HandyThing Runtime

Q: I run HandyThing but I don't see it. Where is it?

A: When HandyThing is running, you will see a small hand icon in the system tray near your clock. This is usually in the lower-right corner of your screen. Click the hand icon to open the HandyThing Properties window.

Feature: Position Windows

Q: How do I setup HandyThing to position windows?

A: HandyThing takes the manual work and guess work out of positioning windows on the screen. Traditionally, windows are positioned by manually dragging or sizing the window frame. In the some cases, an application may remember its last position and automatically return to that location. There are two techniques to easily position windows.

1. Position Current Window via Hotkey

   This allows you to position any window by simply pressing a hotkey that you assign to a location on the screen. Follow these steps to setup and use this.

   • Setup
     1. Locations tab: Create a new location if all existing locations do not suit the window position that you want.
     2. Hotkeys tab: Enter a hotkey for the location you want to use.
     3. Click Apply or OK to save these settings.
   • Use
     1. Click on the window that you want to position. Alternately, you can use Alt-Tab to switch to the window that you want to position.
     2. Press the hotkey combination to position the current window.
2. Automatically Position Window when Created

   This positions specific windows (using window matching criteria) into locations on the screen that you define. Follow these steps to setup and use this.

   • Setup
     1. Locations tab: Create a new location if all existing locations do not suit the window position that you want.
     2. Auto-Position tab: Create a new auto-position where you specify how to recognize the window and what location to use.
     3. Click Apply or OK to save these settings.
   • Use
     1. Open the window or run the program that you defined to match the auto-position and the window will be positioned.

Feature: Activate Screensaver

Q: How do I setup HandyThing to activate my screensaver?

A: HandyThing gives you more control over your screensaver activation. Start the screensaver at any time without the need to wait for the screensaver timeout. This is useful when leaving the computer, the screensaver can start right away, or with the screensaver password it can lock your computer. Disable the screensaver so it will not start when the regular screensaver timeout occurs. This is useful to prevent the screensaver from interrupting another program; such as when downloading a large file. There are two techniques to easily start or disable the screensaver.

1. Start or Disable the Screensaver by Mouse Cursor Position

   This allows you to start or disable the screensaver by moving your mouse cursor to a corner of the screen. Follow these steps to setup and use this.

   • Setup
     1. Screensaver tab: Check a box to enable the sleep corner that will start the screensaver or to enable the insomnia corner that will disable the screensaver.
     2. Screensaver tab: Drag the moon or sunshine icon to the corner of the simulated monitor that you want to use.
     3. Click Apply or OK to save these settings.
   • Use
     1. Move your mouse cursor to a corner of the screen that you defined and the screensaver action (start or disable) will occur.
     2. Optionally, you can verify the action by looking at the HandyThing icon in the system tray. The icon will be a moon when HandyThing is going to start the screensaver, and the icon will be a sunshine when the screensaver is currently disabled.
2. Start or Disable the Screensaver via Hotkey

   This allows you to start or disable the screensaver by pressing a hotkey combination that you define. Follow these steps to setup and use this.

   • Setup
     1. Screensaver tab: Enter a hotkey in the hotkey field for the screensaver action you want.
     2. Click Apply or OK to save these settings.
   • Use
     1. Press the hotkey combination and the screensaver action (start or disable) will occur.
     2. Optionally, you can verify the action by looking at the HandyThing icon in the system tray. The icon will be a moon when HandyThing is going to start the screensaver, and the icon will be a sunshine when the screensaver is currently disabled.

Feature: Print Clipboard Text

Q: How do I setup HandyThing to print the text from my clipboard?

A: HandyThing lets you easily print the text that is stored in the clipboard. To place text into the clipboard, select some text and then press Ctrl+C to copy the text into the clipboard. Only the text part in the clipboard is printed. This is useful when selecting some part of a website that may have advertisement, since HandyThing will only print the text part and not the images or layout of the webpage. There are two techniques to print the clipboard text.

1. Print the Clipboard Text via Hotkey

   This allows you to remain in your current application and still be able to print. Follow these steps to setup and use this.

   • Setup
     1. Clip-Print tab: Adjust and set printing options as desired.
     2. Clip-Print tab: Enter a hotkey in the hotkey field for printing.
     3. Click Apply or OK to save these settings.
   • Use
     1. Add come text to the clipboard by selecting some text and using the copy command (e.g., Ctrl+C).
     2. Press the hotkey combination that you setup. The printing will then start.
2. Print Using the "Print Now" Button

   This allows you to do a one-time print using settings that are different from your saved Clip-Print settings. Follow these steps to use this.

   • Use
     1. Add come text to the clipboard by selecting some text and using the copy command (e.g., Ctrl+C).
     2. Clip-Print tab: Adjust settings as desired. You do not need to save the settings.
     3. Clip-Print tab: Click the "Print Now" button.
     4. Click the Cancel button to exit the HandyThing Properties without saving.

Basic Edition vs. Professional Edition

Q: What is the difference between the Basic Edition and the Professional Edition?

A: The Professional Edition allows positioning windows on any monitor in a multi-monitor setup. The Basic Edition only allows positioning windows on the primary system monitor.

Free Updates

Q: Can I get the latest version for free?

A: Existing customers get free updates. Updates are limited to the same edition that was purchased (i.e., Basic or Professional). To download the latest version, login to your account, then click the download link.

Backup Settings

Q: How do I backup my HandyThing settings to reinstall later?

A: The settings are saved in the file "default.HandyThingSettings" that is located in the folder where HandyThing was installed. To backup the settings, save a copy of the "default.HandyThingSettings" file on your backup media. To use those settings again, reinstall HandyThing, then copy the "default.HandyThingSettings" file into the folder where HandyThing was installed. You may need to restart HandyThing or reboot for the settings to be used. Note, the settings file on a 32-bit OS is incompatible with the settings file on a 64-bit OS.