Copyright: ® 1997 TOPline Software.


Index
TweakEzy

•	 Overview

•	 Setting the Time

•	 Menu Items

•	 How to Use TweakEzy

•	 Keyboard Operation


Information
TweakEzy - Information

© 1997 by Tim Parish. All rights reserved.

Time-tweaking program to keep your computer's time accurate.


  Overview

TweakEzy is an easy-to-use time correction program for Windows 95. This will end your PC's annoying habit of gaining or losing minutes every week, or even every day. Just  set the time and then tell TweakEzy how much time your computer used to gain or lose.

There are various  ways to use TweakEzy, ranging from slap-dash to very accurate. One of them is sure to suit you!


  Setting the Time

If you don't already have the Windows clock displayed in the System Tray of the Windows Taskbar, here's how to do it:

1) Right click on the Windows Taskbar.

2) Select Properties from the menu.

3) On the taskbar Options page, click on Show Clock.

4) Click on OK.

To set the clock, right click on it and then select Adjust Date/Time from the menu that comes up. This brings up the Date/Time Properties dialog box.

Choose a reliable source for setting the time precisely such as a telephone information service, the T.V. weather channel (U.S. only) or even a very good quality modern wristwatch. When you choose one of these, stick to it and don't use any other method when calibrating TweakEzy. This will ensure predictable results.

Don't choose a wind-up kitchen clock, a radio announcer's time announcement or the time displayed by an Internet website! (Looking at a website, the time that gets displayed on your screen could be several seconds out, regardless of the accuracy of its source).

Here is a suggested procedure for setting the time from an accurate source:

1) Alter the time digits in the Date/Time Properties dialog box, to a value that is about half a minute ahead of your reference source (e.g. the TV weather channel). When you do this, the clock in the dialog box stops.

2) Watch the seconds value of your reference time, and click on the Apply button the instant it matches the time you set in the dialog box. Due to the limitations of your computer, the times might still not match exactly, but you should be within a fraction of a second.


 Menu Items

•	Tweak...

•	Display Hints

•	Auto Closedown...

•	Help...

•	About...

•	Exit


  Tweak...

This brings up the Tweak dialog, which contains a scroll bar for altering the computer's system time. By dragging the sliding scroll bar button to the left, you can make system time pass more slowly and by dragging it to the right, system time will pass more quickly. This is useful for small, ad hoc adjustments. You can also click on the small arrows at either end of the scroll bar, to make small changes.

However, to set time correction approximately right in one hit, you need to  calibrate it by clicking the Calibrate button and setting values in the dialog box that comes up.

If you wish to let your system time run at its natural speed (like it did before you installed TweakEzy), just click on the Reset button.

To put the changes into effect, you must click on the OK button. If you click on Cancel, any change to the scroll bar is ignored.

The title bar of the dialog shows the current time.


  Display Hints

Selecting this menu item will place or remove a check mark next to the menu item. If checked, hints will be displayed as the cursor moves over various parts of the TweakEzy dialog boxes and controls.


  Auto Closedown

Selecting this menu item will place or remove a check mark next to the menu item. If checked, TweakEzy will close itself down 20 minutes after starting up. Whenever TweakEzy starts up, it corrects the system time based on how long it has been since it last closed down.


  Help...

This brings up the top level of the Help system, from where any topic of interest can be found.


  About...

This brings up the About Box, which contains information such as the version number of the program, the author's name and a copyright notice.


  Exit

This closes down the TweakEzy progam.


  How to Use TweakEzy

You may find it helpful to print this material out. Click on the Print button above.

There are a number of ways of using TweakEzy, listed below in order of accuracy. Pick the one that seems to suit you best. Note: all except the first method assume that the system time has been  set and TweakEzy has been  calibrated.

The Hit and Miss Method:

Whenever the time is too far out for your liking, find TweakEzy in Explorer, and double click it. (Or click the Start button, and find TweakEzy under Programs). When it appears in the Windows Task Bar, right click on it and select Tweak... from the menu. Move the scroll button a little, in the appropriate direction and click on OK. Right click on the TweakEzy icon again and select Exit.

The Ad Hoc Method:

Create a shortcut to TweakEzy on the Windows DeskTop. Next, double click on it to run it. When it appears as an icon in your Windows TaskBar, right click it and select Auto Closedown from the menu.

From now on, whenever you notice that the system time has drifted too far for your liking, just double click on the TweakEzy icon on your DeskTop. TweakEzy will start up, fix the time, and then close down by itself 20 minutes later.

The Daily Method:

If you re-boot, or restart Windows every morning, and want a minimum of applications running on your machine, this is for you. Find TweakEzy in Windows Explorer and double click on it (it has a green and red icon, and its type is application).  When it appears as an icon in the Windows TaskBar, right click it and select Auto Closedown from the menu. Now place TweakEzy in your  StartUp Folder.

From now on, each time Windows starts up, TweakEzy will correct the time then close itself down 20 minutes later.

The Continuous Method:

If you would like the time to be as accurate as possible whenever Windows is running (perhaps 24hrs a day), this is the way. Just place TweakEzy in the StartUp Folder, and make sure the Auto Closedown option is not checked (as is the case when you first run TweakEzy).

From now on, after you next start Windows, TweakEzy will sit in the System Tray of the Windows Taskbar permanently. The system time will be corrected many times during the day (every 20 minutes in fact), but the changes will be so small that you won't notice any time changes.


  The Startup Folder

To set TweakEzy up so it starts when Windows itself starts up, do the following:

1) Find and open the TweakEzy directory using Windows Explorer.

2) Click on the + signs next to the Windows directory, then the Start Menu directory, then the Programs directory. Under the Programs directory you should see a directory called Startup.

3) Go back to the TweakEzy directory and drag the TweakEzy exe file over the Startup directory and drop it there. (The exe file has a green and red icon, and its type is application).


  The Calibration Dialog

This is where you can tell TweakEzy how much your computer's system time drifts, and in which direction. For example, 'My computer gains 6 minutes every week'. When you click on OK, you are returned to the Tweak Dialog. The sliding scroll bar button will now be set to the appropriate position to compensate for the system time inaccuracy.


  Keyboard Operation

The scroll bar in the Tweak dialog may be adjusted coarsely by using the <Page Up> and <Page Down> keys. Fine adjustment is achieved by pressing the left and right arrow keys.

The <Tab> key can be used to move from field to field in the Calibration dialog. The up and down arrow keys may be used to set the radio buttons.

Every button in any TweakEzy dialog has un underlined letter in its caption. Pressing that letter on the keyboard will have the effect of clicking the button.

Pressing the <Enter> key in any dialog will close the dialog as if the OK button was clicked. Similarly, pressing the <Esc> key does the same as clicking the Cancel button.