You can start BoincTasks automatically every time you login on your computer.
To change this setting you have to run BoincTasks as administrator. BoincTasks needs to update some registry keys, and it needs administrator privileges to do so.
Once you changed this setting you can login and use BoincTasks as a regular user.
Start BOINC client at login
This will automatically start the BOINC client every time you login. The client is everything BOINC that does the actual work. BoincTasks displays what is is doing.
Connect to TThrottle
If you have TThrottle running and you want to show the temperatures and throttle levels in the Tasks, check this item.
Make sure you do the same in TThrottle, in the preference tab.
Language
Setup your own language. Normally this setting is system and it will detect the system language automatically.
Hotkey to show/hide BoincTasks
Select the field right of the text and press a key combination, like ALT + F12.
Every time you press this combination, BoincTasks is shown or it hides itself.
Setting Dialog: View
Time format
system: A date time format, depending on you system. Best try the 24 hour or 12 hour system, as they have a more fixed length.
24 hour: A fixed date time format.
12 hour: A fixed date time format.
Refresh rate
Normal: The system decides the best refresh time, depending on the number of tasks.
Slow: The same as normal, but longer refresh intervals.
Quick: The same as normal, but shorter refresh intervals.
Manual: Lets you set up your own fixed refresh interval.
If you have the history enabled, you have to consider some basic rules.
The history refreshes every 10 seconds or so, regardless of any other setting.
So setting a refresh rate close to the history refresh rate, may result in an extra read of all results.
Try to keep the refresh rate at 7 seconds or lower, in this way the history can use the same data. A longer setting will not result in less overhead.
But keep in mind that the refresh rate is only used when BoincTasks is visible or minimized.
The (10 seconds) history refresh is always active.
Use alternating stripes
When checked BoincTasks uses alternating row color lines, or shades of gray.
Use horizontal grid lines
When checked horizontal row lines will be drawn, with a user definable color.
Use vertical grid lines
When checked vertical grid lines will be drawn, with a user definable color.
Setting Dialog: Tasks
Column name sequence
You can set any column order you like or remove any column you don't need.
Column you don't want to exclude are: Name, Computer, Status. If you do some functions may not work.
Button: Default
Sets everything back to default.
Button: Apply
Applies the changes, closes everything and reopens with the new settings
Use user friendly name
Checked is the default setting. Unchecked may show a different application name, depending on the project, this "unfriendly" name is usually shorter.
Condense use column
A use column may look like this: 0.04 CPUs + 1.00 NVIDIA GPUs (device 1). This takes makes the use column quite long. Using the (checked) condensed use column, the column will show: 0.04C + 1NV(d1).
CPU % long term average
The CPU% is the time the CPU runs compared to the wall clock time. For a CPU tasks this should be as close to 100% as possible.
Checked the long term average is show, the percentage is from start to finish, but you may miss out on sudden changes.
Unchecked the short term average is show, the percentage is measured over a couple of refresh cycles and will show sudden changes in CPU%. This is the best setting for warnings and detect any problems.
Setting Dialog: History
Enable history logging
This starts logging the history of all connected computers.
Be aware that by enabling the history, BoincTasks will reads all computers every 10 seconds. This will cause additional data exchange and will use some CPU time.
Remove history after
This will remove all history entries, with a reported date, older than the set value.
The history will be read every 10 seconds, so a really long history, of more than 2000 items/computer, may be a bad idea.
The history is stored in the default temp directory. On vista and up it is here: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\eFMer\BoincTasks\history
The files are cvs,cvs1,cvs2. Every computer has it's own history file, by computer name.
cvs is the main file, cvs1 and cvs2 are backup copies, where cvs1 is the most recent copy.
Setting Dialog: Warnings
Deadline warning
A task that comes within the set time, will get a deadline warning color and text.
A setting of 0,0 will disable this feature.
Warnings
A warning color will appear, when a task matches one of the rules.
The first rule will generate a warning, when a task is assigned to the full CPU only and is running below a CPU% of 50%.
The second rule is a typical GPU task, that is assigned to a percentage of a CPU core and is assigned to 1 full GPU. When the CPU% is above 50% the rule is active. In this case the CPU is using more than 50% of its time feeding the GPU, this may indicate an error.
Setting Dialog: Gadget
Show never
To disable the gadget, select "Show only over the icon for" 0 "Seconds".
This will only show the summery information.
Position the gadget window
When you use the gadget window, first setup the size and location.
Select "Show always on top" and adjust the size and position of the window. The column width is adjustable as well.
Show always on top
Select "Show always on top", if you want to always show the gadget window, on top of al other windows.
Show always
Select "Show always" if you want to always show the gadget window.
Show only over the icon
This will only show the gadget, when you point over the BoincTasks icon, in the taskbar.
You need to give in a time of 1 or up.
Refresh every
This will refresh the gadget window, ever xx seconds.
Setting Dialog: Expert
Reconnect time
When set to 0, BoincTasks will report a lost connection and will leave it unconnected.
Clicking on the unconnected computer or on "all computers", in the computer sidebar will start a reconnect.
Automatic reconnect
A value of 240, in "= Reconnect every xx seconds" will automatically reconnect any disconnected computer, every 4 minutes.
Override default (xml) folder
Normally this is set automatically to the user temp folder.
In Vista and up: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\eFMer\BoincTasks
This location is used to store the computer list (computer.xml), the history and the log files.
Use encryption on computer password
The computer password, is stored in the computer.xml file, as readable. This is also the case, with the BOINC password.
When checked it will encrypt the password.
