Annoyed by the repeated assaults of spurious messages and confirmation prompts on your desktop? Don't let these or any other windows stress you, interfere with your productivity, or freeze your computer while you are away. Get rid of them with Buzof.
Buzof enables you to automatically answer, close or minimize virtually any recurring window including messages, prompts, and dialog boxes.
Buzof is designed to handle many different situations that would otherwise need to be addressed individually by specialized software. In fact, Buzof handles all kinds of messages and dialog boxes so well that many customers think that it was specifically designed for their specific needs.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Just drag the "Add" crosshair icon from the Buzof window and drop it onto the button you would normally have to click to get rid of the annoying window. From this point on, Buzof will periodically scan the desktop and take care of the window whenever it shows up again.
You can also add handlers even when Buzof is not visible by pressing the defined hot key while the cursor is positioned over the button you wish to target.
TASKBAR STATUS AREA ICON
Buzof appears as a small icon in the taskbar status area (near the computer clock) while it is running. This icon always reflects the current state of Buzof. You can access all the features of Buzof from the icon:
- Double-click on the icon to show or hide the Buzof application window.
- Right-click on the icon to display the application pop-up menu. You can use the menu to
set application preferences and invoke the features of Buzof.
Since the application window is only needed when changing application options, you can hide it for the rest of the time and let Buzof work in the background as you concentrate on important things.
APPLICATION POP-UP MENU
- Show/Hide: Show or hide the Buzof application window.
- Enable/Disable: Enable or disable Buzof.
- Help: Display this window.
- About Buzof: Display registration, version, and copyright information.
- Close: Exit the application.
APPLICATION WINDOW
- Scan the desktop every: How often Buzof should check for other windows when it is
enabled.
- Enabled: Select this option to activate Buzof and have it scan the desktop in the interval
indicated above. This item is functionally the same as the Enable/Disable menu item.
- Title of the last handled window: The title of the last window handled by Buzof. Press the
arrow on the right side of this field to view a list of the most recently handled windows.
- Total: A counter of all the windows that Buzof has handled so far.
- Window handlers: The list of window handlers added so far.
A window handler is a record containing information about the type of window to look for
and about the kind of action to take when it appears.
Each item in the list has a check box to enable it or disable it. When a handler is checked,
Buzof processes it each time the desktop is scanned. Otherwise, the handler is ignored.
- Add: When an annoying window appears on the desktop, create a handler for it to teach
Buzof how to handle it when it appears again. You can create window handlers using one
of the following methods:
(1) Drag and drop using the crosshair icon.
- Move the cursor to the "Add" crosshair icon in the Buzof window.
- Press the left mouse button and keep it down.
- Drag the cursor to the button you would normally click to dismiss the annoying window.
- Release the mouse button. You will notice that a new item has been added to window
handler list in the Buzof window.
If you are dragging the "Add" crosshair icon, and you want to cancel the operation,
simply press the right mouse button
Press the ALT key before or while dragging the "Add" crosshair icon to bring windows
that are covered by Buzof to the front.
(2) Hot key. You must first register a hot key with Windows in order to use this method.
- To register or change a hot key:
- Press the button in the Add box. It is labeled "Hot Key" if a hot key is not registered,
or with the name of the hot key (F2 - F12) otherwise.
- Press any function key between F2 and F12 and press OK.
- To unregister a hot key:
- Press the button labeled F2 - F12 in the Add box.
- Press the space bar then press OK.
- To use a hot key:
- Move the cursor over the button you normally click to dismiss the annoying window.
- Press the hot key.
- You can use this method even when the Buzof window is hidden.
Notes concerning both methods:
When a window handler is added while Buzof is enabled, Buzof attempts to automatically
select a Click method capable of dismissing the targeted window.
If available, you can also target the small "minimize" and "close" buttons at the edge of
the window's title bar.
If the window does not have a button, aim at its title bar or border.
Which method should you use?
- Either one is OK. It's mostly a matter of taste.
- Use the drag and drop method if all your function keys are reserved by other programs.
- Use the hot key method if the targeted window disappears when it loses the focus.
The commands Remove and Test act on the window handler that is currently selected in the list, if any. To select a handler, click it. When a handler is selected, it is highlighted to distinguish it from the other handlers in the list.
- Remove: Remove the selected window handler from the list.
- Test: Process any window on the desktop that matches the currently selected handler.
- Hide: Hide the Buzof window.
- Help: Display this window.
- About: Display registration, version, and copyright information.
- Advanced: Display the Advanced section of the application window.
The following window handler features apply to the window handler that is currently selected in the list.
- Description: The title of the handler as it appears in the window handler list. The default
value for this field is the title of the targeted window, if any. Feel free to enter a description
that helps you identify the handler more easily. The content of this field does not affect
the ability of Buzof to handle the targeted windows.
- Caption: The text in the title bar of the nearest non-child popup relative to the targeted
window. For instance, if you have captured a button in a dialog, this would contain the
title of the dialog. If you have captured a title bar button of a child popup, this would
contain the title of the main window.
- Message: If you have captured a title bar button of a window, this would contain the title
of the window. If you have captured a button in a message or a dialog box, this would
contain the text in the first standard Windows text field of the window, if any. In a typical
message box or prompt, this field would correspond to the message text.
The Caption and Message fields are used by Buzof to differentiate between windows of
the same type. For instance, if you delete the contents of the Message field, Buzof will
handle any window resembling the one that you have initially captured, regardless of its
message.
Buzof only compares the beginning of the caption and the message strings with the
corresponding text. Thus, if a window's message text is of the form "Not enough space
on drive C:", you may delete the end of the string - in this case, the drive name - to make
Buzof respond to this message for any drive.
- Button: The label of the targeted button, if any. This read-only field is provided for
readability purposes only; it cannot be modified by hand. When you capture a title
bar button such as Close or Minimize, this field will display [X] or [_], respectively.
- Action: How Buzof should handle the targeted window.
- Click <n>: Different methods of pressing the button of the targeted window.
If the "Click 1" method doesn't work, try the alternate clicking methods.
If a clicking method stops working after handling the first window, make sure that the
"Caption" and "Message" fields are properly configured. Otherwise, try the alternate
clicking methods.
If the window has no buttons, "Click1" should be able to close it. However, if the
window contains a close button labeled [X] in its title bar, it is preferable to capture
that button instead.
Certain buttons that would normally work with "Click 1" may require two consecutive
clicks when their window is not active. This problem can be solved by using "Click 1b",
which activates the targeted window before clicking its button. This method may cause
a brief visual artifact on some machines, so "Click 1b" should only be used when
necessary.
- Close: Close the targeted window, if applicable. This item is automatically selected
when a handler is created for the close button [X] in the title bar of a window.
- Minimize: Minimize the targeted window, if applicable. This item is automatically
selected when a handler is created for the minimize button [_] in the title bar of
a window.
The contents of the Action list control will vary depending on the way you create
a handler. If you capture the close or minimize button in the title bar of a window,
Buzof will automatically select the corresponding action and offer no other action
alternatives. The Click methods are only available when capturing non-title bar
button. In these cases, neither the Minimize nor the Close methods are included
in the list. If you want to modify how a window is handled, delete its corresponding
handler and add it again by targeting the proper button.
TIPS
- The text fields in the "Advanced" section may be initially empty even if they are labeled
in the targeted window. This condition occurs with certain applications that use
non-standard window controls. In most cases, Buzof will still be able to handle these
windows. However, it will do so regardless of the text contained therein.
- The text fields in the "Advanced" section cannot display some special characters in their
original form due to technical restrictions of the operating system. The most common
examples are underscored characters, which appear prefixed with the "&" symbol, and
carriage returns, which often translate to one or more "|" symbols.
- Since all of the information is stored in a small data file, it is easy to use one machine to
define a configuration that will be propagated to other computers in a lab or data processing
center. Corporate users can benefit significantly from this feature in situations where it's
important to configure many workstations in a uniform way. The data file is named
"Buzof.dat" and it is located in the Buzof folder. Please refer to the End User License
Agreement included in this product to purchase the correct number of licenses to meet
your needs.
- Results may vary from one application to another depending on how the application was
designed. Please contact us if you find a case where Buzof fails to handle a window,
unless the targeted window is a shareware registration "nag screen". Shareware nag
screens can be removed by registering the software.
EXAMPLES
Example A
An application is always asking you if you are sure about performing a certain operation. You want Buzof to automatically press the Yes or No button of the annoying prompts:
- Display the Buzof application window if it is hidden. This is done by right-clicking the
Buzof taskbar status area icon and selecting "Show" from the application pop-up menu.
- Make your program display the annoying prompt.
- Drag the "Add" icon from the Buzof window and drop it onto the Yes or No button,
whichever one you want Buzof to automatically press in the future.
- Press the "Hide" button in the Buzof application window to get it out of your way.
Example B
You would like to automatically close the Internet reconnection message box without causing it to dial-up:
- Display the Buzof application window if it is hidden. This is done by right-clicking the
Buzof taskbar status area icon and selecting "Show" from the application pop-up menu.
- Bring up the reconnection message box. This can be done by trying to access
the Internet without an active connection. For instance, open your browser or try
to check your e-mail.
- Drag the "Add" icon from the Buzof window and drop it onto the button that cancels
the reconnection request.
- Press the "Hide" button in the Buzof application window.
Example C
You would like to automatically refuse Internet cookies from certain web sites:
- Display the Buzof application window if it is hidden. This is done by right-clicking the
Buzof taskbar status area icon and selecting "Show" from the application pop-up menu.
- Launch a web browser and navigate to a web site that will attempt to set a cookie
on your computer.
- When the browser prompts you to accept the cookie, drag the "Add" icon from the
Buzof window and drop it onto the message box button used to reject the cookie.
- Open the "Advanced" section of the Buzof application window and delete the end
of the message, starting with the cookie or host name onward, whichever comes first.
- Press the "Hide" button in the Buzof application window.
Example D
You would like to automatically minimize the dial-up window that appears whenever an Internet connection is established:
- Display the Buzof application window if it is hidden. This is done by right-clicking the
Buzof taskbar status area icon and selecting "Show" from the application pop-up menu.
- When the dial-up window appears on the screen, drag the "Add" icon from the Buzof
window and drop it onto the minimize button in the title bar of the dial-up window.
- Press the "Hide" button in the Buzof application window.
