# General Preferences

To open the general preferences, follow these steps:

1. Open Universal Ticker.
2. Choose "Universal Ticker" > "Preferences".
3. In the "Universal Ticker" category choose "General".

# Software Updates

Choose "Check for Updates automatically“ to be notified whenever a new version of Universal Ticker is available.

# Hiding the Dock Icon

Check "Hide Dock Icon" if you don't want to see it's icon in the Dock when Universal Ticker is running.

Hiding the Dock icon will also prevent the main menu from showing up in the menu bar. You may access the menu items through the small Universal Ticker icon that will be added to the right hand side of the menu bar.

# Ignoring Mouse Clicks

Check "Ignore Mouse Clicks while not Frontmost" to prevent accidental interaction with the ticker window.

# Installing the Growl Display Plug-In

Growl is a notification system for Mac OS X. Visit the Growl website for more information.

Install the Universal Ticker display plug-in for Growl to have Growl notifications show up as ticker messages. Clicking "Install Plug-In" will copy it to Grow's plug-in folder.

You may then select the "Ticker" display style in Growl's preferences.

## Related Topics

Adjusting Ticker Position and Size

Changing Font and Background