This document is not the "Help" Full documentation for XTimer is available
on XTimer's Apple Menu. Save it as text, for easier reading. Press the space bar for pop-up short cuts screen.
If you haven't seen XTimer with "Greg's Buttons" , GO DOWNLOAD IT NOW!
XTimer is now registered by individuals in 25 of 50 states, in the U.S.A., and in three countries other than the U.S.. I've really enjoyed seeing where the registrations come from, and the comments people send to me. I do take seriously requests for features. I can't do everything all at once, and some things just don't fit into the mix easily; but I try!
This release is the first version of XTimer that strives to handle any currency format from around the globe. It does this by reading the system settings of the Mac it is running on and adapting accordingly. This is also the first release that can be registered online, if you are on the CompuServe Information Service. Just use GO SWREG, XTimer is I.D. #5002.
The flood from AOL users has been very nice to see. I am using AOL myself now, and find I use XTimer more than ever. I've tried to make some changes that will especially benefit those of you on AOL (at least the new features help me on AOL!).
The one request that is made over and over by online users is, "Make the timer stop and start automatically." That is something I have always wanted XTimer to do. I have the logic worked out on it, however, I still haven't gotten past some of the difficulties of patching the traps (system routines) necessary to accomplish this goal. I'm in a learning process in this area. Programming is not my profession; though it is something I'd like to do. Hopefully, by the next release, CIS and AOL users will both have automatic tracking modes, as well as some auto features for those using XTimer for their own client billing. Be patient... it's coming!
Enjoy the program!
Eric (-:
Regretfully, I've decided to drop support for XTimer-XTra, sibling program to XTimer, due to lack of interest; however, in time XTimer will incorporate features that will eliminate the need for two versions.
States unrepresented by registrations:
Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah,
Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Arkansas,
Louisianna, Mississippi, Kentucky, South Carolina,
West Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Maryland
What's New in 1.5?
The Help and short cuts pop-up screen are always updated for each release.
Ñ XTimer will now localize currency settings for currency formats other than the U.S. dollar format. Users may choose to override this feature and use the U.S. format.
Ñ Maximum charge rate increased to 100000 of any currency per hour.
Ñ XTimer can be registered online via CompuServe. GO SWREG. XTimer is I.D.#5002.
Ñ Cash register sound option, to play when notices are sent.
Ñ Preference to skip dialog screen when notices are sent.
Ñ Modified File Menu, added new items, text saving options now uses sub-menu.
Ñ Added "Modify Logged Time" feature. Let's you quickly add/subtract minutes from the log total of the current rate.
Ñ "Current Rate Total" (time on timer added to time in log) may now be displayed on both large and mini timer windows, and toggled off by option-clicking in window grow box of either size timer.
Ñ Various places that formerly didn't allow you to click on the text to toggle checkboxes and radio buttons, will now let you.
Ñ Print options were added.
Ñ Added many command key short cuts to Menu items.
Ñ New General pref setting allows automatic log clearing after text saves.
Ñ Rate descriptions now allowed up to 25 characters (vs. only 20 before).
Ñ Placed version number in About window.
Ñ Preferences file routines modified to give maximum protection in case your system should crash (hopefully never because of XTimer!) while XTimer is in use.
Ñ Added new Easter egg; updated another.
Change in 1.5: "Next Notice At..." message on large timer window can no longer be toggled on and off the screen. The "Current Rate Total" message takes that place now, and may be toggled on and off by option clicking in either size timer window grow box.
Fixes in 1.5:
I've lost track of all the tweaking and minor corrections. They were numerous. But here's what I can recall:
- I modified the code that handles the saving and retrieving of information from the preferences file.
- Corrected timer window update problems when the current rate's preferences are modified, when using CTRL-A to add time, after accesses to General preferences, and when Rounding preferences were checked. Other timer window update problems were also corrected.
- Eliminated trailing spaces in the log information when saved in tab delimited format. This was causing the log files to be unreadable by some database programs.
- Fixed error that allowed more than two places past decimal in charge settings.
- Reconstructed mini timer to eliminate minor size distortions. Improved appearance.
Tips and Suggestions
Tips:
Use the "Get Info" command in the Finder, after highlighting the "small icon" folder included in this archive, then follow the directions to create a mini desktop alias.
Some have asked for help because they want to keep seperate totals for network surcharges, on-line connect charges, charges for specific forums of their on-line service, etc... The solution is pretty simple. Just set up those categories, and when you save times, save to those categories. You can also flip around while the timer is running, or stopped, to the various rates you have set; if you want to peek. It won't hurt anything. XTimer is most concerned with the time, the charges are calculated but not saved. When you save to a rate, the time is saved. The charges are calculated based on the cost per hour for that rate, divided by 60, times the number of minutes you were charged for. The only thing ever saved to disk is the time. You could also set up a category that combines all the charges, so you can see the total it's costing you.
Suggestions:
If you have multiple family members using XTimer, why not keep seperate totals for each member?
If your long distance phone bill is eating you alive, take the time to look up how much it costs you to call Mom long distance, or whoever you might be calling regularly.
With XTimer running in front of you, you'll be surprised how much more aware of the cost you become.
Release History:
Fix in 1.4.1:
Ñ A bug introduced in 1.4 caused incorrect marking of items on the Notify menu, when "Repeating Notices" was not selected, after a notice was sent. That bug is corrected in 1.4.1, otherwise 1.4.1 is the same as 1.4
New in 1.4?
Ñ Added preference setting to always avoid the warning message when selecting Reset.
Ñ Allowed Help to be saved as text with style information saved as well, and no longer as a Read Only document.
Ñ A FileMaker Pro⌐ template, created by David Wood, is included with XTimer to use for importing XTimer tab delimited log files to a FileMaker Pro⌐ file.
Ñ Modified Time format in Log to HH:MM:SS, in order to make it usable to database templates. Users can generate time/charge totals with this format change.
Ñ Added totals to columns in log to show total charges and total time charged.
Ñ A new Notify menu item allows Notices to be sent one time only vs. always repeating.
Ñ XTimer now lets users define a Notify time as "Other".
Ñ Now charge rates can be set to "Unused" with a keystroke. Enter <ctrl> + U (or use small "u") where you enter the rate's name and it is changed to "Unused" for you. The charge will also automatically be changed to $0.00.
Ñ Added Default charge setting for rates. Type "D" (or "d") as the charge and the default charge will be filled in automatically. Helps those who bill clients at a standard rate and just change the names. XTimer remembers which items were marked as default items and when the default rate is changed it updates all those items.
Note: Charges are always calculated at the current rate per hour setting.
Ñ Now charge rates can be set up to $999.99 per hour.
Ñ Added keyboard commands to Start (ctrl-S), Stop (ctrl-X), Reset (ctrl-C), and
Round (ctrl-Z). Note: Items are disabled and enabled the same as the equivalent button controls; however, you can now Round the seconds even while using the minimized timer by using the keyboard equivalent.
Ñ Added pop-up screen to view short-cuts with a key press. Press and hold the <spacebar>, to bring up the screen.
Ñ Updated Help screen information and email/snail mail addresses.
New In 1.3
Ñ Color added to Help screen to make it easier to follow and to highlight areas of special significance.
Ñ Users can now add a time on the timer to the current rate and bypass the dialog by entering <ctrl> - A, when the timer is stopped.
Ñ The current rate can now be displayed on the title bar. You can toggle between the program name, "XTimer," and the name of the current rate by using Option-R.
Ñ The items on the File menu are rearranged so that the more frequently used items are nearer to the top.
Ñ The log will not place a comma after the hours if there are no additional minutes when saving as text.
Ñ When text files of the log are created, any rates named "Unused", "unused", or "UNUSED" will be ignored.
Ñ I added in options for database users to save or append the log to a text file in tab delimited format for easy import.
Ñ Saving or appending the log in regular text format can be done with or without the usual log header. Holding down the option key before pulling down the File menu while selecting those options will prevent the header from being included.
Ñ 1.3 and some copies of XTimer 1.2 contain a change which users with multiple monitors will notice, when one monitor is color and one is black and white. Paul Celestin added in code to his CDEF (Control Definition), which is used in the mini "stoplight" timer for the buttons, that now senses not only the color capability of the main monitor, but also on the secondary monitor. So, now the mini timer will be drawn correctly on the secondary monitor when it isn't the same as the main monitor.
Ñ The prefs file is handled more efficiently.
Ñ A bug was corrected that caused only the first item to correctly receive an add or save when using checkboxes, if "Reset After Add/Save" had been checked in the preferences.
Ñ Another bug that reset the time on the timer whenever any rates were cleared was fixed.
Ñ A shareware screen was added in order to entice more people to register the program. Registered users who did not send me their e-mail address can contact me and I will send you your registration code.
Ñ Registered users will find the About screen modified with their name on it, and an animated XTimer icon. A previously hidden easter egg is disclosed. That egg is accessible to unregistered users under certain conditions.
Fixes in 1.2
Hopefully fixed log bugs for good. Another bug was found that caused the charges on the log to all be displayed at the currently selected charge rate, rather than their own.
I fixed numerous minor bugs that were pretty obscure, like the timer unhiding itself when you minimized or maximized the window from the menu or by command key.
Adjustment made to how time is kept, due to discovery that the number of system "ticks" per second works out to be 60.15, rather than the 60 I've been reading; which was probably a close enough generalization for most purposes.
Fixed error which made XTimer window completely disappear if it was left on an alternate monitor at quit.
Changes in 1.2
Moved the Prefs menu off of the File menu and onto the menubar.
Alas, "Save Log As Text" has been added to the File menu. It should be viewed using a mono-spaced font like Monaco, in order to make the columns line up properly. Since TeachText uses Geneva, you'll be glad to see the new pref setting that allows you to select the text file creator. Also added, "Append Log to Text File", so you can keep your log copies in one place.
"Next Notice at:" message now displays even when the timer is stopped.
Checkboxes can now be used when Adding or Saving, for those who need to keep multiple settings for the same times, like to log connection surcharges along with the cost of the hourly on-line fees of their network. Users can still use Radio buttons if they prefer. Check the box appropriately in the Preference settings to decide.
New menu item, Clear Time Of..., lets you easily clear the log. You could also just save zero time to any Rate and accomplish the same thing, but this is convenient and intuitive.
I modified the Help to try and clear up confusion some have expressed.
Now users who know how to use ResEdit can paste in their own sound to be used when Notices are sent. Must be ID 128, non-purgeable. Must allocate additional RAM to XTimer to accomodate sound's bytes. I recommend also adding about a 15K buffer to prevent any possible memory errors.
Help screen text is in a compressed resource now, which helped offset the increase in code needed for new features.
I changed some of the command keys. It was brought to my attention that Command-D is used in many communication programs as "Disconnect", in other applications it is often used for "Delete...". This seemed like an especially hazardous situation, especially noting the "Auto-Return" feature, so I changed "View Log" from Command-D to Command-G.
I also decided that despite violating convention, it is much more convenient to have "Add Time To..." as Command-A (normally used for "Select All", which is not even a menu item in XTimer), rather than Command-J.
Fixes in 1.1.1:
Fixed glaring lethal bug that would cause the entire log to be reset to zero when the Charge Rate Preferences were changed. My most sincere apologies to those who were affected. It made me sick when it was reported to me. It's just bewildering that it wasn't found before XTimer was released to the public.
Changes in XTimer 1.1
New Feature: Auto-Return
Allows you to set XT to automatically return control to the program you were using after you Start, Stop, or Reset the timer. This enables you to use XTimer without having to reactivate another program afterwards. XTimer can be brought to the front with Auto-Return on by unclicking Auto-Return, clicking on the window title bar, or by selecting XTimer from the Applications menu.
Changes:
Users with multiple monitors will find that XTimer now centers windows on the main screen, not always on the screen where the mouse is located.
Fixes:
Code corrected for Macs using 68000 CPU's. Now XTimer won't die with "Unimplemented Trap" on those machines.
<option> Start now completely Resets, formerly it started with 1 second charged.
Time now saved on timer when XTimer is quit while timer is running.
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