Cratchit.org Timetool for Windows Simple Time Tracking   Home Features   Usage   Screenshots   Download   WebLog

First, basic functionality. Once you've added your tasks (read below) you simply click on a task to start the clock on it. When you start working on something else, you click on the other task to start accruing to IT. TimeTool will only accrue time to one task at a time... though computers are multitasking, you are not. (Be honest, you're NOT. That's the point of using this tool.) If you're not working on anything at all you can stop the clock entirely. Or, you can do what I do and add a task to track idle time (lunch, breaks, external intrusions). Try actually tracking that for a while... it'll raise your consciousness and help you be more conscientious about using your time effectively. You may be amazed at the amount of unproductive time you really have!

• Quit TimeTool. Everytime you exit TimeTool, whether by the toolbar, the menus, or the close button on the title bar, TimeTool will save its current state. It will remember everything in the listbox, plus the time of the last save and the project you're currently accruing time to.
• Stop the Clock. Just what it says. It un-highlights the listbox and stops adding time to any project.
• Adjust Time. This will cause a field and a button to appear on the commandbar. You must be pointing to a task to adjust its time (the clock can't be stopped). Just type in the new time in minutes and it will replace the old time. Or, you can begin the time with a plus or minus sign to add or subtract that time from what's already accrued. (I've found that this is much easier in practice than the dialogs used by some similar time trackers.) Experiment. Sorry, it doesn't do hours and minutes or fractional hours, but I'll probably add that soon.
• Reset All Times to Zero. Just what it says. You'll have to confirm this by clicking a button on the commandbar.
• Add task. This will put some data entry fields on the commandbar so you can add new tasks. New tasks are always alphabetized by task#. Also the task# isn't limited to numbers, but can be alphanumeric. You can add more than one task with the same number. This lets you separately track multiple tasks for the same project.
• Delete Task. Just what it says. You'll have to confirm this by clicking a button on the commandbar.
• Rename Task. This will put data entry fields on the commandbar similar to when you were adding tasks, but in this case they'll be filled in for you. Just edit the task# and description and click Rename. You'll notice that when you click on another task the task# and description will be entered into the commandbar. You can rename a number of tasks in succession.
• Export to CSV. This will open a File Save dialog box to allow you to export your data file to CSV. The default location will be the directory where TimeTool resides (remember it's designed to move around on a floppy or memory stick), and the default filename will be today's date in European format (ccyymmdd.csv). Files in this format sort chronologically by name.
• Display About Dialog. Shameless self-promotion, You get to take a gander at the handsome and debonair Vic Beaver.
• Clear the Toolbar. This should read "Command bar" but I'll change it later. This simply removes any command controls that are currently visible in the event that you find them distracting.

• File|Reload (Ctrl+O). This will reload the file from the last saved state. (There's no File|Open because this is done for you automatically when the program is opened). This gives you rudimentary UNDO functionality in case you do something like reset all times to zero and then change your mind.
• File|Save (Ctrl+S). There's no File Save dialog here. This simply saves the state of the TimeTool as if you had quit the program. It can come in handy along with the File|Reload feature if you plan to do a lot of heavy editing of your task list.
• Help. There are a number of help options that are self-explanatory. You can browse the TimeTool website and the Cratchit.org website, send an email to Support, view the About dialog, or display the relese notes or the license. One thing you can't do from the Help menu is access a Windows Help file, since I haven't had time to write it yet. It seems almost a waste of effort for a tool so small, but I'll probably do it for completeness sake anyway.