Welcome to the SIMSII WatchDog Help system!
WatchDog is a Windows NT/XP/2000 32-bit compatible application intended to monitor the behavior of a selection of programs on your computer.
At any time, a registered program can be in one of the following status:
Running: The normal state of a well behaving program which has been normally launched by the user through the Operating System.
Not Responding: The undefined state in which a program could be when the Operating System cannot communicate with it anymore. This program will be displayed in Task Manager as "Not Responding" and must be terminated by clicking on the "End Task" button.
Stopped: The program is not running. This could be because it has not been started yet, it has been terminated normally with its own "Exit/Quit" or whatever mean was provided to the user through its interface, or it has been terminated from the Task Manager’s interface.
WatchDog can take action on a program status change by sounding a local Audio Alert and/or by transmitting eMail Message(s) to one or more selected Recipients. Each monitored Program has configuration information stored in a file on your computer. This information is used by WatchDog to determine which action(s) should be performed in the case of a Status Change:
Audio Alert: If instructed to do so, a Program Status Change will trigger one of four Audio Alert determined by a priority set in the Program Config. File. The audio Alert can then be silenced from WatchDog’s interface.
Audio Control Interface: Although not required under normal operation, it is possible to open up the Audio Control Interface to perform audio tests. This interface allows to activate one or more Audio Alert tones, and to turn them off.
EMail Message(s): Again, as per Configuration Information, a Status Change can trigger the transmission of one or more eMail Messages to selected Recipient(s). Each Recipient’s eMail address is linked to a monitored Program through another Configuration File, the eMail Recipients file.
Audio Alerts or eMail Messages can be globally enabled or disabled in the Configure Menu. A CheckMark is use to set, clear or visualize these status. Also, a Flashing Indicator becomes visible in WatchDog’s interface if disabled.
WatchDog maintains a Log File of all events. This Log File can be examined by clicking the appropriate interface’s button, which launches Windows Notepad as a file viewer. Another button allows deletion of this Log File.