Is there anyway to detect user inactivity in java?

Question

I am writing a desktop application in which I want to perform an operation if user doesn't use the computer for X number of minutes. Just like auto idle in MSN messager or skype. Any hints?

*"if user doesn't use the computer for X number of minutes."* The computer or the application? The latter is what MSN & Skype do, and it is much easier than monitoring the entire computer, beside being more the apps. business (to know). — Andrew Thompson, Jan 18 '12 at 13:12
I am talking about the computer input and I think MSN and skype detects computer input rather than application input. — qasimzee, Jan 18 '12 at 13:18

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 26 '14 at 23:19

4

I found https://code.google.com/p/fiat-lux/source/browse/Fiat+Lux/src/fiatlux/os/time/ that served my purpose.

Thanks

edited Jan 26 '14 at 23:19

Răzvan Flavius Panda

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answered Jan 20 '12 at 07:38

qasimzee

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This time code looks like it's actually from the jppf project originally. The gradle artifact that contains this code is at 'org.jppf:jppf-node:5.1.1' and you can find the source from the same http://grepcode.com/file/repo1.maven.org/maven2/org.jppf/jppf-node/5.0/org/jppf/node/idle/IdleTimeDetectorFactoryImpl.java?av=f It's worth noting that the JPPF code is under Apache 2.0 and the Fiat-Lux code linked above is under GPL, although possibly incorrectly so. – juckele Dec 15 '15 at 18:17

score 3 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:29

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you need to:

listen for events at the application level
track the time interval between these events

read here this article. you have the code under InactivityListener.java

And there is even a similar thread: How to detect inactivity/idle time since last keypressed on j2me

edited May 23 '17 at 10:29

Community

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answered Jan 18 '12 at 13:03

CloudyMarble

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Consider changing "track the time interval" (sounds like a report), to "have a thread that periodically wakes up and checks for absence of events" – Bohemian Jan 20 '12 at 07:42

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 18 '12 at 13:01

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You can use a background thread that basically only sleeps idle or a quartz task if you are not already using any timer/job scheduler library.

answered Jan 18 '12 at 13:01

Fernando Miguélez

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Isn't this restricted to your application, in contrast to foreign applications, running on the machine? – user unknown Jan 18 '12 at 16:08

Is there anyway to detect user inactivity in java?

3 Answers3