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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/proteo5/Prevent-Screen-Saver/llms.txt

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Prevent Screen Saver lives entirely in the Windows system tray. Once running, you interact with it through its tray icon and context menu — no need to keep a window open. The icon changes appearance depending on the current protection state, and every setting is reachable from a single right-click menu.

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Tray Icon States

The tray icon gives you an at-a-glance view of whether protection is currently active. The icon appearance switches between two distinct visual states as protection is turned on or off.

Active

Protection is running. Windows will not start the screen saver while this state is active. The tooltip reads Prevent Screen Saver - Active.

Idle

Protection is off. Windows resumes its normal idle and screen saver behavior. The tooltip reads Prevent Screen Saver - Idle.

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Toggling Protection with a Click

You can toggle protection directly from the tray icon without opening the context menu.
1

Single-click the tray icon

A single left-click on the tray icon toggles protection between Active and Idle. The icon and tooltip update immediately after the click is confirmed.
2

Double-click the tray icon

A double left-click also toggles protection state. The app uses a timer equal to the system double-click interval so that single and double clicks are handled correctly without double-firing.
The tray icon, tray tooltip, and main application window always stay in sync. Any change made through the tray is immediately reflected in the main window status display, and vice versa.

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Right-Click Context Menu

Right-clicking the tray icon opens the full context menu. Every feature of the app is accessible from here.

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Activate and Deactivate

Activate

Enables screen saver prevention. This item is disabled (grayed out) when protection is already active — you cannot double-activate.

Deactivate

Stops screen saver prevention and returns Windows to its normal idle behavior. This item is disabled when protection is already idle.

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Open

Clicking Open shows the main application window, restoring it from the tray. The window displays the current protection status and provides an Activate/Deactivate button that mirrors the tray controls.

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Start with Windows

The Start with Windows item is a checked toggle. When checked, the app registers itself to launch automatically when you sign in to Windows. When unchecked, the registration is removed.
Toggling Start with Windows writes or removes a value named PreventScreenSaver under the registry key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. The stored value is the full quoted path to PreventScreenSaver.exe. Because the key lives under HKCU (current user), no administrator rights are needed to make this change.

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Hotkey Submenu

The Hotkey submenu controls the global keyboard shortcut that toggles protection from any foreground application.

Enable (toggle)

Checking or unchecking Enable turns the hotkey on or off. A balloon notification confirms the new state and shows the active shortcut when enabled.

Preset choices

Five preset key combinations are listed below the Enable toggle. Selecting a preset immediately re-registers the hotkey using the new combination and shows a balloon notification confirming the change.
See the Hotkeys guide for the full list of presets and details on handling registration conflicts.

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Help

Clicking Help opens the built-in Help dialog, which is centered on the main window (or on the working area of the current display if the main window is not visible).

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About

Clicking About opens the About dialog with project information. Like the Help dialog, it is centered on the main window.

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Exit

Clicking Exit stops protection, unregisters the hotkey, sets the last-protection-active state to false, saves settings, hides the tray icon, and closes the application cleanly.
Clicking Exit is the only way to fully close the application. Any other close gesture — such as clicking the X button on the main window — minimizes the app to the tray instead of exiting.

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Balloon Notifications

The app uses tray balloon notifications (shown for 2.5 seconds) to confirm changes that happen without opening the main window.
  • Hotkey enabled — shows the active shortcut name.
  • Hotkey disabled — confirms the keyboard toggle is off.
  • Hotkey preset changed — shows the newly selected shortcut.
  • Hotkey preset saved while disabled — confirms the preset was saved even though the hotkey is currently off.
  • Hotkey registration failed — warns that the shortcut could not be registered and instructs you to use the tray controls or pick a different preset.

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Minimizing to Tray

Closing the main window does not exit the application. The window is hidden and the app continues running in the tray. To exit completely, use Tray > Exit.

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