The following are Developer's Release Notes
(per software version)
===========================================
Power Operations On Timer - TOff
TOFF.EXE



Version 2.5.6
===============
[This version is revertible]
* In case you want to revert back to previous version of the software, you can replace the current toff.exe file with the older one (make sure to save it beforehand).
* IT IS NOT ADVISABLE to run this version along with previous versions of the software.


(1) Fixed the glitch when the "Cannot trigger operation" error might be shown if the system was sent into a suspended power state with the TOff running in the mouse & keyboard inactivity mode. The error might be displayed for the user if the system was waken up later than the inactivity period set in the software;

(2) Added new menu command "Copy As Command Line Arguments" to copy the current selection in the main window of the program to the Windows Clipboard as the command line parameters;

(3) Adjusted the way TOff uses the "start" Command Prompt command in its batch (BAT) files, namely when the empty string (i.e., "") is added before the file path to indicate empty title for the Windows-NT-based OS. This fix complies with the MS Windows OS specifications and attempts to fix some reported issues when running/opening documents/other programs;

(4) Added new Page 3 tab to the Settings to control the way Perform Now power operations are executed, meaning whether they are forced, or not;

(5) Added new Hot Keys tab to the Settings to allow a user to specify up to 4 system-wide hotkeys to perform power operations, open files/documents/web pages and control TOff operations upon a keystroke;

(6) Added support for the Inter-Process Communication between outside software and TOff through the use of the registered Windows message and the following commands: TOFF_IS_IT_ACTIVATED, TOFF_ACTIVITY_RESET, TOFF_SUSPEND, TOFF_EMULATE_HOT_KEY, TOFF_SHOW_WINDOW, TOFF_GET_TIMER_TYPE, TOFF_GET_INACTIVITY_TIMER_READING, TOFF_GET_POWER_OP;

(7) Added new functionality to run a program only if none of other instances of the same program are currently running. It is implemented through the use of an asterisk at the beginning of the program path;



Version 2.5.5
===============
[This version is revertible]
* In case you want to revert back to previous version of the software, you can replace the current toff.exe file with the older one (make sure to save it beforehand).
* IT IS NOT ADVISABLE to run this version along with previous versions of the software.


(1) Added support for the following System Registry keys: PrfmNowHardHibern, PrfmNowHardLogoff, PrfmNowHardReboot, PrfmNowHardShtDn. Those are used internally for the Hard (1) / Soft (0) operation when used with Perform Now commands. Default values are Soft (0);

(2) Added support for the following System Registry key: SBForceCritical. It is used internally for the stand-by mode on Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 to specify the Force Critical option (when this value is set to 1). Default value is 0;



Version 2.5.4
===============
[This version is revertible]
* In case you want to revert back to previous version of the software, you can replace the current toff.exe file with the older one (make sure to save it beforehand).
* IT IS NOT ADVISABLE to run this version along with previous versions of the software.


(1) Added support for international characters and re-designed internal strings storage for support of translation of the software to another language (French version release pending);

(2) Replaced the Time controls in the main window with the OS standard, which now supports local time format;

(3) Replaced "HARD" power ops with the "Soft" ones used by default in the Perform Now menu used from the "..." button on the main menu, or from the system tray;

(4) Made "Command Line Help" window to resize automatically to fit the screen;

(5) Re-designed the "Command Line Help" message window with support for formatting and international characters, made it more readable;

(6) Added support for 'nitd' command line parameter to specify network adapter's "disconnected" state response (Refer to online manual for detailed explanation);

(7) Added support for 'nitmnp' command line parameter to control network adapters inactivity packet number (Refer to online manual for detailed explanation);

(8) Added support for 'dt' command line parameter, which now supersedes the 'date' parameter, and allows a user broader format to specify date for the power event. The 'date' parameter, although deprecated, is still supported. (Refer to online manual for detailed explanation);

(9) Added support for 'tm' command line parameter, which now supersedes the 'time' parameter, and allows a user broader format to specify time for the power event. The 'time' parameter, although deprecated, is still supported. (Refer to online manual for detailed explanation);

(10) Updated command line call examples in the "Command Line Help" window;

(11) Fixed the glitch when CPU activity was not calculated correctly for the appropriate timer mode in cases when CPU activity was caused by a remote access to the system. (This glitch affected the previous versions of the software running on Windows 2000/Xp/Server 2003.) This glitch may still be present on the systems running Windows 2000 or Windows XP SP1 or earlier due to the Operating System limitations;

(12) Fixed the visual glitch when the main window was becoming not responsive in case the system was sent into the Stand-by mode or hibernated with the TOff being minimized to the system tray and later restored back to the working state;

(13) Fixed the glitch when TOff may not reset inactivity timer in some cases when the system was restored from the suspended power state;

(14) Fixed the glitch when TOff may display a warning of another user being logged on when run in "Every day"/"Each time" mode with "Multi-user Safe Mode" option on. This bug manifested itself when TOff was activated right after the system rebooting for a user without user password, or employing a welcome screen tweak to login automatically;

(15) Fixed the glitch when the "Show error and pause in case cannot run a program or open a file" option checkbox in the Page 1 in the Settings window was displaying the reverse value;

(16) Put a link in the About TOff window to submit a user proposal for translation of the software to a foreign language (this service is based entirely on voluntary participation);

(17) Added internal support for the Log File, designed to trap technical messages to fascilitate debugging. (The log is disabled by default and has to be activated by a user);

(18) Added an option to the Page 2 of the Settings window to enable logging of the diagnostic events into a log file, as well as the option to provide location for the log file, and the ">" button to view the log file;

(19) Removed vestigial requirement to enable the "SeDebugPrivilege" privilege, that might have caused an anti-virus software warning;

(20) Added support to change the maximum number of elements stored in the drop-down list for the "Run a file/program/web page" option. The value can be any integer from 1 to 63. To change modify the following Registry key: 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\from Dennis Babkin\TOff\info\MRU_NumEntries

(21) Re-designed the way warnings are shown at the start of the software when certain power operations are not supported (made it less intrusive);

(22) Removed "visual flicker" when the software was activated from a command line with the '/systray' parameter, which required it to start from the system tray;

(23) Fixed the glitch when user settings were not saved if the system was shut-down, rebooted or if user logged off right after the Settings window options were changed and TOff was not closed manually thereafter;

(24) Fixed the glitch when incorrect version of the software may be reported to our support web site from the About window links;

(25) Fixed the glitch that did not reset mouse & keyboard inactivity timer right after an instance of TOff was started and a user did not move the mouse or hit a keyboard key. (This glitch affected behavior of the software running in the "Every day"/"Each time" mode after the system rebooting);

(26) Re-designed internal algorithm of detection of computer activity when PC/CPU inactivity timer and Network inactivity timer were used simultaneously. (Improved security measures designed to prevent false triggering of the power operations);

(27) Re-designed an option that was canceling the screen saver and waking the screen up in case TOff was about to display a warning screen of the imminent power operation in the sleeping system;





