User Guide Stardock Central Whether you purchased Object Desktop on CD or electronically, the way to interact with Object Desktop normally will be through Stardock Central. Stardock Central is a program that lets you launch, update, and obtain the programs that make Object Desktop. It also allows you to download updated documentation, talk about technical issues on a forum, and even chat live with Stardock developers and the Stardock community. Description of selection Version currently installed vs. What is available Click this checkbox to see beta versions of future updates and unreleased Object Desktop programs. To retrieve an update, click on the item you wish to update and then click on the Update (or Install) button. It will then download and install or update that program. The discussion forums will allow you to interact with people throughout Stardock’s community. This includes WinCustomize, Galactic Civilizations, and more. Similarly, the chat option allows users to talk to other users of Stardock’s software. If you get stuck, often times you can find instant help on the chat channel #stardock. It is also accessible via an IRC client (irc.stardock.com). Using Chat Stardock Central integrates an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client directly into the application to allow you to connect to Stardock's IRC server (irc://irc.stardock.com) and chat with other users and Stardock. A full accounting of all the options and commands that are available for IRC servers is outside the scope of this document, but there are some basic details and commands that will help you get started. Channels (rooms) on IRC servers are indicated in the tabs at the top of the window. Tabs that begin with a # sign are channels (like the default channel of #SDCentral that you join when you start the chat client). You can switch between the channels and private chat windows by clicking on their corresponding buttons. Once in the channels, people with an @ next to their nickname are the channel operators or ops. They can often answer questions for you, direct you to resources, or kick you off the channel if you are being abusive or the like. IRC commands can be entered into the lower-most entry field once you are connected. All IRC commands begin with a / character. /join #stardock Join the #stardock channel. /leave #wincustomize Leave the #wincustomize channel /msg LickServ Hello how are you? Sends a message of "Hello how are you?" to the LickServ user on IRC. This will also open a chat window to that user. Note that the LickServ user on IRC is an automated "bot" there to perform specific functions. Any conversations you have with it are liable to be pretty one-sided. /quit Disconnect from the irc server. For additional information on IRC in general, we suggest visiting http://www.mirc.co.uk/irc.html. In the tools->chat settings option from the menu you can tell Stardock Central to automatically have you join specific channels. The Commands tab can be used to set actions to take by default when connecting to the IRC server. In the example above, a /join command will be run automatically to open the #GalCiv chatroom as well as the default room set elsewhere in the chat settings. Backing up and Restoring your Object Desktop Components It is up to users of Object Desktop to backup their Object Desktop programs. To do this, right click on the program you want to backup as shown here: You can archive a selected program or archive that program and additional content you’ve downloaded for it (skins, themes, etc.). You can also download and archive those programs as you download them from Stardock Central. These commands are also accessible from the file menu. The restore command (“Restore Existing”) will provide a list of Object Desktop components that you have previously archived. If you need to restore from a disk (for example, if you downloaded from work and wish to install at home) use the “Browse…” button which will bring up the file dialog. Object Desktop components are saved as standard .ZIP files. Stardock Central will then open that ZIP file and install it just the same as if it were downloaded from Stardock.net. Viewing your programs Stardock Central will also let you choose which programs you want to view and not view. There are dozens of programs on Stardock Central, not all of them will you be interested in. You can right click on a program and tell Stardock Central to “Hide” it. From the “View” menu item, you can choose the “Show/Hide” applications to list through the various components of Object Desktop to unhide the programs you want to see. You can also view the download manager. When you first use Stardock Central you will probably be downloading a lot of programs at once. The download manager will enable you to view the progress of those downloads. Tools & Settings From the Tools menu item, you can configure Stardock Central. This may be required if you change your email address or renew your subscription to ObjectDesktop.net or want to participate on the forums and chat areas. Check for Updates will scan all of Stardock.net to see which programs you currently own from Stardock have had updates and provide you with a dialog listing those updates. Refresh WinCustomize Libraries is applicable only if you have a premium WinCustomize subscription. It will download the latest library information to allow you to instantly browse the thousands of skins, themes, wallpapers, icons, suites, etc. that are hosted by WinCustomize.com Refresh site updates also only applies if you have a premium WinCustomize subscription. It will provide you with news of the news skins, themes and icons that have been uploaded that day. Register Products This item will let you manage your various registration codes for Stardock’s programs. If you ever lose your serial numbers (registration codes) you can go to http://www.stardock.com/support.asp and type in your email address and all your codes will be sent to you. Once you have that code, you can enter it into this dialog and press the update button. You can also control the installation path for your various programs from here. Lookup serial number is the same as going to the support.asp page except it is integrated into Stardock Central. Figure 1 you can also get to the register products dialog by clicking on the bottom right corner of Stardock Central. Chat Settings is designed to set up your configuration for talking live on chat. By default, the name used is SDC_Guest. Use Chat Settings to change your preferences including your name on chat. Settings is where the overall preferences of Stardock Central are set up. There are a number of important settings here you should be aware of: • Show pre-release versions. This is off by default. If you are willing to try out programs that are incomplete (and may have bugs) you can check this on. • On the Connection tab, Stardock Central works from multiple servers. If you are having problems with connection, you can try changing the location. • Also on the Connections tab, the Proxy Server data can be entered if you are behind a firewall. • Similarly, the download data allows you to decide what sized byte chunks you want to download. 65K is the default. You can make this larger or smaller to see if it improves your download performance. Keeping track of changes On the left panel when a program is selected is a link to the history of that program. It will take you to a page that will provide you with the relevant changes made to that program. More support for Object Desktop FAQ: http://www.stardock.com/support/support.asp?product=prod1 Home Page: http://www.objectdesktop.com .