WinnoVation
Innovation through Windows...
Clocker 2.0
12/14/92
(C) Copyright 1992
Winnovation
PO Box 271071
Ft. Collins, CO 80527-1071
USA
Telephone: (303) 484-7204
E-mail: CompuServe: 71774,605
Internet: 71774.605@compuserve.com
Introduction
Clocker is an event-scheduler program, which will execute pre-
determined events at a specific time. Clocker is extremely
useful for running unattended backups, running after-hours
processes such as faxing or file transfers while telephone rates
are lower, and many other things -- limited only by your
imagination! Clocker can also pop up user-defined reminder
messages, so it also functions as an alarm clock.
Clocker also has the powerful capability for group scheduling on
a network. The system administrator can place a group schedule
on a shared disk, and each machine running Clocker on the network
will optionally read this file, in addition to its private
schedule file. This group schedule is also automatically
refreshed, so the administrator can make a change once and every
machine using that group schedule will be automatically updated
to reflect the changes.
Clocker will also not clutter your desktop. Many people already
run the Windows Clock, and Clocker looks very similar to the
Windows Clock when iconized. Clocker also includes an Always On
Top feature for those who wish to always have a visible clock on
their desktop.
Note that Clocker requires Windows 3.1.
Packing List
Your package should include the following:
This manual
Distribution disk
License statement
The following files should be present on the distribution disk:
CLOCKER.EXE Clocker executable file
CLOCKER.HLP Clocker Help file
If any files are missing, please contact Winnovation.
Installation
First, make sure that no other copies of Clocker are currently
running. Then simply copy all of the files from the distribution
disk to a directory such as C:\CLOCKER. Note that Clocker does
not need to have its own directory. After the files are copied,
add Clocker to a Program Manager group. To run Clocker every
time you start Windows, find CLOCKER.EXE with the File Manager
and drag it to the Startup group in the Program Manager. See
your Windows manual if you are unsure how to do this.
Registration
When Clocker is first started, you will see a registration
reminder screen. Click the Register... button and you will see
the following registration screen:
Enter your name exactly as shown on your license statement, and
your serial number and registration code (also found on the
license statement).
Getting Started
After starting Clocker, you will see a screen similar to the
following:
The current time is shown at the top, along with the date. The
large empty area in the center is where the list of events will
be. The small area at the bottom is the status area, where
messages about group and supervisor modes will be shown.
"UNREGISTERED EVALUATION COPY" will be displayed if your copy is
not yet registered.
Each item that you enter into the Clocker schedule is called an
event. A reminder of an important meeting or a backup program
running are both examples of events you might want to schedule.
To add an event, select Add Item from the Options pull-down menu.
You will then be prompted with the following screen:
By filling in the various fields of this box, you specify the
event you wish to schedule. For a full description of the fields
in this form, please refer to the reference section of this
manual.
The date field is the date that the event is to be executed, and
the time is the time of day it will be executed. If the Repeat
box is checked, the event will execute repeatedly at the
specified interval, until the specified end time.
The second section are the repeat options. One Day Only means
exactly that - the event will only execute on the specified date.
Daily/Weekly means that the event will execute on each of the
selected days. Monthly will execute the event every month, on
the day specified by the date at the top.
The next section is the event to be executed. Either a program
can be run, in which case the Command Line button should be
selected, or a reminder message can pop up, in which case the
Message button should be selected. The area below the buttons is
for the actual command line or message.
If a Command Line has been selected, a working directory can also
be specified for the program. In many cases this will not be
necessary, but some programs require that they are executed from
a specific directory.
The last section is the display options, which are available only
for Command Lines. You can choose to display the program you are
running either in a normal window, iconized, or hidden.
After the event has been set up and OK is pressed, the event is
entered and will execute at the specified time.
To edit an item after it has been entered, you can select Edit
Item from the Options Menu, or you can simply double-click the
item in the list. Similarly, to delete an item, simply select it
and choose Delete Item from the Options menu (or press the delete
key).
In the Settings menu, you can select the font to be used and
toggle the display of the date. A few other options are also
available -- see the reference section of this manual for further
details.
The Help menu provides on-line help for Clocker.
Private and Group Scheduling
Clocker supports two different kinds of schedules: private
schedules and group schedules. Private schedules are schedules
which are unique to one machine or user, and the run only on that
one machine. Group schedules are shared between many users.
Note that Clocker can use both kinds of schedules simultaneously.
Private Schedules
Private schedules are schedules which are unique to one machine.
Private schedules will usually be the only ones used by a stand-
alone machine.
Group Schedules
Group schedules are designed to be shared between many users.
These schedules are usually placed on a shared network disk, and
all of the machines on the network running Clocker will share
this common schedule. Normally, the system administrator will
set up the group schedule. These group schedules are also
password protected, for security reasons -- notably, so only the
system administrator can change the group schedule.
Group schedules can be used for anything from broadcast meeting
reminders to sophisticated network backup management. If Clocker
is combined with a Windows batch language, such as WinBatch from
Wilson WindowWare, the flexibility is endless.
Reference
Command Line
The command line for Clocker is:
clocker [privatefile] [groupfile]
where privatefile is the name of a private schedule file and
groupfile is a group schedule file. One or both of these options
can be specified. If both are specified, order is not important
-- Clocker will auto-detect the file type. Note that private and
group schedule files are not interchangeable.
Creating an Event
To create a new event, choose Add Item from the Options menu.
The following is a description of the fields within the Edit
Schedule Item dialog:
Date - this is the date when the event is scheduled to occur.
The date must be specified in MM/DD/YY format.
Time - this is the time of day when the event is scheduled to
happen. The date may be specified in 12- or 24-hr time. For 24-
hr time, specify the time in the form HH:MM. For 12-hr, use the
form HH:MMa or HH:MMp. The following are examples of how to
correctly specify the time:
8:00, 8:00a, 1:45p, 17:12.
If the time is edited later, it will be displayed in either 12-
or 24-hr format, depending on what the setting is in the
International section of the Windows control panel. The default
is 12-hr time.
Repeat - this flag causes the event to repeat multiple times on
the day(s) it runs. To use the repeat option, check the Repeat
box, and then fill in the interval and the end time in the boxes
to the right of the Repeat box. The event should then execute
every [interval] minutes from [start time] until [end time],
where start time is the time entered at the top of the form.
For example, if you wanted an event to execute every hour from
9:00am to 5:00pm, you would enter 9:00a as the start time, 60 as
the interval, and 5:00p as the end time.
One Day Only - this means that the event will only execute on the
specified date. This selection, as well as the repeat
daily/weekly and repeat monthly selections, can be combined with
the Repeat option described above.
Repeat Daily/Weekly - When this option is selected, the days of
the week section is enabled. By selecting certain days of the
week, you specify which days the event should execute on.
Repeat Monthly - This option executes the event each month on the
specified date. For example, if the date is set to 3/12/92, then
the event will execute on the 12th of each month. Note that no
warning is given if the date is not valid for every month - for
example, if the specified date is 3/31/92, then the event will
never execute in February since February only has 28 (or 29)
days.
Command Line - If this option is selected, then the text entry
field below it will hold the command line to be run. Include any
command line options for the program you are executing. Note
that file associations set up with the Windows File Manager are
fully supported.
Message - If this option is selected, then the text entry field
below it will contain a message to be printed to the screen at
the specified time. Note that there will also be a beep to
accompany this message.
Browse - If the Command Line option is selected, pressing this
button will allow you to browse through files to select the one
you want.
Specify Working Directory - This option allows you to specify the
working directory for the program you wish to run. In many cases
this is not necessary, but some programs require that they are
run from a certain directory. Note that this option is only
available if a command line has been specified.
Normal - This option causes the program to run in a normal
window. Note that this option is only available if a command
line is specified.
Iconized - This option causes the program to run as an icon.
This option is only available for command lines.
Hidden - Select this option if you want to run a program hidden.
Be careful with this option, as you will not be able to give user
input to the program. Also be sure to have a valid .PIF file
with Background Execution enabled to run DOS programs hidden (or
modify _DEFAULT.PIF). This option is also only available for
command lines.
Editing an Event
To edit an event, select Edit Item from the Options menu or
simply double-click on the item you wish to edit. The fields for
editing are the same as those used for adding a new item.
Deleting an Event
To delete an event, select it and choose Delete Item from the
Options menu. If you are deleting an item from a private data
file, you can just press the delete key.
Group Scheduling
Group scheduling works in the following way. Clocker will read a
group file, and store the events just like a private schedule.
The difference is that the group file will be refreshed at
regular intervals (default is 15 minutes). If the system
administrator wants each machine to run a backup at a given time,
he/she should create a group file with this event in it, and
configure all of the machines to read this file. After they are
configured, the group file can be modified and the machines will
automatically refresh themselves to read the new data.
Creating and Editing Group Files
This section is intended for network administrators, or anyone
who needs to make a central schedule for many computers. Group
files are password protected, as unwanted changes to them could
have significant effects on the network.
To create a new group file, simply close any existing group files
and select Add Group Item from the Options menu. Clocker will
prompt for a password for this new group file. This password
will be stored with the file when it is saved, and the password
will be necessary to edit the file at a later date. When the
password has been entered, the status line will display
"Supervisor mode enabled".
You must be in supervisor mode to edit a group file, and you must
know the password to get into supervisor mode. To exit
supervisor mode, you must save or close the group file. Also, be
aware that the group file will not be refreshed from disk on the
machine you are working on while you are in supervisor mode.
After a password is entered, the standard add schedule item
dialog will be displayed. All of the fields are identical to
that of the private files. The entire group schedule can be
entered at this point.
After creating the schedule, save the group file in a directory
to which all Clocker users have read permission.
To edit a group file, load the group file and select Edit Group
Item from the Options menu (or double-click on the item you wish
to edit). You will be prompted for the password, and if you
enter it correctly, you will enter supervisor mode and can edit
the schedule. Remember, you will be in supervisor mode until the
group file is saved or closed.
Using a Group File
This section assumes that a group file has already been created,
and is on a readable drive.
To open a group file, choose Open Group from the File menu, and
select the group file you wish to use. When this file is opened,
Clocker will split its display into two lists - the top will be
the standard private schedule, and the bottom will be the group
schedule, as shown below:
The status line will also say "Group mode enabled". When group
mode is enabled, all of the group events are active and will
execute at their event time.
To close a group file, choose Close Group from the File menu.
This will erase all of the group events from memory. To use the
group schedule after this, you must re-open the file.
If you do not wish to see the group events, but you still want
them to be active, toggle the Display Group option in the
Settings menu. If the option is off, the group schedule will not
be displayed, but it will still be active - "Group mode enabled"
will still be on the status line.
Settings Menu
Font - this is available under the Settings menu. Selecting this
option will allow you to change the font used to display the
time, date, and status line in the window and the time in the
icon. Note that it is possible to select a font too large to fit
in the given space. The font will be saved for future sessions.
Delete After Execute - this option is under the Settings menu.
If you select this item, any event which is One Day Only and does
not repeat will be deleted after it executes. Note that this
will modify the data file, and when you exit Clocker you will be
prompted to save the file. This is normal - the file really did
change.
Note that this option is only available for private schedules -
it is not valid for group schedules.
Print Log - this option causes Clocker to print a log file, which
will be called CLOCKER.LOG and will be placed in your Windows
directory. The log will contain an entry for every program which
is executed, and will have the date, time, and command line for
the program. If the program launch is unsuccessful, an error
code will be displayed.
No log entry is printed for messages displayed by Clocker.
Display Date - this option is under the Settings menu. Selecting
it will make Clocker display the current date next to the time in
the window, and as part of the icon title when iconized. This
setting will be saved for future sessions.
Display Group - if group mode is enabled, this option toggles the
display of the group schedule. Note that if group mode is
enabled, then the group schedule is active regardless of the
Display Group setting.
Load Files on Startup - If this option is selected, Clocker will
start up with whatever files were open in the last Clocker
session. Both private and group files, if they were previously
open, will automatically open when Clocker is started. Note that
this option is on by default.
Miscellaneous Options
Icon Always On Top - this option is available from the system
menu of Clocker. Selecting this option will cause Clocker to
remain on top of all other windows. This setting will be saved
for future sessions.
12 and 24 hr Time Display - the time format is retrieved from the
Windows system settings. To change this setting, look in the
Windows control panel under International.
Advanced Options
The following settings should not be necessary for normal use of
Clocker -- the defaults are adequate for most purposes.
Nevertheless, this information is being made available for system
administrators and advanced users who want more flexible control
over their Clocker system.
Time Update Interval
This option changes the frequency with which Clocker updates its
internal time. The default is 5 seconds, which should be adequate
for most uses. However, with this default, events executed and
the time displayed by Clocker could be up to 5 seconds late. To
change this value, create a [Settings] section in the CLOCKER.INI
file (which should be in your Windows directory), if there is not
one already. Add the following line, under this section header:
TimeUpdateInterval=5
Instead of 5, enter the interval in seconds you want. Note that
the interval must be between 1 and 59 seconds. Smaller numbers
will slightly increase overhead, but this effect will probably
not be noticeable.
Group Refresh Rate
This option changes the frequency with which Clocker refreshes
the group file. The default is every 15 minutes, which should be
adequate for most uses. To change this value, create a
[Settings] section in the CLOCKER.INI file (which should be in
your Windows directory), if there is not one already. Add the
following line, under this section header:
GroupRefreshRate=15
Instead of 15, enter the refresh rate (in minutes) that you want.
The actual refresh times will be when (minutes MOD interval) is
zero -- for example, if the GroupRefreshRate is 15 minutes, then
refreshes will take place at 0, 15, 30, and 45 minutes past the
hour. Note that smaller intervals can increase overhead, both
within Clocker and on the network (since all of the machines will
probably be hitting the file server simultaneously).
Registration and Support Information
Single copy Clocker registration is $24.95, payable in US
dollars. If used on a network, Clocker requires one license for
each machine it is running on. Site license rates are as
follows:
5 users $ 109.95
10 users $ 199.95
20 users $ 349.95
50 users $ 699.95
100+ users $ 999.95
To register additional copies, print out ORDERFRM.TXT and mail
the completed form along with payment to:
Winnovation
PO Box 271071
Ft. Collins, CO 80527-1071
USA
After your registration is processed, you will receive a serial
number/registration code combination, a manual, and a disk for
each copy you ordered. Site licenses will receive only one code,
manual, and disk, with additional manual copies available for a
nominal charge. Registered users will be entitled to unlimited
support and free upgrades as they become available. Support will
be via telephone, E-mail and US mail. Winnovation can be reached
at:
Telephone: (303) 484-7204
E-mail: CompuServe: 71774,605
Internet: 71774.605@compuserve.com