Q How do I use the Shortcut Keys feature within Settings?
A Ok, just click on the
Shortcuts Tab in Settings/Options and here you will find that you can add/subtract as many shortcuts as you want. Start off by selecting your shortcut type ("Gadget" or "System") and complete the rest. When you are done adding all shortcuts you want, click on "OK" and all shortcuts will be added. You will need to give focus to the gadget before pressing on your user-defined shortcut keys in order for them to work.
Note: While you are able to select any shortcut key combinations, shortcut keys that belong to Windows, or one's that you've defined in Windows yourself, will not work, unless you have stripped these shortcut keys from Windows. This includes shortcut combinations such as: CTRL+ALT+DELETE, CTRL+SHIFT+Escape, CTRL+Escape, and many more.
To get a list of Windows filepaths that can be used to open up your Control Panel, System Configuration Utility, Network Connections, and more visit:
System Filepath Shortcut Keys for ACS 1.3.0+.
Although you may change these, the following lists the default Shortcut Keys that are set automatically within the gadget.
Click to Show Default Shortcut Keys...
DEFAULT APPEARANCE SHORTCUT KEYS
CTRL+T
Toggles the Top Text Area Display (Show/Hide).
CTRL+Right
Changes the gadgets background to the next theme.
CTRL+Left
Changes the gadgets background to the previous theme.
CTRL+Up
Changes the Button Images to the Next ButtonSet within the gadget.
CTRL+Down
Changes the Button Images to the Previous ButtonSet within the gadget.
ALT+Right
Changes the Arrow Images to the Next ImageSet within the gadget.
ALT+Left
Changes the Arrow Images to the Previous ImageSet in the gadget.
ALT+Up
Changes the Lock/Unlock Images to the Next ImageSet in the gadget.
ALT+Down
Changes the Lock/Unlock Images to the Previous ImageSet in the gadget.
SHIFT+Left
Sets the Previous Slider Image within the gadget.
SHIFT+Right
Sets the Next Slider Image within the gadget.
DEFAULT TIME DELAY SHORTCUT KEYS
DELETE
Sets the current Time Delay to 0 Days, 0 Hours, 0 Minutes, and 0 Seconds.
SHIFT+D
Adds 1 Day to the current Button Actions Time Delay.
ALT+D
Subtracts 1 Day from the current Button Actions Time Delay.
SHIFT+H
Adds 1 Hour to the current Button Actions Time Delay.
ALT+H
Subtracts 1 Hour from the current Button Actions Time Delay.
SHIFT+M
Adds 1 Minute to the current Button Actions Time Delay.
ALT+M
Subtracts 1 Minute from the current Button Actions Time Delay.
SHIFT+S
Adds 1 Second to the current Button Actions Time Delay.
ALT+S
Subtracts 1 Second from the current Button Actions Time Delay.
Note: If you press & hold either SHIFT or ALT while holding in D, H, M, or S, the Time Delay for that time will increase/decrease rapidly until it gets to the Maximum/Minimum Value allowed for that category of time.
While these are the Default Shortcut Keys that are present upon first use of the gadget, these are subject to change at any time by you, since Shortcut Keys are now User-Defined!
Q What happened to the "Restore Default Appearance Settings" button? What's the deal with these Styles? How does it work?
A There is no need for the "
Restore Default Appearance Settings" anymore now that ACS has expanded to include styles. The
Restore Default Appearance Settings button has been replaced with an ACS Style (
Default.acs). To restore ACS Default Appearance Settings just click on the "Open Style..." button and select "Default.acs", then Open, All Done! Now just click "OK" in Settings to use this style in the gadget.
ACS Styles (*.acs) are simply just a quick way for you to open and save all of your specific settings included in the Appearance Tab within ACS.
Click to Show More Info.
Ok, so you are now asking yourself, When would this be useful to me? Let's say you have found a perfect style that you are truly satisfied with, perhaps it took you about 15 - 30 minutes of editing to get it just right. Now, out of nowhere, ACS has a new update available. Right away you are thinking, no no, will take a lot of time to set it up the way I have it now, which is perfect... Arrrgg!!! Or maybe you aren't thinking this. In any case, you no longer need to set aside time for this since you have already did this once before and saved your style (.acs file). If all of your styles are saved within the "styles" folder within the Gadget's Root Directory (By Default), then before updating you should remove the styles directory and then after updating, place the styles directory back within the Gadget's Root Directory, then you can simply click the "Open Style..." button, select your style (.acs file), open it, and tada! Your saved ACS Style now loads all of the Appearance Settings you had in the previous version of ACS. Now you are all set to go!
You can save as many ACS Styles as you want. Therefore, if you are the type of user that changes their Desktop Theme regularly, you can create an ACS Style for each of your themes, and just open the .acs file in the Settings/Appearance Tab to apply the style.
Please Note: ACS Styles are restricted to the images that are provided with ACS. This means that the images used are linked to the Root Gadget Directory.You can download some ACS Styles to use within ACS @:
Graphics Mayhem - Advanced Control System Styles. Please feel free to share your ACS Styles on Graphics Mayhem also.
Q Can I add or subtract color options, in Settings - Appearance Tab, for all text displayed within the gadget?
A YES, you can add and/or subtract as many colors as you want by editing the daColors array within the
colors.js file.
The daColors array must be in the following format:
- daColors[0] = "your_color_here";
- daColors[1] = "your_color_here";
- daColors[2] = "your_color_here";
- daColors[3] = "... and so on.";
daColors array must start at 0 and increment by 1 for each value to be inputted. You may enter the CSS Name of the color or the Hexadecimal value surrounded by quotes. I recommend inputting only the colors that you will be using, since the more colors you have the longer the Settings dialog box will take to load. Once you are done editing the file, save it and reload settings for changes to take effect.
Important Note: If you remove colors that are to be used in any styles (*.acs files) that you open, the ACS Style will not be presented properly.
Q What's the point of using the Stealth Locking feature when anyone can just go to the Start Menu and perform any of Vista's Shutdown commands?
A Included with this gadget are 2 Registry files, 1 for hiding all of Windows Vista's Shutdown Options:
Hide All Vista Shutdown Options, and 1 for showing all of Vista's Shutdown Options,
Restore All Vista's Shutdown Options. Hiding all of Vista Shutdown Options within the Vista Start Menu will only take effect, in full, on your user account. Other user accounts will see options for Shutdown in Vista's Start Menu. After adding the values to the registry you'll need to perform any of the gadgets system actions before all of the changes will take effect on the Vista Start Menu.
Q I need to be able to Run the C-Prompt Button Action as an Administrator instead of its normal mode, is this possible to do from within the ACS Gadget?
A Yes. It's possible to configure Windows Vista to always open Command Prompt in an elevated session via the Windows Registry. Included with this gadget are 2 registry files, 1 that will
Always Run C-Prompt As Administrator.... Note, doing this will bring up the UAC Prompt verifying user credentials before continuing, unless you have User Account Control disabled. And another 1 which will
Return C-Prompt back to Normal Mode, i.e. not running as an Administrator.
Q How are you able to display the Switch User screen while other gadgets take me to the Lock screen?
A We simply execute the
tsdiscon.exe file that is located in your Windows\System directory. However, if you are running Windows Vista Home Basic, or Windows Vista Home Premium, this file does not exist on your computer. So, in order to make this button action compatible with all versions of Windows Vista, a C# application will be executed, which performs the Switch User task, if the gadget can not find
tsdiscon.exe in your Windows\System directory.
Q Can I use both, the Hibernate & Sleep Button Actions, or do I have to disable Hibernation within Vista before I can put the computer to Sleep?
A Yes, both System Actions will work individually from one another, No you do not need to disable Hibernate for the Sleep System Action to work.
Click to Show More Info. Many gadgets that perform a Sleep (a.k.a. Standby) System Action require you to disable Hibernation before the Sleep Action can be performed. This is because these gadgets are calling upon the SetSuspendState function (which takes 3 parameters) from within powrprof.dll, and are unable to set any of the 3 parameters of this function using other conventional functions such as System.Shell.execute. If no parameters are set, Hibernate automatically is set to True (unless disabled within Vista), thus causing a Hibernate System action to be performed at all times. You can not (to my knowledge) set the boolean values within the SetSuspendState function using the System.Shell.execute function. And there is (again, to my knowledge) no way within the WSH (Windows Script Host) to set any of the parameters of the SetSuspendState function. Therefore, Advanced Control System executes a C# Application, which is necessary to perform the Sleep System Action. This makes it possible to not require disabling of the Hibernate System Action in Windows Vista in order for ACS to put your pc to Sleep. Hibernate & Sleep are 2 different System Actions and are treated as such.
Q What is the Gadget-Proof checkbox within the Locked (Stealth Mode) feature? And how does it work?
A The gadget-proof option is a way to lock all new instances of the ACS gadget with the same password. Old instances of the gadget will not be locked. For example, if you have 2 instances of the ACS Gadget on the vista sidebar and you decide to Lock (enabling Gadget-Proof) either of those instances, the other instance will not obtain the same password. The main purpose of this feature is to prevent any system actions, from being performed within the gadget, without a password, even if a new gadget is created, or if the gadget is closed and another is created. A Password will still be needed! To enable this feature for use within all gadgets, just place a checkmark in
Make Password Gadget-Proof before submitting your password and hit OK.
Click to Show More Info. If you clear a password within any ACS gadget, this will also clear Gadget-Proofing for all new instances of the gadget, but will not clear the passwords for any old instances of the gadget and will need to be unlocked individually if you plan on keeping the gadget in the sidebar, otherwise you can close the gadget and start a new instance of the ACS gadget if needed.
Q Is it possible to make the Locked/Unlocked text blank?
A Yes, all special characters are permitted, therefore in the text fields, you can type in either of these (which is the same as the space character):
or
 
Q I have inputted a Time Delay for my System Button Actions, how can I tell how much time is left, before the System Action is performed, once it has started?
A There are 2 ways you can find out how much time is left. First way is to add the "Time Delay" option into the Top Text Area and it will tell you automatically within the gadget interface itself. The Second way is to click on any System Button Action again, and a flyout will display, showing how much time is remaining for the previous action that was initiated. You can Cancel this action or keep it running.
Q How can I suggest a gadget feature? Comment on the Gadget? And/Or Report Bugs within the Gadget?
A You may post a new topic at THL in the
"Advanced Control System" Messageboard. You will need to be a registered user on THL in order to do this. You may also contact me personally @
sologhost1@verizon.net, the subject of your e-mail should be:
ACS Gadget - Comments/Suggestions/Bugs. You can, ofcourse, comment on the gadget from whereever you downloaded it from. When reporting any bugs within the gadget, be sure to provide your Operating System Information.
Q I forgot my password and answer to my question and I have gadget-proof enabled. How can I unlock this gadget so that I can use it?
A Instructions on how to disable the lock on the ACS gadget, if Gadget-Proof is enabled, has already been provided to you and will not be discussed about again, for obvious, security reasons.
Q Where can I go to update this gadget when an update becomes available?
A If an update is available you will know immediately upon loading of the Settings/Options of the ACS Gadget. A link in there will generate at the bottom of the General Tab pointing to the updated version. Although you may have downloaded ACS elsewhere, updates for the ACS Gadget will only be hosted on THL located in the
Advanced Control System Messageboard. All other versions will be listed in there as well. So you should download the version that suits you. Although if you don't have the latest Version you will be notified each time you open up the Settings for ACS.
Q I like this gadget so much that I would like to donate towards the continued development of this gadget. How can I do this?
A I will not accept any donations for this gadget. The joy, and knowledge obtained from creating it was enough for me. This gadget is 100% FREE. Any payment/donation attempts will be DENIED!
Q I have my own images that I would like to use for buttons, how can I accomplish this?
A There is currently no way to import your button images from within the gadget, however, you can go to the directory of where the gadget is installed and replace the button images that are located in the img/buttsetts folder with the corresponding # preceeding the name of the button. Button image dimensions are 20x20 pixels and are .png format.