Can't close alert box (resolution issue)

[Hagrinas Mivali]

When new definitions are downloaded, an alert tries to display in the lower
right hand corner of the screen. There's no way I can find of moving or
dragging the alert box, so if the button is off the screen, I can't close
it.

If I am running a screen saver, and the resolution of the screen saver is
set higher than the resolution that I normally use for my desktop, then
Microsoft AntiSpyware will try to place the alert in the lower right hand
corner with respect to the resolution of the screen saver. But when the
screen saver goes away, I see only part of the alert. It blocks part of my
screen and there is no way to close it. Of course, this assumes that my
screen saver is active when the alert "appears."

When this problem happens, I can manually set my resolution to a higher
resolution, click OK, and then set it back. Or I can log off and log back
on, or Ctrl-Alt-Del to kill it, assuming I can figure out what to kill. Or I
can live with part of my screen blocked until every application I'm using
can be safely closed. But I can't find a legitimate way to get that piece of
the alert from blocking things or make it go away with a mouse click or with
ordinary keystrokes.

 

[Ron Chamberlin]

Hi,
There have been other issues related to hi res and even dual monitors
regarding the display. Look for it to be fixed in the next version.

Ron Chamberlin
MS-MVP

 

[Bill Sanderson]

This is a wierd one. I suspect you may, in addition to a large resolution
on your screen, have set the character size larger. The UI used for the
beta versions distributed thus far doesn't do well under these
circumstances, as you've seen.

Ron's right--this will change in a later beta version, but we can't predict
when that will come, I'm afraid.

 

[Hagrinas Mivali]

My standard resolution is 1152x864 with "small fonts" (Normal size 96dpi)
and the screen saver is set at 1280x1024. I'm not having the types of
problems with messages truncated, etc, that go with large fonts.

Regardless of the screensaver issue, if you have a display in one resolution
when the alert box appears in the lower right hand corner, and you leave the
alert open and change your resolution to a lower one, I would suspect that
the alert will end up only partly visible, assuming that the resolutions are
the ones I mentioned.

Other applications can typically handle resolution changes, but I'm not sure
how alerts typically do. But there are two factors here that are atypical,
which makes it more of an issue for this product: The alert appears in the
corner instead of in the center, and scans are often done when the computer
is unattended and a screensaver is likely to appear. I don't recall if I had
similar issues with other alerts or windows, but if I did, I assume that it
was not an issue since I could drag them elsewhere.

I think that the inability to drag the alert is more of an issue than how it
responds to a changing resolution, per se. But in the long run, if the
product is enhanced, it might not be relevant either. If the alert fades
away or drops down and disappears as Norton does, or ends up with a push pin
or a "do not show this again" check box, or can be dragged or any number of
other things, this may become academic.

I also don't know how common it is for users to have a different resolution
for a screensaver and for normal work. I'm tempted to say that it's
uncommon except among more sophisicated users who could at least understand
what's going on here, but I might be wrong about this. My screensaver makes
it easy to set its resolution when other options are set, and changing the
standard resolution might be something that typical users cannot do. We've
probably all seen quality systems set to low resolutions since the owners
had no clue how to change it. These are the ones who will get frustrated
when the alert just hangs there and there's nothing they can do.

 

[Bill Sanderson]

I did get a look at this alert with today's def updates. Even on an
ordinary screen with standard resolution choices it looks incomplete. I was
unable to move it or drag it anywhere--I've been able to do this with alert
dialogs, for example.