mention they prevent your monitor from burn-ins. Still there are times they had better sit quiet and hadn't interfered with your work.
Demonstrating a slideshow, watching a movie, reading an article - all these activities and many others may leave your computer with no keyboard and mouse input for a few minutes. Depending on your preferred settings, two or three minutes of inactivity may be enough for a screensaver to start and interrupt your work when it shouldn't.
The obvious solution to the problem is disabling screensavers right before any of those activities. However, it's very likely you'll forget to do it. Furthermore, it's even more likely you'll forget to turn screensavers back on later, thus leaving yourself without their benefits for indefinite time.
Thankfully, we are not the first people who encountered this problem. Quite many different tools already exist to help you. They range from simple support for screensavers in some applications to universal and powerful tools to control them.
If screensavers interrupt you often when you watch movies, but otherwise don't bother you, you may find it sufficient to use a media player that has a built-in support for screensavers. For example, Winamp and The Playa have an option to prevent screensavers from starting while they play a movie. Consider using one of them or another media player having that option unless you are looking for a more versatile tool.
For those of you who'd like to have full control no matter what you do, there are many universal applications. This time we will talk about two of them.
If you want a program that is easy to use and that would allow you to disable screensavers quickly and then easily enable them, Hot Corners is right for you. It's a small tool letting you control screensavers in three ways:
You can set one screen corner for disabling screensavers and another for starting them. This way moving the mouse into the first corner will prevent any screensaver from starting. Moving the mouse into the second corner will start your default screensaver. Holding the mouse in any other place of your desktop will make screensavers behave in the usual manner. For you convenience, Hot Corners allow you to vary the size of the corners. This way you won't waste too much time positioning the mouse precisely.
Alternatively, you can set a pair of keyboard shortcuts to quickly disable or activate a screensaver. You may prefer this method if you extensively use the keyboard while working.
Another useful feature of Hot Corners is Power Management control. Not only it can prevent screensavers from starting, but it also won't let your monitor to go in power saving and power-off modes.
Hot Corners were created by South Bay Software, and are available for download from
http://www.southbaypc.com/hotcorners/
Another interesting tool is Galt Screen Control by Galt Technology. It definitely lacks the variety of screensaver control methods available in Hot Corners. Nevertheless, it has many other features you may find useful.
There is only one way to disable screensavers using Galt Screen Control. You will have to right click the application icon in the system tray and select the corresponding option.
But there's more in it than simply disabling screensavers. You can select an option that will disable them for 1/2, 1, 2, or 4 hours, giving you even finer control. This way you will never forget to enable screensavers back later. Galt Screen Control provides an easy and convenient way to launch or configure any installed screensaver. It requires you just two menu clicks. Furthermore, the tool can select a random screensaver when you ask it. Alternatively, it can do it on each program startup or on an hourly basis.
You can download Galt Screen Control from
http://www.southbaypc.com/hotcorners/
Now that I've shared these little secret tools with you, it's time to show your screensavers their real master. Don't waste a second! Put them under control!
About The Author
Roman Kramar is a software developer who enjoys writing screensavers as his time permits. Visit his site at http://www.southbaypc.com/hotcorners/ to find out more about screensavers and his work. http://www.southbaypc.com/hotcorners/
Mercedes Benz s500 rentals Salem ..The Windows registry is a huge database that ensures normal... Read More
Microsoft CRM is CRM answer from Microsoft and attempt to... Read More
What is Software?Software is a set of instruction written to... Read More
We would like first emphasize the change in the paradigm.... Read More
1. Replace Dexterity cursor with SQL Stored Procedure Dexterity... Read More
Every organization which creates collaborative documents, whether they are budgets,... Read More
Configuring PPP PAP AuthenticationNow we know how the ISDN link... Read More
Heard about the Quark "killer"?Adobe InDesign CS2. Will it really... Read More
The title of "software engineer" has got to be among... Read More
The stakes are high when considering security, privacy, and savings,... Read More
This article illustrates the best practices to improve the performance... Read More
IntroductionPHP can be used for a lot of different things,... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains is main mid-market application from Microsoft Business... Read More
Microsoft CRM and IBM Lotus Notes Domino seem to be... Read More
What is RAID RECOVERY?RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive... Read More
Best Software Act! is very popular CRM for small and... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics / eEnterprise... Read More
Mike Dunville* had a decision to make. As the new... Read More
In this article you will find some background information about... Read More
The major reason I recommend getting your hands on real... Read More
(1) Avoid using the same variable again and again for... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies... Read More
Think of this, first we had the HAM Radio, then... Read More
It would be easy to think, like most people apparently... Read More
People often ask me: What image file formats will Photoshop... Read More
Dowagiac cheap limo service ..If you've been using MySQL database to store your important... Read More
We've all seen the ads on TV for Netzero 3G.... Read More
An integral part of any quality CRM system is lead... Read More
All your software is stored on a hard-drive. But how... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft Retail Management System (Microsoft RMS)... Read More
... Read More
I have recently created my first Php program. I wanted... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is web-based CRM application, deploying all... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies... Read More
Microsoft SQL Server is the leader for inexpensive and middle... Read More
What is Snort?Snort is an open source network intrusion detection... Read More
Introduction: The creating of a computer program involves a number... Read More
Formatting and reinstalling windows 98 is very easy if you... Read More
Sticky Noteshttp://www.deprice.com/stickynote.htmWith StickyNote 9.0, you can create beautiful 3D notes... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is very popular ERP platform... Read More
Now is the time to look at an alternative to... Read More
In our small article we'll consider Microsoft Business Solutions Great... Read More
Is your PC is slow and wimpy? Then you need... Read More
Task Manager is a Windows system utility that displays thetasks... Read More
Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more... Read More
Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More
Now there are Three Steps To Heaven Just listen and... Read More
What is installation in the language of technology? Installation... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has many years of successful... Read More
A LOT OF UNWANTED FILES.When you uninstall an item of... Read More
Software |