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Author Topic: How can I force a process to never start more than once (only one instance) ?  (Read 10787 times)

Armando

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Hi everybody,
I have a few programs (like Outlook) which sometimes have multiple instances showing up in the task manager... against my will.
Are there any utility which could prevent that from happening ?
Thanks.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2009, 08:26 PM by Armando »

majoMO

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I  tried Activate with Outlook and it worked well.

Armando

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Hey ! That was quick. It seems to work. Thanks  a lot.  :Thmbsup:

tomos

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Havent tried this Armando but it also sounds like what you looking for
Skrommel's SingleInstance

Allow only one instance of a program to run.

Features:
- User defined programs.
- Option to detect hidden programs.
- Won't close instances started before SingleInstance.
Tom

Curt

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- this makes me ask if  Explorer is meant to run twice - the first one at startup, for the taskbar etcetera, and (later) the second one, for my folders (when I open them)??

Eóin

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- this makes me ask if  Explorer is meant to run twice - the first one at startup, for the taskbar etcetera, and (later) the second one, for my folders (when I open them)??

That could happen if the "Launch folder windows in a separate process" option is checked under "Folder Options >> View"

Armando

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Havent tried this Armando but it also sounds like what you looking for
Skrommel's SingleInstance

Allow only one instance of a program to run.

Features:
- User defined programs.
- Option to detect hidden programs.
- Won't close instances started before SingleInstance.

AH! this is exactly what I wanted. Thanks a lot Tomos !  :-*

lanux128

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Skrommel is so far ahead that he makes software even before they are requested. :-* :Thmbsup:

Armando

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 :) yup.

Curt

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- this makes me ask if  Explorer is meant to run twice
That could happen if the "Launch folder windows in a separate process" option is checked under "Folder Options >> View"

- of course! I forgot about that option; Thanks for reminding me ;-)

Armando

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Havent tried this Armando but it also sounds like what you looking for
Skrommel's SingleInstance

Allow only one instance of a program to run.

Features:
- User defined programs.
- Option to detect hidden programs.
- Won't close instances started before SingleInstance.

AH! this is exactly what I wanted. Thanks a lot Tomos !  :-*


Hmmmm... It works well, but uses a certain amount of CPU power which I'm not sure I'm willing to let go for such a small app.

lanux128

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Hmmmm... It works well, but uses a certain amount of CPU power which I'm not sure I'm willing to let go for such a small app.

how much CPU usage? if possible, get the non-compiled ahk as well and compare the cpu usage.

Armando

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Hmmmm... It works well, but uses a certain amount of CPU power which I'm not sure I'm willing to let go for such a small app.

how much CPU usage? if possible, get the non-compiled ahk as well and compare the cpu usage.

Thanks Lanux.
Not much, hovering between 2 and 4%, but still... My computer isn't that powerful, so any app that continuously take CPU resources is considered unfavourably... Unless it's a absolutely essential.
I'll try your suggestion. Thanks !

majoMO

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uses a certain amount of CPU power which I'm not sure I'm willing to let go for such a small app.
Same here. Too CPU usage and an uneeded and wasted background CPU usage.

I'm using Activate. It does the work to me.

Armando

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Yes... I might do some further testing with SingleInstance, but activate seems to work... until then.