WinKill Help

This help file contains full help for WinKill 2.0.  Help is also available in dialog boxes in WinKill via the Help button.

The following topics are available:

Introduction

Basic Usage

HotKeys

ShortCuts

Command Line Usage

Options

Operations Reference

Contacting the Author


Introduction

WinKill allows you to effortlessly kill programs, close tasks and exit Windows.

A short description of the components of WinKill is below.  Selecting the title of each section will display the help page for that subject.

Point and Click Window Close/Kill

Single clicking the WinKill system tray icon allows you to point and click at a window to close.  Double clicking the WinKill icon allows you to point and click at a window to kill (the window is closed AND the underlying task is terminated).

HotKeys

WinKill allows you to define a HotKey for each WinKill operation.  The HotKeys allow you to perform WinKill operations with a single keypress.

ShortCuts

WinKill allows you to build a WinKill shortcut.  Multiple WinKill operations can be added, and will be executed in the order chosen.

Command Line

WinKill can be used from the command-line.  All of the WinKill operations have command line equivalents.

Configuration

WinKill stores user settings and HotKey settings in the Registry for each user.


Basic Usage

WinKill has a simple interface for closing windows and killing tasks.

Closing a window

Two methods exist for closing windows using the basic interface.

Firstly you can single click the system tray icon.  The cursor will change into a cross, which indicates it is ready to close a window.  Click on the window you wish to close.  A close message will be sent to the application.  If the application has unsaved data it will ask if you wish to save the data, otherwise the application will simply exit.

Secondly a window can be chosen from the Close sub-menu in the main shortcut menu, that is activated by right-clicking the system tray icon.

Finally, an command exists in the above menu, called 'Close All Windows', that allows you to close all the windows visible.

Killing a task

Two methods exist for killing a process.

The process can be killed if one of it's windows is visible.  Double click the system tray icon and then click on the window that is linked to the application you wish to terminate.  The window will disappear and the application will terminate.

A process can also be chosen from the Kill sub-menu in the main shortcut menu, activated by right-clicking the system tray icon.

Shutting Down/Restarting Windows

WinKill can be used to logout the current user, restart Windows, restart the computer or shutdown the computer.

To access these features, click on the Other submenu of the main WinKill shortcut menu.

Note:  Some options may be not be available.  Restart Windows is only available under Window 95 and Windows 98, and not Windows NT.  Logoff Windows is only available if a current user is logged in.

Getting Help

The WinKill help can be displayed by choosing the Help option in the main WinKill shortcut menu.  Context sensitive help is also available in dialog boxes by clicking the Help button.

Exiting WinKill

WinKill can be exited by choose the Exit menu option from the main WinKill shortcut menu.


HotKeys

WinKill supports the use of Windows HotKeys.

Windows HotKeys allow an application to register a key combination as a system-wide HotKey.  This means that the application will receive the HotKey even if it is not the active application.  WinKill uses this functionality to offer  keyboard support that mirrors the mouse support offered by the shortcut menu.  It also adds extra operations that are possible because other applications can be active when WinKill is called.

The HotKey key combinations can be set in the Options dialog.

The following operations are supported in the HotKey system:

Kill Foreground Window

Close Foreground Window

Kill Topmost Window

Close Topmost Window

Close Window

Kill Window

Close All Windows

Kill Process

Logoff Windows

Restart Windows

Restart Computer

Shutdown Computer


ShortCuts

WinKill allows a WinKill shortcut to be created.

A WinKill shortcut, is a shortcut to the WinKill executable.  The shortcut specifies one or more operations that WinKill will perform in sequence.  Once WinKill has performed all of the operations specified it will exit.

To create a WinKill shortcut, select the Make ShortCut item in the Other submenu in the WinKill shortcut menu.  The following dialog appears:

Creating a ShortCut

Firstly, choose a name for the ShortCut.  The name will be displayed as the ShortCut title.  Now choose a destination.  The destination can be the Desktop, the Start Menu, the Programs folder inside the Start Menu, the My Documents folder, or the Favourites folder.  If you would like to activate the ShortCut using a HotKey, then type the HotKey combination into the HotKey control.  Finally choose an icon for the ShortCut.  Sixteen icons are available, and can be chosen by dragging the TrackBar.

Now the ShortCut attributes have been created, some operations need to be added.  To create a valid WinKill ShortCut, one or more operations must be added to the operation list.  Click add to add an operation.  The following dialog box appears:

Choose the Close All Windows option, and press OK.  The data field should be left empty.  Some operations can accept an optional parameter, but the above one does not.

For a list of operations; see the Command Line help page

Now that an operation have been added to the Operation List, the Create button should be enabled.  If it is not, check that you have followed the previous instructions correctly.  Now press the Create button to create the ShortCut.

The ShortCut will be created in the location you chose.  Find the ShortCut and double click it.  WinKill should close all the windows on the screen.

Managing the Operation List

The Operation List contains all of the WinKill operations that will be executed for that ShortCut.  The operations will be executed in the order they appear in the list.  To add a new operation click the Add button as described above.  To edit an existing operation, select the operation in the list and press the Edit button.  To delete an operation, select the operation and press the Remove button.  To move an operation up in the Operation List, select the operation in the list and press the Up button.  The operation will move up the list accordingly.  Similarly, selecting an operation and pressing the Down button moves an operation down the list.

Once the basic attributes have been set, and one or more operations have been added the Create button will be enabled and the ShortCut can be created.

Modifying an Existing WinKill ShortCut

To modify an existing WinKill ShortCut, first use Explorer to locate the ShortCut.  Now drag the ShortCut onto the Create ShortCut window.  If the icon dragged was a valid WinKill ShortCut the ShortCut properties and operations should appear in the dialog.

Modify the ShortCut as necessary, then press Create again to update the ShortCut.

Note:  Changing the name of the ShortCut will create a new ShortCut with that name, not modify an existing one.


Command Line Operation

WinKill allows all of its operations to be called from the command line.

The WinKill command line is as follows:

WinKill [command] [command] [command] ...

If WinKill is executed with no command line parameters then it will run in GUI mode as normal, and install an icon in the system tray.  This is the default behaviour.  If WinKill is given one or more command line parameters, it will execute each command in sequence and then exit.

WinKill supports the following command line parameters:

-d  <delay in seconds>	Time Delay

-kf	Kill Foreground Window

-cf	Close Foreground Window

-kt	Kill Topmost Window

-ct 	Close Topmost Window

-kw [window name]	Kill Window

-cw [window name]	Close Window

-ca	Close All Windows

-kp [process name/path]	Kill Process

-lw	Logoff Windows

-rw	Restart Windows

-rc	Restart Computer

-sc	Shutdown Computer

For an explanation of each command line feature, click on the operation link.

Note:  Some combinations of operations will simply not work.  For instance, attempting to perform an operation after one of the shutdown commands or attempting to restart windows on NT.


Options

WinKill allows for user definable HotKeys and some safety options.  These settings are stored in the registry for each user.

These options are accessed using the Options dialog which is activated from the Options menu item in the Other menu on the main WinKill shortcut menu.

The Options dialog is shown below:

Setting a HotKey

First, select the operation that you wish to create a HotKey for from the Operation combo-box.  Now type the HotKey into the New HotKey control.  The control will prevent you from typing the existing HotKey combination.  Now press Set.  If the HotKey is already in use by another operation then a dialog box will appear informing you of this, and you will need to select another key combination.  Otherwise, the Current HotKey control will now contain your chosen HotKey and the New HotKey control will be cleared.

Removing a HotKey

To remove an existing HotKey, simply set the HotKey to None.  That is, select the New HotKey HotKey control, press backspace to clear any current HotKey, and press Set.

Setting the WinKill security options

Three security options exist in WinKill.  These are Desktop Kill, Kill Confirmation and Fast Shutdown.

If Desktop Kill is enabled then WinKill will allow you to kill the Explorer process.  This could happen in one of two ways.  An Explorer window could be killed or the Explorer process could be killed.  If this option is not enabled then WinKill will not allow you to kill Explorer.

Kill Confirmation prompts you each time you attempt to kill a process.  Confirming the kill then allows it to proceed.

Fast Shutdown affects the shutdown operations in WinKill.  In a standard Windows shutdown, each application is asked if it wishes to exit, and then only if every application agrees does the shutdown proceed.  If Fast Shutdown is enabled then the applications are simply killed instead.  This can result in a loss of data from some applications.

Note:  WinKill security options will be ignored if WinKill is used from the command line or a WinKill ShortCut is executed.


Operations Reference

This page contains a full list of WinKill operations.  Clicking on an operation displays the page for that operation.

Each operation page contains five sections; a description, parameters, GUI support, HotKey support and ShortCut/Command Line support.

The Description section gives a description of the operations purpose and function.  Parameters list any parameters that the operation needs.  Parameters can be used at the command line and in ShortCuts.  If the operation has GUI support then the operation can be executed from the WinKill main menu.  If the operation has HotKey support then the operation can be executed using a WinKill HotKey.  Finally, if the command has ShortCut/Command Line support then it can be used at the command line and in ShortCuts.

Time Delay

Kill Foreground Window

Close Foreground Window

Kill Topmost Window

Close Topmost Window

Kill Window

Close Window

Close All Windows

Kill Process

Logoff Windows

Restart Windows

Restart Computer

Shutdown Computer


Time Delay Operation

Description

The Time Delay operation causes WinKill to wait for a specified amount of time.  The time delay specified is in seconds.  This function can be used to make WinKill wait whilst windows are arranged or to give time to close a program.

Parameters

A time delay in seconds.

GUI Support

No. The Time Delay function is only relevant whilst executing a sequence of operations.  A WinKill HotKey can only execute a single operation.

HotKey Support

No.  For the same reason as above the Time Delay function is only relevant as part of a sequence of commands.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.


Kill Foreground Window Operation

Description

The Kill Foreground Window operation causes the process linked to the foreground window to be terminated.  The foreground window is the window that is receiving mouse and keyboard input.  This is not necessarily the window that is at the top of all other windows.  For example, you can be editing a Word document and have a help page displayed above the Word document.

Parameters

None.

GUI Support

No. The foreground window would be changed to the WinKill shortcut menu when the menu item was pressed.  Therefore the WinKill process would be killed instead.

HotKey Support

Yes.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.


Close Foreground Window Operation

Description

The Close Foreground Window operation causes the foreground window to be sent a close message.  The foreground window is the window that is receiving mouse and keyboard input.  This is not necessarily the window that is at the top of all other windows.  For example, you can be editing a Word document and have a help page displayed above the Word document.  Note that if unsaved data exists in this window, you may be prompted to save before the window closes.

Parameters

None.

GUI Support

No. The foreground window would be changed to the WinKill shortcut menu when the menu item was pressed.  Therefore the WinKill shortcut menu would be closed instead

HotKey Support

Yes.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.


Kill Topmost Window Operation

Description

The Kill Topmost Window operation causes the process linked to the topmost window to be terminated.  The topmost window is the window that is above all other windows.  This is not necessarily the window that is active.  For example, you can be editing a Word document and have a help page displayed above the Word document.

Parameters

None.

GUI Support

No. WinKill displays dialog boxes at a system modal level.  It is possible that these dialog boxes would then become the topmost window, and therefore killed.

HotKey Support

Yes.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.


Close Topmost Window Operation

Description

The Close Topmost Window operation causes the topmost window to be sent a close message.  The topmost window is the window that is above all other windows.  This is not necessarily the window that is active.  For example, you can be editing a Word document and have a help page displayed above the Word document.  Note that if unsaved data exists in this window, you may be prompted to save before the window closes.

Parameters

None.

GUI Support

No. WinKill displays dialog boxes at a system modal level.  It is possible that these dialog boxes would then become the topmost window, and therefore closed.

HotKey Support

Yes.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.


Kill Window Operation

Description

The Kill Window operation causes the process linked to a specified window to be terminated.  The window to kill can be specified using two methods.

Firstly, the window title can be passed as a parameter.  The window title is the name that appears in the title bar of the window.  When specifying a window to kill using this method, you only need to type enough of the window name for it to be unique.

The second method of specifying a window is used when no parameter is given.  This causes a crosshair to appear, and a window can be selected by clicking on it.

Parameters

A window name (optional).

GUI Support

Yes.  The point and click method is used.

HotKey Support

Yes.  The point and click method is used.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.  Either method can be used.


Close Window Operation

Description

The Close Window operation causes a specified window to receive a close message.  The window to close can be specified using two methods.

Firstly, the window title can be passed as a parameter.  The window title is the name that appears in the title bar of the window.  When specifying a window to close using this method, you only need to type enough of the window name for it to be unique.

The second method of specifying a window is used when no parameter is given.  This causes a crosshair to appear, and a window can be selected by clicking on it.

Parameters

A window name (optional).

GUI Support

Yes.  The point and click method is used.

HotKey Support

Yes.  The point and click method is used.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.  Either method can be used.


Close All Windows Operation

Description

The Close All Windows operation sends a close message to every toplevel, visible window in the system.  Each window will then either close or ask if you wish to save first.

Parameters

None.

GUI Support

Yes.

HotKey Support

Yes.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.


Kill Process Operation

Description

The Kill Process operation allows you to kill a specified process.  The process must be specified by executable name or path.  Simply specifying the executable name (with the .exe extension) is sufficient for most purposes, but if you have two programs running that share the same name, but are stored in different locations, you will need to identify them by path.  There is two methods for specifying the process to kill.

The first method uses a name passed as a parameter.  This is used for the Command Line and ShortCut functions.

The second method is used when no parameter is passed.  It causes a dialog box to appear that allows you to type in a process executable name.  The dialog box is shown below:

Parameters

Process executable name or full process path (optional)

GUI Support

Yes.  The Kill menu displays a list of running processes to kill.

HotKey Support

Yes.  The Kill Process dialog (above) is used to specify a process.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.  Either method can be used by either including or omitting the parameter.


Logoff Windows Operation

Description

The Logoff Windows operation allows you to logoff as the current user, and return to the login prompt.  This function is only available if multi-user support is active.  On NT this is always the case.  On Windows 95 and Windows 98 this will only be the case if you log onto a network or if you have multiple user profiles enabled.  If this item does not appear in your Other menu under the main WinKill menu then you do not have multiple user support.

If Fast Shutdown is not enabled then programs will have a chance to save their data before Windows exits.  If this option is enabled then the programs will be killed instead, with a possible loss of data.  For more information see the Options help page

Note: This operation will be available for HotKeys, at the command line and also for ShortCuts.  However, if multi-user support is not active when this operation is executed, the operation will simply not be performed.

Parameters

None.

GUI Support

Yes.  If multi-user support is enabled, this will be displayed in the Other menu.

HotKey Support

Yes.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.


Restart Windows Operation

Description

The Restart Windows operation allows you to restart Windows without restarting your computer.  This function is not available on NT.

Note: This operation will be available for HotKeys, at the command line and also for ShortCuts.  However, if this operation is executed under NT, the operation will simply not be performed.

Parameters

None.

GUI Support

Yes.  If running on 95 or 98 this will be displayed in the Other menu.

HotKey Support

Yes.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.


Restart Computer Operation

Description

The Restart Computer operation allows you to restart your computer.

If Fast Shutdown is not enabled then programs will have a chance to save their data before Windows exits.  If this option is enabled then the programs will be killed instead, with a possible loss of data.  For more information see the Options help page

Note: You will need the relevant privileges in order to restart the computer on NT.

Parameters

None.

GUI Support

Yes.

HotKey Support

Yes.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.


Shutdown Computer Operation

Description

The Shutdown Computer operation allows you to shutdown your computer.  If you have power-saving features enabled on your computer then it may power off also.

If Fast Shutdown is not enabled then programs will have a chance to save their data before Windows exits.  If this option is enabled then the programs will be killed instead, with a possible loss of data.  For more information see the Options help page

Note: You will need the relevant privileges in order to restart the computer on NT.

Parameters

None.

GUI Support

Yes.

HotKey Support

Yes.

Command Line and ShortCut Support

Yes.


Contacting the Author

Reporting Bugs

WinKill has developed into quite a complex program since it’s original incarnation.  It is likely that some bugs will be present in this version of Winkill.

If you have discovered a bug, could you send an e-mail to the address at the bottom of this page.  Please explain fully what the bug was, what conditions it occurred under and any other information that you think is helpful.

If the bug can be fixed then I will send a patched version to the user who reported the bug.  After a month or so after releasing WinKill I will release a new bugfix version containing all the fixes accumulated since the release.

Anything Else

Any suggestions, abuse, money, etc, will be very welcome also.  Please direct all your abuse to the address below.

winkill_bugs@yahoo.com