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About Eclipse
Eclipse is a Control Panel that automatically dims your screen after a specified period of inactivity.  Your monitor can sustain "burn in" damage if the same image is left on it for extended periods of time, which results in the ghosting of images and decreased monitor clarity.  Your monitor is a vital part of your computer system, and often an expensive one at that, so it only makes sense to protect it.

After Eclipse notices that you have not used your computer for a period of time, it blanks the monitor and draws an image (such as a company logo) at random locations on the screen to prevent burn in damage.  Background tasks such as spreadsheet recalculation, database sorting, or printing will continue normally while Eclipse has dimmed your monitor.

Eclipse can also alternately display the current time while your monitor is dimmed in place of the logo.

Why Would I Use Eclipse?
Eclipse offers several unique features that should make it your screen saver of choice:

  • Your monitor is transparently protected from damage
  • Background tasks will continue unhindered, because Eclipse uses very little processor time
  • Eclipse has been extensively tested, so you can use it with confidence
  • You can display your favorite picture while your monitor is dimmed
  • Companies can put their logo into Eclipse to have it displayed while their Mac’s are idle
  • Eclipse uses very little memory, approximately 5K, so you won't be wasting memory for such a basic task as monitor dimming
  • Eclipse can display the time while your screen is dimmed

Requirements
Eclipse works on any Macintosh with at least 1 Meg of memory, running System 6 or later.

Installation
To install Eclipse, simply drag the Eclipse icon onto your System Folder icon.  Under System 6, this will place Eclipse into the System Folder proper; under System 7, Eclipse will be placed in the Control Panels folder.

To activate Eclipse after you have placed it onto the System Folder icon, restart your Macintosh.  You will see Eclipse's icon appear along the bottom of your monitor to indicate that it loaded successfully.

Once installed, Eclipse uses up 5K of memory.

Configuring
Under System 6, choose the Control Panel Desk Accessory from the Apple menu, scroll down to the Eclipse icon and click on it.

Under System 7, choose the Control Panels item from the Apple Menu, scroll down to the Eclipse icon and double-click on it.

Under either System, configuring Eclipse is identical:

The Show Startup Icon checkbox controls whether or not Eclipse should display its icon at startup time after it loads.  Eclipse will still load regardless of this setting, but some people prefer to not have this icon displayed.

The About... button brings up this on-line help.

The Settings... button brings up a dialog box that allows you to choose from the various monitor dimming options Eclipse offers.  Please see the Monitor Dimming Options section for more information concerning this dialog box.

The On/Off radio buttons allow you to turn Eclipse on or off.

Monitor Dimming Options
Clicking on the Settings... button in the Eclipse control panel brings up a dialog box that allows you to set several monitor dimming options:

The Dim after xx minutes of inactivity field allows you to specify how long your computer can be idle before Eclipse dims the screen.

If the Don't dim if the modem port is active checkbox is checked, Eclipse will look for modem port activity such as a fax transmission or modem connection and not dim the screen if any activity is noticed.

If the Don't dim if the printer port is active checkbox is checked, Eclipse will look for printer port activity such as printing to a serial printer and not dim the screen if any activity is noticed.

The White background (for PowerBooks) checkbox is useful only to those who use a Portable or PowerBook Macintosh.  These Macintosh's require a white background to properly dim their screens.

The small Mac screen allows you to specify the dim now and don't dim corners by dragging the + and - icons to the corners you desire on the screen.  When the cursor is in the dim now corner, Eclipse will dim the screen immediately.  When the cursor is in the don't dim corner, Eclipse will not dim the screen no matter how long you neglect your computer.

Eclipse allows you to display either a customizable logo, or the current time when your monitor is dimmed.  To display a picture while the screen is dimmed, click on the Show Picture radio button.  To display the current time, click on the Show Clock radio button.

If you are displaying the time when the screen is dimmed, the Font and Size popup menus allow you to choose the font and font size that will be used to draw the clock.

To choose the picture that you would like Eclipse to display on the screen when your monitor is dimmed, first copy the picture to the clipboard using a graphics program like MacPaint or PhotoShop.  Then click on the Paste button in the Monitor Dimming Options dialog box and the new picture will be displayed.

The picture is stored in the file "Eclipse Preferences" in the Preferences Folder (which is in the System Folder) under System 7, or in the System Folder proper under System 6.  If you'd like to have the same image displayed on multiple computers, first set the picture on your own machine (as previously described) then copy your "Eclipse Preferences" file into the appropriate folder (the Preferences Folder under System 7, the System Folder under System 6) on every machine that you would like the image to appear.  Of course, Eclipse itself must also be installed on these machines.

Using this method, you can for instance standardize all of your company's computers to display the company logo when their screen is dimmed.

No matter how large the picture is that you choose to have displayed when your monitor is dimmed, Eclipse uses only 5K of memory because it uses advanced techniques to transfer the image to the computer screen.

Using Eclipse
Once you have installed Eclipse and configured it to suit your taste, operation is transparent.  Eclipse will dim your monitor automatically after you have neglected your computer for the period of time specified.  To wake your computer up when you wish to get back to work, click the mouse button, move the mouse, or type a key on the keyboard and you will be right back where you left off.

If you would like Eclipse to dim your monitor immediately, move the cursor to the dim now corner of your monitor.  If you would like Eclipse to not dim the screen for a period of time, move the cursor to the don't dim corner of your monitor.

Problems?
If Eclipse does not work, check to see if it displays an X-ed out icon at startup time.  Eclipse will display this icon if it cannot load.  Check the system requirements under the Requirements heading above to make sure you have an acceptable configuration for Eclipse to operate in.

Contact Information
If you have any problems with this software or if you require additional information, please write or call:

US Mail:
     Ambrosia Software, Inc.
     PO Box 23140
     Rochester, NY 14692

Voice:
     716.427.2577

Fax:
     716.475.9289

E-mail:
     America Online: AmbrosiaSW
          Compuserve: 73424, 1226
              AppleLink: Ambrosia.SW
                Internet: AmbrosiaSW@AOL.com