StayAwake is a simple utility that enables you to maintain an Active status on Microsoft Teams (and perhaps other messaging applications such as Slack and Zoom). StayAwake also prevents screen saver activation, screen blanking, and Windows session lockouts.
If you are using Microsoft Teams, you may have noticed that Teams automatically sets your status to Away after a certain period of inactivity. This can be frustrating if you are still at your desk but perhaps on a business phone call OR outlining a plan on paper OR consulting some reference material.
StayAwake can be minimized to the Windows System Tray, and will continue to run in the background until you click the Exit button.
StayAwake does its job by simulating key presses of unused or low side-effect buttons at specified time intervals. This is a safe and non-intrusive way to keep your Microsoft Teams status Active.
StayAwake executable is now digitally signed by the kind folks at OSSign. Thanks to the code signing, there is NO need for users to override the Windows Defender Smartscreen or unblock the executable file to launch StayAwake.
For most users, the default choice of Scroll Lock cycling will work just fine. See the Key Simulation Options section below for more info.
This field allows you to specify the interval between key simulations. The initial default value for this is 240 seconds (i.e., 4 minutes). However, you can change this to any value between 10 and 9990 seconds. Your new value will be saved and used the next time you run StayAwake.
After changing the value for Seconds between Awakes, click this button to apply the new setting. Clicking this button will also immediately run a StayAwake Key simulation.
The clock times of when the StayAwake event was last run, and when it will do so next are displayed and continually refreshed on the StayAwake window.
Click this button to pause StayAwake Key simulations.
As seen in the clip above, clicking the Pause button will also have these effects:
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The PAUSED state will be indicated in the Next StayAwake event time slot.
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The Pause button will change to Resume mode. To exit the PAUSED state, click the Resume button.
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If StayAwake is closed while still in paused mode, StayAwake will reopen in paused mode when it is launched the next time. To exit the PAUSED state, click the Resume button.
Click this button to minimize StayAwake to the Windows System Tray. See the SystemTray Icon section below for more info.
Click this button to exit StayAwake.
This is the default option, and it will work just fine for most users.
However, some users using Remote Desktop alongside have reported spurious keystrokes being transmitted between the connected Windows devices. Users in such situations should explore other key simulation options.
With this option, StayAwake will simulate a Volume Down key press, immediately followed by a Volume Up key press, thereby resulting in no net change in volume level.
A minor benefit with this option is the visual feedback. Each StayAwake key simulation event will cause the Windows Volume Slider bar to display for a few seconds above the Windows Taskbar.
However, if a user has muted the audio, then this option will unmute it. Users wishing to avoid this side effect should explore other key simulation options.
With these options, StayWake will simulate key press of an unassigned keycode.
These unassigned keycodes have been obtained from this Microsoft article on Virtual-Key Codes.
Microsoft may start utilizing any of these unassigned codes in the future -- but not all of them in one go. Hence all 10 of the currently unassigned codes have been included in the StayAwake Key Simulation list so that users can switch to another still available unassigned keycode.
You can verify StayAwake in action by temporarily setting the StayAwake Key simulation selection to Volume Up & Down and the Seconds between Awakes to 10 seconds.
When you minimize StayAwake, it will be represented by the System Tray icon shown above. You can click on this icon to access the following context menu:
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Restore: Click this to restore StayAwake window.
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Exit: Click this to exit StayAwake.
StayAwake saves its configuration in a file named StayAwakeConfig.ini. This file is co-located in the StayAwake.exe application file folder. These key-value pairs are stored in this file:
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AwakeKeyCode: This key stores a numeric value between 0 and 11 to indicate the selection for the StayAwake Key simulation list. -
SecondsBetweenToggles: This key stores the number of seconds between each StayAwake Key simulation as specified in the Seconds between Awakes field.The
TimerIntervalInSecondsvalue must be an integer between 10 and 9990. Values outside this range will be ignored and the default value of 240 seconds will be used instead. -
AwakePaused: This key stores a flag value (Y or N) to indicate if StayAwake is in paused state. -
MultipleInstancesAllowed: This key stores a flag value (Y or N) to indicate whether multiple instances of StayAwake are allowed to run simultaneously. The default value is N (i.e., multiple instances are not allowed). Any value that is not Y will be interpreted as N.
StayAwake is also available as a plugin for Notepad++. This version can be useful if you have Notepad++ open during your typical workday. You will be spared the need to separately run the standalone StayAwake application.
If you are only looking for a way to block screen saver activation and session lockouts, you do not actually need StayAwake. Instead, you can simply open a PDF document in full screen mode in Adobe Acrobat (Reader | Professional), and leave it open in the background. This will prevent your screen saver from activating, and also prevent your Windows session from locking out.
Note: Full screen mode is different than maximized window state. To view a PDF document in full screen mode in Adobe Acrobat (Reader | Professional), either use:
- The menu option: View » Full screen mode
- Or the much quicker keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + L.
However, if you are looking for a way to keep your Microsoft Teams status Active, then StayAwake is the right tool for you.
StayAwake is a portable application and does NOT require installation with administrator privileges. Simply download the latest release from the Releases page and unzip the contents to a folder of your choice. Run the StayAwake.exe application file to start the utility.
