Personal Computer World 2002 March/PCWMAR02.iso/software/other_programs/worldclock/wctrial.exe/{app}/Readme.txt

Text File | 2001-03-26 | 23KB | 519 lines

    __________________________________________________________________

    WORLDCLOCK                                 (c) Copyright 1998-2000
                                                    by Fulvio J. Castelli

    Web Site: http://www.carefile.com/WorldClock
    E-mail  : [e-mail]
    __________________________________________________________________


    N.B. This is the EVALUATION version of WorldClock. It is fully
    functional but has the following constraints:

    1. Application settings are not saved between sessions.
    2. Although the TimeSync function operates normally and will
       tell you how much your PC's clock is off, it will not
       automaticlly reset it for you like the full version.
    3. A reminder screen will pop up every 5 minutes or so to
       encourage you to register.

    __________________________________________________________________


    CONTENT
    ~~~~~~~

    1. Program Description
    2. System Requirements
    3. Installation
    4. Basic Use
    5. Runtime Options
    6. Uninstallation
    7. License
    8. Order
    A. Technical Support



    1. Program Description
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    WorldClock allows you to select almost any area of the world
    and find what the current local time is in that area. This is
    done by either clicking on a world map or, for the geographically
    impaired :-), by selecting a city or area from a list. In
    determining the local time, it takes into account whether local
    Daylight Savings Time is in effect for most major areas of the
    world.

    If you are logged on to the Internet, WorldClock can also check
    your PC's time against an Internet time server for accuracy. It
    will automatically reset your PC's clock if it finds any
    differences.

    You can also set up to eight alarms. These can be set for a given
    time and activated for the current day only or for selected days
    that you specify.

    WorldClock also has a nice calendar feature that includes all
    Canadian and US holidays; it is even able to calculate the date
    of moving holidays such as Easter weekend as well as generic
    holidays such as Thanksgiving. You also have the ability to mark
    certain days (such as loved one's birthdays) on the calendar.

    WorldClock will also check for the correct year on startup. This
    could be very useful if you have a non-Y2K compatible machine.
    WorldClock will automatically reset the year in this instance.


    Features

    ò attractive and intuitive user interface
    ò easily find the local time for almost anywhere on Earth
    ò automatically determines whether Daylight Savings Time is in
      effect in selected area
    ò choice of several attractive time displays
    ò option to display time in either 12 or 24 hour format
    ò option to display time with or without seconds
    ò ability to TimeSync your PC's clock with an Internet time
      server (registered version only).
    ò TimeSync feature supports Proxies
    ò TimeSync supports both SNTP and Time protocols
    ò user can choose from many Internet time servers (or specify
      his/her own)
    ò '/s' startup option to just TimeSync your PC and exit
      (registered version only)
    ò ability to TimeSync your PC at pre-determined intervals
    ò ability to TimeSync your PC automatically when you dial-up
      the Internet
    ò you can specify a maximum value for the time correction
    ò supports up to eight individually configurable alarms
    ò activate alarms for today only, all days, or specified days
      of the week
    ò built-in calendar that allows you to 'mark' important dates
    ò calendar has all Canadian and U.S. holidays already
      pre-programmed
    ò option to toll hourly bell or to chime the hour
    ò option to minimize to System Tray
    ò option to start minimized
    ò turn map display and place display on or off
    ò 'Stay-on-Top' option to keep your time display on top of
      other programs
    ò Day/Night View option to display a world map with the night
      areas in shadow
    ò local Sunrise, Sunset, Moonrise, Moonset and Moon Phase
      information
    ò ability to view sixteen clocks each set to a different timezone
    ò the day/night and multiple clock displays can be viewed
      stand-alone
    ò option to view time in caption bar of active window (of any
      program not just WorldClock)
    ò remembers your window layout
    ò 'what if' scenario: what would selected areas' times be if
      local time were such-and-such
    ò year validity check (and correction) on startup for Y2K
      non-compliant computers


    2. System Requirements
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    To run WorldClock, you need Windows 95/98 or Windows NT 4. A
    screen resolution of 800x600 with 256 colors is also recommended.


    3. Installation
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    There is no setup utility as the whole program is self-contained
    in one executable file. To install WorldClock, simply put the
    program into the directory of your choice. Note that although the
    program itself is contained in one file, an associated options
    file called WorldClock.ini will be created in the same directory
    that you installed WorldClock. This file is used to keep track of
    your configuration.

    Note: If you received WorldClock on a magazine CD or from some
    software library, please visit the WorldClock home page at
    http://www.carefile.com/WorldClock to ensure that you have the
    latest version.


    4. Basic Use
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~

    When you run the program, you will see a map of the world. You
    can click anywhere on the map to select that area's timezone. You
    will then see the selected zone time display update to reflect
    the local time in your selected timezone. Alternately, you can
    select an area/city in the listbox at the bottom of the screen.
    The program will take into account whether or not DST is in
    effect in the selected timezone. If so, you will see a little
    'sun' icon appear just to the right of the timezone display. You
    will also notice that once you have select a timezone, the
    'Select Place in Zone' popup menu item is filled in with all of
    the places associated with that specific timezone. You can use
    this feature as a very quick and easy method to select a specific
    area or city within a timezone. In addition, when you select a
    place in a particular timezone via this 'Select Place in Zone'
    popup menu option, that place becomes the default place for that
    timezone. From then on, when you click on the map to select a
    timezone, that default city is automatically selected.

    The time display is broken down into two panes. The pane on the
    left shows you your local time, while the pane on the right shows
    you the current time in the timezone you have selected. The time
    display has header bars to display the name of the selected areas.
    For your local time, I display what Windows reports as your local
    timezone. You can customize the typically bland nature of this
    information (i.e. 'Eastern Standard Time') with your own text.
    You do this by selecting the 'Set Local Name' option from the
    popup menu. This allows you to personalize the display to reflect
    something a little more meaningful (i.e. 'Montreal, Quebec'). If
    you don't like my names for the selected areas, you can customize
    those too. You do this by selecting the 'Set Selected Name' option
    from the popup menu. If you ever wish to reset the selected name
    back to its original name, select this option again and simply
    erase your modification.


    Popup Menu

    Right-clicking anywhere on the WorldClock or Day/Night windows
    will bring up the popup menu. By using the 'Preferences' item on
    this menu you can select various options such as whether or not
    to show the map and/or places segments of the WorldClock window.
    This can be handy when you want to park WorldClock in a small
    corner of your screen and take up as little space as possible.
    Note that there is also a 'Stay On Top' option in the Preferences
    menu. As the name implies, this option will force the WorldClock
    window to always remain above your other windows. Another option
    is the 'Show Time In Caption Bar' feature. With this set, the
    current time will be displayed in the caption bar of the
    currently active window (even those of other applications).

    If you don't like my choice of font or colour for the time
    display, you have the option of changing it. Simply select the
    'Set Time Display' option from the popup menu and you can select
    from several different choices.

    If you only want to see the hours and minutes in the time display,
    simply turn off the 'Show Seconds' option in the Preferences menu.

    WorldClock can give you audio feedback by 'striking' the hour.
    Several options are available. You can 'Big'Ben' the hour: With
    this option, WorldClock will sound a BigBen-like bell to announce
    the hour. You can also 'Toll' the hour: With this option,
    WorldClock will count out the hour by sounding that many bells
    (i.e. three bells at 3 o'clock). The third and final option is
    that you can combine these two options to produce a complete
    Big-Ben sound at the hour.

    If you minimize the WorldClock program, you will note that the
    program name on the Windows taskbar changes from 'WorldClock' to
    display the current location and time of your selected timezone.
    If the taskbar is cluttered and the WorldClock item is too small
    to contain the complete text, move your mouse over the WorldClock
    item and a hint window will popup to display the complete text.
    You also have the option of minimizing WorldClock to the System
    Tray (this is where Windows displays the system time). To activate
    this feature select the 'Minimize To Tray' option from the menu.
    Note that if you choose this option, you will lose the taskbar
    display of the selected area's current time. However, if you move
    the mouse over the WorldClock icon in the tray area, a hint
    window will popup to display this time. When you minimize to the
    system tray, the program icon changes to indicate the day of the
    month in your local area. This is handy since Microsoft did not
    see fit to include an date information in the system tray.

    You can also choose to start your program already minimized.
    Select the 'Minimize On Launch' option from the menu.


    Day/Night View

    With this display, you can see where it is currently day and where
    it is night in the world. Simply select the 'Show Day/Night View'
    from the popup menu. This will bring up a display of the world
    with a shadow over the areas that are currently in night. If you
    keep this display open for an extended period of time, WorldClock
    will automatically update the display every minute to reflect the
    change in elapsed time. Note that there is a small red circle on
    this display. This is the point on the Earth where (at the current
    time) the sun would be directly above a viewer.

    On this screen, you will also note that there is a facility to
    enter your location's latitude and longitude. This is used to
    calculate the displayed Sunrise and Sunset times as well as the
    Moonrise and Moonset times. If you do not know your location's
    lat/long, go to the following web page to look it up:

        http://shiva.pub.getty.edu/tgn_browser/
        (thanks to Stephen Yale for this link)

    Once you have the lat/long, you need to convert to a decimal
    value. The equation is as follows:

        Value = Degrees + Minutes/60 + Seconds/3600

    North and West coordinates are entered as positive values; South
    and East are entered as negative.

    The current moon phase is also displayed in a nice graphic.

    You will note a little up arrow in the bottom right-hand corner
    of the day/night map. Clicking this button will 'roll-up' the
    additional info section of the screen so you can conserve screen
    space if desired. The little up-arrow button will then change to
    a down-arrow button which you can press to 'un-roll' the
    additional info display.

    The Day/Night view can be 'docked' to any side of the main
    display. Simply line it up roughly with any edge of the main
    screen and it will snap into place. If you want to, you can
    easily 'tug' it away again. When the Day/Night display is docked,
    moving the main window will also move the Day/Night window. The
    two windows become as one.


    Multiple Clock Display

    Another very handy feature is the multiple clock display. Select
    the 'New Multiple Clock Window' item in the popup menu and you
    will have access to four independent clocks that display the times
    in four seperately configurable areas of the world. Simply click
    on the little up-arrow button below any of the clocks to select a
    new area/zone. A list will popup above the button from which you
    can select an area. (Note that this list is identical to the area
    list in the main display.) Note also there is a checkbox at the
    top of this window labelled: 'Show the time in these zones if the
    local time were:'. If you check this box, you then can do a
    'what time would it be in X if the local time were Y' scenario.
    Specify the time in the edit window and the clocks will
    automatically update the times in the selected timezones. This is
    great for organizing on-line meetings or international
    tele-conferences. (The specified time is always assumed to be for
    local today.)

    You can keep selecting the 'New Multiple Clock Window' item in the
    popup menu to open additional multiple clock displays. You can
    have up to four separate windows displayed at once for a  total of
    16 independently running clocks.


    TimeSync Feature

    Selecting the 'Set Clock' option from the menu (or double clicking
    on either time display) will bring up the TimeSync screen. Press
    the 'Check Time' button on this screen to validate your PC's clock
    against your selected Internet Time Server. Note that you are not
    limited to my list of selected time servers. You can also enter
    your own server address if you so choose. If you find that the
    program is returning immediately without setting the time, it
    could be that your request is timing out for some reason. Try
    increasing the timeout value (which is given in milliseconds)
    until it works.

    You can also ask WorldClock to set your PC's clock at pre-set
    intervals. Select the 'Set Clock Automatically' option from the
    menu and you can choose from every hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, or 12
    hours. You will note that there is an 'AutoSet On Login' option
    in this menu. This option will auto-detect when you logon to the
    Internet and automatically perform a timesync. Note that this
    option should only be activated if you have a dial-up connection
    to the internet and should not be used if you have a direct
    network or cable-modem connection.


    Alarms

    You can set up to eight alarms. From the popup menu select
    'Set Alarm' and then the alarm you want to set (there are eight
    available). On the alarm configuration screen you specify the time
    of the alarm and the frequency. You can choose to set it as a
    one-time only alarm or to go off for certain days of the week. You
    can also choose whether or not a sound is played when the alarm
    goes off. You can choose to use either the internal built-in sound
    (a ringing alarm clock sound) or any .WAV file of your choice.


    Calendar

    You will note that if you move your mouse over the date areas, the
    dates turn into buttons. Press either of these buttons and a
    calendar will popup on the side of the main screen. You can move
    the calendar display around by clicking and dragging while your
    mouse is over the month name. You can close the calendar display
    by clicking on the little 'x' at the lower right-hand corner of
    the calendar screen. (You can also bring up the calendar screen
    by selecting the 'Show Calendar' option from the popup menu.)

    Once the calendar screen is up, you will note that there are two
    sets of buttons at the top of the calendar. The set on the left
    allows you to scroll the calendar through the months, while the
    set on the right allows you to scroll the calendar through the
    years. If you right click while your mouse is over the calendar
    area of the calendar screen, you will get a popup menu that allows
    you to select various options for the calendar. The main use for
    this menu is to set/reset your 'marked' days. Note that you can
    mark a day for the current year, or for all years. For instance,
    if you want to mark an upcoming event (concert, date, whatever)
    you would only mark for the current year. Birthday reminders, on
    the other hand, you would want to mark for all years.


    5. Runtime Options
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    WorldClock can be setup to run with several runtime options:

    ò If you wish to run the program just to set the clock and then
      exit, you can run WorldClock with a '/s' runtime option
      (registered version only).
    ò If your run WorldClock with a '/d' option, only the day/night
      view will be shown.
    ò If your run WorldClock with a '/m' option, only the multiple
      clock display(s) will be shown.

    These last two options are very useful if you want to place either
    of these displays on your screen independently of the main
    WorldClock screen. Simply create new shortcuts (i.e. 'Clocks'
    and/or 'Day/Night') with either of these parameters in the
    command line. Please refer to your Windows manual or help system
    if you aren't familiar with creating shortcuts.

    Note also that the '/m' and '/d' parameters are mutually
    exclusive. If you put both in your command line, only the first
    will take effect.


    6. Uninstallation
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Simply erase the WorldClock directory and all of the files in it.
    WorldClock stores all of its application information locally on
    your hard disk and does not modify your Windows Registry in any
    way.


    7. License
    ~~~~~~~~~~

    WorldClock is shareware. This means:

    ò All copyrights to WorldClock are exclusively owned by the
      author - Fulvio Castelli.
    ò Anyone may use this software for as long as they wish.
      However, the unregistered Shareware version has the following
      restrictions:
          1. Application settings are not saved between sessions.
          2. Although the TimeSync function operates normally and will
          tell you how much your PC's clock is off, it will not
          automatically reset it for you.
          3. A reminder screen will pop up every 5 minutes or so to
          encourage you to register.
    ò Once registered, the user is granted a non-exclusive license to
      use WorldClock on one computer (i.e. a single CPU) at a time.
      The registered WorldClock software may not be rented or leased,
      but may be permanently transferred if the person receiving it
      agrees to the terms of this license. If the software is an
      update, the transfer must include the update and all previous
      versions.
    ò The WorldClock unregistered shareware version may be freely
      distributed provided the distribution package is not modified.
      No person or company may charge a fee for the distribution of
      WorldClock without prior written permission from the copyright
      holder.
    ò WORLDCLOCK IS DISTRIBUTED "AS IS". NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND IS
      EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. YOU USE THIS SOFTWARE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
      THE AUTHOR WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DATA LOSS, DAMAGES, LOSS OF
      PROFITS OR ANY OTHER KIND OF LOSS WHILE USING OR MISUSING THIS
      SOFTWARE.
    ò You may not use, copy, emulate, clone, rent, lease, sell,
      modify, decompile, disassemble, otherwise reverse engineer, or
      transfer the licensed program, or any subset of the licensed
      program, except as provided for in this agreement. Any such
      unauthorised use shall result in immediate and automatic
      termination of this license and  may result in criminal and/or
      civil prosecution. All rights not expressly granted here are
      reserved by Fulvio Castelli.
    ò Installing and using WorldClock signifies acceptance of the
      terms and conditions of this license.

    If you do not agree with the terms of this license you must remove
    the WorldClock files from your storage devices and cease to use
    the product.


    8. How to order
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    You can register your personal copy of WorldClock for US$12.50.

    The following Web links are pointers to my on-line registration
    page:

    https://www.regnow.com/softsell/nph-softsell.cgi?item=1433-1
    (WorldClock OnLine Registration for browsers that support
     secure transactions.)

    http://www.regnow.com/softsell/nph-softsell.cgi?item=1433-1
    (WorldClock OnLine Registration for browsers that do NOT support
     secure transactions.)

    You will need a major credit card in order to register.

    If you encounter any trouble registering WorldClock with RegSoft,
    please contact them by phone or by e-mail as follows:

    RegSoft's Toll Free Number in the US and Canada is 1-877-353-7297
    Internationally, you can reach them at [phone]
    Their e-mail address is [e-mail]

    Once I receive notification of your registration, I will
    immediately e-mail you a copy of the registered version of the
    program.

    If you prefer not to register on-line, you can also mail a
    registration check (in the amount of US$12.50 made payable to
    Fulvio Castelli) to the following address:

        Fulvio Castelli
        44 Courtney Drive
        Montreal, Quebec
        Canada
        H4X 1M5

    Please do not forget to include your e-mail address as I will be
    e-mailing you the registered version of the program.


    A. Technical Support
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Technical support is available by e-mail addressed to
    Fulvio Castelli at [e-mail]

    I will try to reply to all messages but only registered users
    should expect a quick answer.

    Please include the following information when requesting support:

    ò program version (from "About" dialog)
    ò registered name (if you're a registered user)
    ò where did you get WorldClock from (http or ftp site)
    ò Windows 95/98/NT version (including service packs and other
      fixes installed)
    ò a full description of your problem - provide as much information
      as possible to allow duplication of the problem: place of error,
      sequence of your actions, etc.

    Note: before requesting technical support, please ensure that you
    are using the latest version of WorldClock available from:

    http://www.carefile.com/WorldClock

    Thank you for using WorldClock and I hope you find it useful.

    __________________________________________________________________