To access these options click the "Open data folder" in the ScreenBlur's About window
to open app's Data folder.
Text files that will be used need to be saved in UTF8 format. Restart the app afterwards if needed.
1. App tries to prevent the use of media keys while screen is locked (in the free version too).
To allow the media keys (play/pause, volume up/down..) when Mute Sound option is not used,
create a file named "AllowMediaKeys.txt" in the Settings subfolder.
2. Lock and unlock sounds can be changed or disabled
(in the free version too).
- Replace the "LockSound.wav" and "UnlockSound.wav" files found in the Sounds subfolder.
- Rename the files to "_LockSound.wav" and "_UnlockSound.wav" if you want to disable these sounds.
3. Notification icon can be changed.
Place an icon file named NotificationIcon.ico in app's data folder.
4. You can make changes to the "Auto unlock after" menu (in the free version too)
that is available if you click the button in the upper left corner on the primary screen when locked
(or right click anywhere) in the first 5 seconds after you lock the screen "on demand".
Edit the "AutoUnlock.txt" file in the Settings subfolder.
5. Logs are created for the last 31 days when ScreenBlur was used while logging is enabled.
- You can change the numeric value in "DaysToKeepLogs.txt" in the Settings subfolder to change the number of days.
The minimum is 10, the maximum 100.
The cleanup is done when the Logs window is closed.
6. ScreenBlur can unlock after a swipe (in the free version too).
- Create a text file named "UnlockOnSwipe.txt" in the Settings subfolder. Optionally on the first line place a numeric
value to indicate the length of the swipe in pixels.
The minimum value is 50, the maximum is 2000. The default value used is 100.
- Optionally place a number on the second line to indicate which swipes should register.
Value 0 to swipe anywhere (default), 1 to swipe on the primary screen edges, 2 to swipe on the primary screen starting anywhere but the edges of
the screen and ending on an edge of the screen, or 3 to swipe on the primary screen starting from an edge but ending
anywhere other than on an edge.
- Optionally place another 4 space separated numeric values (eg. 100 100 100 100) on the third line, each value
corresponding to an edge of the primary screen (top-bottom-left-right) and indicating the edge sizes in pixels. The
minimum value for each edge is 0, the maximum is 1000. The default value used when nothing is specified is 100 for all
edges.
7. ScreenBlur can dim the Desktop on idle (in the free version too).
- Create a text file named "DimOnIdle.txt" in the Settings subfolder. Optionally on the first line place a number to
indicate after how many seconds Desktop should dim. The minimum is 10 seconds, the maximum is 600 seconds. The default
value used is 30. Optionally place a second number on the next line to indicate the opacity percentage. The minimum is
20, the maximum is 100. The default value used is 30.
8. Unless the app is installed from Microsoft Store, by default app settings are saved in the app
folder inside the Data subfolder (in the free version too).
- To have separate settings for each Windows user when using the portable version of the app, create a file named
"PerUserSettings.txt" in the app folder. Existing settings found in the Data folder can then be used as defaults for
each new user. Do not remove the Data folder as it will still be used for inter-process communication and settings
shared between users.
- To have app settings saved in the user's AppData folder instead of the app folder, also create a file named
"AppDataSettings.txt" in the app folder. Not needed if the app is placed in the Program Files directory.
- With the paid app version, if multiple Windows users run the app concurrently using the same executable,
create a "MultiUserMode.txt" file in the app folder.
9. Passwords for additional app users.
- You can set additional passwords after pressing the Users button in the Settings window.
If you don't need additional
passwords you can even hide the button by creating a "HideUsersButton.txt" file in the Settings subfolder.
- User passwords can be disabled after a certain time and date. To enable the feature create a "TemporaryPasswords.txt"
file in the Settings folder and restart the app. To set the time and date when a user password should be disabled, edit
the text file named after the user in the Settings\Users subfolder (for guests use the Settings\Guests folder). App
should detect changes to the file and update accordingly. To disable new users by default also create a
"DisableNewUsers.txt" file in the Settings folder (for guests create a "DisableNewGuests.txt").
10. Lock screen customization (in the free version too, if you disable "Lock on use" feature
- read the free version options at the bottom of the page).
- Press the "Preview" button in the app Settings window to lock in preview mode.
- You can select any PNG, JPG or BMP image on your computer to use as background.
If the image is not selected from the app's Backgroung Images folder, a copy will be placed in this folder.
- Background images with names that start with a single "_" (underscore) are colorized.
Rename your file accordingly if you want the app to colorize an image.
- Names "screen+blur" and "_screen+blur" are reserved for using a blurred screenshot as background image.
End any image name with "+blur" to use it blurred. You can also change the blur strength by creating a "BackgroundImageBlur.txt" file in the Settings subfolder and place a numeric value on the first text line. Minimum value
is 1. Maximum value is 254. The default value used is 10.
- Get different effects by changing the opacity level and the color used for colorization.
- While not recommended, you can also hide the button found on the lock screen that can gracefully shut down the
computer. Create a file named "HideUserButton.txt" in the Settings subfolder.
11. You can use command line arguments, also while app is running.
"Lock" - locks the screen.
Follow with a second argument to specify the path to a PNG image to show.
"LockOnce" - locks the screen.
App will quit if not already running when using this, after user unlocks.
"Unlock" - unlocks the screen.
Follow with a second argument to specify who unlocked.
"Switch" - locks if unlocked, unlocks if locked.
12. ScreenBlur can put computer to sleep after it resumes
(in the free version too)
if no user input is detected for about a
minute. You can disable this by creating a "DisableAutoSleep.txt" file in the Settings folder.
- Computer may fail to sleep if Modern Standby (S0) is enabled. To restore the regular Standby (S3) use the provided
EnableStandbyS3.reg file in the settings folder and restart your machine.
13. App can swap Page Up and Page Down keys (in the free version too)
for Arrow Left and Arrow Right keys on the keyboard while running.
Combinations (such as Shift+Page Up) will not be affected. Useful on some laptop keyboards where Page Up/Down keys are
placed right above the Arrow keys which can make you offten press the Page Up/Down keys accidentally. The downside
currently is that you lose the Win+PageUp and Win+PageDown shortcuts used to move a window from one virtual desktop to
another on Windows 10 and Windows 11, as the program will use those shortcuts for Page Up and Page Down. Create a
"SwapPageKeysForArrowKeys.txt" file in the Settings folder and restart ScreenBlur to enable the feature.
14. The portable version of the app can check daily to see if there's a new version available. When
app is installed in
Windows Store the store has control over updates and this feature is not used.
- App can ask to update itself when a new version is found if running on Windows 10 or newer. To disable update checks
remove or rename the "CheckForUpdates.txt" file found in "Data\Settings".
- To enable update checks create an empty file named "CheckForUpdates.txt" in "Data\Settings". App creates
"CheckForUpdates.txt" only when running for the first time, if the Settings folder is missing.
15. ScreenBlur can close some other windows
while Windows File Explorer is closed by the app (in the free version too).
- Edit the "CloseWindows.txt" file in the Settings subfolder to control what windows are closed. Press the hotkey that
closes or starts the Windows File Explorer while the ScreenBlur settings window is open and another window is in focus
to add that window to the list of windows that will be closed automatically while File Explorer is closed.
- "CloseWindows.txt" file contents example below:
processName.exe
window title 1
window title 2
AnotherProcess.exe
window title
ClosesAllWindowsOfThis.exe
Options for the free version:
1. You can change the appearance of the lock screen by replacing some files.
- Replace the "Bee Nice.png" file in the Front Images subfolder to change the front image. Replace the "_Honeycomb 5.png"
file in the Background Images subfolder to change the background image. Make sure the file you use is also a PNG.
- Under the free non commercial use license you can also disable "Lock on use" feature by creating a "DisableLockOnUse.txt" file in the Settings sub-folder,
and after app restart this will enable lock screen customization when locking in preview mode.
- While "Lock on use" is disabled if the app runs on Windows 10 or newer you can also hide the button found
on the lock screen that can shut down the computer if you create a file named "HideUserButton.txt" in the Settings
sub-folder.
- To re-enable "Lock on use" delete "ScreenBlur.dat" found in the Settings sub-folder. You will have to redo
app settings. Passwords will not be affected.
2. You can hide the Users button in the Settings window by creating a "HideUsersButton.txt" file in
the Settings sub-folder.
3. You can use command line arguments.
"Lock" - locks the screen.
"LockOnce" - locks the screen. App will quit after user unlocks.
4. App can check daily to see if there's a new version available.
- To disable update checks remove or rename the "CheckForUpdates.txt" file found in "Data\Settings".
- To enable update checks create an empty file named "CheckForUpdates.txt" in "Data\Settings". App creates
"CheckForUpdates.txt" only when running for the first time, if the Settings folder is missing.
