|
|
Online Help | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |  |
 |
Content
7.7
Exercises
One of the things that causes RSI is
little or no alternating movements of the body. That is why it is recommended
to do well described physical exercises regularly. RSI-Shield offers a
number of exercises during the long breaks. In chapter
8 you can read all about the exercises.
7.8 Macros
Macros can reduce RSI by automatically performing
certain (complex) tasks. But also when you do not have RSI symptoms, macros
can be very useful. When you must repeatedly perform a certain task, you can
create a macro, which performs the task automatically. Macros can start and
control applications, type text, perform tasks on the Internet, etc. You can
even create your own little programs with macros. In chapter
13 you can read all about the macros.
7.9
Advanced Settings
For the settings which require a little more knowledge, you can use this screen. The 'Advanced settings' screen can be shown and made active by pressing Ctrl+4 (look at picture 7.9). Usually it is not necessary to use this screen. Only use it when you know exactly what you are doing.
Picture 7.9 The Advanced
settings screen
No-discipline
mode
For some people it is very difficult to stick to the breaks. They can not resist
to postpone breaks, quit RSI-Shield just before a break starts, or switch profiles
just before a break. For these people there is the 'No-discipline mode'. By
enabling this mode, it becomes impossible to ignore RSI-Shied.
Normally, RSI-Shield disables almost all input during breaks. Some keyboard- and mouse actions are not blocked though (look at the list below). By enabling the 'No-discipline mode', these items will be disabled as well. Furthermore, will it be impossible to postpone breaks with the special key combination, quit RSI-Shield (the program can't even be 'killed') or change profiles via the context menu.
The following input stays normally possible, during breaks:
If you want to enable the 'No-discipline mode', you can follow these steps:
Sound
when you press a key
There are indications, that it is good to use a keyboard that makes clicking
sounds when you press a key. You should have to hit the keys less hard, because
you know when the key is sufficiently pressed (when you hear a clicking sound).
RSI-Shield can simulate such a keyboard for you. You can modify RSI-Shield,
so that it plays a sound when you press a key.
Follow these steps when you want to hear a sound when you press a key:
You can choose between 7 (Tick?.wav) different sounds, which
are played through your speakers or you can choose 'PC speaker' if you have
not got any speakers.
Make
sure that the counter keeps counting
Normally RSI-Shield takes into account whether you are
using the PC or not. The counter stops the countdown when a user stops using
the keyboard and mouse for a while. However, you can change the settings of
RSI-Shield in such a manner that the counter always counts down and never stops:
Make
sure the counter stops counting down sooner (or later) after a key hit or mouse
usage
By default, the RSI-Shield counter counts down 10 seconds
when a key is pressed or the mouse is used. If you want the counter to countdown
more seconds or fewer seconds, you can follow these steps:
Do not take into
account breaks held by someone on his/her own
To avoid annoying the user, RSI-Shield takes into account
whether or not someone takes breaks on his/her own. This way it can not happen
that someone who just had a lunch break, gets a forced break from RSI-Shield.
If you do not appreciate this 'smart' behavior, it can be turned off:
Change
natural break length
As mentioned earlier, RSI-Shield takes into account
whether or not someone takes breaks on his/her own. If someone takes a break
on his/her own, which has the same length as one of the breaks of RSI-Shield
(micro, medium of macro), then this person has already taken the required break
and RSI-Shield will 'leap' forward in time (as a matter of speaking), until
just after that break. Example: The length of the medium break is set to 3 minutes.
If someone does nothing for 3 minutes, RSI-Shield 'jumps' forward in time until
just after the medium break, so this break does not have to be taken again.
The system is 'smart', never allowing you to 'jump' past a longer break. Thus,
you can not skip a macro break by taking a micro break by your self.
How long someone may do nothing before it is considered to be a natural break, is adjustable. If you want, for example, that the natural break needed to 'jump' past a medium break should be longer or shorter, then you can follow these steps:
Change the maximum
number of times a break can be postponed
When a break comes at a very bad time, it can be postponed.
Obviously it is not recommended to postpone a break regularly. That is why there
are consequences to postponing breaks. Read more about postponing breaks in
chapter 6. The number of times a break can be
postponed, is normally limited to 3. This number can be changed though:
Change maximum-snooze
time
When a break is postponed, RSI-Shield will go back in
time (as a matter of speaking) until just after the previous break (read more
about this in chapter 6). How far RSI-Shield
'jumps' back in time can be changed. If, for example, you prefer RSI-Shield
to 'jump' back in time just 1 minute, enabling you to work again for 1 minute,
you can follow these steps:
Change key combination
for postponing breaks
To postpone a break, you must use a certain key combination
(read more about postponing breaks in chapter 6).
By default, you should press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Space bar (keep the Ctrl-,
Alt- and Shift-key pressed simultaneously while you press the spacebar) to postpone
a break. This key combination can be changed though. If you change the key combination,
make sure it is a complex one. This decreases the chance it is already used
by another program for another function. To set another key combination, you
can follow these steps:
Make the RSI-Shield
counter show hours
Normally, the RSI-Shield counter just shows the minutes
and seconds (read more about the counter in chapter 6).
If you set an extremely long break time or the time between breaks are extremely
long, it becomes necessary to see the hours. To achieve this, follow these steps:
Let the RSI-Shield
counter show just the last 59 seconds
If the RSI-Shield counter takes up to much space, it
can be useful to hide the minutes. You can modify RSI-Shield in such a manner,
that the minutes are no longer shown and the counter does not count down until
the last minute before a break starts. Only in the last minute will the counter
begin to count down.
Changing
the appearance of the RSI-Shield counter
By default, the RSI-Shield counter looks like counter A in picture 7.10, but
the appearance of the counter can be changed. The counter can, in a way, slip
into another skin. The different appearances of the counters are called skins.
You can choose between 5 different skins. In picture 7.10 three skins are shown.
A. |
B. |
C. |
| Picture 7.10 A few skins for the counter | ||
If you want to, for example, make the counter look like skin B, you can follow these steps:
No notification movie
when a break is about to start
RSI-Shield normally shows a movie just before a break
starts. If you do not appreciate this notification movie, you can disable it:
Show notification
movie earlier or later when a break is about to start
By default, RSI-Shield shows a notification movie 15
seconds before a break starts. You can change this time. This can be very useful
when, for example, you do not have much discipline. Let us say that you always
close RSI-Shield when you see (thanks to the notification movie) that a break
is about to start, then you can change the settings so the movie is shown 1
second before a break starts. This way, you do not have the time to stop RSI-Shield.
No confirmation
movie when a break is postponed
When you postpone a break or when a break is postponed
automatically, a confirmation movie appears. If you do not appreciate this movie,
you can disable it:
7.10 Statistics
RSI-Shield keeps extensive statistics about the
computer usage. Every key hit or mouse move is registered and kept. On any given
moment you can get an overview of these statistics. You can see from day to
day how you have used the computer. On the statistics screen, the statistics
are shown in numbers. When you prefer to view the statistics graphically, use
the graphs screen (look at paragraph 7.11). Press Ctrl+5
to make the statistics screen visible (look at picture 7.11).
TIP Use the Tronan Report program (see chapter 14) to export the statistics to a spreadsheet program and compare the data of multiple users.
Picture 7.11 The statistics screen
Protect statistics
with a password
If you are afraid that someone else might take a look at your statistics, you
can protect them with a password. When an incorrect password is entered, in
the 'Password' field (look at picture 7.11 A), the screen will remain empty.
The password is encrypted and saved in your profile. This means, that if someone
copies your profile from your computer, the password is also copied and thus
your statistics remain safe.
Follow these steps to protect your statistics with a password:
Picture 7.12 The password screen
When you want to see the statistics, follow these steps:
If you have forgotten your password, there is only one thing you can do; remove the statistics and the password:
View statistics
You can use the buttons at the top right of the screen
(look at picture 7.11 B) to skip through the days. The only difference between
the buttons is the 'jump distance' and direction. Above the buttons, the day
which is currently shown, is displayed. In section C (look at picture 7.11)
the information about the shown day is displayed: