Time Clock 1.2

a freeware program
for Windows 95/98/NT

by

Jim Spickard
30475 Bridlegate Drive
Bulverde, Texas 78163

clock@McGuire-Spickard.com

copyright 1998-2000

Overview:

Time Clock allows users to keep track of the amount of time spent on various projects. It generates a log for each project, which lists start and stop times rounded down to the nearest minute. It also keeps a record of the total time spent on the project. The program can handle any number of projects -- the only limit is the amount of space you have on your disk. I usually have 7-10 projects going, and could easily have many more.

I wrote Time Clock for use in my consulting business. Lawyers, programmers, accountants, and others may want to use it to keep track of billable minutes. I'm sure there are other uses. If you get really creative, drop me a note by e-mail!

Instructions:

Setting up the program:

  1. Unzip the program to a folder or disk. (Yes, you've already figured out how to do this.)
  2. Copy Time Clock to a folder.
  3. Right click on the program icon, create a shortcut, and drag that shortcut to your desktop (or wherever else you store such things). I've enclosed extra icons, in case the default color clashes with your wallpaper.

Using the program:

  1. Double click the program icon.
  2. Click on "Pick a Job" (in the upper left-hand corner of the program window).
  3. Choose an existing job or type the name for a new one. (I have included a job named "Sample" so you can see how it works.) Press the "open" button to load the file.
  4. Press the "Start Session" button to start the program. It will now run in the background while you work on other things. I suggest that you minimize it while you are working, calling it up when you want to pause, stop work, or work on other projects.
  5. You may press the "Pause" button at any time. This will stop the clock but not stop the session.
  6. When you are done with this project -- or done for the time being -- press the "Stop Session" button. The program will write the elapsed time to the project log.
  7. Once you have closed a project, you may either leave the program or start another project. The only thing you can't do is time two projects at once. But hey -- you can't bill the same minutes to two projects, either!

Printing a project log for billing:

You have two options:

Option A:

  1. Open Time Clock.
  2. Open the job file that you want to print.
  3. Push the "Print Job File" button.
  4. If it doesn't print, the program will tell you what you have done wrong. Usually, you have tried to print the job file AFTER adding some hours to the job. The program will only print immediately after a lot is opened.

    Option B:

    1. Open your word-processor.
    2. Go to the folder where you keep the job files. (The default is whatever folder you have set for as your Windows default data folder, or the program folder.)
    3. Load the ".job" file you want. (You may have to tell your word-processor to look for "all files" to make the ".job" files appear.)
    4. Print. (You can, of course, gussy things up if you want. That's what word-processors are for.)

Y2K:

Time Clock runs off your computer's clock. If your computer is Y2K compliant, so is this program. I have been running the program for the last month and a half with no problems

New in version 1.2:

There are two main differences between this and previous versions. First, I have added the above print routine so that you can print job logs directly from the program. Second, I have fixed a bug that produced inaccurate logs when one works across a midnight.

Freeware:

This is a free program. You may use it free of charge, pass it on to your friends, pour syrup on it, etc. You may NOT sell it, not may you give it to anyone who sells it. If you pass it on to anyone, please you send them all of the relevant files, including this one.

updated: 16 December 2000