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Installation: If you do not already have the
VB 6.0 Runtime installed in your system, download the VB 6.0 Runtime, save
it to a temporary directory, double-click the icon and follow the instructions. Then, download the
TimeAfterTime application installation file, unzip it (using eg. FreeZip, WinZip), and
save the individual extracted files to a temporary directory. From this
directory, select and double-click the file named 'Setup' and follow the
instructions.
TimeAfterTime
PAD file: 'Portable Application Description' files are datasets which allow software authors to communicate specific and most often requested information
about their products to online communities in a concise and standard way. Click
here for TimeAfterTime PAD file which can be opened in a standard browser.
Click
here for TimeAfterTime PAD file in XML format (data can be extracted and
parsed using standard XML toolkits).
 As is the case with the origin of so many of the best products,
TimeAfterTime was born of necessity. My wife often tries out new recipes -
experimenting and adding her own 'personal touch' as she goes,
and often has cause to prepare multiple dishes simultaneously. Up
until recently, she had been using discrete timers and stopwatches for her
timing needs, but this was cumbersome and we both thought there had
to be better way.
Well, I found there is no shortage of multi-timer applications for Windows out
there, and downloaded and tried a few, but to my surprise discovered that they
did NOT fulfill all our requirements - requirements which I thought would be
typical:
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There should be one 'Master Control Panel' to launch any type and number of timer
modules - ie count up for a set duration, count down for a set duration
(either recurring or once), count to a pre-determined time of day, or operate
as a stopwatch. |
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It should be possible to assign a UNIQUE alarm WAV file to EACH timer
module (including the ability for the user to simply select from a list
of MEANINGFUL announcement files packaged with the application - not
just short 'sound effects' files). |
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The sound announcements should not cut each other off, or overlap. Any
announcement currently being made should be monitored by the application, so
that it is allowed to finish before the next one begins. It should be
possible to audibly distinguish between a recurring alarm (ie one that
automatically resets itself and goes off every time a set duration elapses),
and an alarm set to trigger only once. |
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Each timer module should present comprehensive information about
itself - including the text message that will pop-up up when it triggers,
the name of the WAV file that will be played, whether the timer is of
recurring type or not (and if it is, how many cycles have already been
completed), when the timer was set, the duration the timer is counting, and
what the current time is. |
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There should be enough Windows management features to enable easy
handling of many timer modules running at once. |
I didn't think that was asking for too much, but all the applications I
either tried, or read about on the 'Web, fell short in one or more
ways. Not only that, but the authors had the audacity to charge $15+ for them.
So...it sounded like a job for Measurement And Conversion Software!
And here's the result. I'm proud to announce TimeAfterTime - a smart,
powerful multi-timing application incorporating all the features and
capabilities we were looking for, and which I'm sure you'll appreciate too.
One user's comment:
I was very excited when reading about your TimeAfterTime program. At
last I would get what I had been looking for, for such a long time already...it
will become one my most frequently used tools. Rest assured that I'll regularly
go take a look at your website. One never knows if you wouldn't come up with yet
another great idea'.
TimeAfterTime is designed to audibly convey as much information as
possible when alarms trigger (ie without the user having to look at the
application). This is important when you're engaged in an activity like
intensive cooking, and can't afford to turn your attention away to go and read
what an alarm means on a screen. TimeAfterTime comes pre-loaded with a
variety of cooking-oriented announcements which you can select from a
drop-down list, and assign to each Timer - it's just like having a chef's assistant
sitting there with a notepad and a handful of stopwatches and clocks
announcing 'Check rice!', 'Vegetables are ready'! (with two differences...TimeAfterTime
costs you nothing, and is ready to work whenever you are). Of course, you can
also record your own announcements, save them as WAV files and assign them, or
you can select sound effects files from the application's drop-down list
(such as siren, tinkle, ding, etc).
To give you an idea of the application's versatility, here are the
different ways my wife has used TimeAfterTime:
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Setting a recurring count-up Timer to alert her to check on
dish progress at regular intervals |
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Setting 3 Timers to go off at different times of the day for the same
dish - each duration representing a specific phase in the preparation of the
dish |
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Setting 5 count-down Timers to uniquely announce the readiness of 5
separate dishes being prepared concurrently (believe it or not)! |
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Setting 3 Timers to perform various announcement tasks, whilst another
2 are being used as stopwatches to help her figure out the best
durations for stages of a new recipe |
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Setting Timers to remind her to remove items from the freezer at
different times, for de-frosting |
TimeAfterTime is of course suitable for a wide range of timing
activities - besides cooking. It's one of those products that the more
you use, the more uses you'll find for it.
Detailed Features List
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Launch up to 6 independent Timers - any combination of count up duration
(once or recurring), count down duration (once or recurring), count to a
time of day, or count as 24-hour stopwatch (with 1 second resolution). Here are the panels of 3 types
of launched Timers:
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Assign separate announcement WAV files to each Timer.
These can be 1. files you have created yourself or obtained, or 2. you can
select from those that come with the application (via a drop-down list).
You can test-listen to the WAV files from within the application, before
assigning them:
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The left panel shows an external WAV file 'camera
1' selected. The right panel shows one of TimeAfterTime's internal WAV
files (the announcement 'Seafood') selected. |
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Each Timer you launch is clearly marked with what type of Timer
it is, its count display is bold and prominent, and it carries all
the reference information you'd be interested in: |
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This Timer is a countdown Timer, with 7 seconds
to go before it triggers. It is of type 'recurring' (as indicated by the
'Y' denoting 'Yes' against the blue 'cycle icon' at the bottom of the
panel), which means that when it triggers, it will automatically reset and
countdown again from 15 seconds. It has already done this 18 times so far.
Every time the Timer triggers, it will play the WAV file 'Ding'. You can
also see the time elapsed since this Timer was first launched. It was set
to alert me to check the rate of a water-wheel every 15 seconds.
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This Timer is an alarm clock type Timer, with the alarm
set to go off at 7.00 AM to wake me up for my Shift. It will play the WAV
file 'Whoop'. Again, you can see when the Timer was set, and also how many
seconds to go before it triggers. The N/A against the 'cycle icon' in this
case denotes 'Not Applicable'.
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Each Timer's text message flashes an alternating red-blue when the
Timer triggers (twice a
second), to get your attention:
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In the case of a once-off (non-recurring)
Timer, the flashing continues until the Timer is closed. In the case of a
recurring Timer (as shown here), the flashing and 'Expired!' text persists for
a few seconds, before the Timer returns again to its normal state.
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You can audibly distinguish a once-off Timer from a recurring one, by
the number of times the assigned announcement is repeated when the Timer
triggers (3 times in the former case, once in the latter). |
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You can at any stage Hide/Show all launched Timers. Hiding frees up
screen and task-bar real estate. You can close all launched Timers
simultaneously (without having to shut them down individually):
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You can
also Enable/Disable pop-up of Timers above all other windows, when they
trigger. |
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Each Timer's title and message to flash is allocated at the Main
Control Panel's 'Alert Text' textbox before the Timer launches, but can be
altered from the Timer's own panel, after the Timer launches. |
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