Impulse includes a feature called ImpulseNow that starts when Windows loads. You will notice the Impulse icon (tray applet) in your System Tray (systray), located in the lower, right-hand corner of your monitor next to the clock. (Unless you changed the location of your Task Bar.) ImpulseNow checks with the Impulse server for software updates and gives you quick access to the features of Impulse in a compact form. ImpulseNow in your Startup folder on the Start menu:
You can have ImpulseNow check for updates, the results of the check will be displayed in a balloon message.
When there is an update for your software, the ImpulseNow icon in the system tray will flash 
. (Only software you get through Impulse will be checked for updates.)
Right Click Menu
When you right click on the ImpulseNow icon, a menu will appear allowing you to select from: Settings, Help (this manual on the web), On The Web (sub-menu) links to Stardock web sites, and Close (ImpulseNow).
Quick Reference
Action |
What it does |
Configuration |
|
| Settings... |
Opens a tabbed dialog box with various options for controlling how ImpulseNow works. (More information on Settings will be covered later in this chapter.) |
Help |
|
| Help |
Launches your web browser (i.e. Internet Explorer) and displays this manual. |
| On The Web |
Displays a sub-menu of links to Stardock web sites:
- Stardock Web Site - displays Stardock web site.
- Impulse Web Site - displays Impulse site.
- Frequently Asked Questions - displays the Stardock FAQ with common questions and answers.
- Serial Lookup - displays the Stardock Support page for retrieving your serial number if you lost it.
- Impulse Support - displays Impulse Support web site.
- Stardock Support - displays Stardock Support web site.
- Download Additional Themes/Skins! - displays the popular WinCustomize.com web site where you can download thousands of free themes and skins for various software products. Skins are graphic elements that replace portions of your Windows computer for a new & different look.
|
| Close |
This will stop ImpulseNow from running and remove the icon from the system tray. To re-run ImpulseNow, locate the shortcut on your Windows Start Menu, under All Programs, then Startup and click on the ImpulseNow icon.
|
Left Click Menu
When you left click on ImpulseNow, you will see a different menu appear from when you right clicked on it. The options allow you to open Impulse, allows you to see all of your software in Impulse with the ability to run it, view any programs that have updates ready for download, check for updates and change settings.
Quick Reference
Action |
What it does |
| Open Impulse |
Opens Impulse, unless it is already open. |
Application Groups |
|
| My Software (sub-menu) |
Displays a list of installed software on the "My Software" tab in Impulse. Click on an application to run it. |
| My Games (sub-menu) |
Displays a list of installed software on the "My Games" tab in Impulse. Click on a game to run it.
|
Updates |
|
| View Updates... |
If any updates are available for download, this will display a list of those programs in a window.
If you would like to open Impulse to see details and download
update(s), click  . (Click  or  to abort.) |
| Check for Updates |
Forces ImpulseNow to check for updates, a status message will be displayed with the results.
|
Configuration |
|
| Settings... |
Opens a tabbed dialog box with various options for controlling how ImpulseNow works. (More information on Settings will be covered next.) |
Settings
The "Settings" in ImpulseNow allows you to make a number of configuration changes to how it operates. There are three tabs (i.e. General, Advanced, About). General has to do with icons, links and updates. Advanced allows you to hide or show categories of software and add/change proxy settings if your computer is behind a proxy server (i.e. business network). The About tab displays the version of ImpulseNow and other basic information.
General Tab - Quick Reference
Action |
What it does |
General |
|
| Load Impulse Now on Startup |
Checked, (default) loads ImpulseNow when Windows starts up (i.e. after you turn on the computer or restart Windows).
Unchecked, ImpulseNow will not automatically run when Windows starts. |
| Hide notification icon when inactive |
Checked, hides the notification icon when inactive.
Unchecked, (default) notification icon is visible when inactive. |
| Show 'Links' on main menu |
Checked, links to News, Community and Chat appear on the left-click menu.
- News - launches your web browser and displays the Impulse News site.
- Community - launches web browser and displays Impulse Community blogging web site.
- Chat - opens Impulse on the Chat window (under Community).
Unchecked, (default) these links will not appear on the menu. |
| Menu icon size: |
Allows you to change the size of the icons for the programs listed under "My Software" and "My Games" to:  (default), Medium Icons or Large Icons. |
Allow Impulse Now to ... |
|
| Allow Impulse Now to check for updates |
Checked, (default) allows ImpulseNow to check for updates by default every 180 minutes. You can change the number of minutes between updates.
Unchecked, grays out all update related checkbox options and keeps ImpulseNow from checking for updates. |
| Show 'Check for Updates' on main menu |
Checked, (default) option "Check for Updates" will appear on the left click menu.
Unchecked, this option will not appear on the menu. |
| Display notification balloons |
Checked, (default) when updates are available a balloon message will appear over the system tray notifying you.
Unchecked, balloon messages will not be seen. If you manually select "Check for Updates", you will see a balloon notification with the results of your request. |
Show application updates
on balloon click |
Checked, (default) when the notification balloon appears about updates, if you click inside the balloon it will open the list of programs with software updates available for download.
Unchecked, clicking inside the balloon will not open the updates box. |
Application Updates |
|
| Show new versions of Impulse |
Checked, (default) you will be notified if a new version of Impulse is available for download.
Unchecked, you will not be notified. |
| Show pre-release (alpha/beta) updates |
Checked,
alpha and beta pre-release versions of software will be included on the
"Updates"
tab. Alpha/Beta versions should be installed with the
understanding that this is an incomplete or and/or test version of the
program. It may include "bugs" (i.e. errors, problems) when using
certain features.
Unchecked, (default) alpha/beta versions will be hidden. |
Show notifications for installed
applications only |
Checked, you will not be notified of programs not installed, only for installed software.
Unchecked, (default) you will be notified of updates for installed programs as well as software you own, but have not installed yet. |
| Show application revisions |
Checked, (default) ImpulseNow will display what has changed in the update (if available).
Unchecked, you will not be show the list of revisions. |
Advanced Tab
The Advanced tab includes options to show/hide tabs, or applications in Impulse. You can also configure proxy settings if your company uses a proxy server to allow access to the internet. Contact your network administrator for the name of the Proxy Server, Port number (default is 80), Username and Password. As a rule, proxy servers are not used in home (residential) settings, so you should not have to deal with this.
Unchecking the box for "My Software" or "My Games" will hide it on the left-click menu under "Application Groups". Checking either box (default) will display it. You can also show/hide specific applications by clicking the 
button. This will open a dialog box with a list of all of the applications you have access too in Impulse. This works the same way, by unchecking an application will hide it. Checking it will show it (all checked by default).
- To hide an application, either uncheck the box next to the application or select the application then click the
button.
- To show (un-hide) an application, check the box next to the hidden application or select it & check the
button.
- To change all of the applications back to the way they were when you first installed Impulse/ImpulseNow (the default setting), click the
button.
- To save any changes, click
. (Click 
or to abort.)
About Tab
The "About" tab includes the name of the parent application (i.e. Impulse) which ImpulseNow is a part of. You can also find the version number (i.e. Version 1.00.00) of ImpulseNow, Lead Developer, copyright information, who Impulse is registered to, and web links to the Stardock Support & Impulse Driven web sites.
To save any changes, click . (Click or to abort.)
