Use Power Plan Assistant to Switch Power Profiles Automatically on Windows 7
One of the great frustrations with power management in
Windows is the inconsistency in plan adjustment when you
switch between docking and roaming.
Windows maintains different screen brightness settings
depending on whether it’s plugged in or running off of
battery, but it won’t switch you between the Balanced and
Power Saver power profiles automatically.
Some laptop manufacturers ship power plan switching software
with their systems. If you weren’t so lucky, never fear:
Power Plan Assistant for Windows 7 fills this gap in the
Windows 7 feature set.
It installs into your system tray, where it serves as a
substitute for the Power Options system tray icon.
The real action, as with most system tray icons, is in the
context menu. Right click on PPA’s black-box numeric icon to
see the full panoply of options available with this tool.
Select the On plugging in, automatically switch to… and
On
unplugging, automatically switch to… options to tell PPA
that you want the laptop to switch to Power Saver when it’s
unplugged, and back to Balanced when the plug’s back in.
You’ll never waste battery life again because you forgot to
switch profiles.
PPA features a few other interesting options. One feature
enables turning off the display when you put your mouse in
the upper left corner.
This lets you save immediately on battery if you’re
listening to music or audio books on your laptop. Don’t
panic – the screen re-activates the minute you move your
mouse! You can also instruct PPA to lock your computer when
the screen shuts off.
There’s even a menu command to open the Windows Power
Options dialog; if you like PPA, you can de-activate the
Windows Power Options icon in the system tray and make PPA
your one-stop shop for all your power management tasks.
Power Plan Assistant is “donationware.” Unless you make a
small donation to its author, you’ll have to uninstall and
re-install the application once a week.
If you want a free alternative, you can try either
Aerofoil
or
Vista Battery Saver. Having tried all three, I can say
that Power Plan Assistant 7 is worth the $5 to $10 you’ll
spend on the license key.