My Tabs

6

Running along the top menu are the following menu tabs: "My Software" and "My Games". When updates are available, an "Updates" tab will appear (between "Community" and "My Software"). When you start a download the "Downloads tab will appear until the download is complete. These tabs as well as any you may create, work the same way so they will be covered in this chapter. Creating your own tabs will be covered in the next chapter on: 7. Managing Tabs.

(Note: If you are new to Impulse, not a previous customer, you will see the tab "My Games" to the left of "My Software". While previous customers see "My Software" to the left of "My Games", since they are used to it from previous versions of Impulse. Regardless which tab is first, you can change the order of the tabs to your preference by clicking and selecting "Manage tabs...".)

When you start up Impulse for the first time and click on one of the My tabs, you will see software you purchased through Impulse listed alphabetically by title. As you buy & install software via Impulse, it will appear on these tabs. "My Software consists of non-game titles, while games are listed under "My Games".

The default "View" for the My tabs is "Details-view" (shown above), which includes a listing of software titles by row & column. The default sorted order is by software title in alphabetical-order. You can change the sort order by either clicking the column heading or "Organize" and selecting the desired option. You can change the view from details-view to "List-view" (similar to Tile-view) and "Tile-view" with the Information Panel (on by default, but can be hidden). If your monitor/resolution is set low, you may not see all of the columns. If you maximize Impulse, this may help or you can change the order and/or hide columns by selecting "View", then "Edit Columns".

Organize

Clicking the "Organize" button (upper left corner) will open a menu with the following options that allows you to change how the applications/games are listed on the "Updates", "Downloads", "My Software", "My Games" tabs, plus any you create with Manage Tabs):

• by Name - (selected by default) listed in alphabetical order by product title (A-Z).
• by Status - groups programs with status messages together alphabetically.
• by Category - groups programs together by category (i.e. Shooters (Games), Strategy (Games), ...).
• by Rating - based on your ranking of the programs, sorts highest rating to lowest.
• by Updated Date - lists them from most recently updated (i.e. 4/14/2009) to oldest (i.e. 2/18/2009).
• by Last-Run-Date - displays in order by the date you last ran each program, most recent to oldest.
• by # of Times Used - the program run the most times is displayed first, followed by the least run programs.
• Show installed programs first - (checked by default) applies more to the My Software & My Games tabs where it will list installed programs near the top, and programs not installed but "Available" towards the bottom of the list.

View

Clicking the "View" button gives you a number of options to change what and how programs are listed.

Quick Reference

Register Product

Clicking the button near the top, middle of the Impulse window on the "Updates", "My Software" or "My Games" tabs will open a dialog box allowing you to register products to receive updates, etc..

When you purchase products through Impulse you should not need to do this, but if you bought a retail copy this is where you can register the product. Type in the serial number, the email address of your Impulse account will be filled in, then select from the pull-down menu for "Product Category" and "Product". Then click button. (Click or to abort.)

Tile View

Applications are listed by logo, title and status. Click on an application or game to select it. If needed, use the vertical scroll bar to view additional applications, or maximize the Impulse window. If the Impulse window is downsized horizontally (width), you may only see one column of software titles, while expanding or maximizing it on a widescreen monitor will show several columns.

Each tile consists of the following:

If a program has an update available, you will see the status: Update available .

If you try to install a program that is not compatible with your operating system, Impulse will ask if you want to install it anyway. Click to install it. (Click to abort.)

Below is a list of the more common status messages and what they mean:

Status Messages

Status message	What it means
Available	This program is available to be installed by clicking the button.
Installed	This has been installed and is ready to use by clicking the button.
Update available	An update (patch) is available for download & install by clicking . After updating an application, the program status will change to "Installed".
Downloading	Shows status of the download and installation progress.
Free version available	Program is free to use.
Demo available	A trial version is available to download & install, to try before you buy.
Error retrieving data	Some sort of server error (i.e. can not find file).

Information Panel

Clicking on an application (i.e. Unreal Tournament 3) will display detailed information on the right in a Information Panel. The options available vary depending on the status of the application. For instance, applications that state "Update available" may include: name of the program & logo (i.e. UT3), "Size of Update" (i.e. 1.3 GB), "Installed Version" on your computer (i.e. v1.30), the new update as "Available Version" (i.e. v2.00), and the date of the "Latest Update" (i.e. 3/10/2009).

Alpha/Beta Testing

If you selected "Show pre-release versions" in "Preferences" and if alpha or beta updates are available, you may see an "Available Alpha" or "Available Beta" version number on the information panel. An Alpha version is an early version of the program & major features may not be working yet. After alpha, comes beta which is closer to the final release version, but can have a lot of bugs (i.e. errors, problems). Alpha/Beta versions should be installed with the understanding that this is an incomplete and/or test version of the program. It most likely includes bugs when using certain features and may even crash your computer.

These test versions are released to get feedback from people (users) outside the company. Bugs may occur on your unique computer configuration as compared to a computer used for internal testing at Impulse, Inc. (or the company making the pre-release available). The feedback from you & others helps Impulse improve applications & games. However, do not install these versions if you do not want to deal with potential bugs in the program. Wait until the normal, public release (non-alpha/beta) to install an update. To avoid seeing beta versions, under "Preferences" uncheck the box for "Show pre-release versions". Normally, this option is off (by default).

Links

Below the information about the software are links categorized into "Community" and "Manage Application". If a [+] is next to it, this means clicking that title will expand that section, displaying links. If you see [-], clicking the title (i.e. Community) will collapse (hide) that section of links. The links under each section may vary by the type of software (i.e. desktop customization, game, utility, productivity, ...). You may not see the same links for each program.

Here is a list of links you may see under "Community" and what they do:

• Instant Game Action - this will launch the game for internet play and add you to a multiplayer game.
• View All Multiplayer Games - this is a shortcut to the " Games" sub-tab under "Community" which lists available games on the internet you can join for this game.
• Chat - is a shortcut to the "Chat" sub-tab under "Community" where you can join others and chat about this program or other subjects.
• Forums - a shortcut to the "Forums" sub-tab under "Community" which opens the Impulse message forums where you can post/read messages from other people like you. This is a good place to ask questions about the Impulse program you have, meet other people, etc..

Here is a list of links you may see under "Manage Application" and what they do:

• History - displays a list of changes to this & past updates to the program. This will be displayed in a separate window with the name of the program and version number(s). Clicking will close the history window.

• Registration - displays the serial number for the product. If the product is part of a subscription, the "Expires On" date (i.e. 12/20/2015) will let you know when it expires and is due for renewal. Clicking will copy the serial number to the clipboard, in case you need to paste it into the program. Some games require you to do this, so it saves typing mistakes if you can just paste it in (i.e. <Ctrl> & <V> on the keyboard or right-click & "Paste" for the mouse). Click or to close the dialog box.

• Ignore this update - will hide the selected program from the "Updates" tab. To un-hide it, locate it on the appropriate tab (i.e. My Games if it is a game, such as Demigod), right-click on it (i.e. Demigod) & select "Show hidden update" then the will appear & the program will re-appear on the "Updates" tab.
• Show hidden update - if under "Preferences" you have "Show hidden updates" checked, you will still see the program you had clicked "Ignore this update" listed under the "Updates" & respective program tab (i.e. My Games if it is a game) tab, but with a darker exclamation point. Selecting the program, then clicking on the link "Show hidden update" will fully unhide the update.
• Uninstall - this allows you to uninstall the selected program instead of going through the Windows Control Panel to remove an application.
• Edit Registration - displays the "Registrations" window which displays all of your serial numbers, email address, and more. This allows you to edit your Impulse account or add a new registration. (The other way into the "Registrations" area is by clicking the icon (upper, right corner) and selecting "Register a product with Impulse...".) (This will be covered in more detail on the Help page.)

On the bottom of the information panel are two buttons that change depending on the status of the program:

Right-Click Menu

Right-clicking on a program will display a menu with a number of options which vary depending on the status of the application.

* = Same as option on Information Panel (sidebar menu).