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Questions and Answers

 


 

Q. How do I get started?

Click here to see the video, or click here to view the web page.
In Job Timer 3 there is a setup wizard. Click here for more information.

This is a very simple program, But when you think of all the things that it does, the main purpose of the program is to track your time spent on a project and then print an invoice.

First of all you want to create your profile. You have to ask yourself, "How much do I charge per hour?"
Fill in what you would like to call this service and then enter in how much you want to charge per hour for this service. If you have several services then you can fill in up to 8 of these per project. Set Services are for those of us who charge per item, so "Service Charge" or "Transportation charge" these would be considered "Set Services" and are not adjusted by the clock but adjusted by you. ("how many of these")

Once you have set up this profile then you can start adding your customers, Customers are entered in separately, you can recall them later when you set up your project.

Once this is all done then all you do is open up the customer information window, open up a customer it will ask for a "invoice number" (or you have it automatically done for you) Project Name then close the window. Hit Start on the clock and go to work. Once you're done with your work, stop the clock and save your project. I usually save my projects in a folder called "Invoices" then I save my file as my Invoice Number. That way I know what to look for the next time I want to open this project.

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Q. What does Job Timer do?

Simple; it tracks the time you spend on a job. Prints an invoice.
Separate from that it has a Countdown timer for whatever you want it to do.

It has a count up timer for whatever you want that to do.

Break alarms, to let you know that it's time for your break or lunch.

It will track your computer usage and warn you if you use too much.

Lets you know how long you have been at the computer for any given day.

Opens programs for you automatically.

With one click of a button it will open a specified program and start the Job Timer clock automatically.

Keep track of your recent projects and open them up with one click of a button while saving what you just did.

For more information on what Job Timer does then click here for the list of Features that each Version. Pick and choose which program will suit your needs.

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Q. I have been using Job Timer for along time now and I have "Check for Updates" Checked. Why doesn't it let me know that there is a new update?

Included in the program is a update reminder. After 240 hours of operation this will remind you to update your software. Therefore you may have not used it long enough.

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Q. How do I update my software?

Included in the program is the update feature. Click on "About" then click on "Check for updates":
If you are having problems with this feature then click here.

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Q. This little window keeps popping up that says "Resting Arms" How do I get rid of this thing?

This is a feature of Job Timer that is called "Ergonomics" this will alert you to when you are using the computer too much and remind you to take breaks. According to the government guidelines for people using the computer no one shall be sitting in front of the computer for more than 2 hours straight. (included in the ergonomics window is a check box "Two hour reminder") this will remind you that you have been sitting in front of the computer for two hours and to get up and move around. (Take a break). This purpose is when you sit for a long time you have a tendency to pool blood up in your legs and you can get blood clots in your legs. DVT (deep vein thrombosis) is a serious medical condition that can be easily avoided if you just simply move around.

Also to combat fatigue in your arms and wrists I have implemented a "Resting Arms" Feature to the Ergonomics function. This will alert you to rest your arms and shake them out, need to get blood to those parts of your hands that are being used a lot. (Repetitive wrist injury and Carpal tunnel syndrome are major factors in the work place with people that sit in front of the computer for a long time.)

It has been determined that if you sit in front of a computer more than 6 hours a day then you can stress out too much. So to combat this I have added a "6 Hour Reminder" to the program, now this will track how much time you have been sitting in front of the computer, not necessarily how much time you have been standing at the snake bar, up running around getting coffee for everyone, but the actual time you have been sitting in front of that glow that your computer screen puts off.

So now that you have read why the "Resting Arms" window keeps show up then you can either decide to get rid of it or keep it. Go to "Ergonomics" and under "Resting arms" click on "OFF" then save your settings. If you don't wish any of these features to work then click on"Disable" and save your settings.

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Q. What happens if I walk away from my computer and I forget to turn the clock off?

There is a feature that will turn off the clock for you, this is called "Idle" if checked then when you walk away from the computer the clock will automatically stop. When you resume work on the computer then your clock will start automatically. If you have a job that requires you to do other things on that job that necessarily sitting in front of the computer then you can uncheck this box and the program will keep adding time to the clock indefinitely.

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Q. What happens if I stop the clock, walk away from the computer and I forget to start the clock back up?

In this case if you check the checkbox "Project Reminder" then your program will let you know that you have a opened project and the clock has stopped, Do you want it on? This will remind you in 5 minutes and if you have been working on your project for that amount of time then you can just hit a button that will add that 5 minutes to your project. If you don't have a project loaded and the total is "0" then Job Timer will be silent, it will not remind you to turn on your clock.

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Q. What if I have a lot of customers and I do different things for each customer?

Under "Customer Settings" you will find "Special Settings". First of all you want to set up a price set for that customer and save it in settings by clicking "Save As" then save the project to a file name you will remember. In customer settings click on the check box that says "Special Settings" then click on "Choose Settings" open that file you created. This will open up those special settings for that customer every time you use that customer. More info can be found here.

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Q. I don't charge by the hour, I charge per minute. What do I do then?

That's a very good question. Job Timer only charges by the hour, so you will have to take what you charge per minute and times this by 60. Example .72c a minute equals $43.20 an hour. (.72 X 60 = $43.20) so you would put in 43.20 where your timed service will be. Then when you start up Job Timer's clock you will notice that every minute passes it will add .72 cents to the total. This also would apply to those of you that charge by the quarter hour, If you know what you charge per Quarter Hour then times this by 4 and you will get what you charge per Hour.

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Q. What if I don't want to charge by the minute, what if I want to charge per Quarter Hour?

Simple, go to "Timer Settings" and change the slider bar over to "15" this will allow your project to be updated every Quarter Hour. You can't make changes to this while a project is in motion (Job Timer's clock turned on") but if you change it while the clock has stopped and you're in the middle of a project then it will reset the timers clock back to zero. Don't be alarmed by this, your project time is still intact.

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Q. What Operating Systems does Job Timer run on?

Job Timer runs on Windows 98se, ME, 2000, XP, Vista and now testing on Windows 7

Job Timer will not be coded for the Mac as of yet. I wanted to get it released for the Mac but I haven't had any time to get this issued. Since Mac can run windows programs and with the new CPU from Intel, some mac owners can run Windows on their machine so I will see how this plays out.

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Q. When I click on the "Close" button, why does Job Timer open up a smaller window instead of closing?

By default job timer will open up the small control panel or if the small control panel is disabled then Job Timer will run in the task bar. To turn off Job Timer then you will have to click on "Exit" on the main Job Timer window or you can hit "File" then "Exit". Job Timer will not exit unless your project has been saved or if the Countdown Timer is running or if you have a pending Alarm. These features will warn you first before closing out Job Timer altogether. So make sure that you have your project saved and you have no pending timers or alarms running and Job Timer will exit freely.

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Q. How can I find how long I have been sitting in front of the computer?

Go to "Ergonomics" and at the bottom of the window will be your two hour reminder time and your six hour reminder time. The two hour time will tell you how long you have been at your computer at any given time. The six hour time will tell how long you have been sitting at the computer for the whole day. If you walk away from the computer for more than 10 minutes then both of these reminders will stop, but the two hour reminder will go back to zero, because if you have been walking around for 10 minutes then the ergonomics feature believes that 10 minutes is long enough away from the computer to start over again. If you stay at your computer for more than 2 hours then the ergonomics feature will let you know that it's time to get up and walk around. If you hit the 6 hour mark then the ergonomics feature will warn you that it's time to get off the computer for the day and revert back to zero. If you go past the 6 hour mark then a ! will show up and start counting again from zero. So you can see how many minutes or hours have past since the 6 hour mark has been reached.

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Q. What does the "Job Timer Invoice" program do? Isn't this Job Timer?

Think of the Job Timer Invoice program as a plug in, it's not the actual Job Timer program and will not add any time to any project. It may look similar to Job Timer but it's not. This invoice program when installed will work in concert with Job Timer 2 and Job Timer 3. This new program will allow you to print a invoice threw your Internet browser program. (ie: Internet Explorer) Hit "Print Preview" and you can see what the invoice will look like when it's printed. Also included with this program is the ability to tax your services, you can tax each, all or none of the services.

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Q. I clicked on "Special Settings" and Job Timer didn't use them, Why?

Because you started Job Timer without adding your customer settings first. If there is any time added to the clock then Job Timer thinks you want the present settings already stored. If you need to use these special settings then before you add any time to your project set up your customer first then start adding time to your project. There is no way of correcting this unless you do it manually by changing all the affected fields. So it's good practice to make sure that you have set up your customer first before you start the clock. To make sure that you do this there is a check box in the customer settings called "Chk" this will remind you to add your customer info first before the clock is started. Click on "Chk" and save your settings, this will be stored as your program settings.

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Q. How come when I'm sitting at my computer not doing a thing and the resting arms window appears?

This function is on a 2 minute timer, after two minutes it will revert back to zero and wait until you start working on your computer. If you happen to be just sitting there for a minute or so it is possible that the resting arms feature just hasn't had time to shut down. Therefore it may appear, but if you leave your computer alone for a bit then this feature will have had enough time to shut off.

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Q. Why can't I save my settings?

You may have "Special Settings" enabled. This is to prevent you from saving your Special Settings to the normal Program Settings. The "prices.hpp" (Program Settings) would be considered the normal program settings that you normally use, but for some customers you may charge them different services and prices that you would for someone else, so therefore you can create a special price set just for that customer, but you don't want to save those settings to your normal price set, so the save button disables. If you really want to save the settings to any price set then you can hit "Save As".

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Q. Can I add Tax to my Project?

Yes you can add tax to your project, you will need Job Timer 2 or Job Timer 3 (Job Timer does not have this feature) You will need to download and install the Job Timer Invoice program, this program will allow you to open up Job Timer 2, 3 projects and then you can add tax. More on this Program can be found here.


Q. My ergonomics feature is missing. How do get it back?

Provided you have the recommended requirements to run the ergonomics feature you can go to "Administrator Options" ( Tools - Administrator Options) and put in code "alsdfoansldfmalhnmlw" then click on "Enable" then save your settings. Go Back to the Administrator Options and click on "Ergo ON".


Q. I just downloaded the new Project Data. Where are my invoices?

First you will have to create a new invoice with Job Timer 3. You can create a new invoice by printing an invoice or going to "Reports" and clicking on "Track this project" this will create a new invoice for you. Open Project Data by going to "Reports" and clicking on "File" in the top left hand corner and then click on "Project Data" this will open the project data program and your invoice will be there.


How many computers can I use Job Timer on?

If you buy 1 copy of Job Timer then you can install it on two computers. Every computer has a unique computer ID and in order for this computer to be unlocked you have to request a key. You computer ID's are stored here in a database. You can get new keys every three months free. If you need more than 2 computers then you will have to buy another licence (which you can have two more keys for two more computers) If you buy three licence's then you will get a "Special" key that will unlock your Registration codes and you will be instructed to enter in your own computer ID (Your Name) and you will have your own Special Key. This way you can install Job Timer on as many of your own computers as you wish just the same way the purchased CD does.


Q. Can I get Job Timer on a CD?

Yes you can, for now it's only available for Job Timer 3 and 4. Included in the CD is Job Timer Invoice and Project Data. Everything will be installed and you can put Job Timer 3 and 4 on as many computers as you wish. For more information on the purchase of a CD click here. Job Timer 4 will now be available on CD Click here for more information.


Q. What happened to my "Update Reminder" Check box?

You may have been prompted to update your software at sometime and you selected "Never" this will remove this check box. To get this back Click on "Tools" then click on "Administrator Options" and then type in this code - "knasojaoghennoguyher" (without the quotes) then press "Go". This will bring back your update option.


Q. When do I need to re-register Job Timer? and if I do, how do I do this?

The only time you will need to re-register your software is if the following conditions have been made to your computer:

1. If you changed the name of your computer.

2. If you re-formatted your hard drive.

3. If you replaced your hard drive.

4. If you un-install Job Timer.

If your hard drive remains intact while you change any part of your computer then Job Timer will be just fine. Your registration material is located within Job Timer and will not change until you either delete the folder that Job Timer is located in or if you strip the Registration settings using the stripper tool.

If you need to re-register your software because of the above mentioned reasons then re-install Job Timer with the latest trial release, when the registration box appears then click on "Email Computer ID" then a email will filled out for you and all you have to do is send it. If you add text or alter the email in any way then it may take some time to get your registration material to you or if your email address has changed since the time of your purchase. Then it could take up to 12 hours to get your registration material to you.

If the email button does not create an email for you then manually create an email and copy and paste the computer ID in the body of the email and type in the subject line which Job Timer release you have (ie: Job Timer, Job Timer 2 or Job Timer 3). Note: Do not type in the Computer ID number, if you do then the registration program on the server will not work correctly and it will send you the wrong registration code.

If you uninstall Job Timer and you want it back then install the update only!, if you decide you want to un-install the program and re-install with the trial version it will not work because the registration material is for the update and not for the trial version. The update password changes the program to allow you to update your software without anymore passwords once this has taken place the trial version can't be used again. You will have to re-register the program again.


Q. Job Timer seems to be using a lot of CPU, Is there a way to fix this?

Yes there is, on some laptops your CPU will seem to be working overtime. To get Job Timer to run normally on your machine then turn off the Ergonomics feature, Idle Feature and the Reminder Feature. This will turn off the ability to read your mouse movements. The code in Job Timer reads your mouse movements and in some laptops that means it's reading that mouse pad. The Drivers for the mouse pad are not the same as the drivers for a normal mouse. So therefore Job Timer will have to work harder to look for those mouse movement changes. So far this hasn't effected a desktop machine. I will work on solving this issue but it seems to be that running those features on a laptop are not advisable at this time.


Q. I tell Windows XP to keep my System Tray icon to show all the time but it disappears.

You will have to tell Windows XP to keep both the "Red" and the "Green" System Tray icons to "Always show" to do this go to your task bar, right click and choose "Properties" go to "Customize" and choose the red or green Job Timer icons then in the drop down menu click on "Always Show" if your Job Timer clock is running then the green icon will be showing, stop the clock and do this all over again with the red icon. Now Windows XP will keep the Job Timer icons in the system tray.


Q. Why are there 7 different versions of Job Timer?

This is a great question: During the course over the years of creating Job Timer, Job Timer was lacking some features that customers wanted. So I created Job Timer 2, This was great but then I got a request to be able to add notes to the projects and some sort of log of your activity, I couldn't change Job Timer 2 so I created Job Timer 3 during the course of these two programs I was asked for other features and so those got added. Because the added time it went into Job Timer 3 and the fact that my previous customers didn't want a database added to Job Timer, Job Timer 2 and Job Timer 3 became separate programs. Last year I was asked to add the ability to network Job Timer. I tried to network Job Timer 3 as a Network Version but I couldn't get to work and still have previous customers enjoy the product they already had. So Job Timer 4 was created to be either a stand alone program or share projects over a network. Because of all the extra coding and all the features that Job Timer 4 has the price went up. So to get the price down I decided to create a LITE Version of Job Timer 2, Job Timer 3, and Job Timer 4. In the lite versions there are several features that have been "Removed" not disabled. The purpose of deleting these features in the program was to keep the file size down so when you run these lite versions they are not as bulky as their predecessors keeping the CPU and Memory down to a minimum. These lite versions are how Job Timer was originally created and not with all the extra added stuff that customers wanted. As a result these new versions are cheaper and more efficient to run the way Job Timer was intended to be in the first place. Ok now I have made all of my beta testers happy and customers threw out the years asking for features and now there are 7 versions of Job Timer. They all do the same thing just a little different. Why not just have one Job Timer fit all? Some don’t want the big bulky program (Job Timer 3 – Job Timer 4) some don’t want to network (Job Timer 4) so to make everyone happy you can choose which program will fit your needs. Sometimes when I have had a program for years and I update this program a lot of features that I really don’t need get added to this program and I end up not liking this new product and I search else where for a replacement or re-install the older version. I didn't’t want this to happen to Job Timer so when you get either one of these programs and it fits your needs then you won’t get a surprise when you update your product, these updates will only contain any fixes that I have made between versions. Oh sure there may be a little change or added feature that won’t effect the performance of the product you already own.


Q. What does "Total Hours" and the Job Timer Clock have in common and why are they different?

The "Total Hours" will be added up by all of the timed services and will be displayed as a decimal just like the Timed Services. The Job Timer Clock will display Days, Hours, Minutes and Seconds as you add time to your project. They an be different if you add a minimum amount to your project, or if you manually add time to your project. The Job Timer Clock will only display the time that was actually added by clicking "Start" and "Stop". More info can be found here with pictures and explanations.


In Job Timer 4 how do I create a new Database set for the new Year?

Some like to keep their Databases separate from year to year. I designed Job Timer to be able to use different databases. You don't have to use different databases for each year but just in case you do then you can copy ALL information to the new folder. Download the new databases here. Unzip this folder to your "Default Unzip folder" DO NOT unzip them into the new directory that you just created. Copy and paste "db1.mdb" into your new network directory. Open Job Timer and access your network settings, find your new network path and save your settings. If you would like more information on how this is done then please click here.


I have been sitting in front of the computer for 8 hours. How come the 6 hour reminder hasn't gone off yet?

Good question. If you have the 6 hour reminder checked then you are letting Job Timer know that you want to be informed when 6 hours of Computer usage has been met. (This has been determined by the US Government policies to be the amount of time that an individual should be sitting at a computer for any given day.)

This is what's happening, If you walk away from the computer for more than 2 mins this feature pauses then resumes when you come back to the computer. If you receive this 6 hour reminder window then you should remain off of the computer for the rest of the day.


 

History of Job Timer.

I work for myself, I draw in AutoCAD and I needed some way to keep track of my time and it had to be accurate.

When I first thought of this program in 1995 I turned to the internet to find a program that would suit me. Actually there were no programs like this. After this exhaustive search I decided to just create it myself. I never intended to sell it, I just needed some simple program that will keep track of my time. Some family members saw what I have done and told me that it was so cool that I really should sell it. After some consideration I did just that. Now we come this far and Job Timer has grown up to be a cool program that people really love. I have kept the original program intact and people can still download it and buy it even after this many years later. I wanted to keep the three versions separate because not everyone will want all the features that Job Timer 3 has to offer so therefore they can buy the cheaper one if they wish. Some will want the latest version because it's just plain cool.

There are three versions of the program, I first made Job Timer years ago and it was a big hit. As time went on and thinking of ways to improve Job Timer, I came up with Job Timer 2. This was even a bigger hit and still to this day it's the most popular program. Job Timer 3 was created a year later and just now coming out of infancy. I have had some customers requesting more features with Job Timer 2 so Job Timer 3 was born. Job Timer 2 couldn't be updated with all the features that was requested so I had to re-create the program, that's why there is another version. Job Timer 2 and Job Timer 3 may look the same but Job Timer 3 does a lot more than Job Timer 2. For some People Job Timer 2 will do just fine and has a proven track record. Issues that I have found in Job Timer 3, I have fixed in Job Timer 2. I use this program everyday and if I find a problem it gets fixed right away, if a customer finds a problem, then either it has already been fixed and I instruct them to update the program, or if this is a new incident then I will fix the problem right away and get a new update uploaded. This is why it is so important to check back for updates.

Updated 6-29-10:

I wrote the above statement back in 2003, now that it's 2020 I would like to thank everyone that has purchased Job Timer and for all of the Suggestions on improving the program.

Job Timer 4 and all of the features like Networking, Keeping track of the total by the second and the CPU Monitoring were direct results of comments and or suggestions from my customers that have purchased the program. I do listen to all suggestions and if they seem like a good idea I will implement them in to the program. If the suggestion proves helpful and people can't live without the feature then that makes Job Timer even more valuable and the person or persons will receive a percentage (royalty) check for their efforts. Even though I'm the one that coded the program, I can't take all of the credit for Job Timer 4 since it was more of a community effort.

Thank you Job Timer Community.

 

 

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