Tools from www.gorlani.com/portal:
Netboar: free and effective network analysis tool. Similar to iftop
Mac Makeup: change (spoof) your mac address
TurnItOn: enable disabled controls
Peks: checksum verification and modification tool for PE executables
Evtbak: batch backup your local/remote Windows NT event log
MyGears: gear/speed calculator
CTI: calculate rally times
Pinta: free simple customizable Mailenable antispam plugin

www.gorlani.com and all of its contents are (c) by Marcello Gorlani

Versione in italiano
If you want to translate this page in your language, send a mail to the author.

TurnItOn!

Current release is 3.01d (20040413). You can download it here, and here is the signature.
MD5 Hash of the zip file is: C3C556299E4E116F91CDE9A185764774

Jump to the end of page for release history or click here to send this link to a friend!
This tool is FREE software, and if you find it useful, you can donate 1 to 5 euros with PayPal. See Q0.

What’s this?

There are times you get very disappointed. You're evaluating a new software, but the magic function you need is grayed out. "If I just could press that button...", "If I just could check that box...", "If I just could change that text...". If you ever told yourself any of these, then you could need TurnItOn.
This tool lets you enable any kind of disabled control, letting you check, press and edit what you need.

Run it!

As other tools of mine, this needs no installation, registry access or particular permissions. Just unzip the package and run it.

The box below should show up:

You just need to drag the “drag me” label (1) over the disabled control and release the mouse. The “Text” (2) list will contain all the handles to the controls under the mouse. The first of these will be transferred to the “Handle finder” window (3).
Pressing the “enable” button will do the job.
Depending on the structure of the window you’re enabling, you may need to disable the “Enhanced P.W. search” (4) function.
If “Text” window contains different controls, just double click the one you need to enable to transfer it to the “Handle finder” window.

Disabled windows karma...

These brief words will probably save a lot of FAQs, so please read them.
I will present you a sample of what TurnItOn can do, showing that there are some implicit limitation in its usage.
Scenario: I’m not the administrator of the XP Pro machine I’m working on, and I want to change the computer name.
I point to Start, right click on “My Computer” and choose Properties. The box below appears:

As you can see the Change button is disabled.
Start TurnItOn, drag the “drag me” label on the Change button and release the mouse. The “Text” list is populated with several items. Double Click on Change and then press “Enable”. You see in the background the Change button getting enabled.
Without clicking any elsewhere click the Change button, set a new name for the machine and press OK.
This box appears:

So, the lesson is: not only you have to access the desired windows and controls, but you also need right privileges to run selected functions.

The good part of the story is that there are thousands of cases where you can use TurnItOn without these problems. It is funny to see how many programmers only disable interface controls to cut out functions you should not access.
I have a long list of such software, but it is not always polite to post it in public. I would prefer to discuss it with you in the forum. Post your experience so other people could experiment with it.
Just a couple of examples:
- Windows 2000 Advanced Server: you cannot rename a box with a Certification Authority installed. With TurnItOn you can!!
This leads to another consideration: sometimes, and this is the case, it is not very clever to access some functions. Renaming a CA root will probably render it unusable. Don’t do it!

- Symantec Antivirus Corporate 8.x: your admin can lock some of the controls you reach by clicking the icon in the tray, such as “LiveUpdate”. You can enable it and run the “LiveUpdate” at your will. Modifying policy settings is also possible, but don't do it: always ask your admin.

Use of the tool to enable function that you should not reach without paying is highly discouraged.
Some installers do not let you go to the next step until you enter a correct code/serial/activation. Do NOT use TurnItOn to skip this kind of protections. Always pay and obtain the code from the vendor.

Work in progress...

This tool was first built in 1999. Since that time it was improved and several functions were added:
- a lot of system info about windows
- ability to display hidden windows
- ability to enable/disable menu items
- ... :-)

Having enough time, I'll prepare a public and free versions of the tool with these features. Stay tuned!

I have some questions…

Look at these FAQs.

Q0	How much does the program cost?
A0	The program is absolutely FREE. You must get it for free and freely distribute it. The program is NOT ad-supported nor it contains viruses or backdoors. To redistribute it, please link this page: it will always contain the last up to date version If you find it useful, you're encouraged to donate a little money with paypal. Sending 1 to 5 Euro will help in developing this and other tools. If you don't donate, you can still use the program without limitations and get assistance by the forum.
Q1	The "text" list contains a lot of handles without description
A1	This is because not all the windows have an associated caption
Q2	The same control have different handles in time
A2	It is because Windows recycles handles during time. So if you open a window and the Ok button has 00001523 as an handle, closing and reopening the same windows may lead to have 00005213 for the same control
Q3	Does the program installs its own device driver, DLLs, ActiveX controls or registry keys?
A3	No. The program just runs and does its job. You do not need to install the program. If you are bored with it, just delete the folder where you put it.
Q4	I disabled the entire desktop, taskbar and clock!
A4	Yes, what's the problem?
Q5	I enabled one control, but when I set the focus to its window it reverts to disabled again
A5	Click directly the control, like in the rename computer example above
Q6	I disabled the Enable button of TurnItOn
A6	Close and restart the program
Q7	I found an intelligent use of the tool
A7	Post it to the forum and let we discuss it
Q8	Where can I find updates of the tool?
A8	You can find them at http://www.gorlani.com/publicprj/turniton/turniton.asp, this page. Register to the portal to get notified of new releases. Also see Q11
Q9	You said this is free, but I cannot find the source code.
A9	This is free, not open source.
Q10	I tried to download an older version, but the last one was retrieved...
A10	As new versions come out, older ones are removed from the site. For people who clicks mirror links that point to old files, an automatic redirection is provided.
Q11	What do you mean with "semi-automatic" updates?
A11	When you start the program, you have a 1/10 chance the program will ask you to go to its home page and lets you check for an update version. This is a compromise between asking you each time the program starts and never asking. There is no "don ask me anymore" checkbox because the program by design does not alter your registry at all nor it saves configuration files around, so it can't remember anything. If you give me feedback about it, maybe next version will be different
Q12	I would like to discuss about TurnItOn usage, problems, success stories and desiderata.
A12	Good. Just register to the portal and jump to the right forum! We need intelligent people to discuss about this and other projects that will be released in the near future

Release history

(20040413) 3.01d - Zip file MD5 hash is C3C556299E4E116F91CDE9A185764774

+ first public release

Current release is 3.01d (20040413). You can download it here, and here is the signature.
Click here to send this link to a friend!

www.gorlani.com and all of its contents are (c) by Marcello Gorlani

Versione in italiano