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IdleVolume

IdleVolume is a simple utility designed to do one thing: turn down the sound volume on your computer after you have walked away.  That's it.  It isn't fancy, it just does its job.  Frankly, this is a feature that is missing and should be included with Windows.

It's all pretty straightward.  Install the software using the download available here. Once it has been installed, launch it from your Start menu (under the IdleVolume program group).  It will also load automatically each time you logon to your computer. 

Once the software has been launched the icon will become available in your system notification area.

Left-click the icon to open the main window to configure the software, or right-click the icon to open the popup menu.

There are only three options to set: the amount of idle time that must occur before IdleVolume does its job, the volume level to set when it kicks in, and whether the volume adjustment is relative to the starting volume or not.  The default settings are 10.0 minutes and 30.0%, with the level being absolute (not set relative to the active volume level) respectively.  Adjust each slider to your liking by dragging, or by entering the value directly.

Version 2.0 of IdleVolume added a software exception list. If you would like for IdleVolume to not adjust the volume level when certain applications are active, select the application from the drop-down list on the Exceptions page (it has to be running to show up in the list), and click the + button to add that application to the exception list. For an exception to take effect, the selected application must be the foreground (focused) application. If it is merely running in the background IdleVolume will still adjust the volume when the computer been idle for the preset amount of time.

When IdleVolume has kicked in and changed your system volume level the icon will turn yellow to indicate that it is active.  Pressing a key or moving your mouse will deactivate it and the icon will return to white .

Click the Close box of the main window to minimize the application, or hold Shift while clicking the close box to exit the software.  You can also exit by right-clicking the notification icon and selecting Exit.

Additional Information

• This software requires Windows Vista or newer to function.  It will not work on Windows XP.  Windows Vista and newer handle audio volume much differently than prior versions of Windows (it's much easier now), and since Vista and newer have been available for a long time, I didn't feel like taking the time to rewrite this to work on XP.  Please don't ask me to create an XP version.  It's time to upgrade, folks!
• IdleVolume is set to load at startup automatically by the installer.  To prevent it from loading at startup delete the shortcut from your Startup folder.  To turn this back on, re-install the software or recreate the Startup folder shortcut.
• Volume is decreased gradually over 2.5 seconds when the amount of idle time has been reached to prevent a jarring change in sound level.
• Volume is increased quickly over 1/3 second when the computer detects keyboard or mouse activity.
• To temporarily disable IdleVolume, right-click the icon and select Disable IdleVolume.  The icon will turn gray.
• If the icon is not visible in Windows 7, click the up-arrow in your notification area to see all icons.  You may want to select Customize to make the icon visible all of the time.
• IdleVolume uses the same mechanism used by Windows to start your screen saver when you haven't moved your mouse or used your keyboard for a period of time (though it has its own timeout setting).  If you are having trouble and IdleVolume never kicks in, the best way to diagnose the problem is to diagnose issues with why a screensaver cannot start on your computer.
• Version 2.0 added an automatic updater. If a new version is made available, you will be prompted to update to the newer version automatically.
• Version 2.0 also makes the utility compatible with Windows 8 and newer.
• This software is made available free of charge, but cannot be distributed from any site besides www.maxoutput.com.  Please contact us if you find it somewhere else.  You may link to this page if you wish to share this software with others.