What's New In XTimer 1.9 - 1.9.3     June 1996


     Several "Web Site Releases" of XTimer preceded the official public release of 1.9.  I make new versions of my programs available at my web site as soon as I have a new feature ready, or have completed any bug fixes.  There's no prohibition on distributing those releases to other places, I just don't upload them myself anyplace else, until I'm ready.  Full public releases are held off until everything planned for the next release is completed.    Web site releases will always be tagged at the end of the file name with (w), denoting it as a Web site release.  Details are provided, below, about the changes that occurred in those releases and all other changes since version 1.8.1.

Check out the XTimer© Home Page on the Web!
http://members.aol.com/XTimer4Mac/

Changes in 1.9.3:
• Added code to interact with XTimer Spy 1.2, in order to properly track the Claris Em@iler program during accesses to CompuServe and America Online.

Fixed in 1.9.3:
• The option to Append text copies of the log together was lost in version 1.9.2, due to a error, that option is again enabled.

Fixed in 1.9.2w1:
• XTimer now trashes its own preferences file if it discovers that the file has been corrupted beyond saving by a disk error, or some other cause.  Previously, it would post an error message after every launch until the user trashed the file.  This change also keeps XTimer from erroneously writing preference information into its own file when the preference file is completely corrupted.

Changes in 1.9.2:
• CompuServe users needing to have their CIS rates cleared after the last Saturday of the month can now configure XTimer to do that.  Just enter 100 in the day number field in the Log Clearing settings dialog.
• Much more aggressive error reporting has been added.  When unexpected errors would occur, previously, XTimer would frequently just beep and/or bail out of the operation.  Now, XTimer makes more of an attempt to report what happened to the user.
• More extensive error trapping was added to decrease the chances of causing a crash. 
• Various command keys have been effected by changes in how XTimer saves/appends text copies of the log.  Previous versions of XTimer had four "Save" menu options, which are now down to two, "Save Log As Text…" and "Append Log To… ."

The Save command is now triggered with the standard command-S command key combination.  The Append command is triggered with command-K (as in "k"-oncatenate).

The Save or Append dialog that comes up when either of those menu options is selected, now allows you to choose between standard and tab-delimited formats in the dialog, rather than by choosing separate menu commands from the File menu.  Your selection is saved as the default for the next time you call on those options.

The "Save Time As…" command, for saving the time on the timer as the log total for a rate, is now triggered with command-E (Enter), instead of command-S.

• Custom dialogs are used to enhance the interface when selecting files for the Auto-Launcher, in the Rate-Switcher, and other places.  Minor changes from the standard system dialogs were made, to make a button say the right thing, like "Select" when selecting a file, rather than "Open".
• The background color of all settings dialogs was changed from the pinkish color they were shown with previously to a light gray color.

Fixes in 1.9.2:
• XTimer now recognizes new versions of FreePPP/MacPPP, and is able to toggle connections open and closed properly.
• XTimer recognizes when the PPP connection is already Open when XTimer is launched, starts the timer and sets the Launch menu item to say, "Close PPP Connection."
• A memory leak in the saving log as text routine was eliminated.
• An error in the Log Clearing routine that could cause the log date to be set inappropriately to a month later than it should have, under certain circumstances, was corrected.
• The Maximize/Minimize command now displays the right phrase after launching with the "Launch Minimized" preference setting checked.  I keep finding various ways of reintroducing this error.  Hopefully, I won't accidentally cause this bug to come back, in the future.


NEW FEATURES ADDED SINCE 1.8.1:

NEW IN 1.9.1
•  Thanks to James Walker's Manual Maker program, XTimer's out of control spread of SimpleText files is now consolidated into one large manual, the XTimer "Power User" Manual.  ...If you have a more creative name, send it to me. (-:  I put XTimer's online help into the manual too, as well as a few new documents that help round out the support.
•  Added feature to Open/Close PPP connections, providing you are using FreePPP or MacPPP and have all your settings correct.  If you need support getting setup using FreePPP/MacPPP, you'll have to consult your service provider or those you know.  I do not provide that kind of support.  Select Open or Close PPP connection from the Launch menu to toggle your PPP connection, or use the command key shortcut, command-D.  (Why D?  I'm running out of keys... D is for Do it!  ...or Disconnect!  Besides, it's close to the command key and easy to trigger.)

Changes in 1.9.1
•  Lots of inner restructuring and economizing. Note that this release is 8K smaller than 1.9.
•  Removed eWorld name and information from documents due to eWorld's demise.  This effects the Rate Switcher, since one of the defaults of the first page settings was an item to automatically switch the current rate to a user setting when eWorld's software is in front.  Now, in that spot it lets you select any application.
•  You can now remove programs from your Auto-Launcher settings by <option> clicking on the "Select…" button next to the program you wish to remove; in the Auto-Launcher settings dialog.
•  Session Log - When the General Log is modified via the "Modify Logged Time (Current Rate) command, an entry is now recorded in the Session Log to show the modification.  For details see the document, "Help Addendum".

     The Session Log records your session times as you Start and Stop the timer.  If you set XTimer to automatically add those times to the General Log, your General Log and Session Log totals should agree with each other.  However, if you modify your General Log totals through other means than the "Modify Logged Time (Current Rate)..." command; like Clearing the totals, or Saving different times as their totals, etc.; those changes are not reflected in the Session Log.

Fixes in 1.9.1
•  When the Rate Switcher switches rates in the middle of a session, the Session Log now properly records the time the first rate was active and the time the switched to rate was active.  Previously, all of that session's time was errantly being recorded as having been charged to the switched to rate, in the Session Log, and the first rate's time for that session wasn't recorded at all. 
•  Fixed bug causing file information to be saved, when setting Auto-Launcher preferences, after it was supposed to be cancelled, under some circumstances.
•  The Log Clearing dialog's title was cropped off at the top.  I lowered it slightly to make it fit correctly in the dialog.

NEW IN 1.9	
•  Expanded automatic log clearing feature by adding settings which you can use to have XTimer prompt you to save a copy of the log before automatically clearing it; saves in standard format unless you check the setting to use the tab-delimited format.
•  Added new General Preference settings allowing you to have XTimer prompt to save a copy of the log when you quit; saves in standard format unless you check the setting to use the tab-delimited format.

New In 1.8.4(w):
•  The Auto-Launcher now allows up to 7 applications to be selected; and you can also select control panels now (like Config PPP), if needed.
•  The Auto-Launcher now let's you have XTimer automatically launch as many of your selected applications as desired when XTimer is launched.
•  The Mini-Timer can now be shrunken down to just the Time Charged Total at the top of the timer, or the Current Rate Total at the bottom, by double-clicking on the total you want to be shown.  Double-clicking again returns the Mini-Timer back to its normal condition.

New In 1.8.3(w):
• The Auto-Launcher has been expanded; allowing you to choose up to 5 applications which can now be launched directly from XTimer's new Launch menu.
• The "Current Rate Total" on the larger timer can now be toggled to display the current rate's total charges, instead of the time.  The current rate total is the total of the time/charges in the log added to those on the timer.  To toggle between the time and charge totals, click on the text that says, "Current Rate Total", or on the total itself.

New In 1.8.2(w):
• XTimer now provides a continuous Session Logging feature.  See the chapter "Help - Addendum", for information about how to configure and use this feature.

Changes in 1.8.4(w)
•  The command key shortcut for Append Text To File, in standard format, was changed to the "]" character; which on my keyboard is above the return key.  I made this change from the "/" character, so that I could use the "/" as a command key to Launch an application from the Launch menu.  This keeps all the command keys for the Launch menu available on the numeric keypad and makes them easier to remember.

Changes in 1.8.3(w):
• I think many people were confused by the 100 hour "roll over factor" in the Current Rate Total display, so I modified it to display the total without rolling over if the time in the log added to the time on the timer is greater than 100 hours.  Only that particular display was changed; XTimer will still not allow more than 100 hours to be saved in the log.
• When adding a time to the log, if the time in the log will exceed the 100 hour limit, XTimer now alerts you that the time will roll over, and asks if you want to continue and add the time anyway.  Previously, XTimer only allowed users to cancel adding, or set the log time to 100 hours.
• The behavior of certain error trapping mechanisms, involved in correcting erroneous keyboard input from users, were modified to be less confusing and more like standard Mac application error correcting methods.  It's still a bit unorthodox, but it works, and will do fine until version 2.0 eliminates those older routines, created when I was just learning to write Mac code.

Fixes in 1.8.3(w):
• I believe the conflict with 68000 Macs, like the Classic and SE, has been conquered. More testing still needs to be done to prove that nothing else is present in the code that those Macs can't handle.  I don't have a lot of feedback to go on, if you have a problem, let me know, and I'll get right on it.
• Error corrected in "Modify Logged Time" routine, which could have caused undesirable results if a non-numeric key was pressed upon immediate opening of the dialog.
• XTimer now correctly allows time to be logged on the time all the way to 100 hours, instead of only to 99 Hours 59 minutes.
• An aptly timed click on "Reset" while the timer is paused, would leave the bullet indicator still drawn on the timer.  It now erases properly.

Fixes In 1.8.2(w):
• Corrected formatting error when non U.S. number format is being used and a user triggers the "Unused" rate macro to set a rate to unused in the Charge Rates settings.
• I learned that some countries use a different time seperator than the colon, so I set XTimer to use the time seperator in the System's settings.
• Bugs were fixed in the behavior of XTimer as related to automatic rounding and adding of times to the log when the Round function is selected while the timer is Paused, and when the timer is running and XTimer is Quit.


For What It's Worth…	

A few have written asking that the base charges for an account be added to the log total for rates reflecting FREE hours.  For example, AOL charges $9.95 a month to members, which includes 5 hours of time online.  Those hours are termed "Free Hours", but in essence they cost $9.95; so some would like the log charge total to show that instead of having a zero total.

Here's an idea someone led me to, which may satisfy you until I incorporate something like that into the program:  Set your so-called Free rate's charge per hour to the base charge divided by the number of hours of Free time included in that amount.  If you have a base charge of $9.95 a month divided by 5 hours of time, you could set the charge per hour to $1.99.  At the end of 5 hours, your rate's log charge total will say $9.95.

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