ActiveExit Configuration utility: Screen Savers |
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ActiveExit Configuration utility: Screen Savers |
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You can use this page to set up the screen savers for your computer and also specify actions to end the user's session after a period of inactivity. Unlike the standard screen saver configuration utility of Windows, ActiveExit allows you to specify not only the screen saver for a user, but also a different screen saver that should be displayed when no user is logged on to Windows. You can specify not only the timeout interval that activates a screensaver, but also limit the running time of the screen saver and log off the user or even shut down the computer automatically after that.
This page contains the following areas:
When this option is checked, it activates the ActiveExit screen saver feature for all users of the computer. If this option is not checked, then the original screen saver settings (that were in effect before you have installed ActiveExit) are restored.
Enter the number of minutes to wait for user's inactivity before activating a screen saver or ending the user's session.
Select the screen saver in the list that you want the computer to display on its screen when the idle timeout is up. If you don't want any screensaver to be displayed, select (None).
This area lets you specify how long the screen saver should be displayed before ending the user's session if a user is logged on to Windows and the computer has not been locked.
Enter the number of minutes to display the screensaver before ending the user's session. This area has no effect if you have not specified a screensaver in the list above.
If this option is checked, then if the user dismisses the screen saver before the timeout is up, the computer will be locked and the user will need to enter his or her password to return to Windows.
Note that ActiveExit supports the "grace period" (which is usually set to 5 seconds): If the user dismisses the screen saver within the "grace period", ActiveExit does not lock computer, as if you were using a regular screen saver of Windows. If you want to change the length of the "grace period", use the TweakUI utility (a part of the PowerToys set), offered by Microsoft for free download from their web site.
Select the action to end the user's session automatically if the user does not dismiss the screen saver during the timeout interval you have specified above.
If this option is selected, ActiveExit will display a message informing the user of the action it is about to take, and optionally giving the user an opportunity to cancel it. To configure the message, click on the button next to this option.
If this option is selected, ActiveExit will end the Windows session even if the user has open documents that have not been saved onto the disk. This may cause the loss of changes the user might have made to the documents s/he was working with! If this option is not selected, and there are documents with pending changes, ActiveExit will prompt the user to save them before ending the Windows session.
This area lets you specify how long the screen saver should be displayed before ending the user's session if a user is logged on to Windows and the computer has been locked by the user.
Enter the number of minutes to display the screen saver before ending the user's session. This area has no effect if you have not specified a screensaver in the list above.
Select the action to end the user's session automatically if the user has not dismissed the screen saver during the timeout interval you have specified above. Note that the Logoff action is not available, because Windows currently does not provide a way to logoff a user automatically if the computer is locked. You can specify the Restart or Shut Down actions instead. Note that such actions will be performed even if the user has unsaved changes to the documents s/he was working with, just like the Force application termination option described above. This may cause the loss of changes the user might have made to the documents s/he was working with!
If this option is selected, ActiveExit will display a message informing the user of the action it is about to take, and optionally giving the user an opportunity to cancel it. To configure the message, click on the button next to this option.
When this option is checked, ActiveExit will hide the Screen Saver page on the Display Properties window of Windows Control Panel. This should prevent users from manually changing the screen saver and thus disrupting the operation of ActiveExit.
When this option is checked, it activates the ActiveExit screen saver feature when no user is logged on to Windows. Note that Windows documentation refers to this screensaver as the "logon screen saver". If this option is not checked, then the original "logon screen saver" settings (that were in effect before you have installed ActiveExit) are restored. Note that if you enable this option, you will need to restart the computer for the new settings to become effective.
Enter the number of minutes to wait for user's inactivity before activating a screen saver or performing an action.
Select the screen saver in the list that you want the computer to display on its screen when the idle timeout is up. If you don't want any screensaver to be displayed, select (None).
Enter the number of minutes to display the screensaver before performing the action. This area has no effect if you have not specified a screen saver in the list above.
Select the action to perform automatically if the screen saver has not been dismissed during the timeout interval you have specified above.
If this option is selected, ActiveExit will display a message informing the user of the action it is about to take, and optionally giving the user an opportunity to cancel it. To configure the message, click on the button next to the option.
You can use this area to specify an alternative action to perform during the "denied" hours. (See the description of the Schedule page for more information.)
This option lets you specify an alternative message to display on the screen before performing the action during the "denied" hours.
ActiveExit performs the actions described on this page by replacing the standard screen saver of Windows with its own screen saver. If you enable the ActiveExit screen saver, and then open Control Panel - Display Properties window, then the Screen Saver page will show that no screen saver is set up for the computer. This is normal: Windows was not designed to recognize ActiveExit as a regular screensaver, and that causes it to display None in the screen saver list. Do NOT use the Control Panel - Display Properties command of Windows to set up a regular screensaver, because doing so will make ActiveExit not to perform the actions you have specified on this page. Instead, use the options described above to set up the screen saver. If you don't want other users to be able to use the Control Panel - Display Properties to change the screensaver, enable the Hide the Screen Saver page on the Display Properties window option described above.
On a related note, if you manage computers though the Group Policies, you should NOT specify the policies that enforce the screensaver settings for the computers where you plan to use ActiveExit. If you MUST enforce such policies, then use the values created by ActiveExit in the registry, under the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop, such as SCRNSAVE.EXE, and the entries with names starting with ScreenSave.... Take a note of the values created there by ActiveExit, then use such values to set up the Group Policies.
If you want to enable ActiveExit on a computer that is used by the "limited" users (that is, the users who don't have the administrator's privileges), then some of the functions of ActiveExit may not work for such users. For example, the Restart or Shutdown actions may not work for the limited users. Or, the Hide the Screen Saver page on the Display Properties window option described above may not work for the limited users, either. As an alternative to this option, you may want to use the Group Policies to restrict access to the Display Control Panel. Or, you may want to change the security attributes of the file C:/Windows/System32/desk.cpl to deny the Read & Execute and Read permissions for the limited users, and that should stop them from using the Display Control Panel, too. There could be other side effects of the limited user accounts, please be sure to test drive the fully functional evaluation version before purchasing the software to make sure it works well in your specific environment.
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