YetAnother Timer is a utility application to keep track of how much time you spend on your computer. Version 1.4.1 has a globally floating window that will always be in front of other windows, even if YetAnother Timer is running in the background.
YetAnother Timer requires System 7.1 or later.
What it does
When you launch by double-clicking, a small, draggable timer window appears under the Trash. This is 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 and other settings are automatically saved once per minute to provide some protection against loss of data should the computer crash during a timed session.
If you need to keep track of cumulative time for several activities, keep a few, individually named copies of YetAnother Timer in a folder and track each activity on its own copy.
The Menus
The File Menu:
You can initiate your session by selecting "Begin Session" from the File menu. Selecting "End Session" from the File menu 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 "Quit," terminates your session and quits the program.
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 will Quit. The upper right spot will open the Preferences dialog.
The Preferences Dialog
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 "Display Daily" is checked, the timer window will display the daily cumulative time by default each time you launch. Cumulative times can be cleared from the Preferences dialog.
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.
The Deal
YetAnother Timer v. 1.4.1 is shareware. If you find that you use it a lot and feel that it is worth $10, by all means send it. If you feel like sending a nice letter or postcard, do that. If you want to send a shareware product of your own, please do! If you don't feel like sending anything, don't send anything. There are no annoying registration dialog boxes full of accusatory language getting in your face or anything like that. As always, registered users of previous versions may upgrade for free.
Send your cash (best method outside the US), checks (US$ drawn on a US bank), postal money orders, postcards, letters, disks, bug reports, etc., to:
Eric Preston
23547 Clark Dr.
Philomath, OR 97370
USA
Internet email: ericpresto@aol.com
America Online: EricPRESTO
If you let me know your email address, I will acknowledge receipt of your shareware contribution.
Just for Fun
Can you find the undocumented feature? There is an undocumented feature in v. 1.4.1 It is functional and not purely cosmetic. You do not need to open the program with ResEdit to find it. In fact, opening the program won't help at all. Let me know, if you think you've discovered it. Users who register get the answer.
Also, have you ever wondered what night life is like in rural Oregon? This is your chance to find out. All users who register and provide an email address will receive a PICT file entitled, "Philomath at Night" by return email.
Limitations on Distribution
YetAnother 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. YetAnother 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 YetAnother Timer. Use of YetAnother Timer is at your own risk. The author claims no liability for data loss or other problems caused directly or indirectly by YetAnother Timer.
Version History
Version 1.0 - January 18, 1995. First public release .
Version 1.0.1 - January 20, 1995. Fixed a nasty bug that caused cumulative time to be
saved incorrectly if a second timing session was begun without first
quitting and re-launching the program.
Version 1.1 - February 5, 1995. When 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.
When 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.
Hot Spot shortcuts added to the timer window.
Preferences dialog added.
Version 1.1.1 - March , 1995. Cumulative time is now saved once per minute to
minimize data loss if a computer crash occurs during a session.
Additional checking is done at startup to make sure timer window is
correctly placed. Menu conforms with Apple Guidelines.
Version 1.4 - June 30, 1995. Added Apple Event Support. Made Hot Spots responsive.
Added support for global floating window. Added "Hide Hot Spots" option.
Made the event loop ~ 20 times more efficient. Added daily cumulative
timer.
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
