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IdleVolume

IdleVolume is a simple utility designed to do one thing: turn down the sound volume on your computer after you have walked away.  That's it.  It isn't fancy, it just does its job.  Frankly, this is a feature that is missing and should be included with Windows.

It's all pretty straightward.  Install the software using the download available here. Once it has been installed, launch it from your Start menu (under the IdleVolume program group).  For some reason the installer won't launch it automatically, so you'll have to pull it up manually the first time.  From then on it will load automatically each time you logon to your computer. 

Once the software has been launched the icon will become available in your system notification area.

Left-click the icon to open the main window to configure the software, or right-click the icon to open the popup menu.

There are only two options to set: the amount of idle time that must occur before IdleVolume does its job, and the volume level to set when it kicks in.  The default settings are 10.0 minutes and 30.0%, respectively.  Adjust each to your liking by dragging the slider, or entering the value directly. 

When IdleVolume has kicked in and changed your system volume level the icon will turn yellow to indicate that it is active.  Pressing a key or moving your mouse will deactivate it and the icon will return to white .

Click the Close box of the main window to minimize the application, or hold Shift while clicking the close box to exit the software.  You can also exit by right-clicking the notification icon and selecting Exit.

Additional Information

• This software requires Windows Vista or newer to function.  It will not work on Windows XP.  Windows Vista and newer handle audio volume much differently than prior versions of Windows (it's much easier now), and since Vista and Windows 7 have been available for a long time, I didn't feel like taking the time to rewrite this to work on XP.  Please don't ask me to create an XP version.  It's time to upgrade, folks!
• IdleVolume is set to load at startup automatically by the installer.  To prevent it from loading at startup delete the shortcut from your Startup folder.  To turn this back on, re-install the software or recreate the Startup folder shortcut.
• Volume is decreased gradually over 2.5 seconds when the amount of idle time has been reached to prevent a jarring change in sound level.
• Volume is increased quickly over 1/3 second when the computer detects keyboard or mouse activity.
• To temporarily disable IdleVolume, right-click the icon and select Disable IdleVolume.  The icon will turn gray.
• If the icon is not visible in Windows 7, click the up-arrow in your notification area to see all icons.  You may want to select Customize to make the icon visible all of the time.
• IdleVolume uses the same mechanism used by Windows to start your screen saver when you haven't moved your mouse or used your keyboard for a period of time (though it has its own timeout setting).  If you are having trouble and IdleVolume never kicks in, the best way to diagnose the problem is to diagnose issues with why a screensaver cannot start on your computer.
• This software is made available free of charge, but cannot be distributed from any site besides www.maxoutput.com.  Please contact us if you find it somewhere else.  You may link to this page if you wish to share this software with others.