User Manual

Comprehensive Features Guide

Explore the full capabilities of DLives — from daily scheduling to deep Liquid Glass customization.

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1. Home Dashboard & Quick Glance Cards

The Home tab is the command center of the expanded island. It compiles widgets into a compact glass grid so you can assess your day in seconds without opening separate applications:

  • Upcoming Alarms Card: Highlights next scheduled chime alarms for the day.
  • Today's Timetable: Shows the active routine block from your timetable schedule.
  • Pinned Notes: Read and copy up to 2 sticky notes pinned directly from your Notes scratchpad.
  • Focus & Pomodoro Timer: Built-in 25/5/15 minute interval timer with start, reset, and skip controls.
  • Quick Drop Zone: Instant drag-and-drop landing area to stash temporary files.
Home Dashboard interface
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2. Control Center (Media, Volume & Brightness)

DLives integrates deeply with Windows APIs to control audio and hardware sliders directly from the island:

  • System Media Transport Controls (SMTC): Native interop controlling Spotify, Chrome, Edge, VLC, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. Live track titles, artist metadata, and media triggers (Play/Pause, Skip, Previous).
  • Master Audio Scalar Slider: Powered by Windows Core Audio API (pycaw) for smooth 0–100% precision audio level adjustments.
  • Display Brightness Slider: Controls primary and secondary monitor backlight levels without requiring external monitor buttons.
Control center interface

3. Alarms & Timetable Scheduling

Stay on track with lightweight, standalone alarm chimes that don't depend on Windows Clock:

  • Time Picker & Repeat Days: Set time down to the minute and assign days (M, T, W, Th, F, Sa, Su).
  • Sound Selector: Pick between system exclamations, digital chirps, or gentle chimes.
  • Slide-in Banner Alerts: When an alarm fires, an interactive modal card appears with Dismiss and 5-minute Snooze actions.
  • Daily Timetable Checklist: Configure recurring daily schedule blocks to check off as you work.
Alarms tab interface
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4. Quick Notes & File Explorer Integration

Never lose your thoughts. Notes in DLives are designed with zero proprietary lock-in:

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Transparent Plain-Text Storage Every note you write is saved automatically to %AppData%\DLives\notes\<Title>.txt. You can open, edit, backup, or sync this folder with OneDrive, Dropbox, or Git.
  • Live Keystroke Auto-Save: Content is written to disk instantly on every keypress.
  • Pin to Home: Toggle the pin icon to surface your top priority notes right on the Home tab.
  • Copy to Clipboard: One-click button copies entire note content immediately.
Notes tab interface
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5. Calendar & Events

A fast, uncluttered calendar embedded directly in your floating island:

  • Glassmorphism Monthly Grid: Smooth date selection with today indicator.
  • Event Scheduler: Add timed or all-day notes/events tied to specific dates.
  • Offline JSON Storage: Stored locally in %AppData%\DLives\calendar.json.
Calendar tab interface
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6. Clipboard History & File Shelf

Never retype or lose previously copied links, snippets, or paths:

  • Auto-Capture Clipboard: Silently remembers copied text, URLs, and code snippets in an accessible list.
  • One-Click Re-Copy: Click "Copy" on any historical item to make it active in your system clipboard.
  • File Shelf Zone: Drop files into the island to hold them while switching between directories or applications.
Clipboard and shelf interface
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7. System Diagnostics & Telemetry

Live hardware performance metrics updated every second:

  • CPU & RAM Load: Live utilization percentages and total memory breakdown.
  • Network & Wi-Fi: Active connection name and signal strength metrics.
  • Battery & Power: Exact percentage, discharge rate, and AC charging status.
  • Disk & Temp File Cleaner: View remaining space on C: drive and trigger a 1-click temporary cache flush.
System diagnostics interface
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8. Customizable App Launcher

Quickly access essential tools without cluttering your desktop:

  • Preconfigured Shortcuts: File Explorer, PowerShell / Terminal, Arcu, and standard utilities.
  • Custom App Addition: Pin any .exe or script with a custom label.
App launcher interface
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9. Customization Studio & Tab Manager

Tailor every visual and behavioral property of DLives:

  • Live Theming: Choose between Dark and Light mode, 10 curated accent swatches (Sky Blue, Emerald, Rose, Amber, etc.), or input custom hex values.
  • Glass Opacity & Corner Radius: Fine-tune translucency (0–100%) and corner curvature (0–30px).
  • Dock Position: Place the island at Top-Center, Top-Left, Top-Right, Bottom-Center, Bottom-Left, or Bottom-Right.
  • Tab Manager Studio: Open the full resizable studio window to enable, disable, or reorder tabs to create your ideal setup.
Customization studio interface