You can make Invisible Clock speak in your own voice by recording new sounds for the files ÒInvisible Clock SoundsÓ and ÒMore Invisible Clock SoundsÓ with a sound editing program such as SoundEdit Pro.
WHAT IS INVISIBLE CLOCK?
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Invisible Clock is a small System 7-only Apple Macintosh utility that audibly announces the time between the hours you choose every hour, half-hour, or quarter-hour as you prefer at the volume you decide.
DETAILS
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The sounds are stored as 'snd ' resources in the sounds files. Invisible Clockwork loads the sounds by name, making it easy to match sounds with their purpose. The sounds can be any type of sampled 'snd '. For example, I originally made sounds sampled at 22KHz but decided to reduce them to 11KHz to save space.
As another example, the 'snd ' resource entitled ÒInvisible Clock SoundsÓ is sampled at 11KHz with 3:1 MACE compression. This sound, which describes the sounds file, can be played by double-clicking the file in the Finder. If you replace this resource with your own recording, you can provide a sampling of the voice held within your file.
If you create sounds larger than those provided with Invisible Clock, you may have to increase the amount of RAM Invisible Clockwork uses in its Get Info window in the Finder.
SIMPLE CHANGES
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The ÒItÕsÓ sound is played before each time announcement. If you want a more noticeable announcement of the time, you might paste a beep sound in front of the recording of the sound in the ÒItÕsÓ 'snd ' resource.
Using a resource utility such as ResEdit, you can eliminate any sound by duplicating the ÒSilenceÓ 'snd ' resource and giving it the name of the sound you donÕt want.
RECORDING YOUR OWN SOUNDS
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For general instructions on using SoundEdit Pro to create your new sounds, see below.
To get the appropriate inflection for each part of the time announcement, itÕs best to record each part in context. For instance, when you separate a recording of ÒItÕs one oÕclock. ItÕs two oÒclockÓ into separate sounds, they will sound more natural when recombined than if you separate a recording of individual parts, such as Òone two three.Ó
ItÕs important to enunciate the words so they are easily separated: when you say Òeight oÕclockÓ without thinking about it, you really say Òay-duh-klok.Ó
You might use the scripts listed below to record all combinations of the announcement elements. The first paragraph in each script is the description that plays when you double-click on the sounds file.
---------- S c r i p t f o r I n v i s i b l e C l o c k S o u n d s ----------
ÒThis file contains the sounds used by Invisible Clock. To use this file, name it ÔInvisible Clock SoundsÕ and place it in your Preferences folder. Do not drag this file onto your System Folder icon.Ó
ÒItÕs Monday, about twelve oÕclock.Ó
ÒItÕs Tuesday, about one fifteen.Ó
ÒItÕs Wednesday, about two thirty.Ó
ÒItÕs Thursday, about three forty-five.Ó
ÒItÕs Friday, about four oÕclock.Ó
ÒItÕs Saturday, about five fifteen.Ó
ÒItÕs Sunday, about six thirty.Ó
ÒItÕs Monday, about seven forty-five.Ó
ÒItÕs Tuesday, about eight oÕclock.Ó
ÒItÕs Wednesday, about nine fifteen.Ó
ÒItÕs Thursday, about ten thirty.Ó
ÒItÕs Friday, about eleven forty-five.Ó
------- E n d S c r i p t -------
---------- S c r i p t f o r M o r e I n v i s i b l e C l o c k S o u n d s ----------
ÒThis file contains the sounds used by Invisible Clock. To use this file, name it ÔMore Invisible Clock SoundsÕ and place it in your Preferences folder. Do not drag this file onto your System Folder icon.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve oh-one.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve oh-two.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve oh-three.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve oh-four.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve oh-five.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve oh-six.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve oh-seven.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve oh-eight.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve oh-nine.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve ten.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve eleven.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve twelve.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve thirteen.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve fourteen.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve fifteen.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve sixteen.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve seventeen.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve eighteen.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve nineteen.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve twenty.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve twenty-one.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve thirty-one.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve forty.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve forty-one.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve fifty.Ó
ÒItÕs twelve fifty-one.Ó
------- E n d S c r i p t -------
USING SOUNDEDIT PRO
====================
Because of the naming convention used by your Mac to play a System 7 sound file (which is what Invisible Clock Sounds and More Invisible Clock Sounds really are), you have to take special steps in SoundEdit Pro to ensure you donÕt get an error dialog instead of hearing a sound when you double-click the file.
Make a copy of the original Invisible Clock Sounds or More Invisible Clock Sounds file. Open the copy with SoundEdit and record a new description for the file. You might want to use the script above when you record. Close the file and save your changes.
Use a file utility such as ResEdit or Drop¥Info to change the Type of the file from 'sfil' to 'sfiz' (or some other nonexistent Type code). In SoundEdit, choose Open, click Resource, and open the file.
Open a new, untitled document and record the time announcements, again using the script if you wish. (You may want to save this to a temporary file.)
Open each sound of the Invisible Clock Sounds or More Invisible Clock Sounds copy and paste into it a corresponding portion of your untitled document.
After youÕve replaced each of the sounds in the copy, save your changes and quit SoundEdit Pro.
Using your file utility, change the Type of the file from back to 'sfil'.
Your sounds file is ready for use. Name it ÒInvisible Clock SoundsÓ or ÒMore Invisible Clock SoundsÓ as appropriate and place it in your Preferences folder.
