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Is there a way to run Growl as a Windows Service? I searched around SO, but have not found a solution, please let me know if there is one out there already.

mservidio
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2 Answers2

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The excellent link to AlwaysUp, provided by mservidio, clearly states that visual notifications will likely be a problem:

Note: When you run Growl as a Windows Service, it may not be visible on your desktop. This
may render the visual notifications useless but the non-visual notifications (email, forwarding, etc.) should function normally.

I would guess that the reason for this is that growl will try to send notification to the user who started Growl... which is whatever is configured in your windows service, e.g. SYSTEM. Which means you won't see them, because growl doesn't run for your user session.

I have also been wondering how to direct notifications to specific users / sessions. There doesn't seem to be any documentation on this, so I must assume it's currently not supported.

batjko
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  • AlwaysUp is working for me, it seems like a quick solution to get Growl up and running in a fashion that behaves like an always up service. – mservidio Sep 21 '12 at 10:21
  • But does it send notifications to you, as in your desktop user session? And if so, is it because you are authenticating the windows service with the same account you use to log in to the desktop? – batjko Sep 21 '12 at 11:26
  • Within the service, there is an option to restart the application in the current session. When you do that, yes it runs in your desktop user session. See the link http://www.coretechnologies.com/products/AlwaysUp/Apps/RunGrowlAsAService.html: "On Windows 7, Vista and Server 2008, Growl will be running in the isolated Session 0, not on your desktop. If you wish to see its tray icon, you can select Application > Restart "Growl" in this session to temporarily bring Growl onto your desktop where you can interact with it normally:" – mservidio Sep 21 '12 at 11:31
  • Ah... so still only working if it runs under your session. Can't send notifications to other users / logins. Still helpful, thanks. – batjko Sep 21 '12 at 11:39
  • No, read that article. As long as it's running under a session, notifications are working for me. Regardless of if it's running under the current desktop user session or "Session 0", it will send notifications. – mservidio Sep 21 '12 at 11:42
  • I understand that and it solves this fella's problem. But it cannot distinguish between sessions. I cannot let it run under one session and send notifications to another, specifically different one. – batjko Sep 21 '12 at 13:35
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Have you tried Microsoft's Srvany? Its pretty basic but should get the job done if your needs are the same.

This tutorial showing how to configure Growl with AlwaysUp should give you an idea of what to expect when running Growl as a Windows Service.

CoreTech
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  • I just tried it using srvany, and growl launches and then quits. In the event log, there is a growl exception. I tried running the service using LocalSystem with "Allow service to interact with desktop" on and off. Same result for both. I also tried using a service account instead. No luck with either. I'll have a look at AlwaysUp tomorrow. – mservidio Aug 08 '12 at 23:40