Put SuperClock! into your System Folder. After restarting your Macintosh, it will load in a small piece of software that displays the time at the right end of the menu bar. This software is FREE, but I reserve all rights to it. Give it to your friends if you like. It may not be distributed commercially, however user's groups and on-line services may distribute it as long as it is accompanied by this documentation.
What's new in 3.9:
¥ I think I fixed a, uh, ÒconditionÓ that could cause SuperClock! to bomb when starting up with MultiFinder or switching to MultiFinder from Finder. If I'm wrong, I'm sure I'll hear about it.
¥ added an option to turn off the chime if a screen saver is running so that those of you who leave your Macs running all night won't be kept awake (at least from SuperClock!)
¥ clicking on the battery icon (if you're using a Macintosh Portable) while holding down the control key will put the Portable to sleep
¥ SuperClock! should no longer step on Timbuktu's little icon in the menu bar
¥ added support for the Outbound (was Wallaby) portable: the remaining battery time shows up in the rotation after the timer
Clock Features:
¥ displays the time in either 12- or 24-hour mode according to the Control Panel settings;
¥ clicking on the clock toggles between the time, date and a count-up/count-down timer (clicking on the little timer icon will start or stop the timer); if you click on the clock after the alarm has gone off it will stop the flashing apple in the menu bar and turn off the alarm
¥ holding the option key down while clicking on the clock will hide it until you click on the clock again (with or without the option key)
¥ works correctly with MultiFinder: the time will move to the left a bit to make room for the little application icon
¥ the clock hides if there are so many menus on the menu bar that they would encroach on the clock's display area, when screen-savers that blank the screen are running, or when Hypercard hides the menu bar
¥ supports color menu bars on the Mac II
¥ works correctly with Stepping Out IIª, which is software that lets you select a virtual screen size that may be larger or smaller than the physical screen size
¥ the clock now gets the time from the clock chip so the occasional flickering of the seconds when the Control Panel or Alarm Clock DA was open should be a thing of the past
¥ the clock will not be installed if the shift key is held down at startup time
¥ when SuperClock! is running on a Macintosh Portable the battery level will be displayed just to the right of the rest of the clock so the Battery DA doesn't need to be on the desktop
ÒNow that I've got it, how do I configure it?Ó
Select Control Panel from the apple menu and click on the SuperClock! icon in the Control Panel's window. Clicking on the three icons lets you configure various options.
Clock Options
¥ clicking on the clock will either toggle between the time and date, or just display the date for a few seconds and then resume display of the time
¥ whether or not to display the time with seconds (12:34:56 or just 12:34)
¥ whether or not to have ÒAMÓ or ÒPMÓ appended to the time when the time is displayed in 12-hour mode (12:34:56 AM or 12:34:56)
¥ whether or not to flash the colons in the time on/off: Ò12:34:56Ó <-> Ò12 34 56Ó (especially for those of you who elect not to display the seconds) Ñ this can make the hours and minutes move left-right if the colon is not the same width as a space
¥ whether or not to assume that OnCueª or Easy Access is installed and to make room for its icon on the very right end of the menu bar
¥ YOU get to pick the font and size that the clock will be displayed in. I assume no responsibility for lack of taste in this matter ÇgrinÈ
¥ whether or not to display the clock's icon at startup
¥ whether or not to assume Stepping Out IIª (SO II) is installed with the fixed menu bar option. If you don't have SO II, it won't make any difference if this option is selected or not. If you do have SO II and un-fix the menu bar without unchecking this option, it will just display the clock at the physical right edge of the screen (i.e., the monitor's right edge).
¥ whether or not to check if a screen saver has cleared the screenÑthis sometimes causes the cursor to flicker and is not needed for some screen savers like AutoBlack and Dimmer
¥ whether or not to ÒchimeÓ on the hour (you select the sound, so choose wisely!)
¥ when the hourly chime option is selected, you now have the option of a single chime or chiming the same number of times as the current hour (1-12)
¥ an option to let you either use the menu bar's text color or select another color for displaying the clock (for those of you that have color, that is)
Timer Options
¥ whether the timer should count up or down
¥ what the timer's starting count-down time or count-up limit is
¥ what to do when the timer times out (nothing, flash the menu bar, or play a sound)
¥ whether or not to keep doing that until you turn the timer off
¥ what sound to play if you selected Òplay a soundÓ when the timer times out
Alarm Options
¥ turn the alarm on or off
¥ set the alarm clock time
CharityWare?
A number of people have said that they would like to give something for SuperClock!, but my position has always been that it's free. However, I did get a good suggestion that I'll pass along. If you really want to give something for SuperClock!, don't give it to me, but instead send a donation to the Stanford Children's Hospital. Their address is:
Stanford Children's Hospital
520 Sand Hill Road
Palo Alto, CA 94304
I hope you like SuperClock! If you have any suggestions or (argh!!) find a bug, please let me know.
