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Accelerator Support

Using Avalon Works Accelerator

1. Launching Avalon Works Accelerator

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Launching Avalon Works Accelerator

Avalon Works Accelerator launches automatically each time you start Windows. It operates in the background to accelerate your Internet connection. No user intervention is required.

If Avalon Works Accelerator is not running and you need to launch it manually, an icon titled "Avalon Works Accelerator" is located in the Windows Start Menu under the SlipStream folder.

The SlipStream taskbar icon appears in the Windows taskbar to you show you it is running.



Accessing the User Interface

Once launched, Avalon Works Accelerator will remain in the system tray (as shown above). For the most part, during web browsing there will be no need to access the user interface. You can use the user interface to change settings, view connection status or acceleration statistics.

To access the user interface features, click on the Avalon Works Accelerator icon in the system tray (shown above). A pop-up menu will appear (shown below), providing access to all the features of the product. Selecting and single-clicking any of the menu items will access that particular feature.

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Setting Username and Password Information

Your username and password information is located in the Connection Status dialog. To set your username and password:

  1. Right-click on the Avalon Works Accelerator taskbar icon and select "Settings..." from the menu.
  2. Click on the "Connection" tab.
  3. Enter your username and password in the fields provided. To avoid having to do this each time you connect, ensure that the "Save password" box is checked.
  4. To save your settings, press OK.

Changing the Image Quality Setting
The image quality setting changes the quality of images that appear in your Avalon Works Accelerator. The higher the quality you select, the longer it will take the image to load. For slower Internet connections, it is recommended that you lower your image quality. This slider can be adjusted anytime while browsing.

You can easily obtain full image quality for a particular image (described below), so don't be overly conservative about lowering your image quality setting.

  1. Right-click on the Avalon Works Accelerator system tray icon. See the user interface section of the product guide if you are unsure how to do this.
  2. Select "Settings...".
  3. Select the "Image Quality" tab.
  4. Use the slider bar to adjust the image quality setting.
  5. Press OK to save the settings.

Getting Full Image Quality
Note: The following information applies only when browsing with Internet Explorer.

While browsing, if you would like to request the full quality image, simply right-click on the desired image from within Internet Explorer and select "Show Original Image" from the menu.

The full quality image will appear in place of the lower quality image.

If you want to see the full quality version of all images on the current page, simply right-click on any image from within Internet Explorer and select "Show All Original Images" from the menu.

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Changing the Pop-Up Blocker Settings

Avalon Works Accelerator can prevent pop-up windows and floating flash advertisements from appearing while you browse the Internet. This behavior is enabled by default, and no user-intervention is required. However, you can disable these features at any time.

A limited number of web sites require pop-ups to function correctly. Avalon Works Accelerator allows you to specify a "White List" of sites where pop-ups will not be blocked.

You can also see a list of all pop-ups that were blocked. This information is useful if you suspect a web site is not functioning properly because pop-ups are being blocked.

Enabling and Disabling the Pop-Up Blocker

  • Right-click on the Avalon Works Accelerator system tray icon. See the user interface section of the product guide if you are unsure how to do this.
  • Select "Pop-Up Blocker...".
  • Select the "Options" tab.
  • To hear a beep whenever a pop-up is blocked, check "Notify blocked pop-up by PC speaker beep".
  • To enable the blocking of floating Flash advertisements, check "Block Floating Flash-Ads".
  • To disable all pop-up blocking for all sites, uncheck "Enable PopUp Blocker".
  • Press OK to save the settings.

Disabling the Pop-Up Blocker for Specific Sites

  • Right-click on the Avalon Works Accelerator system tray icon. See the user interface section of the product guide if you are unsure how to do this.
  • Select "Pop-Up Blocker...".
  • Select the "White List" tab.
  • Use the "Add", "Remove" and "Remove All" buttons to manipulate the White List.
  • Press OK to save the settings.

Viewing the Pop-Up Blocker Log

  • Right-click on the Avalon Works Accelerator system tray icon. See the user interface section of the product guide if you are unsure how to do this.
  • Select "Pop-Up Blocker...".
  • Select the "Logging" tab.
  • To add a web site to the "White List" so that pop-ups are no longer blocked from that site, right-click on the site and click "Add to Whitelist".

Adding Sites to the White List

You can add sites to the White List within the Pop-Up Blocker dialogs, shown above, or from within Internet Explorer.

  • Right-click on any text while browsing within Internet Explorer.
  • Select "Add to Whitelist" from the menu to add the current site to the White List.

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Blocking In-Page Advertisements

Avalon Works Accelerator can block many graphical advertisements that appear on various web pages (i.e. ad banners). Enabling this feature will prevent these ads from being downloaded and displayed in your browser, reducing download time.

Enabling and Disabling the Ad Blocker

  • Right-click on the Avalon Works Accelerator system tray icon. See the user interface section of the product guide if you are unsure how to do this.
  • Select "Settings...".
  • Select the "Features" tab.
  • To enable ad blocking, check the "Block in-page advertisements" box. To disable ad blocking, uncheck it.
  • Press OK to save the settings.

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Starting and Stopping

When Avalon Works Accelerator is launched it automatically connects. Occasionally, you may need to stop or start manually.

To Stop: If you are connected and you want to manually disconnect, right-click on the Avalon Works Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Select the menu item "Stop SlipStream".

The SlipStream system tray icon will now have a red "X" through it.



To Start: If SlipStream is stopped and you want to manually start, right-click on the Avalon Works Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Select the menu item "Start SlipStream".

The red "X" through the SlipStream system tray icon will disappear.



Closing Avalon Works Accelerator

To close Avalon Works Accelerator:

  • Right-click on the Avalon Works Accelerator system tray icon and select "Exit" from the pop-up menu (see below). Avalon Works Accelerator will disconnect and close. Doing this will not close any open browser windows.

Note: Avalon Works Accelerator will automatically launch again the next time you reboot your computer.

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