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Appendix B: Impulse Dock

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You must have Impulse installed, then you will see the option to download the optional "Impulse Dock" on the "My Software" tab as a free download. (In "Preferences" you must have "Show freeware & demos" checked (default) to see Impulse Dock as an application to download.)

Impulse Dock - listed as a free download under My Software.

The Impulse Dock is a way to keep some of the best features of Impulse on your desktop, but in a more compact fashion. Plus with autohide turned on (by default) it slides neatly off your desktop until you want to see it. In Impulse (after installing the Dock), click on the "Minimize to Dock" Dock icon in the upper, right hand corner of the Impulse window.

Click the minimize to dock icon located in the upper, right corner of Impulse.

The Impulse window will disappear and be replaced by a Dock on the bottom of your monitor.

Impulse Dock as seen on the desktop.

If this is the first time minimizing, you will see a small message box welcoming you to the Impulse Dock. If you do not want to see this screen again, check the box "Do not show me this message again", then click OK or X to close it.

e to Impulse Dock.

The Impulse Dock consists of five icons divided by a Separator (vertical bar used to separate groups of icons). To the left of the separator are three Shortcut icons (i.e. Community, Store, Impulse) which launch an application when left clicked on. The four remaining icons to the right of the separator are Category icons which when left clicked on, open a Drawer above it with Shortcut icons to programs. If a drawer has no shortcuts, it will say "Empty" when the category icon is clicked on.

Dock shown with an open drawer.

Summary of what happens when you click each icon:

  • Community - launches your web browser and loads the http://www.impulsedriven.net/ website displaying the Impulse blogging site.
  • Store - launches your web browser and loads the http://www.impulsedriven.com website displaying the Impulse Store.
  • Impulse - runs Impulse (maximizes) itself, and the dock continues to run.
  • My Software - opens a drawer above it with shortcuts to installed applications from Impulse's My Software tab.
  • My Games - opens a drawer with shortcuts to installed games from Impulse's My Games tab.

Modifying the Dock

You can modify the Impulse Dock by right-clicking on it which opens a menu. The choices on the menu vary depending on what you click on (i.e. category icon, shortcut icon on dock, shortcut icon in a drawer, separator). You can add new category, shortcut and separators to the dock. It is recommended to use the separator(s) to keep the categories separate from your shortcuts to help avoid confusion.

Right-click on the dock to open this menu.

You can name the new icons anything you like and add shortcuts to any program on your computer, not just software from Impulse. You can also move icons & separators around your dock by dragging and dropping. You can only add shortcuts to drawers. You can move any of the icons (i.e. Community, Store, Impulse, My Software, My Games) to a different position on the dock. When you launch Impulse, only the category icons (i.e. My Software, My Games) and any you created in Impulse's Manage Tabs, will also change the order of the tabs in Impulse to match. The following table explains each menu option in detail:

Quick Reference

 Action

 What it does
Open  If a shortcut is clicked on, selecting "Open" will launch (run) the program.
If a category is clicked on, selecting "Open" will open (expand) the drawer. 
Expand  Opens the drawer for that category icon. 
Contract  Closes the drawer for that category icon. 
Add  If a shortcut, category or separator on the dock is clicked, the "Add" menu will include options to add a new: Category, Shortcut or Separator.

If a shortcut in a drawer is clicked, the "Add" menu will give you the option to add a new Shortcut to the drawer.
Hide shortcut  Hides the selected shortcut from being visible.
Delete category Deletes the selected category. 
Delete shortcut  Deletes the selected shortcut. 
Delete separator  Deletes the selected separator.
Edit...  If a shortcut, allows you to rename it.
If a category, allows you to change the icon & change the name.
Autohide  Checked, (default) when the cursor is moved off the dock, it will slide off the monitor revealing a slight edge so you know it is there.

Unchecked, the dock will remain visible on the desktop regardless of where the cursor is.
Edge activation  Works in conjunction with "Autohide", in that the dock will slide back out (open) when the mouse is at the edge of the screen. 
Run at startup  Checked, (default) the Impulse Dock will automatically run when Windows is started.

Unchecked, the dock will not load at startup.  To run the dock you must click the Minimize to dock. icon in Impulse. 
Close the dock  Exits the dock.  To restart, in Impulse click on the Minimize to dock. icon.

 

Adding a Category

To add a new Category, right-click on the dock where you want it to be placed and select "Add", then "Category". (You can always drag it elsewhere later, if the location is not right.) A dialog will open asking you for the "Title" of your new category icon. After typing that in, select an icon from the selection below and click Save. (Click Cancel or X to abort.) You can always change this later, if you decide you want a different title or icon. To make changes, right-click on the category to change and select "Edit".

Add/Edit a Category.

To delete a category, right click on the icon & select "Delete category". Click "Yes, Delete this category and all its shortcuts". (Click "No, Do not delete this category" or the X button to abort.) Check the box "Don't ask me this question again" to avoid this prompt in the future.

Delete Category.

Adding a Shortcut

If you right click on the dock & select "Add", then "Shortcut", the message box (below) will be displayed. Click OK or X to close it. To add a new shortcut to the dock, locate the file on your computer & drag it onto the category you want the shortcut to appear under or onto the dock to the desired location. If you do not get it right, simply right click on the icon and drag it to where you want it or into a drawer.

Add a shortcut to dock.

You can drag icons off the desktop, off the Quick Launch bar (use right-click drag to make a copy of the shortcut, left-click will remove it from the Quick Launch menu), drag out of Windows Explorer, etc.. Eventually if you add enough icons to your dock, it will display arrows on each end so you can scroll through the icons. Click the left Left arrow arrow to scroll the icons to the right and click the right Right arrow arrow to move them to the left.

Dock with arrows to scroll through icons.

To delete a shortcut, right click on the icon & select "Delete shortcut". Click "Yes, Delete this shortcut". (Click "No, Do not delete this shortcut" or the X button to abort.) Check the box "Don't ask me this question again" to avoid this prompt in the future.

Confirm delete shortcut.

You can also drag the desired shortcut off the dock to delete it, you will be asked to confirm it. Click "Yes, Delete this shortcut". (Click "No, Do not delete this shortcut" or the X button to abort.) Check the box "Always use this answer" to use the same answer (Yes), every time you delete a shortcut by dragging it off the dock.

Confirm drag delete shortcut.

Adding a Separator

To add a separator, right click where you want it to be placed and select "Add", then "Separator". You can right click on it & drag it to a different location, if desired.

Separator between two icons on dock.

To delete a separator, right click on it and select "Delete separator". Click "Yes, Delete this separator". (Click "No, Do not delete this separator" or the X button to abort.) Check the box "Don't ask me this question again" to avoid this prompt in the future.

Confirm deletion of separator.

 

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