Do you bill clients for computer time and need a convenient way of tracking the amount of time you spend on each job or account? Do you need to account for the time you spend on your computer—maybe for tax purposes? Are you looking for a time tracking program that will allow you to perform work on any combination of applications and accumulate the time toward a single job or account? Do you work in an environment where you share a computer with one or more other people, and need to track the time each person uses the computer? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then this software is for you! LogOut provides a simple, straightforward, painless, and reliable means for keeping track of computer usage time.
I originally started development of LogOut out of frustration that I could not find anything else out there to do the simple job of tracking computer usage time. On one extreme, there are programs that require me to enter fifteen billion different pieces of information every time I want to use my computer for something. On the other extreme, there are programs that are so “automatic” that I can’t control the accounting of my usage time the way I want to. Often, these programs provide me with all kinds of information about the usage of my computer that has no real usefulness beyond curiosity. LogOut accomplishes what I really need from this type of software. I think you will find the same to be true for you.
LogOut is unique among computer time tracking software in several ways:
• It has a very reasonable price, especially when compared with commercially available programs of the same type. One such program has a list price of $149!
• It is relatively small and compact, with minimal RAM requirements. I have tried to keep LogOut as small as possible. As a result, it does one thing very well—track computer usage time. I purposely did not provide any reporting capabilities within LogOut for this reason. There are lots of ways of generating a nice looking report from the log file, using other software.
• It has the ability to automatically log you out of the system when you forget to do so yourself.
• LogOut is an application, rather than a control panel or init or desk accessory. It is very compatible with other software and is very easy to install and uninstall. No “restart” is ever required. To install LogOut, just double-click it like any other application. To uninstall, just quit the LogOut application and it is gone from memory.
• It records in the log file the kind of information that is really useful, rather than a lot of extra “junk” that has no real world value.
• LogOut is fast and easy to use. It only bothers you once for information at the beginning of each work session. There is none of the annoying validating and re-entering of information that some programs require.
• LogOut is intelligent and automatic. It has been designed to operate with a minimal amount of user guidance. However, it still allows for a reasonable amount of control by the user.
• LogOut was designed and developed by someone who really uses this kind of software everyday.
To track time, you merely “log in” to the computer through the program LogOut. Once you are logged into the system, you are free to use any combination of software to accomplish your work. When you are finished working on a particular job, log out of the system by selecting LogOut from the Application menu. After logging out, you can either enter log in information for the next job to be worked on or leave the computer for someone else to use.
LogOut simply accumulates time between successive log ins and stores the information in a data file for later retrieval. Time is accumulated regardless of what you are doing on the computer, including the use of any combination of applications and desk accessories, and even the Finder.
If you forget to log out of the system when you are finished working on a project, or you get distracted with something else for awhile, don’t worry. LogOut monitors user activity, such as mouse movement, mouse clicks, keyboard presses, and floppy disk insertions, similar to a screen saver. If no user activity has occurred within a set time period, LogOut can automatically log you out of the system.
As in the past, I have received a number of suggestions from people on how to improve the software. I have incorporated many of these suggestions into the latest release of LogOut. The following is a brief summary of the enhancements that have been made to LogOut:
• In version 1.5 and earlier, LogOut worked together with a companion program called AutoLogOut, which actually performed the automatic logging out functions for the software. Beginning with version 2.0, the features of AutoLogOut have been incorporated into LogOut. As a result, the single application, LogOut, performs all of the functions of the previous two programs. There is no longer any need for AutoLogOut and it has been discontinued.
• You can now specify the name and location for the log file. Also, the ability to append information to an existing log file has been added.
• You can now set the log file “creator signature” to another application besides LogOut. This will cause that application to automatically start up and open the log file whenever you double-click the log file’s icon on the desktop. (You would typically set the log file’s creator signature to the application you use to edit and print the log file.)
• You can now turn the automatic log out feature on and off with a simple check box.
• A “Recent” menu has been added that keeps track of the ten most recent unique log in entries. You can select any one of these entries from the menu and the appropriate information will be entered into the log in fields of the Log In dialog box. The state of the Recent menu is saved when LogOut is quit or the computer is shutdown, so that these entries will be available the next time LogOut is started up. The option of hiding the Recent menu has also been provided for those who may not want this feature.
• An option has been added to allow LogOut to be switched to the background without a log in. With this option turned on, you can avoid logging in to the computer to use it. When you want to keep track of your usage time, just bring LogOut to the foreground and log in. (In previous versions, you were forced to log in every time you used the computer for something. Now you can have it either way.)
• LogOut is now more “polite” about asking for processor time from the operating system. The option is still available, however, for making LogOut more aggressive in asking for processor time.
• The option of requiring a password to change any of the options or preferences, and/or for quitting LogOut, has always been provided. However, the password protection scheme has been refined in two significant ways. First, passwords are no longer case sensitive. Second, password characters are now replaced with “bullet” characters as they are typed, making it more difficult for someone else to see the password as it is entered.
• LogOut will now always bring up the last active application just previous to a log out, following a log in. This is a real convenience when you want to log out for a while and then return to work in the same application later.
• The user interface has been redesigned so that access to all options and preferences are from menus in the menu bar, rather than a button on the Log In dialog box. This makes the Log In dialog box much cleaner and simpler. Also, the various options are now grouped according to general functions.
• The dialog boxes have been redesigned to be more intuitive and descriptive, making a user manual less needed.
• The standard keyboard equivalents for the “Cancel” button in dialog boxes have been added, i.e., [Command]–[.] and [Escape].
• The standard editing commands, Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear have been added, as well as support for the Clipboard.
(If you are installing LogOut for the first time on your computer, you can skip this section.)
If you are updating to version 2.1 from version 1.1 or earlier, it is recommended that you move the file “Time Log,” found in the System Folder, out of the System Folder BEFORE YOU EXECUTE the new version of LogOut. This will force LogOut to create a new log file. The structure of the log file has changed slightly from version 1.1 and earlier of LogOut. Specifically, in these early versions, the two log in fields (“Your Name” and “Job Number”) were written to the log file in reverse order from the order they appeared in the Log In dialog box. This has been changed so that the fields are written in the same order they appear in the Log In dialog box. (I apologize for any inconvenience this may create for you during updating, but the file structure change allows LogOut to be customized now.)
If you are updating to version 2.1 from an earlier version newer than 1.1, then nothing is really required. However, it is suggested that you throw away the preference files from the old LogOut and AutoLogOut programs. These old preferences files are located in the Preferences folder, inside the System folder of the start up disk (your hard disk). Version 2.1 creates a new preference file called “LogOut 2.1 Prefs,” located in the Preferences folder.
If you have made an alias of LogOut and placed it in the Apple Menu Items folder, inside the System folder, it is suggested that you remove it. The new version of LogOut works better when it is selected from the Application menu, rather than the Apple menu. Specifically, the ability to bring up the last active application just previous to a log out, following a new log in, will be lost. Instead, the Finder will be the active application after a log in, if LogOut is brought to the foreground by selecting it from the Apple menu.
To install LogOut on your computer system, do the following:
1. Copy LogOut to your hard disk and place it in the folder of your choice.
2. Make an alias of LogOut and place the alias in the Startup Items folder inside the System Folder on the start up disk. This will cause LogOut to start up automatically every time your computer is turned on or restarted.
(Alternate installation: Rather than placing an alias of LogOut in the Startup Items folder, you can simply place LogOut itself in the Startup Items folder. This set up works just as well and is simpler to do.)
3. Optional: Make an alias of LogOut and place it on the “desktop,” located in a convenient place—just above the Trash Can for example. This will make LogOut available on the desktop in plain view, in addition to being present in the Application menu.
4. The next time you restart your Macintosh, LogOut will start up automatically and present the Log In dialog box, waiting for you to log in.
Assuming that LogOut has been installed as described above, you will be confronted with the Log In dialog box when you restart your computer. Enter the appropriate data into the two log in fields and press the “Log In” button. (The log in fields are initially labeled “Your Name” and “Job Number.” However, these labels can be changed to anything else through the Log In Options dialog box, which is discussed later.) After you press the “Log In” button, LogOut records the time of “log in” and then moves itself to the background.
When finished using the computer for a specific work session, simply select LogOut from the Application menu, located in the far right-hand corner of your screen. (You can accomplish the same thing by double-clicking the LogOut icon or one of its aliases on the desktop.) LogOut will stop accumulating usage time, record the usage data in the log file and then bring up the Log In dialog box for the next work session. (The name “LogOut” provides you with a mnemonic clue regarding what is going to take place when you select it from the Application menu. You are “logging out” when you select LogOut.)
To begin accumulating time for another work session, enter the appropriate data into the log in fields and press the “Log In” button. As stated previously, after you press the “Log In” button, LogOut records the time of the log in and then moves itself to the background again. (You may notice that LogOut will be marked as “hidden” in the Application menu. This is normal. Do not make LogOut “visible.” LogOut takes care of making itself visible and hidden at the appropriate times in the Application menu.)
--“Last Entry” Button--
There is one other button, besides “Log In,” on the Log In dialog box—the “Last Entry” button. Pressing the “Last Entry” button will enter into the log in fields the same information that was used for the previous log in. This is particularly useful when LogOut has automatically logged you out of the system because of inactivity. When you want to log back in using the same information as the last work session, simply press the “Last Entry” button. The keyboard equivalent [Command]–[L] can be used in place of pressing the button with the mouse.
This section gives a description of each of the various menu items available in LogOut’s menu bar. Each menu and it’s associated items are discussed in the order in which they appear.
--FILE MENU--
The File menu contains commands for controlling the way LogOut interacts with you and the computer system. All of LogOut’s options and preferences are accessed from this menu.
--Lock Options/Unlock Options--
This command toggles between “Lock Options” and “Unlock Options,” depending upon which choice is applicable at a given time. When the command is “Lock Options,” selecting it will “lock,” or disable, the other menu items related to options and preferences, preventing anyone from changing the settings without a password.
When the command is “Unlock Options,” selecting it will cause a dialog box to come up asking you to enter the password. Once the correct password has been entered, all option and preference related menu items will be “unlocked,” or enabled. LogOut will automatically re-lock the menu items following a log in.
This menu item is disabled unless you have specified that a password is required to change the options. (See “Other Options…” below for information about how to require a password to change the options.)
--Set Log File Location…--
This menu item allows you to specify what the log file is to be named and where it is to be located. A dialog box will come up asking if you want to look for an existing log file to add information to, or if you want to create a new log file. Depending on your choice, a dialog box will come up allowing you to either select an existing log file to add to, or specify a name for a new log file and select a location to store it.
--Set Log File Creator…--
This menu item allows you to change the “creator signature” of the log file. A dialog box will come up allowing you to either enter a four character signature directly, or select an application from the file list. If an application is selected from the file list, the application’s creator signature will be entered into the creator signature text box.
The “creator signature” is a four character code or signature that is unique to each application. The operating system uses creator signatures to know which application should be started up when a file is double-clicked from the desktop.
It is suggested that you set the creator signature of the log file to that of the application you plan to use to edit, summarize, and print the log file. Once the creator is set, this application will automatically start up and open your log file whenever you double-click the log file from the desktop.
--Log In Options…--
You specify various options related to logging in by selecting this menu item. The various options that can be specified in the Log In Options dialog box are as follows:
• “Require first field to be entered before ‘log in’ accepted”: If this item is checked, data must be entered into the first log in field of the Log In dialog box before the “log in” will be accepted.
• “Require second field to be entered before ‘log in’ accepted”: If this item is checked, data must be entered into the second log in field of the Log In dialog box before the “log in” will be accepted.
• “Label for first field”: You can change the label used to identify the first log in field of the Log In dialog box by entering the new label here.
• “Label for second field”: You can change the label used to identify the second field in the Log In dialog box by entering the new label here.
• “Disable ‘Last Entry’ button”: If this item is checked, the “Last Entry” button on the Log In dialog box will be disabled. In other words, the button will be grayed out and the user will be unable to access it.
• “Hide ‘Recent’ menu”: If this item is checked, the Recent menu will not be displayed in the menu bar. The Recent menu is discussed in more detail later under its own heading.
• “LogOut can be switched to background without a ‘log in’”: If this box is checked, the Log In dialog box will be changed to a movable modal dialog box type. This will give you the ability to move the dialog box around the screen by dragging it by the title bar. Also, and more importantly, you will be able to switch to another application without logging in. When this option is checked, be aware that LogOut will not accumulate usage time until you log in by entering information into the log in fields of the Log In dialog box and pressing the “Log In” button.
When this option is not checked, you will be forced to log in before you can use the computer. If you do not want yourself or others to be able to bypass logging in, then leave this option unchecked.
--Log Out Options…--
Selecting this menu item allows you to specify various options related to logging out. The options available in the Log Out Options dialog box are:
• “Automatic log out”: When checked, the automatic logging out feature is on. To turn the automatic logging out feature off, uncheck this item. When automatic logging out is on, LogOut will automatically perform a “log out” if no user activity has taken place within a specified amount of time.
• “Automatically log out after __ minutes of inactivity”: Here, you specify the amount of inactive time, in minutes, before LogOut automatically logs you out. This item is only applicable when the automatic log out feature is on.
• “Never Log Out Corner”: Select a corner of the screen to place the mouse cursor when you do not want LogOut to automatically log you out. The automatic log out feature will be temporarily disable as long as the mouse cursor is in the specified screen corner. This is similar to the “never sleep corner” of many screen savers. (Be careful to not inadvertently leave your mouse cursor in the Never Log Out Corner. It will prevent LogOut from automatically logging you out.) This item is only applicable when the automatic log out feature is on.
--Other Options…--
This menu item brings up the Other Options dialog box, which allows you to specify options that are related to the general operation of LogOut. These options are:
• “Give other applications more processing time”: If you experience problems with LogOut prematurely automatically logging you out of the system, then try unchecking this item. For most situations, leaving this item checked provides acceptable performance and is preferred when running several applications at the same time.
• “Require password to change options…”: If this item is checked, then a password will be required to access and change the options and preferences of LogOut. This is useful if you want to prevent others from changing the settings you establish for LogOut.
The first time this or the next item are selected, a dialog box will appear asking you to enter a new password. This password will be required to gain access to the options and preferences of LogOut.
The password is not case sensitive, i.e., capital and small letters are considered to be the same letters. Also, the same password is used for both this and the next option.
• “Require password to quit LogOut…”: If checked, LogOut cannot be “quit” without entering a password. This is useful if you want to prevent users from quitting LogOut, either accidently or purposely. (A password is only required if the “quit” command is executed by the user. A password is never required when Restart or Shut Down are selected from the Finder’s Special menu.)
--About LogOut…--
This item brings up the “About LogOut” dialog box.
--Quit--
Selecting this item quits the LogOut application. However, as stated previously, if “Require password to quit LogOut” is checked in the Other Options dialog box, then a password will be required before LogOut will actually quit.
--EDIT MENU--
The Edit menu contains the standard editing commands: Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear. These commands work the same as in any other Macintosh application.
--RECENT MENU--
The Recent menu contains the ten most recent unique log ins. The menu is automatically updated after each log in. The text of the menu items will be the first 15 characters of the entries made in the first and second log in fields of the Log In dialog box, with a “separator bar” between them. When a particular item is selected from the menu, the full text of the first and second log in fields are entered into the Log In dialog box fields. You must then press the “Log In” button to complete the log in. The Recent menu will not appear in the menu bar until after the first successful log in has been completed. The top menu item is always the most recent log in, and is the same as the “Last Entry” button in the Log In dialog box.
LogOut only adds an item to the Recent menu if it is unique from the other entries already in the menu. If an item is already in the menu, then that item is moved to the top of the menu. The criteria used to determine if an item is “unique” is case sensitive. For example, “Jim”, “JIM” and “jim” are all considered different or unique.
LogOut creates and maintains three files. They are each discussed below.
--Log File--
The log file is the file in which all computer usage information is recorded. You specify the location of the log file by selecting “Set Log File Location…” from the File menu. If LogOut is being run for the very first time and the location of the log file has never been specified by you, LogOut will look, by default, for a file called “Time Log” in the System folder of the start up disk. If LogOut cannot find the log file, it will ask you to locate it.
The log file is a standard “TEXT” file with tabs separating each field of information within a record. Each record is separated by a carriage return. The first record of the file is a header that describes each field in subsequent records.
(A “record” refers to one complete log file entry. A “field” refers to one specific item within a log file entry. For example, the time of a log in would be one “field” within a “record” that would contain the two log in description fields, the time and date of log in, the time and date of log out, and the total hours the computer was used for that work session.)
The log file can be easily imported into any text editing, word processing, spreadsheet, or database program. This makes it a relatively simple process to generate a report of computer usage. (I, personally, use a spreadsheet program to generate my reports. I can sort the file by project name, account number, date, or whatever and get a nice print out for filing.)
Each record within the log file is structured as follows:
Field 1: First field of the Log In dialog box
Field 2: Second field of the Log In dialog box
Field 3: Date log in occurred
Field 4: Time log in occurred
Field 5: Date log out occurred
Field 6: Time log out occurred
Field 7: Total hours used during this session
--LogOut 2.1 Prefs--
“LogOut 2.1 Prefs” is located in the Preferences folder, in the System folder of the start up disk. This file contains the option and preference settings for LogOut. You do not need to worry about this file. It does not contain any “user serviceable parts.”
However, if you have specified a password to allow access to the options and preferences for LogOut and you forget your password, just throw this file in the Trash Can. LogOut will automatically create a new file with no password requirement.
--Login Info--
“Login Info” is located in the Preferences folder in the System folder of the start up disk. This file contains the log in information for the current work session. The file is updated every time a new log in occurs. You do not have to worry about this file. It does not contain any “user serviceable parts.”
This file is deleted every time LogOut quits in a normal way. If the computer system crashes or you hit the restart button on the computer, the next time LogOut starts up it will look for this file. If LogOut finds it, LogOut will ask you if you want to retrieve the information and store it in the log file. This is a fail safe feature to prevent you from losing usage time information in case of a system crash.
LogOut requires System 7 or higher to run. This is the only hardware or software requirement. LogOut runs on any Macintosh model capable of running System 7 or higher.
LogOut is an application, rather than an init or control panel. It does not patch System traps or do anything unusual to the computer’s operating system. As a result, it should be completely compatible with and friendly towards all other software you may use. LogOut has been tested on many different Macintosh models and configurations, running a wide variety of software. There are no known incompatibilities at this time.
LogOut is shareware—not freeware. That means if you use this program and find it of value, please register your copy by sending me $10.00. I have not plastered the software with any “shareware threats,” disabled any features, or added any of those annoying “flashing shareware warning messages,” so please be a good sport and send me the registration fee, at the following address:
Jeff Miles
5604 Stanmore Way
Elk Grove, California 95758
Thank you for your support of the shareware system! Please write me if you have any comments or suggestions about the software. I would love to hear from you. Finally, a big “thanks” to those who have written me in the past.
I will send you a nice copy of the user manual if and when you register LogOut.
