Introduction

T-Minus Ten launches your Macintosh into new realms of automation. Configure hot keys and hot spots to drive applications, scripts, and documents. Set up a schedule to provide off-hours auto-pilot for running back-up scripts or downloading stock quotes. Post reminders of important events, such as birthdays and anniversaries. In fact, anything you can open or script can be automated with T-Minus Ten.

System Requirements

It is recommended that you use Mac OS 8.1 or later. However, you can use any system software as far back as System 7.5.

If you use Mac OS 8 or earlier, you MUST install Appearance 1.0.2 or later. Appearance is a new control panel from Apple that provides developers with a richer and more consistent set of user interface gadgets (like buttons, popup menus and icons). You can download Appearance 1.0.2 from the T-Minus Ten Download Page.

If you use Mac OS 8.1 or later, you already have the appropriate Appearance control panel.

What You Get

The software is comprised of two components: an application (T-Minus Ten) and an extension (T-Minus Ten Extension). You will use the application to create tasks and to monitor the entire system. The extension enables all the back-end handling of tasks and schedules. You don't have to install the extension - it is built into the application and will be installed automatically the first time you run T-Minus Ten.

Installation

Users of Mac OS 8.0 and earlier must install Appearance 1.0.2 or later. You can download Appearance 1.0.2 from the T-Minus Ten Download Page.

The T-Minus Ten folder can be placed anywhere on your hard disk.

The first time you run T-Minus Ten, it will perform some additional installation by creating a T-Minus Ten Extension in your Extensions folder, creating a T-Minus Ten Data folder in your Preferences folder, and disabling any previous version of T-Minus Ten.

Getting Started

After installation, the main T-Minus Ten window will be displayed. There are four tabs in the window:

Start/Stop
Tasks
Activity Log
Preferences

Start/Stop Panel

The Start/Stop panel indicates whether or not the system is active. Tasks will automatically run only when the system is active. The system should already be on. If not, press the Start button to enable the system.

Tasks Panel

The Tasks panel displays a list of all your tasks. It indicates which tasks are enabled and when they run. This panel is where you will do most of your work.



To create a new Task, click the New Task button. Then follow these directions.

To modify a task, select it and click the Open button (or choose Open Task from the Task menu or double click it). The task setup window will be displayed. Change the task as desired and then press the Update button.

To remove a task, select it and click the Remove button (or choose Remove Task from the Task menu or press the delete key).

To run a task immediately, select it and click the Run Now button (or choose Run Now from the Task menu).

To indefinitely suspend a task, select it and then press the Disable button (or select Disable Task from the Task menu). When disabled, the task will never run but will remain in the task list. To enable the task, press the Enable button (or select Enable Tasks from the Task menu).

To view the error message for a task that has failed, select the task and then select Show Error from the Task menu. The nature of the error will be displayed.

To reveal a task file in the Finder, select the task and then select Show in Finder from the Task menu.

Creating a Task

Any file or AppleScript can be turned into a task. If the file is an application or document, it opens the file. If the file is an AppleScript, it runs the script. To create a task, do one of the following:

Select New Task from the File menu
Click the New Task button in the task panel
Drag a file into the task panel

A new Task Setup window will be displayed.



Specify a name for the task. If you leave this blank, the task will be identified by the name of the file used by the task (step 3 below).

Pick the action the task should take (open a document, launch an application, or run an AppleScript).

Drag a file or AppleScript into the window or click Change to select the file to be used by the task.

If you want the task to appear in the Activity Log, make sure the Record task activity check box is checked.

Specifying the Trigger

Select the trigger that initiates the task. These include using a schedule, at system startup, at system shut down, when idle, when a hot key is pressed, and when a hot spot is entered.

Run a task using a schedule

Select the date that your schedule should become effective.

Select the time of day your task should run.

If you want the task to run more than once, click one of the radio buttons labeled Every, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly.

		Selecting the Every option lets you create a schedule that repeats at a specific number of minutes, hours, days, or weeks.
		Selecting the Weekly option lets you create a schedule that repeats every week. You can pick multiple days. This example show a schedule that repeats every Monday and Thursday.
		Selecting the Monthly option lets you create a schedule that repeats every month. You can pick multiple days. This example show a schedule that repeats every 1st and 15th of the month.
		Selecting the Yearly option lets you create a schedule that repeats every year. You can pick multiple months. This example show a schedule that repeats every 3 months (in January, April, July, and October).

If you've selected Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly, you can also specify multiple times of the day to run your task (in addition to the time specified in the Start Time field). To specify additional times, click the check box labeled And at these additional times.



Select the time or times of day to run the task by clicking in the time line area.

To add a new time, click anywhere on the time line and drag the marker to the desired time.

To change an existing time, drag the marker to a new location.

To remove a time, drag it out of the time line area.

If you want the task to be disabled after a certain date, click the Stop After check box and then enter a date.

When you have finished setting up the schedule, press the Save button. After a brief moment, the scheduled task should appear in the Task panel.

Note: Once you have scheduled a task, you do not have to leave the T-Minus Ten application open. You can close it. Your task will still run at its designated time.

Run a task at system startup

Enter the number of minutes after system startup that the task should be automatically run. Specifying zero means that the task should run as soon as possible after the system starts up. This is usually shortly after the Finder starts appearing on the desktop.

Run a task at system shut down

There are no additional settings for shut down tasks. They will run shortly after you initiate a system shut down.

Run a task when idle

Enter the number of minutes after after your computer has become idle that the task should be automatically run. Specifying zero means that the task should run as soon as possible after becoming idle.

Run a task when a hot key is pressed

Press the key combination to be used for the task. You can also click on the "modifier" keys.

Run a task when a hot spot is entered

This window displays a miniature your desktop. The hot spot is indicated by a yellow rectangular marker. The hot spot is the area inside the yellow marker.

Drag the marker to any location on the desktop.

Click the magnifying glass button to view the desktop at a larger size. This allows you to see more detail. The desktop will scroll when your drag the hot spot marker beyond the edge.

Activity Log

The Activity Log keeps a history of the tasks that T-Minus Ten has run on your computer. Use of the log is optional. Initially the log is turned on. By default, the log will keep up to 200 entries and will remove entries older than 7 days. You can customize your log using the preference panel.

To remove an entry from the log, select it and click the Delete button (or choose Delete Entry from the Log menu or press the delete key).

To remove all entries from the log, click the Delete All button (or choose Delete All from the Log menu).

To view an entry's task in the Task panel, select the task and then click the Show Task (or choose Show Task from the Log menu).

 

You can also view the activity log of a single task from the task's Task Setup window.

Preferences

If you want the Apple menu to blink while a task is running, check the Blink the Apple menu check box.

If you want sounds to be played when a task runs, click the appropriate check box and select a sound.

The activity log can be restricted to a maximum number of entries. By default, this value is set to 200, meaning that the activity log will only retain the most recent 200 entries. If you leave this field empty or set it to zero, then there is no restriction on the number of entries in the log.

The log can also be restricted to a maximum number of days. By default, this value is set to 7 days, meaning the activity log will only retain entries from the past seven days. If you leave this field empty or set it to zero, then the activity log will retain all old entries (within the limits set for the maximum number of entries).

Normally, if your computer is turned off when a scheduled task is to run, the task will get resheduled to run at the next time specified by its schedule. The activity log will indicate that the task could not be run because your computer was turned off. If you would prefer that these tasks be run as soon as your computer starts up, click the Run the task when your computer starts up checkbooks.

Sometimes your computer may be too busy to run a task when it is suppose to run. In these cases, T-Minus Ten will continuously attempt to run your task, but only for the time period specified in the Retry field. If the task can not be run in this time period, it will be logged in the activity log as failure due to your computer being too busy.

Uninstalling the Software

Open the Start/Stop panel. If the system is running press the Stop button to turn it off.
Once the system has stopped, quit the T-Minus Ten application.
Remove the T-Minus Ten folder you installed.
Remove the T-Minus Ten Extension from your Extensions folder.
T-Minus Ten also created a folder in your Preferences folder that you will want to remove. It is named "T-Minus Ten Data".
T-Minus Ten may have created a file in your Shutdown Items folder. If so, remove it.

Registration

T-Minus Ten is shareware. It is not free. If you find it useful, please register and pay the nominal US$20 shareware fee. Every time you use an unregistered copy of T-Minus Ten, you will be reminded to register your copy. Follow the on screen instructions for information about registering online via the Internet or registering via printed form. If you prefer to register later, close the Register window. You can always get back to it by selecting Registration Info from the File menu.

Payment is made through the Kagi shareware payment service. Kagi accepts cash, checks drawn on U.S. funds, credit cards, and First Virtual payments. To register electronically, visit the T-Minus Ten Online Order Processing web page. To learn more about the Kagi payment system, visit their web page at http://kagi.com.

Support

Questions concerning T-Minus Ten should be e-mailed to mk@kagi.com.

© 1998-99 Mark Krenek. All Rights Reserved.