Smart Window Dimmer

Too many windows, too much glare? Smart Window Dimmer keeps the window you are using bright and fades back everything else, on every monitor.

Turn it on and the rest of the screen dims around the window in front. Click another window and the light moves with you. Nothing is closed, moved or hidden. It is just quieter to look at.

The dimmer works like the one on your wall. Click the dial to turn it on or off, and turn it to set how dark. It clicks into Low, Medium, High and Maximum, and stops anywhere from 10% to 90% in between.

Switch the dial to Ruler and a lit strip follows your pointer down the page. Everything above and below it fades back, so you keep your place in a long article, a contract or a spreadsheet. Set the strip from 40 to 240 pixels tall.

Start a focus session of 15, 25, 45, 60 or 90 minutes. The dim goes a notch deeper while it runs, and the timer on the dimmer counts down the time left. When it ends you get a notification, and the dim eases back to where you had it.

Pick the apps you read and write in and they dim on their own, each at its own level, even while the dial is off. Set others never to dim. Full-screen games, videos and slideshows are always left at full brightness, unless you turn that off.

Press Ctrl+Alt+D in any app to turn dimming on or off, or pick your own shortcut. It can start with Windows, dim straight away and wait in the notification area. Click the icon there to turn it on or off.

Soft edges let the light spill a little past each window's rounded corners. The settings come in light and dark, or match Windows. Upgrading from the earlier version? Your dimming level carries over.