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Features
Using the Timer
Adding a Timer
Managing Timers
Advanced Topics
Using the Favourites menu
Logging and Categories
Daily Alarms
Support
FAQ
Purchasing the full version
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Timer is a simple program which records time elapsed in a number of ways
It has 3 main timing modes
Manual Mode ( Stopwatch )
Acts as a standard Stopwatch
Timer Mode
Count for a fixed amount of time - like an egg timer
Alarm Clock Mode
Timer will count until a preset time of day
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Features
You can set alarms in either Timer or Alarm Clock mode, and each running timer can sound an Alarm, popup a message and record the event to an Excel compatible logfile.
Up to 32 separate timers can be running at once (any combination of Timers, Stopwatches or Alarms. Here are some ideas which you can use this program for
Stopwatch
Record time spent on a client's project (very useful for people who bill by the hour)
Start 2 stopwatches and time a chess match
Timer
Normal Mode
Use it as a Kitchen timer to remind you to turn over the roast in ½ hour
Time yourself doing a quiz
Auto-restart Mode
Remind you to stretch your legs every 2 hours
Lab workers can use it during experiments to record a reading every 10 minutes or so.
Alarm Clock
Remind you to watch your favorite TV program that is on at 8:30pm
Remind you of appointments
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Using the Timer
Adding a Timer
When you start the program you will see the main screen.
Step 1 - Choose what sort of timer you want
Step 2 - Select what you want to happen when the timer finishes (Sound an alarm, popup a window, restart)
Step 3 - Optionally type in a title for this timer , and press Begin
A timer appears on the screen in a separate window - you can now add more timers if you want
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Managing Timers
Once you have one or more timers running, you can minimize then individually or shut them down at will. You can also change the caption of them if you want - This feature can be useful because the Windows task bar will show the hours and minutes elapsed for each timer.
You can shutdown all timers at once through the main screens menu by Timer -> Kill all timers, or just by exiting the main program.
The Window menu on the main Timer form allows you also to Hide/Unhide all timers as well as arrange them on the screen or minimize all at once. The bottom of this menu shows the list of all running timers - click 'refresh' to make sure the list is up to date (a timer may have exited recently)
The 'Timer Status' screen can be accessed by clicking on the "Current Time is ..." area of the main screen, or by choosing 'Timer Status' from the File menu. This shows a list of all running timers and lets you quickly hide/unhide all, or jump to any timer in the list by clicking on its label.
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Advanced Topics
Using the Favourites menu
The favourites menu allows you to quickly start commonly used stopwatches without having to type in the details. For example - Phone calls, Coffee breaks, specific tasks can all be setup as favourites and accessed quickly from the menu.
| Example of .TMR file |
Title=Coffee Break
Start=17:37:07
Stop=17:52:07
Category=personal
LogDiary=1
CURRENT=17:37:15
Running=0
Popup=1
Restart=0
RunEXE=0
Sound=1
RunWAV=C:\apps\timer\STEAMBLO.WAV
Time=00:00:08
TimerType=Counter
Type=Timer - 00:15:00
Countdown=0
FormX=0
FormY=4080
FormWidth=2760
FormHeight=4080
Hidden=0
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An example of the file saved ( in your C:\Program Files\acute\Timer\MyTimers folder ) is on the right hand side. You can edit these with any text editor.
To Save a favourite, you can :
a) From the Main screen go to the "Favourites" menu and choose 'Add Current Settings as Favourite'.
b) From any Timer, right click and choose 'Save this Timer in Favourites'
Once you have added the favourites you will see them in the menu (choose Favourite - Options - Refresh, if it doesnt appear straight away).
Using the favourites is simply a matter of clicking the menu and choosing an item - if its automatic the timer will start and begin the stopwatch, otherwise the timer will start and wait for you to manually begin timing.
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Categories and Logfiles
categories are used when logging a completed timer to the diary file and the CSV sheet. It allows you to group the
different types of tasks you are timing, to enable easier summaries later on.
You can edit the list of categories from the Options menu and choose 'Edit Categories', or you can edit them manually in the text file 'CAT.TXT' which lives in the installed Timer directory.
Logfiles are created by default when a timer has finished, or a stopwatch has been closed.
Example Logfile - timer-log.csv
| category | caption | date | start | end | duration | type |
| test | test via command line | 20050112 | 18:32:43 | 18:32:44 | 0:00:01 | Stopwatch |
| personal | watching Foxtel | 20050112 | 20:13:51 | 22:01:13 | 1:47:22 | Stopwatch |
| sales | testing launch part 2 | 20050115 | 21:47:29 | 21:47:34 | 0:00:05 | Counter |
| personal | Coffee Break (Stopwatch) | 20050120 | 23:11:03 | 23:11:04 | 0:00:01 | Stopwatch |
The table above shows an example of the logfile ( timer-log.csv )
You can also create a 2nd logfile, based on a weekly basis so that you have managable records, if you use the timer extensively.
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Daily Alarms
Daily alarms can be setup to load whenever the timer is started. These are simply normal alarms such as '10am - coffee break', or '3pm - pick up mail'
You can setup the alarms you want be going to the File menu and choosing 'Edit Daily Alarms'.
Simply enter the time you want and a comment and make sure you tick the boxes which you want loaded. This feature allows you to set up all the alarms you need and only 'activate' the ones you want.
To have the alarms automatically loaded when the Timer starts, you need to turn this on in the 'Daily Alarms' option screen which is accessed from the Options menu in the main Timer program.
| Sample Daily Alarms file |
1, 09:00:00,Start Work
1, 10:00:00,Coffee Break
1, 12:30:00,Lunchtime
1, 17:30:00,Finish Work
1, 23:59:00,end of the day
1, 20:49:45,test
0, 00:00:00,
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From here you can also choose whether you want to be notified if some alarms have already passed (usually you wont - e.g. If you start the program at 11am you dont need an alarm for 9am to start work), and whether the log the alarms to the diary and whether or not they are loaded hidden [recommended].
The list of alarms is stored in the installed timer directory as ALARMS.LIS (See exmaple on the right) and can be edited with any text editor. The format is one alarm per line with the following fields separated by a comma :
[on/off] , [time - in 24hr mode] , [ caption ]
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Support
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Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQ )
How many Timers can I run at once
32. It is possible to load more that 60 timers - but only 32 of them are counting at any point, making it unreliable [not to mention a rather cluttered screen]).
It says I have a Timer running, but I cant see it
Timers can be minimized to the windows taskbar, or made hidden (completely invisible). To view all the timers, go to the main timer screen and click on the Window menu then choose "Unhide all Timers" and then "Arrange Vertical"
How do I get the Timer to start minimized
Go to the Options menu and click "General Timer Options". Tick the checkbox
called "Minimize on Startup"
Sometimes I get a message saying the logfile is locked open
This can occur when you have opened the logfile with Excel. Excel (and several other spreadsheets), explicitly lock the file so that no other application can access it. You will get this warning if you are reading the timer-log.csv file in excel and you start another timer.
You can ignore it, as long as you close the excel spreadsheet before the timer has finished.
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Purchasing the Timer
A single user license of the Timer costs $24.95 US dollars. To purchase online with a credit card, go to http://www.acutesoftware.com.au/order.html and follow the link for the Timer.
You can also purchase by sending a cheque or money order for $24.95 US to
Acute Software
PO Box 303
Smithfield, 5114
South Australia
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Thank you for supporting Australian Developed Software
Copyright © 1996-2005 Acute Software. Comments and Questions welcome here
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