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Overview
Settings
Menu
Special Features
Support
Overview
Perfect Screens is a virtual screens (virtual desktops)
manager. It allows a user to organize work on several screens (desktops) and make the user
to feel like having several monitors. Organizing windows on several virtual screens
decrease the number of windows displayed on the screen at the same time and allows the
user better orientation and faster switching among applications. The Taskbar is not full
of buttons of all running applications but only the buttons of applications presented on
the given screen are in the Taskbar. Windows can be copied/moved among screens very easily
if necessary.
Perfect Screens also dramatically simplifies launching applications and accessing desired
files. Each screen has its own Screen menu and toolbar containing applications and files
associated with the given screen. On each screen, the user is only one click far from
opening desired application or file (or URL location).
Having several screens, each for a typical activity like document processing, networking,
file management, system management, gaming, etc., allows the user to logically divide work
on several screens, be more efficient and have clearer desktop.
[See overview pictures]
There is a short list of major Perfect Screens features
making it very comfortable and time saving utility:
- The program allows a user to run a lot of applications without
losing track of them as well as the ability to switch among them quickly.
- Several virtual screens each for a different activity
(document processing, file management, networking, etc.).
- Each screen can have its own wallpaper.
- Each screen has its own Screen menu (very similar to Start
menu) and toolbar for fast applications launching.
- Each virtual screen is (optionally) scrollable.
- Automatic launching of specified application when entering
screen.
- Supports drag & drop to add new items to Screen menu and
toolbar.
- Very flexible and customizable (integrated bar, two bars, in
Taskbar, etc.)
- Network support. The program can be installed on a network
server and used by several users. Users can share screens as well as applications and
other items.
- Multiple users support. Several users sharing a computer can
use the same copy of the program. Each user has his/her own profile. Users can share
screens as well as applications and other items.
- Privacy. Program settings and screen and item access can be
protected by a password.
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Getting Started
Adding screen: After installation, Perfect
Screens creates four default screens automatically. User can add new screens simply
by selecting "Add\Screen..." item from the screen
button menu.
Adding application: On the first start,
Perfect Screens scans the computer for popular applications and creates screen menus (see overview pictures) for each screen. User can add
new application to a screen menu several different ways: drag & drop (see overview pictures), selecting "Add new
item..." from the screen menu, selecting "Add\Item..." item from the screen button menu.
Changing configuration: The Perfect Screens
can be configured many different ways. To make the configuration process as simple
as possible there are pre-defined default configurations. The configurations are
accessible from the "Default Configurations" submenu of the main
menu.
Changing color: Perfect Screens
toolbar(s) color can be changed in the main settings dialog box,
"Toolbar" tab.
Settings: Some Perfect Screens settings can
be changed directly from main menu or from the main settings dialog box.
Screen settings: There are many settings
that are specific to a given virtual screen (local wallpaper, default screen, exclusive
windows, etc.). Such settings can be changed from the screen settings dialog box.
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Professional X Lite
Perfect Screens is available in two versions: Pro
(professional) and Lite. Lite version is easy-to-use and cheaper but still powerful
with
all the features an average single user needs. Pro version adds support for multiple users
and data sharing over network, additional configuration options, etc. For the differences
between Pro and Lite versions see the table below:
Features |
Lite |
Pro |
Optionally different wallpaper for each screen |
x |
x |
User defined sound when switching screen |
x |
x |
Toolbar auto hide |
x |
x |
Sticky windows |
x |
x |
Shortcut keys |
x |
x |
Application bar associated with each screen |
x |
x |
|
|
|
Password protection |
|
x |
Multiple users |
|
x |
Sharing data over network |
|
x |
Additional toolbar configuration options - separate toolbar
for screens & applications, put screens to tray area, UNIX like configuration, etc. |
|
x |
Advanced screen settings - big screen |
|
x |
Advanced application settings - open automatically when
entering screen, save size & position, etc. |
|
x |
Features available in Pro version are marked (Pro) in the following text.
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Main Settings
To open main settings window, select "Main
settings..." item from the main menu.
Toolbar
- Auto hide - allows to switch on/off auto hide feature
(off is default).
- Screen button shape - allows to specify a shape of the
screen buttons (rectangular is default).
- Application buttons shape - allows to specify a shape
of the item (application) buttons (flat is default).
- Menu icons - specify the size of icons in the Screen
menu here (default is small).
- Colors - allows a user to change color of the
Perfect Screens toolbar(s) and menus.
Shortcut keys
- Next screen - hot key that allows to switch to the next
screen (default Ctrl+Alt+Right arrow).
- Previous screen - hot key that allows to switch to the
previous screen (default Ctrl+Alt+Left arrow).
- Pop up the screen menu - hot key that allows to pop up
Screen menu.
Mouse
- Screen corner action - specify an action that is to be
performed when mouse cursor is moved to one of the four screen corners. These
actions are available: run default screensaver, select screensaver, show start menu,
minimize all windows, open find file, open run dialog.
- Go to next/previous screen... - if checked, moving
mouse cursor to the right/left border of the screen switches to the next/previous virtual
screen. Default is unchecked.
- Allow screen switching... - if checked,
screens are automatically switched during drag & drop operation when mouse cursor is
moved to left/right screen border.
- Automatically activate window... - if
checked, the window with mouse is automatically activated (without a mouse click).
Sticky Windows
- List of windows that remain on the computer screen regardless
of the virtual screen selected. The windows are identified using window title. User can
select either exact or partial title match.
Passwords (Pro)
- User - allows to specify user password and the level of
protection (Program start - protects Perfect Screens from unauthorized start, Program
position - protects Perfect Screens from unauthorized changing position, Program exit -
protects Perfect Screens from unauthorized exit, All settings - protects all settings from
unauthorized change).
- Administrator - allows to specify administrator
password and the level of protection (Program position - protects Perfect Screens from
unauthorized changing position, Program exit - protects Perfect Screens from unauthorized
exit, All settings - protects all settings from unauthorized change).
Screen
- Force screen refresh after screen is switched
- if checked, the whole screen (all applications) is forced to refresh (repaint) after
screen is switched. This option can solve repaint problems of some applications.
- Automatically switch to screen with active application
- if checked, the Perfect Screens will automatically switches to the screen with active
application. Sometimes a user action in some application results in activating another
application (for example, if the user double-clicks MS Word document file in Explorer the
document is opened within (already running) MS Word and it is activated). If this happens
the Perfect Screens automatically switches to the screen with the newly activated
application.
- Show opened windows indicator - if
enabled, small window picture appears in lower right corner of a screen
button - only if there are some windows opened on the virtual screen
associated with the button. This feature gives a user better
survey of which virtual screens are empty and which has some
applications running.
Advanced
- Save eyes when switching... - is the special mode that
minimizes windows flickering when switching screens. If checked the switching is a little
bit slower. Default is unchecked.
- Do not show splash screen... - if checked the splash
window (the window shown when Perfect Screens is starting) is not shown at start up.
- Show number of windows ... - if checked, the number of
windows opened on each screen is shown on screen buttons and screen button tool tips.
- Do not show 'Screen icon' - if checked, the screen icon
appearing close to the upper right corner of an active window is not shown. Default is
unchecked.
- Allow 'Alt+left click' on window title - if
checked, the 'Alt+left click' has the same effect as right click on screen icon. This is
an option for those users who have screen icon disabled (by "Do not show 'Screen
icon'" option).
- Do not check for new
version - if checked, the program will not contact home page to find
out whether newer version of the software is available.
- Global items - if checked, 'Global items' submenu is
presented in Screen menu.
- Shared items (Pro) - if checked, 'Shared items' submenu is presented in 'Global items'
submenu of Screen menu. 'Shared items' submenu collects items shared among all users. This
submenu makes sense only in a case there are several users wanting to share items (either
multiple users using Perfect Screens simultaneously in network environment or multiple
users uses the same computer). Default is unchecked.
- Private items (Pro) - if checked, 'Private items' submenu is presented in Screen menu of
shared screens. 'Private items' submenu collects items private to the given users on the
shared screens. This option makes sense only in a case there are several users sharing
screens. Default is unchecked.
User management (Pro)
There is the list of user using Perfect Screens. The names in
the list are used by users to log in to Perfect Screens when it is starting. Each user has
its own settings saved under his name. It is possible to add, copy, rename and delete
users from the list. If there is an administrator password defined only administrator has
rights to manipulate user list.
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Screen Settings
To open screen settings dialog box, select "Screen
settings..." item from screen button menu.
- Name - the name of the screen that appears on the
screen button and ToolTip.
- Shortcut key - shortcut key allows switching among
screens just using keyboard.
- Change Icon - allows to change a screen button icon. If
no icon should be displayed then put "none" word to "File name": field
in the "Change icon" dialog window.
- Change sound - allows to define sound that should be
played when the screen is entering.
- Local wallpaper - if checked, a
wallpaper and custom color can be defined for the given screen using
"Define" button .
Default is unchecked.
- Show Screen menu as a toolbar - shows the toolbar
window with buttons representing chosen Screen menu items. If Perfect Screens runs in
integrated bar this option is always checked. Default is checked.
- This is the default screen - if checked, the program
will switch to this screen after start.
- Move screen button << - allows to reorganize the
screen buttons order (moves the screen button left).
- Move screen button >> - allows to reorganize the
screen buttons order (moves the screen button right).
Advanced (Pro):
- Alt+right click takes effect on the desktop only - if
checked, user can pop up Screen menu by right click (plus Alt key pressed) on the desktop
(out of any window) only. If unchecked, user can pop up Screen menu by right click (plus
Alt key pressed) anywhere on the screen. Default is unchecked.
- Big Screen - if checked, user can scroll screen by
moving mouse to the edge of the screen. The screen is scrollable only if there is a window
exceeding an edge of the screen. Default is unchecked.
- Automatically show active window - if this option is checked, Perfect Screens
automatically scrolls big screen so that the whole content of the currently active window
is visible. This option is available only when "Big screen" option is checked.
Default is unchecked.
- Protect from unauthorized access - if checked, the
program requires user password any time a user want to enter the screen. This option is
available only if a user password is defined ("Passwords" section of the
"Main settings"). Default is unchecked.
- Protect from unauthorized modifications - if checked,
the program requires user password any time a user want to enter the screen settings. This
option is available only if a user password is defined ("Passwords" section of
the "Main settings"). Default is unchecked.
- Share - press to add this screen to list of shared
screens. Shared screens can be used by other users either in network environment or on the
same computer. For more information see "Administrator" section of this help.
Exclusive Windows - the list of windows
(window title) that are exclusively located on the screen. If a window from the
list is opened on a different screen then it is automatically moved to the screen where it
is listed in "Exclusive Windows" list.
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Item Settings
To open this dialog box, select "Properties..."
menu item from the application button menu or screen item menu.
- Item Name - the name that appears in the Screen menu
(and on the toolbar button and its ToolTip if the toolbar is enabled).
- Item Type - select from application (or document file),
submenu, directory or hotkey type.
- Document/Application - specified document or application is opened. There are also
www addresses (URL) allowed if MS Internet Explorer is installed.
- Submenu - creates new submenu in the menu hierarchy.
- Directory (Folder) - if such item is clicked window with files (only relevant
file types you define) of the specified directory is shown.
- Hotkey - when clicked specified hotkey is pressed. This allows to associate
macros (defined in Perfect Keyboard utility, for example) or other hotkeys with buttons
and fire them by mouse click.
- Macro - creates macro using one of the Pitrinec Software macro program (Perfect Keyboard, WinScheduler, ToolsWorks, ToolbarPro, ClickyMouse). At least
one of the macro programs must be installed on the system in order to be able to use
macros. The macro program must be of version 4.51 or newer.
- Change Icon - allows to change the item icon. If no
icon should be displayed then put "none" word to "File name:" field of
the "Change icon" dialog window. To use default icon (recommended) put
"default" there.
- Target - the application (or document file) path or URL
or hotkey. Depends on item type described above.
- Parameters - parameters to be passed to the launched
application.
- Start in - the application default directory.
- Shortcut key - allows to launch the application
pressing specified key combination on the keyboard.
- Open - the initial window state (restored, minimized,
maximized).
- Show item in Toolbar - if checked, the item is visible
in the toolbar as a button.
Advanced:
- Separate by menu separator - if checked, places menu
separator above the item in the Screen menu. Doesn't affect toolbar.
- Save size and position - if checked, the program saves
the last size and position of the application's window. Apply this option with caution
only to those applications which do not save size and position themselves.
- Open automatically ... - if checked, the application is
automatically launched when the screen is entered.
- Close automatically ... - if checked, the application
is automatically closed when leaving the screen.
- Visible on all screens - if checked, the application
launched is visible and accessible on all screens. Useful for applications like clocks,
resource meters, etc. that user wants to have available from any screen.
- Protect from unauthorized access - if checked, the
program requires user password any time a user want to launch the item. This option is
available only if a user password is defined ("Passwords" section of the
"Main settings").
- Protect from unauthorized modifications - if checked,
the program requires user password any time a user want to enter the item settings. This
option is available only if a user password is defined ("Passwords" section of
the "Main settings").
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Macros
Macro is a set of actions (or just one
action) performed automatically on a user’s request in order to complete
desired task. The task can be as simple as inserting the user’s address into
a document as well as much more complex (for example: starting a program,
automatic clicking on particular controls in order to do something and then
closing the program). Macros are usually used to automate repetitive tasks
in order to save great amount of time and avoid possible mistakes
(mistyping, for example).
Perfect Screens is capable to run macros created in one of
Pitrinec's macro
program (Macro ToolsWorks,
Perfect Keyboard,
WinScheduler,
MacroToolbar,
ClickyMouse).
How Does It Work?
1) Create a macro in the macro program and assign it a name.
2) In the Perfect Screens, create a new "macro" item and specify the same
macro name here.
3) Now, when you click on the Perfect Screens item the macro will be
started.
Important notes:
1) The macro program must be running at the same time the Perfect Screens is
running.
2) The macro program must be version 4.61 or newer.
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Networking (Pro)
Perfect Screens, when installed on a network server, can be
used by multiple users without necessity to install any part of the software on a client's
workstation. Everything needed resides on the network server. This approach
very simplifies the software administration (upgrading, new users, etc.).
Perfect Screens administrator creates a list of users and each user then can log into
Perfect Screens under the name assigned by administrator. A user can customize
Perfect Screens (add screens, items, change position, etc.) and all his changes are
automatically saved in his profile.
All users can share screens (usually prepared by administrator) and items (applications
installed on the network server, for example). Only administrator has rights to
delete or modify shared screens and items but other users still can add their own private
items to a shared screen menu and customize it in this manner.
Shared screens:
- To add a screen to list of shared screens go to the
"Screen settings" dialog box and press "Share" button.
To delete a shared screen from the list of shared screens go to "Add
screen" dialog box, select the screen in the list and press "Remove"
button. This will remove the screen from the list so that it will not be available
for other users anymore. Only administrator can perform this operation.
To add a shared screen to Perfect Screens bar go to "Add
screen" dialog box, select desired screen from the list and press "Select shared
screen". The "Add screens" dialog window appears only if there are
already some shared screens presented in the list.
To delete a shared screen from the Perfect Screens bar
just use the "Delete screen" operation. This will remove the screen from
the bar but it is not deleted from the list of shared screens and it is still available
for other users.
Shared items:
Shared items are collected in the "Shared items"
submenu. The submenu is the first item of "Global items" submenu.
Each of these submenus can be enabled/disabled in "Main settings" in
"Advanced" section. All menu items of "Shared items" submenu are
common for all users.
Private items:
"Private items" can be found only in Screen menus
of shared screens. The submenu contains items private to the given user. A user can
customize a shared screen by adding private items to the Screen menu (and toolbar).
Administrator:
Administrator manages list of users in the "Main
settings" in "User management" section. Administrator also specifies the
level of Perfect Screens protection from changes by other user. The level of protection
can be set in the "Main settings" in "Passwords" section. Only
administrator has rights to add, delete and modify shared screens and add, delete and
modify shared items.
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Main menu
Because there are several different Perfect Screens
configurations there are also different ways how to pop up main menu. The main menu
is either available on right-click on empty toolbar area (integrated bar mode) or on
right-click on arrow icon button (two bars, unix-like) or on right-click on arrow icon in
System tray area (minimal configuration). [See overview
pictures].
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Application button menu, Screen item menu
The menu appears on right-click on a Screen menu item or on
an application button.
[See overview pictures].
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Screen button menu
The menu appears on right-click on a Screen button.
[See overview pictures].
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Application operations
This menu appears on right-click on screen icon (the screen
icon shows near the upper-right corner of active (foreground) application) or on
right-click on an application's item in the screen button
menu.
[See overview pictures].
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Support
Support is provided on support@pitrinec.com
and is FREE for all the registered users. When requesting help or reporting bugs
please include:
- Your name:
- Registration number:
- The program version:
- Operating system (Win95/98/NT):
- PC configuration (Processor, RAM):
- Problem description:
Please, keep in mind that more information you provide us
about your problem give us better chance to find a solution.
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License agreement
Upon your acceptance of this Agreement, Pitrinec Software
(Author) grants to you a nonexclusive license to use the Perfect Screens software
(Software).
1.Use of the Software.
The Software has been released for distribution as a SHAREWARE and may be distributed at
no cost.
You are granted a license to try the Software for 30 days. After this time, the Software
must be registered or removed from the system.
You may install the Software on a hard disk or other storage device; install and use the
Software on a file server for use on a network for the purposes of (i) permanent
installation onto hard disks or other storage devices or (ii) use of the Software over
such network; and make backup copies of the Software.
2.Restrictions.
Unregistered use of the Software after the 30-day evaluation period is in violation of
international copyright laws.
You are not allowed to modify, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or
otherwise attempt to discover the source code of the Software.
The number of the (licensed) Software instances running at the same time may not exceed
the number of licenses purchased.
You are not allowed to redistribute or provide to 3rd party already registered versions of
the Software as well as you may not publish the registration number(s) that unlock the
Software.
The Software can be distributed only as the package provided by the Author. This package
cannot be change in any way without written Author's permission.
3.No Warranty.
ALL WARRANTIES ARE DISCLAIMED, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SOFTWARE. THE ENTIRE
RISK OF THE USE OR THE RESULT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE REMAINS WITH THE USER.
Unpublished-rights reserved under international copyright laws.
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