G
Guest
My second article re: Powerpro, the all singing, all dancing Windows
enhancement utility available at www.windowspowerpro.com. . .
I was reading a recent request for a program to prevent RSI while working at
the computer. The writer was looking for a program that would remind him to
take breaks at regular intervals.
I created such a program using Powerpro's timers and sticky notes functions
with a twist of its scripting function thrown it. How it works is this:
1. Create a sticky note that says "Take a break," "Rest your eyes," "Grab a
coffee" whatever. I made this a black note with the text in yellow. I sized
this note to completely cover the desktop and chose the option to 'stay on
top.' Then I closed the note.
2. Using Powerpro's scripting I created a script that will run a timer for
random intervals between 15 and 20 minutes. I wanted to avoid the monotony
of precisely scheduled breaks (must be my ADD) yet still take breaks
frequently enough to be useful.
3. Powerpro lets you set up to 26 timers (one for each letter of the
alphabet). I've never had to use more than two, since you can set up a timer
"on the fly." The only thing that matters is what happens when the timer
goes off.
In this case I set up two timers. When the first timer runs out, it does two
things:
a. opens the note which blanks out my desktop and prompts me with my message
to take a break
b. starts a second timer that runs for 2 minutes.
After two minutes, the second timer runs out and does two things:
a. it closes the note with an accompanying sound wav to remind me to get
back to work.
b. it starts the script running again for another 15 to 20 minutes.
The cycle repeats. . .
You could get much fancier. You could take advantage of the program's "open
random file" function to play a random piece of music during your break. You
could even have it open a note at random, each note with a different eye or
hand exercise to relieve the strain.
That's the beauty of this program. You can use it to "create your own" apps.
--------------
I've sometimes read requests here for a program that will open multiple
programs at once. Powerpro can do that easily.
Each toolbar that you create in Powerpro is actually a list of commands. You
can call up this list of commands from another button or toolbar. It will
run the commands in sequence like a script.
So for example, when I was on dial-up Internet, I wanted Zonealarm and the
Proxomitron to be running before I started IE. I created a command list that
opened each of these three programs in turn. However, I turned off the
option to display this command list as a toolbar.
Instead, on my main toolbar, I had a button labelled Internet. I pressed
this button and it ran the above command list "out of sight." PRESTO -- all
my programs opened up and I was ready to surf. You can even choose to
minimize them to the system tray automatically upon opening via Powerpro, if
they don't naturally have that capability.
You could get fancier, by creating a one-button toolbar, sized to 32x32
pixels and leave this on your desktop permanently. It would look to all
intents and purposes just like a normal Windows icon. One click and you're
away.
enhancement utility available at www.windowspowerpro.com. . .
I was reading a recent request for a program to prevent RSI while working at
the computer. The writer was looking for a program that would remind him to
take breaks at regular intervals.
I created such a program using Powerpro's timers and sticky notes functions
with a twist of its scripting function thrown it. How it works is this:
1. Create a sticky note that says "Take a break," "Rest your eyes," "Grab a
coffee" whatever. I made this a black note with the text in yellow. I sized
this note to completely cover the desktop and chose the option to 'stay on
top.' Then I closed the note.
2. Using Powerpro's scripting I created a script that will run a timer for
random intervals between 15 and 20 minutes. I wanted to avoid the monotony
of precisely scheduled breaks (must be my ADD) yet still take breaks
frequently enough to be useful.
3. Powerpro lets you set up to 26 timers (one for each letter of the
alphabet). I've never had to use more than two, since you can set up a timer
"on the fly." The only thing that matters is what happens when the timer
goes off.
In this case I set up two timers. When the first timer runs out, it does two
things:
a. opens the note which blanks out my desktop and prompts me with my message
to take a break
b. starts a second timer that runs for 2 minutes.
After two minutes, the second timer runs out and does two things:
a. it closes the note with an accompanying sound wav to remind me to get
back to work.
b. it starts the script running again for another 15 to 20 minutes.
The cycle repeats. . .
You could get much fancier. You could take advantage of the program's "open
random file" function to play a random piece of music during your break. You
could even have it open a note at random, each note with a different eye or
hand exercise to relieve the strain.
That's the beauty of this program. You can use it to "create your own" apps.
--------------
I've sometimes read requests here for a program that will open multiple
programs at once. Powerpro can do that easily.
Each toolbar that you create in Powerpro is actually a list of commands. You
can call up this list of commands from another button or toolbar. It will
run the commands in sequence like a script.
So for example, when I was on dial-up Internet, I wanted Zonealarm and the
Proxomitron to be running before I started IE. I created a command list that
opened each of these three programs in turn. However, I turned off the
option to display this command list as a toolbar.
Instead, on my main toolbar, I had a button labelled Internet. I pressed
this button and it ran the above command list "out of sight." PRESTO -- all
my programs opened up and I was ready to surf. You can even choose to
minimize them to the system tray automatically upon opening via Powerpro, if
they don't naturally have that capability.
You could get fancier, by creating a one-button toolbar, sized to 32x32
pixels and leave this on your desktop permanently. It would look to all
intents and purposes just like a normal Windows icon. One click and you're
away.