Do you bill clients for computer time and need a convenient way of tracking the amount of time you spend on each job or account? Do you need to account for the time you spend on your computer—maybe for tax purposes? Are you looking for a time tracking program that will allow you to perform work on any combination of applications and accumulate the time toward a single job or account? Have you been looking for a time tracking program that works with all of your applications? Have you been looking for a time tracking program that provides the kind of information that is really important for billing purposes, and nothing more? Do you work in an environment where you have to share a computer with several other people, and need to track the time each person uses the computer? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then this software is for you.
LogOut and AutoLogOut are a pair of applications, designed and intended to be used together, for tracking usage time on a Macintosh computer. AutoLogOut is the background “master” program. LogOut is the foreground “slave” program. Working together, they provide a simple, straightforward, and reliable means for keeping track of computer usage time.
HOW LOGOUT/AUTOLOGOUT WORKS
To track time, the user merely “logs” into the computer through the program LogOut. LogOut asks the user for their name and the job number to charge the computer time. Once the user is logged into the system, they are free to use any combination of programs etc. to accomplish their work. When the user is finished working on that job, they log out of the system by running LogOut. The user can either enter the information for the next job to be worked on or leave the computer for someone else to use.
LogOut simply accumulates time between successive “log ins” and stores the information in a data file for later retrieval. Time is accumulated regardless of what the user is doing on the computer, including the use of any combination of applications and desk accessories, and even the Finder.
The above system would work very well if humans had perfect memories. However, most of us are prone to forget to do things, like log out of the computer system. This is where AutoLogOut comes in. AutoLogOut runs in the background, monitoring user activity, similar to a screen saver. When no user activity has occurred within a specified time, AutoLogOut launches LogOut for the user. This logs the user out of the system and sets the system up to be used by the next user. AutoLogOut also logs the user out of the system whenever the computer is shutdown or restarted.
INSTALLATION
To set a computer system up for automatic operation, do the following:
1.Copy LogOut and AutoLogOut to your startup disk (hard disk) and place them together in the same folder. LogOut and AutoLogOut must be in the same folder to operate properly.
2.Make an alias of LogOut and AutoLogOut and place the aliases in the “Startup Items” folder inside the System Folder on the startup disk drive. This will launch AutoLogOut and LogOut automatically every time the computer is turned on or restarted.
3.Make an alias of LogOut and place it in the “Apple Menu Items” folder inside the System Folder. This will make LogOut available from the Apple menu.
4.Make an alias of LogOut and place it on the “desktop,” located in a convenient place—just above the trash can for example. This will make LogOut available on the desktop in plain view.
USING LOGOUT/AUTOLOGOUT
Assuming that LogOut and AutoLogOut have been installed as described above, both programs will launch automatically when the computer is turned on or restarted. AutoLogOut starts up and then automatically moves itself into the background. LogOut starts up and places a dialog box on the screen asking the user to enter their name and the job number to charge time to. Once this information has been entered, the user hits the “Log In” button, which causes LogOut to record the time of log in and then quit. When finished using the computer, or when ready to charge time to a different job, the user either double-clicks the LogOut icon on the desktop or selects LogOut from the Apple menu. This causes LogOut to stop accumulating time, record the usage time data in the “Time Log” file, and then bring up a dialog box asking for the next user’s name and job number for log in.
AutoLogOut normally runs in the background monitoring system activity and then automatically logs the user out of the system after a specified time of inactivity. AutoLogOut also logs a user out if the computer is shutdown or restarted.
Selecting “Preferences” from the “File” menu of AutoLogOut allows the user to select the amount of idle time before it logs the user out. You can enter “0” for idle time if you do not want AutoLogOut to ever log the user out. You can also specify a corner of the screen to place the cursor so that AutoLogOut will never log the user out if the cursor is in that corner. Finally, you can enter a password that will prevent the user from “Quitting” AutoLogOut without entering the password. (Even when a password is required for quitting, AutoLogOut will allow the user to Shutdown or Restart the computer without asking for the password.)
Computer usage is recorded in a file located in the System Folder, called “Time Log.” The file is in standard text format with tabs separating each field of information within a record. Each record is separated by a carriage return. The first record of the file is a header that describes each field in subsequent records.
The time log file is easily imported by any text editing, word processing, or spreadsheet program, making it a relatively simple process to generate a report of computer usage.
COMPATIBILITY
LogOut and AutoLogOut require System 7 or higher to run. LogOut and AutoLogOut are both “applications.” They do not patch System traps or do anything unusual to the computer’s operating system. As a result, they should be completely compatible with and friendly towards all other software you may use.
SHAREWARE NOTICE
LogOut and AutoLogOut are shareware, not freeware. That means if you use these programs and find them of value, please send me $10.00. I have not plastered the software with any “shareware threats,” so please be a good sport and send me the registration fee, at the following address:
Jeff Miles
9933 Business Park Drive
Sacramento, California 95827
Thank you for your support of the shareware system! Please write me if you have any comments or suggestions about the software. I would love to hear from you.
