News :: 15MR: Hide Window Plus v2.0.0.0

Hello and welcome 15-Minute Review! Today’s application is Hide Window Plus version 2.0.0.0 by Hide Windows Software—An application to be able to totally hide windows and taskbar items temporarily, with a few extra goodies.

H2. Software Description

As Giveaway of the Day states:

“Hide Window Plus is a tool that allows you to hide any window from the screen and the taskbar with a single keystroke or a right click on the Close button. If the program creates a tray icon (near the clock), it will be hidden as well. You can later un-hide the program with a keyboard shortcut.

This tool also allows you to run a screensaver, turn off the display or mute the sound in no time using keyboard shortcuts. The program runs invisibly in the background and doesn’t clutter your system tray. Hide Window Plus is a must-have tool if you are concerned about your privacy. Hide Window Plus is compatible almost with any Windows program.”

Quick Pros

• Very easy to use
• Simple interface (Right click on Close button or keyboard shortcuts)
• Added quick-keys for switching to powersave mode or turn on screensaver handy

Quick Cons

• No list of manually-hidden windows
• No support for multiple groups

Expansion

This application is very simple; You can set it to hide and show an entire group of applications at press of a key combination (Default: Win+Esc) and also hide the applications’ task tray buttons as well. If you don’t want to pre-define a series of applications, you can also hide applications on a window-by-window basis by keypress (Default: Win+1) and bring them back in order of which you hid them, reversed (Default: Win+2) with the same ability to hide their task tray button as well. The added key combinations for activating powersave mode and screensaver mode are handy as well if you are working with sensitive information. Add a password to your screensaver or force login on exit of powersave mode and you have a more secure envorinment. While it seems this application may be more geared towards some level of ‘deception’, it does have practical uses, especailly with the screensaver and powersave keyboard combinations.

Speaking of practical uses, there is two features I do feel are missing which could actually increase the application’s productive use. The first would be the inclusion of multiple groups with their own selectable key combinations for a multi-use situation. This would be very useful for someone as myself who doesn’t like or want a cluttered desktop or task tray. For example, I may want my accounting package up and two Excel spreadsheets, as well as my graphics design applications up. We all know that this many windows open would stuff the task bar in an cluttered means as well as the window if you forget to minimize. With this feature, it’d be nice to make it so there is key combinations as well to switch whole groups. I currently use virtual desktop applications to manage this, but I can not see this application being difficult to manage this as well.

The second is there is no support to bring up a window with a list of the windows you’ve manually hidden using the Win+1 combination. I’d like to be able to manually recall certain windows instead in simply reverse order. It could even be an interface such as when you bring up the Alt+Tab display. This would bring this application more into a productive level for those who have a use productively for an application as this one versus a deceptive use.

Final Verdict

This application, while missing what I feel would be a few great small features, is actually still a pretty good application for the market it is aimed at. If you do have a use for this application, I do recommend grabbing it while it is free. I would be hard to justify $19.95 however; It lacks more productive features for real workplace to make it worthwhile for a business to support it.

Posted by BladedThoth on Saturday, March 31, 2007