Actual Tools
Логотип Actual Tools
 ГЛАВНАЯ 
 ПРОДУКТЫ 
 СКАЧАТЬ 
 КУПИТЬ 
 ПОДДЕРЖКА 
 КОМПАНИЯ 
Actual Tools
Новости в формате RSS Новости
Главная / Центр поддержки / FAQ

FAQ

New to Actual Tools? Here are the most frequently asked questions and answers for them.

  1. General
    1. Do Actual Tools support 64-bit editions of Windows®?

  2. Registration
    1. The program says that my registration key is invalid. What should I do?

  3. Upgrading
    1. How to upgrade any Actual Tools product of any version earlier than 4.0 to the latest available version?

    2. How to install the new version correctly so I wouldn't lose my old settings?

  4. Configuration
    1. How to assign specific settings to a certain window?

    2. How to remove the Manage Window Settings button extra title button?

  5. Troubleshooting
    1. I like your software but my system seems to become unstable after the installation of your program. What's the cause, and how can I find it?

    2. I have a problem with the program <program_name>. How to get rid of it?

    3. After applying the transparency effect a window redraws very slow, or produces visual glitches, or becomes black. What's wrong?

    4. I applied transparency to video player (name any) and encountered visual glitches and black windows. Are you aware of this bug?

    5. I created specific settings for a window but it seems to remain unaffected by them.

    6. Your program doesn't affect command prompt windows. Is it a bug, or I configured something wrong?

    7. Your extra title buttons overlap those added by UltraMon (or name here any other program which adds its own title buttons)! Is there any solution?

General

Q. Do Actual Tools support 64-bit editions of Windows®?
A. Yes, but partially. Currently our programs are 32-bit in their nature so when installed in any 64-bit Windows® they will correctly work only with legacy 32-bit applications; native 64-bit applications will remain unaffected. The 64-bit edition of Actual Tools will be available as soon as possible.


Registration

Q. The program says that my registration key is invalid. What should I do?
A. There are following most like reasons of this:

  • you typed the key incorrectly. We suggest you to use the copy-pasting to avoid typos/omissions in the text of key
  • you are trying to register the wrong product. For example, you bought the license and received the key for Actual Title Buttons but, due to some reasons, you downloaded, installed and now are trying to register Actual Window Manager. Our keys are generated individually for each product so in such case you should de-install the wrong product and then download, install and register the product you bought the license for. To see the exact name of product you're currently using, you should right-click the Actual Tools product's tray icon, select "About..." in the context menu - and you'll see the About dialog which displays the exact program name
  • you are trying to register the wrong version. Since the version 4.0 we had changed the registration system so the keys bought for versions older than 4.0 don't fit 4.0 and higher versions - and vice versa. So if you bought your key earlier than May 5, 2006 - please consult below how to get the new key. If you bought your key later then please check the exact version of Actual Tools product you're currently using: right-click the Actual Tools product's tray icon, select "About..." in the context menu - and you'll see the About dialog which displays the exact program version


Upgrading

Q. How to upgrade any Actual Tools product of any version earlier than 4.0 to the latest available version?
A. Since the version 4.0 we changed our upgrade policy: now only the minor updates (like from 4.0 to 4.1) are free; the major ones (like from 3.x to 4.x) should be paid for. The registered users are entitled to a significant upgrade discount. To get advantage of it, you should visit our Upgrade Center and enter there your original registration key.


Q. How to install the new version correctly so I wouldn't lose my old settings?
A. You can safely install the new version into the same folder where you have the old version installed. The Actual Tools installer will correctly detect your old settings file and run the Configuration Import wizard which will convert your old settings into the new version's format and keep the old settings file untouched so you will be able to roll back to the previous version any time.


Configuration

Q. How to assign specific settings to a certain window?
A. View the live demo of it (the Macromedia Flash plugin is required) or read this article.


Q. How to remove the Manage Window Settings button extra title button?
A. Turn off this option.


Troubleshooting

Q. I like your software but my system seems to become unstable after the installation of your program. What's the cause, and how can I find it?
A. Our programs work at the low level of Windows® and they try to extend all windows you open. There is a terrific number of different applications made with a different quality by different developers; so sometimes conflicts may happen. To detect the real reason of conflict, try to do the following:

  • disable Default settings, the Extend every window's system menu... and the Add "Manage Window Settings" button... options; then see if the problem remains or disappears
  • if it remains then try to disable one-by-one specific settings until the problem disappears; start with system-related settings, if present (like XP Start Menu, Explorer and Taskbar)
  • if the problem disappears after the first step then enable default settings back and begin to create exclusions one-by-one for the programs you suspect to be the cause; when the problem disappears the last program you created an exclusion for should be the culprit


Q. I have a problem with the program <program_name>. How to get rid of it?
A. We recommend you to go through the following steps:

  1. First of all, make sure that the cause is our program. Try to stop or completely unload the Control Center, then restart the program <program_name> and see if the problem disappears. If it's not then it's very likely that the other program causes the problem.
  2. If you are sure that our software conflicts with the program <program_name> then you should try to create an exclusion for it. The best way to accomplish this is to right-click the program window's title bar and select the Manage Window Settings, then click the Exclude this window... command (but make sure that Extend every window's system menu... option is enabled in the Configuration).
  3. If nothing helps then mail us the description of the problem. Please, specify the exact name and version of our program and the program you have problem with. Describe as detailed as possible your actions to make the problem arise. If the problem has visual issues then make some screenshots depicting them and attach those screenshots to your mail. If you changed our program's configuration then please send it to us (use the "File -> Send Configuration -> Send to the Tech Support" main menu command in the Configuration Module). Remember: the more specific and accurate you will be - the more faster and easier we will find and fix the problem.


Q. After applying the transparency effect a window redraws very slow, or produces visual glitches, or becomes black. What's wrong?
A. Our programs do nothing specific themselves to make windows translucent - we fully rely on the standard features provided for applications by the Windows® operating system itself. So if you encounter the poor perfomance of the transparency effect, or have some kind of visual inconsistency, then it means that your video card driver has the bad support of those standard Windows® features. Without a proper support of your video hardware the transparency effect will work very slow, even if you are using a modern powerful CPU. Try to update your video driver to the latest version from your video card manufacturer's website.


Q. I applied transparency to video player (name any) and encountered visual glitches and black windows. Are you aware of this bug?
A. This is not a bug but a kind of technical issue. Actual Tools programs use the transparency effect available in standard drawing mechanisms Windows® provides for general windows, whereas video players use another specific mechanisms (usually DirectX® functions) for their video displaying windows. Therefore such windows are not "general" in their nature, and that's why the standard transparency effect is incompatible with such windows and produces unexpected results when being applied.


Q. I created the specific settings for a window but it seems to remain unaffected by them.
A. There are the following most like reasons:

  • you provided the incorrect Target Window options for these settings. To check this out, right-click desired window's title bar and check the contents of the Manage Window Settings submenu: if there is an option named Create specific settings for this window then it means that our program failed to detect the specific settings for this window and applied the default settings instead; otherwise, there should be the Modify specific settings "your_settings_name" option.
  • you placed the settings with more strict conditions after the settings with more general conditions; in such case, our programs choose the more general settings. The detailed description of how the program searchs for a proper settings can be found here.


Q. Your program doesn't affect the command prompt windows. Is it a bug or I configured something wrong?
A. Neither former nor latter. Till version 5.0, our software had no support for the command prompt windows in Windows® 2000/XP/2003/Vista because since Windows® 2000 an operating system itself processes this kind of windows very differently and separately than "normal" windows; for example, such windows even don't fit XP visual styles. Finally, we have added the support of command prompt (a.k.a. console/CMD/DOS) windows but currently it has beta status. Anyway, you can try it out with the last beta version of Actual Window Manager 5.0.


Q. Your extra title buttons overlap those added by UltraMon (or name here any other program which adds its own title buttons)! Is there any solution?
A. Sure it is! You should use the Shift the Buttons option either in the default settings or in a particular specific settings.


Didn't find an answer? Mail us, visit our forums or use the feedback form.