MacPPP Timer is a utility application to be used with MacPPP that allows you to keep track of how much time you spend on your PPP account. It is compatible with Open Transport when using FreePPP. It also has a globally floating window that will always be in front of other windows, even if MacPPP Timer is running in the background. When using the global window, you can also initiate your PPP connection from the background with a "hot key."
Version 1.5.2 fixes a bug that caused some users problems when quitting the application. It also adds support for multiple monitors and an option in the File menu to open the Config PPP control panel.
MacPPP must be properly installed on your computer for MacPPP Timer to work. MacPPP Timer requires System 7.0 or later. The globally floating window requires System 7.1 or greater.
What it does
When you launch by double-clicking, a small, draggable timer window appears under the Trash. By default, this is a normal Mac window. If you are using System 7.1 or later, you can choose to use a globally floating window that will always be visible above all other applications. When the timer window is dragged to a new position, the new position is saved and becomes the default position the next time the timer is launched. The blue numbers, on top, display the time for the current session, while the red numbers, below, record cumulative time. The cumulative time can display cumulative time for the current day, cumulative time for the month beginning on a day you select, or cumulative time since you last manually cleared the register. By default, the cumulative time keeps incrementing until you manually clear it. By clicking on the cumulative time in the timer window, the display will toggle between cumulative for the day ( displayed like this: 00:00:05 ) or cumulative total/month (displayed like this: 00:00:05 ). Cumulative times can be automatically saved once per minute to provide some protection against loss of data should the computer crash during a timed session.
The Menus
The File Menu:
You can initiate your MacPPP session either by selecting "Begin Session" from the MacPPP Timer File menu or by connecting using the MacPPP control panel. MacPPP Timer waits patiently until MacPPP signals that the connection is established, then begins to time your session. You can use the start of the timer to confirm that your connection is established. Selecting "End Session" from the File menu, breaks your PPP connection and turns the timer off. Selecting "Clear Monthly" will terminate your session and set monthly cumulative time to zero. Selecting "Clear Daily" will terminate your session and set daily cumulative time to zero. Selecting Preferences... will open the Preferences dialog (see below). Selecting "Open Config PPP" will open the Config PPP control panel. Selecting "Quit," terminates your PPP session and quits the program. By default, MacPPP Timer always ends a session with hard close. However, a soft close option is provided in the Preferences Dialog.
Shortcuts
There are four shortcuts to save trips to the menu bar. The timer window has four "Hot Spots" in the corners. The upper left Hot Spot, when clicked, will Begin a session. The lower left will End the session. The lower right spot will Quit. The upper right spot will open the Preferences dialog. If you are using the global window, you also have the following "hot keys" available which will work even if the application is in the background. Pressing Cmd-Esc will toggle the timer window into and out view. Pressing Control-Esc will toggle your PPP session open if it is down and closed if it is up.
The Preferences Dialog
Cumulative times can be edited directly. This is handy when upgrading to new versions or adjusting times if you lose data.
If you check Auto Clear in the Preferences dialog, the cumulative time will automatically clear on the day of the month that you choose (first day of the month is the default). The Preferences dialog allows the day for Auto Clear to be changed and also displays the previous month's total usage. This is handy if you are billed by your provider by monthly usage and you want to know how much you have used.
If "Auto Launch" is checked, MacPPP Timer will automatically signal MacPPP to connect to your currently configured host the next time you launch MacPPP Timer. If "Close Window when Idle" is checked, the timer window will only appear when your PPP connection is active.
If "Auto Save" is selected, the cumulative time data is saved every minute to protect against data loss. If you prefer not to have the periodic disk activity, you can leave this option unchecked.
If "Hide Hot Spots" is checked, the hot spots will not appear on the timer window. This is purely a cosmetic change and the hot spots will continue to function. I've found that new users prefer to have an indication of the hot spots on the window, while experienced users like the plain window. Now it's your choice.
By default, a normal Mac window is selected. If you are using System 7.1 or greater, you can have a globally floating window by checking this option. Since the type of window is fixed at launch time, changes in this option will not take effect until the next time that MacPPP Timer is launched. If you use a version of system software earlier than System 7.1, you will not see the global floating window checkbox. This is normal.
If "'End Session' with Soft Close" is checked, soft close will be used to terminate your session when "End Session" is chosen from the menu or when the lower left hot spot is clicked. "Quit" is always a hard close whether this option is checked or not. While soft close offers the convenience of opening and closing your PPP connection from a variety of other applications, it is also seems to be the source of spontaneous unintended connections to your internet provider. This could be an expensive problem if you aren't paying attention. So, I recommend that you use this option with caution. Don't leave your computer running unattended for long periods if you use soft close. It may net surf without you! When using Soft Close with FreePPP, the Disable Auto Connect checkbox in Config PPP should be clear. Otherwise, MacPPP Timer will ask for a Soft Close, but FreePPP will be unable to comply.
Finally, some users like an audible confirmation that a connection has been made or broken. Checking "Beep on Connect" will cause a system beep when your PPP connection has been made. Checking "Beep on Disconnect will cause a beep on disconnnect.
Cumulative times and preference settings are stored in a preferences file called "MPT Preferences" in your system folder.
The Preferences dialog has options that allow you to configure MacPPP Timer to suit your own style of use. Two styles are common:
Active:
MacPPP Timer is used as the primary means for establishing and terminating PPP sessions. The timer is opened and closed with each session. "Auto Launch" is often handy for this style of use since double-clicking on the timer also connects you to your internet provider automagically.
Passive:
MacPPP Timer is run passively in the background continuously to time sessions whenever they occur, but the PPP connection is usually made by another application (Mosaic, for example ). In this case, "Hide Window when Idle," and "'End Session' with Soft Close" make the application inconspicuous but there when you need it.
The Deal
MacPPP Timer v. 1.5.2 is shareware. If you find that you use it a lot and feel that it is worth $10, you should register. You can pay by cash, check, or credit card. As always, registered users of previous versions may upgrade for free.
Send your cash (best method outside the US), checks (US$ drawn on a US bank), postal money orders, postcards, letters, disks, bug reports, etc., directly to me at:
Eric Preston
23547 Clark Dr.
Philomath, OR 97370
USA
Internet email: ericpresto@aol.com or EricPRESTO@kagi.com.
America Online: EricPRESTO
If you prefer to pay by credit card, launch the included Register application and follow the instructions. Kagi Shareware processes credit card payments for me.
If you let me know your email address, I will acknowledge receipt of your shareware contribution.
Acknowledgements
Richard Buckle generously provided the code for the MacPPP interface. Steve Dagley shared his FreePPP connect code so that version 1.5 is compatible with Open Transport when using FreePPP. The global window is based upon Appe Windows by Matt Slott. Hiroshi Lockheimer graciously helped me through several issues in implementing the window. Many thanks to the many people who have supported my continued work on MacPPP Timer.
Thanks to all for your help.
Limitations on Distribution
MacPPP Timer is copyrighted to Eric Preston, 1995, and may not be sold or distributed for profit in any form, either with other products (commercial, shareware, or freeware), or in shareware/freeware collections sold for profit, without my prior written consent. MacPPP Timer may be distributed freely provided it is distributed in a non-profit manner, and is provided in its original unmodified form. However, please notify me if it is to be included in non-profit collection on disk, CD ROM, or other media.
Disclaimer
The author makes no warranties, either express or implied, regarding MacPPP Timer. Use of MacPPP Timer is at your own risk. The author claims no liability for data loss or other problems caused directly or indirectly by MacPPP Timer.
Internet Logger and InterSLIP Timer
The most current versions of my programs are available on info-mac mirrors in the comm/tcp/conn/ and on America Online, Keyword - Net Software. If you are unfamiliar with the info-mac archive, point your web browser to:
I've been alerted that a bug in MacPPP will cause MacPPP Timer to crash if you use the
MacTCP control panel to switch out of PPP while MacPPP Timer is running. A couple users have reported intermittent trouble closing the connection from MacPPP Timer. I'm not yet sure if this is a problem with the timer or with MacPPP. Two users have reported spontaneous auto-initiation of the connection and felt that MacPPP Timer might have been the culprit. I haven't been able to reproduce this and have put nothing in the code that should cause this to happen. In those cases where a cause could be identified, using soft close caused the problem. Trashing and then re-installing MacPPP solved the problem. Use soft close with caution! MacPPP does seem to be full of tricks. Bug reports are welcome.
One user has reported that the global floating window interferes with system menu redraws when NOW utilities is installed. I don't know if this is a general problem or not. The problem can be solved by not using the global floating window.
Trouble Shooting
Ñ MacPPP Timer was working fine, but now it freezes my computer when I launch, try
to quit, open the preferences, etc.
Why?
The settings are stored in a preferences file called "MPT Preferences" in your system folder. If your computer should crash while MacPPP timer is writing to the preferences file, the file will be corrupted. From that time on, you may see faulty cumulative times, or your computer may crash when you use MacPPP Timer. To solve the problem, throw the MPT Preferences file in the Trash and try again. Usually, this solves the problem.
Ñ Sometimes when using the global floating window, the "Hot Spots" don't respond
properly. Why, What can I do about it?
This occurs on a small fraction of Macs and is due to a known bug in the Macintosh Text Services Manager. It can usually be fixed by adding the TSM fix extension to your system folder. If you need this extension, send me an email and I will forward it to you.
Ñ When using the global floating window my system menus do not redraw properly.
Why?
One user has reported that the global floating window interferes with system menu redraws when NOW utilities is installed. I don't know if this is a general problem or not. The problem can be solved by not using the global floating window.
Version History
Version 1.0 º- January 31, 1995.
Version 1.1 - February 5, 1995. First Public Release.
Version 1.1.1 - February 12, 1995. Fixed bug which caused window position not to be
saved after "Quit" from the File menu.
Version 1.1.2 - March 5, 1995. Fixed a bug which caused incorrect tally of cumulative
time on some systems.
Version 1.2 - April 20, 1995. Added daily cumulative timer. Enlarged "Hot Spots".
Cumulative time is now saved once per minute to minimize data loss if
a computer crash occurs during a session. Additional checking at startup
to make sure timer window is correctly placed on the current device.
Menu conforms with Apple Guidelines.
Version 1.2.1 - April 21, 1995. Fixed a bug in the preferences dialog which caused the
screen to be redrawn incorrectly when cumulative time was cleared.
Version 1.3 - June 2, 1995. Added Apple Event Support. Made Hot Spots responsive.
Added "Close Window When Idle,"Hide Hot Spots," and "'End Session' with
Soft Close" options. Made the event loop ~ 20 times more efficient.
Version 1.4 - June 23, 1995. Added support for global floating window. Added Upgrade
menu. Modified the Apple Event support code for greater compatibility
with older macs. Added options allowing beep on connect/disconnect.
Version 1.4.1 - July 3, 1995. Fixed a bug in the global window which caused the timer
window to be drawn in the preferences dialog and in the "... about" box
when running in B&W.
Version 1.4.2 - July 7, 1995. Fixed a bug in the Upgrade routine.
Versions 1.4.3 and 1.4.4 not publicly released.
Version 1.4.5 - September 12, 1995. Optimized the event loop so that it is now much
less aggressive in cpu usage when in the background. Made cumulative
times directly editable in the preferences. Made the Auto Save feature
optional to reduce disk activity for Powerbook users trying to conserve
the battery. Adjusted the dialogs to display properly on a Mac Classic.
Version 1.5 - November 15, 1995. Moved settings to Preferences file. Change the
connection "hot key" to remove conflict with word processors. Numerous
internal improvements.
Version 1.5.1 - December 15, 1995. Added warning dialog to prevent opening
preferences during an active session. In versions 1.4.5 and 1.5, opening
the preferences dialog during an active session had the side effect of
double incrementing the cumulative times. Added a trouble shooting
section in the documentation.
Version 1.5.2 - February 1, 1996. Added support for multiple monitors. The timer
window will now remember it's position even if placed on a second
monitor. Added an option in the File menu allowing access to the Config
PPP control panel directly from MacPPP Timer. Fixed a potentially
nasty bug in the global floating window. I believe that this fixes the
long elusive problem that a few systems were having in quitting
