Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
Looking for a very flexible timer
Edvard:
OK, I'd seen the issue with the timer font and it's not an issue with your DPI, but with the GUI elements showing differently on different platforms (I am doing all development on Linux, so everything looks great for me ;) ). I can fix that, just the clock window may have to be a bit larger. On my box, I use the Euromode font as my main font; I love the square-ish look and it's very legible, more so than the fonts it was inspired from (Microgramma and Eurostile) and makes a very nice clock face. I wish I could embed it in my program, but I'm sure there would be licensing issues or something. I didn't set the font, Lazarus just uses whatever the default is if I don't set it explicitly, so looks like it chose something funky ;D
I considered a start/stop button, but I thought using the clock as button would be economical as far as UI goes; maybe I was wrong... :o
As far as tasks, the last task in the list always has focus; at this stage of development, it's the only way I could keep things straight. When you click on another task to change the name, that's all that's allowed. Are you wanting to change between tasks to add more time on the selected task? Great idea, and I'm sure I can figure out how to do that. Let me know what you are needing exactly.
For the Reset function, I think I know what's going on there. It doesn't start with the Total, it starts from where the previous task stopped. So you want the clock to default to 0 for every new task? I can do that. In fact, it may be time to introduce saving preferences, and have the option be "New task - Reset to 00:00 or Continue from previous time".
@TaoPhoenix: It's not you, it's me ;) I was trying to keep the timekeeping as simple as possible because even as it is I had a devil of a time keeping the time set-able but synchronized with real time, and the correct time showing up in the correct places. That's why I made it so when you make a new task, the old task is "closed out"; that is, the time is finalized. That can be changed in the final CSV file, but if I'm interpreting Tomos' comments correctly, maybe I should make it so you can switch between tasks to add time to a previous one.
tomos:
:D I forgot I had made Corbel the default font (in my defense, it was years ago).
CorbelI think it makes numbers especially easier to read
although in this example the 'g' and the '9' are a bit too similar maybe
I think I wanted the start/stop button just so as I could change tasks - so, no, I dont see any need for it.
But I would like to be able to resume an older task.
Re new task starting with the end-amount of the previous task - I hadnt thought of it before but this is a very good way of working (like timing a lap). But if you can make it user-changeable - without too much stress - all the better.
I notice:
* create, say, three tasks - without using reset (let each run for a time before creating the next)
* then create a fourth task - it will show the endtime of task #3 in the timer
* try Reset on task #4 - it reverts to endtime of task #2should it not simply reset to zero? (again, I may be missing an application)
TaoPhoenix:
I considered a start/stop button, but I thought using the clock as button would be economical as far as UI goes; maybe I was wrong... :o
...
As far as tasks, the last task in the list always has focus; at this stage of development, it's the only way I could keep things straight. When you click on another task to change the name, that's all that's allowed. Are you wanting to change between tasks to add more time on the selected task? Great idea, and I'm sure I can figure out how to do that. Let me know what you are needing exactly.
...
@TaoPhoenix: It's not you, it's me ;) I was trying to keep the timekeeping as simple as possible because even as it is I had a devil of a time keeping the time set-able but synchronized with real time, and the correct time showing up in the correct places. That's why I made it so when you make a new task, the old task is "closed out"; that is, the time is finalized. That can be changed in the final CSV file, but if I'm interpreting Tomos' comments correctly, maybe I should make it so you can switch between tasks to add time to a previous one.
-Edvard (May 03, 2015, 03:25 AM)
--- End quote ---
Well, pointing out a "merge" of this program and the iPhone stopwatch, I'd suggest a row of buttons somewhere. Start Stop Lap. That way you know what a button does, but another reason is more important - the iPhone thing tries to do *three things with two buttons* and if you mis-click them in the wrong order it messes up or wipes out your time log!
And because I like fancy "implicit tricks", for "program-chainers" like me, a set of buttons means you can do things like using one of those automated mouse-movers (or other things) so that it does stuff like:
"start, wait until 50 min, stop (because you know the user is slacking somehow!), Lap to log the fragment, Wait 10 minutes, Start". So then theoretically you can even leave it sitting there in the background for days!
And yeah, I am *totally* a fan of clicking back and forth between tasks. So for me (so far!) it's as simple as Click to make a Task Active (possibly checking if you need to finish processing the old one, to help prevent misclicks!).
And I mentioned in passing but one reason the clock didn't work for me is because on my ... fading ... system, it didn't start anything! So if you imagine, "click the clock ... nothing happens ... okay..." !
Edvard:
I notice:
* create, say, three tasks - without using reset (let each run for a time before creating the next)
* then create a fourth task - it will show the endtime of task #3 in the timer
* try Reset on task #4 - it reverts to endtime of task #2should it not simply reset to zero? (again, I may be missing an application)
-tomos (May 03, 2015, 04:49 AM)
--- End quote ---
If my logic is correct here, if the fourth task has not been started yet, it may (should?) reset to the beginning time of #3, which is the ending time of #2. Once the fourth task has started, reset should simply reset to the beginning time of #4. Sounds like I really do need to implement some choices and defaults like "Start new tasks at zero/Continue from previous."
Also, I have been working on some GUI changes, which I'd like your opinion on the layouts:
- No "New Task" edit box; Since we can change the Title of the task in the grid anyway, why not just have it all happen there?
- Start/Stop button
- Larger Clock
- Replaced the H/M/S buttons on either side of the clock with more compact Up/Down buttons
- Direct editing of the time in the clock
Layout 1 (yes, the button order should be H/M/S, fixed in the other one):
Layout 2:
TaoPhoenix:
I like version 2 for layout, though I wonder if it was a typo that the task-begin-end-total bar was left out?
It just seems we're so close to everything, because if there is a "stopwatch mode", then it can start with a timer of 0, start-stop works as normal, and "lap" creates its own "pseudo-tasks" aka the laps breaking down the segments of each task, below the main header of it.
It feels to me like this should be easy ... but famous last words?
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version