(These notes are the same as those included with v1.6. This release updates the XTimer Spy extension. For details, see the document, "About This Update," in the folder, "XTimer Spy ƒ.")
This document is not the "Help" Full documentation for XTimer is available
on XTimer's Apple Menu. Save it as text, for easier reading. Press the space bar for pop-up short cuts screen. See the document, "XTimer Q&A" for additional information.
If you haven't seen XTimer with "Greg's Buttons" , GO DOWNLOAD IT NOW!
XTimer has been undergoing major reconstruction, over the past few months. I began work on version 2.0, with an eye on development of a high powered commercial version. It has taken a lot more time to write than I expected, so I decided to revisit the old code and create an interim version: 1.6.
XTimer 1.6 offers, for the first time, automatic Starting and Stopping of XTimer for users of CompuServe, America Online, and eWorld! But, alas, there's a catch... you need to use my new extension program, XTimer Spy, and you have to be a registered user of XTimer for it to work. For more information on XTimer Spy, read the document, "XTimer Spy - MUST READ". For information on registering, see the shareware screen at launch, and print out the registration form. eWorld users owe a big thanks to George Rupp, who clued me into the eWorld software, which is actually AOL's software in different clothing!
David Pogue, of MacWorld magazine, gave XTimer a nice boost in the October '95 issue. He writes a column called, "The Desktop Critic," where he reviews and reccommends software for Mac users. His column this time was about "must have" online utilities. The publicity has done wonders, increasing the awareness online users have about XTimer. That key element pushed me to want to get 1.6 ready and out the door quickly.
XTimer's registrations have picked up greatly, after the article. Thanks Dave! I now have registrations from 34 States, and 9 countries outside of the U.S.. I really enjoy getting registrations from overseas. I'm sensitive to your postal fees too; so I am going to make this offer to those mailing in registrations from continents other than North America: You may deduct $2.00 from the cost of your registration to help offset the cost of sending your payment. I'm sure you also realize that I cannot cash checks drawn on non-U.S. banks; so please keep that in mind when you send in your registration.
XTimer can be registered online via CompuServe (GO SWREG), XTimer is #5002. This option may not last. I am seriously considering canceling my CIS account.
I made some mistakes in the documentation of previous versions, that left a lot of people confused; particulary concerning the "mini-icon". I have taken a good number of steps to correct that problem. My apologies to those confused by my errors. You can find answers to many common questions about XTimer in the document, "XTimer Q&A", as well as updates in the Help to overcome miscommunication.
Well, enough chit-chat, here's what's new...
Note: Those of you who registered, paying at the old shareware fee of $5, after the grace period ran out; will not be able to register versions of XTimer beyond v1.5, until you send in your upgrade payment. I notified those this applies to of this consequence when I sent you your registration code.
If you should have received a new code for version 1.6 and I have not contacted you, please contact me. I have complete records and I can verify your registration and forward your new code to you quickly.
New in XTimer 1.6:
• Registered users can now take advantage of XTimer Spy to track time spent on AOL, eWorld, and CompuServe!
• The Help screen is now modeless, which means it will let you keep it out and still do other things while it is out. I've increased the help available, and added documents to the XTimer archive to try and provide as much assistance as possible for the myriad of problems and/or questions that can come up.
• Added 2 new preferences: Auto-Add Time To Log and Silence XTimer Spy. Both are explained in the Help.
Changes in 1.6:
• Prefs menu is now called the Settings menu. I thought this would help make it more intuitive on where to look to change the rate settings.
• Eliminated menu option "Hide Timer/Show Timer"; was kind of redundant with System 7, and I wanted to use Command-H to call up the Help screen.
• Updated version of PICTButton CDEF, from Paul Celestin.
• Changed preferences item "Use Radio Buttons For Add/Save" to "Allow Multiple Selections When Adding/Saving". Makes it a lot clearer to understand for most users.
• Changed color of About screen and Register screen... after complaints about my color choice!
Fixes:
• Fixed bug that prevented users whose system settings contained a non-U.S. currency format from using the U.S. format when they wanted to.
• Fixed bug that could have brought on an error to those who use the "Set Default Charge" option for their rate settings. Read the document, "ATTN: SET DEFAULT CHARGE USERS" for details.
• Added code to "flush the disk" when changes are recorded to XTimer's preferences file. This causes the system to write the changes to disk immediately, instead of waiting. That will help prevent corruption from system crashes.
• Added code to verify and correct problems when preference file is corrupted, to prevent XTimer from crashing.
• Corrected problem that caused XTimer to crash when "esc" key was pressed during some dialogs.
• Fine tuned "Auto-Return" feature to make it easier to use. Now you can click anywhere in the timer window, except in the controls (buttons, etc.) to bring XTimer to the front. Only when clicking controls will Auto-Return reactivate the program in front before XTimer was activated.
Thanks to all the beta testers. Especially thanks to Marc Respass-- Mr. MacOrkin Man!
Enjoy the program!
Eric (-:
Support for XTimer-XTra, sibling program to XTimer, was discontinued in March 1995 due to lack of interest; however, in time XTimer will incorporate features that will eliminate the need for two versions.
States unrepresented by registrations:
Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska,
