
  Shut IT ReadMe

  Product:  Shut IT Version 2.0.0.1
  Name:     Shut IT Shutdown Timer
  Company:  MetalloSoft
  Website:  http://metallosoft.com/
  E-mail:   metallosoft@live.com
  Type:     System Power Down Timing Utility for Windows
  OS:       Windows XP/Vista/7/8.1 (x86 and x64)
  OS Note:  Not designed for, or tested on Pre-XP systems.
  Language: English
  Licence:  FREE
  Features: See list below for features and usage.

  IMPORTANT:
  THIS PROGRAM REQUIRES TO BE RUN WITH ADMINISTRATOR RIGHTS.
  SOME FIREWALLS MIGHT BLOCK THE PROGRAM FROM RUNNING CERTAIN
  COMMANDS SO, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT IT IS CLEARED WITH YOUR
  SYSTEM'S FIREWALL POLICIES BEFORE USING THE PROGRAM. NOT
  DOING SO, CAN CAUSE THE PROGRAM TO STOP WORKING OR CAUSE
  UNNECESSARY ERRORS.

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  PROGRAM USAGE:
    This program can used to schedule the following system commands:
    Shutdown, Reboot, Logoff, Standby and Hibernate. The user sets a
    time upon which the above-mentioned commands must be actioned by
    the system. Two types of countdown timer modes are available i.e.
    COUNTDOWN or SPECIFIC TIME.

    The COUNTDOWN mode involves setting a time limit for example
    10 or 20 minutes or 1 hour. When the timer runs out, the computer
    will shut down or hibernate or whichever action was chosen when
    the count down was initiated.

    The SPECIFIC TIME mode allows the user to set a definite time
    for the system to action a power down like 14:30 or 01:25. The
    program uses 24-hour timers as in [HH:mm:ss] notations.

    Some additional features are available like basic system cleaning
    operations and idle task processing and optimizing tweaks.
    Please read further for more.

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  MAIN FEATURES:

    1. The main program let's the user choose how the system must
    be shut down/ powered off. These options are: Shutdown, Reboot
    Logoff, Standby or Hibernate. All these options are dependent on
    your current system configuration i.e. if you have disabled the
    Hibernation feature in Windows then, by using the hibernate option
    in Shut IT might not work as expected and so on.
    2. You can set the time countdown limit for when you want your
    chosen action to take place. This can be done by setting a normal
    countdown timer i.e. Reboot the system in 30 minutes or whichever
    time you feel is necessary.
    3. The other timing option is to set a specific time for example:
    Shutdown at 11:45:00 PM or Standby at 14:30:00

    When the power down option is selected the program will switch
    to "mini" mode. This involves opening a tiny countdown timer
    window with features to adjust transparency or to process the
    user's power down selection emmediately or to abort the whole
    operation. An icon in the taskbar tray area will also appear and
    the application can be exited from there also. When this tiny
    window is closed from inside then the main window will jump up
    again. The three timer controls in this window are:
      1.) TOP - This is the countdown timer or clock, depending on
      which timing mode was selected.
      2.) MIDDLE - This unit shows the time upon which the power
      down action must take place. If "Countdown" was selected, it
      will show the hours and minutes. In "Specific" mode, it will
      show you the time you want the power down to occur.
      3.) BOTTOM - This label or information control will show you
      your selected option i.e. Shutdown, Reboot, Hibernate etc.

    NOTE: FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, THE PROGRAM IS CONFIGURED TO HAVE
    THE TINY COUNTDOWN TIMER WINDOW ALWAYS ON TOP OF OTHER WINDOWS
    AND VISIBLE.

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  SUB FEATURES AND OPTIONS:

  CLEAN THE SYSTEM BEFORE POWERING DOWN:
    This feature involves running the Shut IT program's built-in
    cleaner utility before powering down the system.
    The following will be cleared:
    Recent Documents, Temporary Files and Recycle Bin.

  IDLE TASK PROCESSING:
    This function, if enabled, will run the Windows command to process
    all tasks that Windows has placed in indle state during user
    activity. For details on this command see the exerpt from
    Microsoft's website at the end of this page named:
    "Idle Task Scheduling: The ProcessIdleTask API"

    NOTE: Ideally, allow in the countdown timer's settings for at least
    15 minutes BEFORE power down if "process idle tasks" is enabled.
    This will ensure that all Windows tasks has been completed and the
    system has been optimized.

  TWEAKS:
    The system settings that can be tweaked under the "Options"
    section are all basic and involves settings that optimizes the
    speed at which Windows will process it's various "power down"
    commands. For example:
    To kill hung apps timeout, involves forcefully ending applications
    and processes that are hanging/waiting for something. This is a
    native Windows setting, but the time that Windows waits untill it
    executes the command to kill these hanging apps can be adjusted
    from let's say 5 seconds down to 1 second. The same applies to
    the time Windows spends before killing services that are hanging
    etc... These tweaks are all safe and can be reverted to it's
    default settings at any time.

  ADJUST SYSTEM TIME SETTINGS:
    Adjust system time settings by clicking on the running clock in
    the program's interface to configure Windows time settings.This
    Will not interfere with the operation of the program. All timers
    and clock functions in the program are in HH:mm:ss 24-hour format.

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  INSTALLATION:
    This program does not need any installation. It runs as a stand-
    alone executable. OS respective directories created at runtime
    will be either of the following where "~" = MetalloSoft\ShutIT:

    Windows Vista, 7, 8 will be:
    C:\ProgramData\~
    or in Widows XP it'll be:
    C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\~

    NO REGISTRY ENTRIES or KEYS ARE CREATED: Registry keys and values
    created by the Operating System are for use by the Operating
    System and not the Shut IT program.

  UN-INSTALLATION:
    No special un-installation is required. To discard the program,
    just delete the executable file. Optionally, browse to the two
    directories mentioned previosly and delete them.

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  CHANGELOG:
    See Changelog Below.
    Bug reports can be sent to the e-mail address provided.

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  END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT:
    The software is valid only if the original EULA document is
    included in the package. If it is not included then discard the
    defective package and obtain a new one. The program's EULA can
    also be found from inside the program's inteface.

  Copyright (C) MetalloSoft. EULA Applies. All Rights Reserved

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  Microsoft Windows Hardware Development Central (WHDC)
  http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/archive/benchmark.mspx#E3E

  "Idle Task Scheduling: The ProcessIdleTask API

  The file placement optimization, which is done no more often than
  once every three days, is an example of a task that is carried
  out when the system is deemed to be idle. System Restore and other
  features of Windows XP also attempt to defer some work until the
  system is deemed to be idle.
  There are also some done-once-after-setup work items that also
  operate under the Idle Task Scheduling mechanisms.

  All of these "idle tasks" are controllable by a system API in
  advapi32.dll, ProcessIdleTasks. The APIs sole purpose is to allow
  benchmarks a simple way to force any pending idle tasks to be
  executed immediately, without having to wait a lengthy period of
  time.

  The API ProcessIdleTasks can be called in one of two ways, from
  the command line or synchronously from a program. To call
  ProcessIdleTasks from the command line, use this syntax:

  Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks

  When called from the command line, the ProcessIdleTasks work is
  done in the background asynchronously. It can take 10 to 15
  minutes for idle tasks to complete. Task Manager will report
  processes running, and the disk will likely be active during
  this time.

  The ProcessIdleTasks API takes no arguments and returns a standard
  Win32 error code. The definition is:
  DWORD
  ProcessIdleTasks()

  The API itself is synchronous, so it won't return until the idle
  tasks have completed"
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  Changelog for Shut IT Shutdown Timer

  CHANGES (APRIL 2014) Version 2.0.0.0:
    1.) Fixed issue where child window called from "Help" button functions
    does not display correctly. Each child window was opening with it's
    own taskbar presence. Related to: When pressing 'Help' or 'Options'
    buttons.
    2.) "Spesific Time" option will now remember the last time that was
    used i.e. if the user chose 11:00:00 for powering down the last time
    then the program will display that specific time again inside the
    time input box.
    3.) Added an auto-run (repeat) feature to the application. The program
    countdown timer (Specific Timer only) can now be set to automatically
    startup with Windows so that a selected task can be performed on a
    daily basis and at a spesific time i.e. Shutdown daily at 17:45.
    Buttons have been added so that the auto-run feature can be accessed
    from both the main application and the countdown timer's interfaces.
    The autorun access button within the small countdown timer window has
    a function to disable the autorun feature. When the autorun feature
    is being disabled from there then the small toolbar icon will be
    hidden and the autorun feature will again have to be activated from
    within the main application's window next to the specific time box.
    IMPORTANT: PLEASE USE THE AUTORUN FEATURE CAREFULLY. THIS PROGRAM
    SETTING WILL AUTO-START THE PROGRAM WITH WINDOWS AND SEND THE
    SELECTED POWER-DOWN COMMANDS AT THE SPECIFIED TIME NO MATTER WHAT.
    4.) Added tooltip functioning to the small countdown timer toolbar.
    Tooltips will now be shown when hovering over the small toolbar icons.

  CHANGES (AUGUST 2015) Version 2.0.0.1:
    1.) Minor code chages: Added compatibility for Windows 8.1.
    2.) Website changes: Updated website address and contact details.
