This is the Steampunk Clock/Calendar Help file.
Version 2.8 (MkII)
Information :
The real changes provided in the latest version are the ability to resize the clock, the new day of the week
indicator, the slider animation is much slicker, slider can be operated with your mouse scroll wheel,
reduced cpu usage overall, lower cpu required by the pendulum swing action, many bugs fixed, slicker
operation in general, standard 12 hour clock face, a right click menu with plenty of options and links,
more documentation and more back end preferences to configure and play with. Some of the graphics have
also been improved upon.
I wrote this tool as heartily dislike the Windows operating system's limited choice of interface. The user
interface should be separated from the operating system functions allowing you to theme the GU as you wish.
Fed up of the glossy cr@p that was shipped with the later versions of Windows decided to make a series of
widgets that can replace certain system functions. Windows is shipped with a particularly rubbish clock and if
you have XP you don't have access to Vista's sidebar. So this clock was created to cater for a certain taste.
It is steampunk (whatever that means) and unashamedly so. If you want to make any recommendations then please do.
The Pendulum is switched off by default, there is a good reason for this:
The graphics of a swinging pendulum in Javascript requires processor power. Some ntel single core or older
dual core machines may take exception to the pendulum and cause it to use of a lot of cpu. have a dual core
Pentium D 3.0 ghz system that is no slouch, it runs twice as fast as my laptop. However, when the pendulum is
turned on it travels at a third of the speed when compared to the laptop and uses an inordinate amount of the cpu.
don't know why this is but it does not happen on slower machines with core2duo processor. guess this is to do
with some processor design element that allows it to cater for certain animation functions better. The pendulum is
pure math so it could be a shortcoming in this area. t has a side-effect, if you right click in order to get the
preferences screen it may refuse to show immediately and then wait for 30 seconds or more before it appears. f it
does not then close the widget, restart and click on the pendulum, it will turn off the swing and the preferences
will then be accessible.
This widget works with Windows XP SP3, it has been tested on Vista, Windows 7 and on Mac OS/X. If you have any
problems please post your email queries here. or comment at the bottom of the page. I will endeavour to answer
them as soon as I can.
The tool has two modes, Clock mode and Alarm mode. In clock mode the clock ticks, the calendar shows the date,
the weekday can be made to display. In alarm mode you can set alarms and when the alarm time has arrived the
alarm will sound. It is loud and repetitive.
Instructions for use:
H Key - will show the first help canvas indicated by the brass number 1 on the top left of the wooden bar.
clicking on the brassnumber 1 will select the next drop down help canvas.
Clicking on the ring pull at the bottom will make the current canvas go away.
A Key - will activate the alarm mode. Clicking on the bell set will also cause the clock to
go into alarm mode.wotw-clock-big-work04.png
Alarm mode - Normal operation is this: When you have pressed the A key it will release the slider. When the
slider is released the further you move the slider from the centre position the more quickly the date/time
will change. You may move it to the right or left and change time.
When you have selected the date/time you want then move the slider to the central position and click on
the bell set. The alarm will set. You can set up to five alarms.
When you are ready to set the alarm, click the gold bell or the A key, two bells will sound
and the alarm is set. To cancel the current alarm setting or viewing operation just click on the clock face
again.
* Please note that while the timepiece in Alarm Mode all normal clock functions are switched off and alarms
will not sound whilst in alarm mode.
Each time you press the alarm bell to set an alarm, a pop-up will display indicating which alarm
you are going to set. Each time you press the A key, it will select the next alarm up to a maximum of five.
To the right of the clock there are from zero to five alarm toggles depending on how many alarms
you have previously set. If you click on the toggle it flag01.pngwill display the date and time set for
this alarm. If you then click on the associated 'cash-register-style' pop-up it will allow you to delete
this alarm.
To cancel a ringing alarm - just click on the Alarm flag. When you hover over this flag it will turn red
allowing you to delete an alarm at any time.
M Key - The Mute key - leaves all other sounds alone but turns off only the chimes.
Another click turns the chimes back on again. You will see the bell clapper move to/from the bell set.
P Key - Turns off the pendulum. Another click turns it on again. Single-click on the pendulum
itself also turns off the pendulum.chain.png
L Key - The Loudness Key - gently quietens the whole clock: ticking, chimes, alarm sounds all reduced
by 21db. There is also a chain that can be pulled to silence the ticking.
Crank - The hand crank is the master volume control. Crank it down to mute all sounds and crank it up to
restore the sound back to the level it was prior to muting.
S- Key - To the left of the digital clock is another brass toggle: S Key - Raises the transparent
screen logging the various controls you select. Because the screen is transparent the text may be hard
to see when used on a dark desktop background.
A new 'B' key will also appear on the right of the screen frame that allows you to raise/lower the back
screen. This will allow you to read the text.
The W Key allows you to see the weekday indicator, counting from Sunday as day one. click to hide the
flag or click the flag itself. The flag will go red when you hover over it.
-oOo-
The screen currently only displays clock/calendar operations but may do more in the future. Perhaps
some time machine images/steampunk adverts, I'm unsure, any suggestions?
-oOo-
Right Click Menus
You can right click on the widget at any time to show the preferences that control the operation of the
widget. It will show a pop up menu that allows access to some extra functions. For example, you can
access online help from this link as well as visit other links to allow satisfied users to kindly donate...
The Widget Preferences link shows the preferences screen allowing you to select show more configuration
options. Some of the configuration changes that can be made can be made.
The other links are generally self-explanatory, they will open pages on my website where you can obtain
new versions of the widget, obtain assistance or help from the developer &c.
Preferences This is the configuration preference screen where you control sundry items. You can select
the widget size and enable/disable sound control. At the back-end there are more preferences that may
be changed, all are documented by an associated description.
The console screen can be raised or lowered here as well as from the front end.
If the alarm is noisy then you may turn it off here.
Digital clock settings - the function of the digital clock can have an adverse effect on very low
powered machines. You can reduce the effect by altering these settings. Leave these well alone if all
is operating as it should.
The Pendulum is switched off by default, there is a good reason for this:
The graphics of a swinging pendulum in Javascript requires processor power. Some Intel single core or
older dual core machines may take exception to the pendulum and cause it to use of a lot of cpu. I
have a dual core Pentium D 3.0 ghz system that is no slouch, it runs twice as fast as my laptop.
However, when the pendulum is turned on it travels at a third of the speed when compared to the laptop
and uses an inordinate amount of the cpu.
I don't know why this is (probably due to poor threading) but it does not happen even on slower
machines with core2duo processor. I guess this is to do with some processor design element that
allows it to cater for multiple threads and therefore certain mathematical functions better used
in the animation. The pendulum is pure math so it could be a shortcoming in this area. It has a
side-effect on these older systems where if you right click in order to get the preferences screen
it may refuse to show immediately and then wait for 30 seconds or more before it appears.
If it does not show the prefs then close the widget, restart and click on the pendulum, it will
turn off the swing and the preferences will then be accessible.
One of the preferences allows you to stop the pendulum animation whenever the cpu is being used by
other programs beyond this value. This prevents your computer's cpu from overloading at peak times.
Note you will see the pendulum stutter from time to time the lower the value set.
You can also raise or lower the weekday indicating flag here.
You can alter the widget in size and it will still function, you can also specify the default
startup position.
The various sounds can be controlled here.
Other basic functions of the widget can be configured, opacity is an important one as is prevent
dragging, give it a go.
My advice - Don't set the ignore mouse check box!
-oOo-
END
Download Latest Version
Steampunk clock calendar version 2.zip (6.2 MB)
