SlipStream SP User Guide

Click here for information about NOW!Imaging™.

This section will familiarize you with the features of SlipStream SP6.0.

  • For Version 3.1 and 3.2, please click here.
  • For Version 4.0, please click here.
  • For Version 5.0 and 5.1, please click here.

1. Using SlipStream SP

2. Accessing SlipStream SP Advanced Options

3. Uninstalling

Need further assistance? Please feel free to contact us for product information or feedback.

 

Launching SlipStream SP

SlipStream SP launches automatically each time you start Windows®. It operates in the background to accelerate your Internet connection. No user intervention is required.

If SlipStream SP is not running and you need to launch it manually, an icon titled "SlipStream SP" is located in the Windows® Start Menu under the SlipStream folder (as shown below).

If SlipStream SP is running, the SlipStream system tray icon will appear in the Windows® system tray (as shown below).



top

 

Accessing The User Interface

Once launched, the SlipStream SP icon will remain in the system tray (as shown below).

In general, there will be no need to change the settings during Web browsing. You can use the user interface to change settings, access the Privacy Manager, view the connection status, and check the acceleration statistics. To access the user interface features, click on the SlipStream SP icon in the system tray (shown above). A pop-up menu will appear (shown below), providing access to all the features of the product. Selecting and single-clicking any of the menu items will access that particular feature.



top

 

Setting Username and Password Information

Your username and password information is located under the Connection tab. To set the username and password:

  • Click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon and select "Settings..." from the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

  • Click on the "Connection" tab.

  • Enter your username and password in the fields provided. To avoid having to do this each time you connect, ensure that the "Save password" box is checked.

  • Depending on your operating system, upon connecting to the internet, a connection balloon may appear above the SlipStream SP icon in the system tray. To disable this feature, check the "Hide Connection Balloon" box.

  • To save your settings, press the "OK" button. The changes will take effect the next time SlipStream SP is restarted.



top

 

Changing Image Quality Settings

The image quality setting changes the quality of images that appear in supported Web browsers while the SlipStream SP is enabled. The higher the quality you select, the longer it will take for images to load. For slower Internet connections, it is recommended that you lower your image quality. This slider can be adjusted anytime while browsing.

You can easily obtain original image quality for a particular image (See "Getting Original Image Quality"), so don't be overly conservative about lowering your image quality setting.

  • Click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon and select "Settings..." from the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

  • Select the "Image Quality" tab.

  • Use the slider to adjust the Image Quality settings.

  • Click the "OK" button to save the settings.


Getting Original Image Quality

Note: The following information applies only when browsing with Internet Explorer 5.0® or later and Firefox® 1.5 or later.

If you would like to request the original quality image while browsing, simply right-click on the desired image within your Web browser and select "Show Original Image" from the menu (shown below).

The original quality image will appear in place of the lower quality image (shown below).

If you want to see the original quality version of all images on the current page, simply right-click on any image within your Web browser and select "Show All Original Images" from the menu (shown below).



top

 

Starting and Stopping SlipStream SP

When SlipStream SP is launched it automatically connects. Occasionally, you may need to stop or start SlipStream SP manually.

Stopping SlipStream SP:

If you want to manually disconnect SlipStream SP, click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Select the menu item "Stop SlipStream".

The icon that indicates SlipStream SP is disabled will appear on the system tray (shown below).

Starting SlipStream SP:

If SlipStream SP is stopped and you want to start it manually, click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Select the menu item "Start SlipStream".

The icon that indicates SlipStream SP is disabled will be replaced by the enabled icon (shown below) once your connection is authenticated.



top

 

Closing SlipStream SP

To close SlipStream SP:

  • Click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon and select "Exit" from the pop-up menu. SlipStream SP will disconnect and close. Doing this will not close any open Web browser windows.

Note: SlipStream SP will automatically launch again the next time you reboot your computer.



top

 

Viewing Acceleration Statistics

You can view the acceleration statistics and how they change dynamically using the Statistics dialog.

  • Click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon and select "Statistics..." from the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

  • Click the "Reset" button to reset the statistics. This can be done at any time (even while browsing) without affecting SlipStream SP's performance or operation.

  • Click the "Details" button to view more detailed statistics (see below).

    The following table provides a description of the statistics that are displayed:

    Original Data

    Size of the original (uncompressed) data.

    Actual Data

    Amount of compressed data that has been sent by SlipStream SP.

    Savings Ratio

    Factor of reduction in data. E.g. A savings ratio of 4.00 means that the actual data that has been sent is 1/4 the size of the original data due to compression.

    Text-based

    Statistics regarding compression of text-based content.

    Graphics

    Statistics regarding compression of graphical content.

    Others

    Statistics regarding compression of content that is neither text nor graphical.

    Upstream

    The total amount of original and compressed data uploaded.


top

 

Viewing Performance

You can view your SlipStream SP's overall performance using the Performance dialog.

  • Click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon and slect "Performance..." from the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

  • Click the "Reset" button to reset the statistics. This can be done at anytime (even while browsing) without affecting SlipStream SP's performance or operation.

From this screen you can view the size of the original (uncompressed) data transferred through SlipStream SP, the actual (compressed) size of the data, and your savings ratio. For example, a savings ratio of 7 means that the actual data that has been sent is 1/7 the size of the original data due to compression.

Also, this window displays the speed of your connection and the estimated amount of downloading/uploading time that has been saved by using SlipStream SP. Note that these two features are only available when using a dial-up connection.



top

 

Changing Connection Settings

Normally, the connection settings that are set during installation do not need to be changed. If your ISP provides new connection settings, you will have to change the preset ones using the "Settings..." dialog.

  • Click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon and select "Settings..." from the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

  • Click the "Connection" tab.

  • Click the "Advanced..." button.

  • Change the "Remote Server Hostname" and "Server Port" to the ones provided to you by your ISP. In most cases, it is unnecessary to change the "Local Listening Port".

  • Press the "OK" button to close the "Connection" dialog box and save your new connection settings. These settings will be changed after you restart Slipstream SP.



top

 

Bypassing SlipStream SP for Selected Sites

If you wish to bypass SlipStream SP for certain Web sites (e.g. Web sites on your local corporate intranet), then simply select the "Features" tab in the "Settings..." dialog and click on "Proxy Exclusion" (see below). You have two options for bypassing sites:

  • If you have already defined a proxy exclusion list in your Web brower, select "Use browser's proxy exclusion settings" to configure SlipStream SP to exclude these sites as well.

  • You may also "Specify a proxy exclusion list" by selecting this option. In the given text field, list all the Web sites, separated by semicolons, that you wish to bypass SlipStream SP.

  • Stop and then start SlipStream SP. Please refer to the Starting and Stopping SlipStream SP section of the product guide for detailed instructions.



top

 

Accelerating Flash

SlipStream SP can accelerate Macromedia® Flash™ files. The degree of compression is based on the Image Quality setting.

To enable Flash acceleration:

  • Click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon and select "Settings..." from the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

  • Select the "Features" tab.

  • Check the "Macromedia Flash" checkbox.

  • Press the "OK" button to save the settings.



top

 

Accelerating FTP

SlipStream SP provides FTP acceleration. If this feature is enabled, both download and upload FTP traffic will be accelerated. FTP acceleration works with any FTP client in both passive and active mode, including Internet Explorer®, CuteFTP®, WS_FTP® and SmartFTP.

To enable FTP acceleration:

  • Click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon and select "Settings..." from the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

  • Select the "Features" tab.

  • Check the "FTP" checkbox.

  • Press the "OK" button to save the settings. The changes will take effect the next time SlipStream SP is restarted. You also need to restart the browser if you are using Internet Explorer® as your FTP client.



top

 

Accelerating Email

SlipStream SP can reduce the amount of time taken to send and receive emails. This feature works with any POP3 or IMAP email accounts. SlipStream SP is compatible with Outlook Express®, Eudora®, Opera® Mail, Pegasus® and Netscape® Mail. Since SlipStream SP accelerates email automatically without any user intervention, you can use your mail program exactly as you normally would.

To change the email acceleration settings:

  • Click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon and select "Settings...". Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

  • Select the "Features" tab.

  • To enable/disable acceleration in receiving emails from a POP3 account, check/uncheck the "POP3" checkbox.

  • To enable/disable acceleration in sending emails, check/uncheck the "SMTP" checkbox.

  • To enable/disable acceleration in receiving emails from an IMAP account, check/uncheck the "IMAP" checkbox.

  • Press the "OK" button to save the settings. The changes will take effect the next time that SlipStream SP and your mail client are restarted.



top

 

Blocking In-Page Advertisements

SlipStream SP can block many graphical advertisements that appear on various Web pages (i.e. ad banners). Enabling this feature will prevent these ads from being downloaded and displayed in your Web browser. Thus, the Ad-Blocking feature will reduce the time taken to download Web pages.

To enable or disable the Ad Blocker:

  • Click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon and select "Settings...". Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

  • Select the "Features" tab.

  • To enable ad blocking, check the "Ad-Blocking" checkbox. To disable ad blocking, uncheck it.

  • Press the "OK" button to save the settings.



top

 

Updating Software

AutoUpdate will inform you of any major or minor software upgrades to the SlipStream Service. By default, you will be notified of all software upgrades.

To manually update SlipStream SP:

  • Open the "Settings..." dialog. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

  • Click on the "Update" tab.

  • Select "Update Now" to upgrade to the latest version. Note that the button is disable if no update is available



top

 

Using Privacy Manager

SlipStream SP's Privacy Manager provides a more secure browsing environment. It applies when browsing with Internet Explorer 5.0® or later. Privacy Manager can clear the cache (the Internet Explorer® cache and the cache of any Web browser that uses the same cache folder), cookies, and history in the Temporary Internet Files folder.

  • Click on the SlipStream SP taskbar icon to access and select "Privacy Manager" from the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

  • Check the items you would like to clear. For example, if you want to clear the Internet Explorer® cache, check "Delete all cached webpages and other Temporary Internet Files" checkbox.

  • Click on the "Run" button to start the actions. A dialog "The selected actions have completed successfully" will appear once all the selected items are deleted.

  • Click on the "OK" button to close this window.

  • Click on the "Close" button to exit the Privacy Manager dialog.



top

 

Running Diagnostics Tool

If you contact your ISP for technical support, the support personnel may request that you send a diagnostics report to them. The diagnostics report contains system information, such as your SlipStream SP settings and connectivity, which will allow your ISP to provide further assistance.

To create a diagnostics report:

  • Click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon to access the pop-up menu.

  • Select "Help" > "Diagnostics" to display the Diagnostics dialog.

  • Click on "Create Report".

  • Launch your email application, compose an email, paste the results into the email (the results have already been copied to your clipboard), and send it to your ISP.



top

 

Getting Technical Help from The Support Web site

To get more information on SlipStream SP and troubleshooting, please visit our support Web site. You can access our support site by clicking on the system tray icon and selecting "Help "> "Support Website".



top

 

Accessing Product Version Information

To view the product version information:

  • Click on the SlipStream SP system tray icon to access the pop-up menu.

  • Select "Help" > "About" to display the About dialog (see below).



top

 

Changing Settings from SlipStream Toolbar

There are two methods to access the SlipStream SP menu. For previous versions, you can only access the menu by clicking the system tray. Starting from version 4.0, you can also access the menu from the SlipStream Toolbar in Internet Explorer® (shown below).

To access the SlipStream SP menu, simply click the arrow sign beside the SlipStream title on the toolbar and expand the menu items.



top

 

Uninstalling SlipStream SP

  • Under the Windows Control Panel, select "Add or Remove Programs".

  • Select SlipStream SP and click Remove.

  • The uninstaller will launch and guide you through the uninstallation procedure.



top

 
Research In Motion logoCopyright © 2001-2011
SlipStream Data Inc. is a subsidiary of Research In Motion

Our Solutions

Learn More

Home