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StopWatch Plus Questions
INSTALL ISSUES: StopWatch Plus Master DMG File Mounting Problems
INSTALL ISSUES (.NET) : The Installer is trying to install .NET but it is already installed.
INSTALL ISSUES (.NET) : The Installer is trying to install .NET but it won't install.
SUBMIT DOESN'T WORK: StopWatch Plus Auth Code Submit Issues
UNLOCK PROBLEMS: Do I have to enter the Auth Code everytime I start StopWatch Plus?
DATA EXPORT/IMPORT: OS-X File Permission Issues: Allowing other applications to read & import your time sheet
FONT/DISPLAY ISSUES: Why do my StopWatch Plus fonts look different from the screen images on the StopWatch Plus web page?
DISPLAY ISSUES: My StopWatch Plus windows look strange and are unreadable. (Windows)
REPORTS: Can I subtotal time on the time sheet for a specific job?
EXPORTING TIME: Can I use my time sheet data in other applications?
LAUNCH PROBLEMS: StopWatch Plus won't load
CLEARING A JOB: How do I clear out a job's time & timer after it is finished?
READ ERROR (Windows): I got a launch error saying "Encountered an error while reading from time sheet. Not enough columns in record"
Do I have to enter the Auth Code everytime I start StopWatch Plus?
No. You should only have to enter your Authorization Code once after installing/reinstalling the software. If you are asked to enter your unlock code every time you start there are a couple of reasons it might need you to enter it again.
Most of the time we hear about this it is because the user is launching the application from the SWP disk image. The disk image is the drive icon that appears on your desktop after you double click on the .DMG file. The application must be moved outside that disk image to your applications folder on your hard drive. Otherwise you will have to mount the DMG and unlock it every time you open it. Here are the step-by-step instructions again:
*Copy the STOPWATCH_PLUS.dmg file to the machine you wish to install it on
*Double click the DMG file
*Open the new StopWatch Disk Drive Icon that now appears on your desktop
*Drag the SWP application outside the DMG Folder to the folder of your choice on your hard drive
*Start the application by double clicking on it
*The registration window will appear and provide you with a unique Machine ID
*Copy the Auth Code from our email into the Auth Code field in the StopWatch Registration window and click Authorize
*StopWatch will now load
*Please drag the installation drive folder to the trash and empty it
2. If everything above is correct then is the application being run from the computer's internal Master Boot/Start Up drive or from an external drive or from a network drive/Server? It needs to be installed on your built in internal drive.
3. The last thing to check is a permissions problem. Quit SWP and then single click on the application and choose "Get Info" The OS will show you the current permission settings. If you don't have write privileges, it'll happily let you authorize, but it can't save that to disk. So make sure that "write" is selected. This can easily happen if you copy the software from another user's machine to your machine. If you are unable to correct the permissions issue then make sure to delete it and reinstall from the original master file (.DMG File) that came with your order.
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StopWatch Plus Master DMG File Mounting Problems
A DMG file is the new OS-X Native file compression which uses the OS-X DiskCopy application located in the Applications/Utilities Folder of your boot drive. You can always open DiskCopy and then drag the file on top of the DiskCopy Window. If that still doesn't work then there are a couple other possibilities:
1. It's "really" mounted but you're not seeing it. If this is thecase, by popping open a new Finder window, and clicking Computer you should see the SW+ disk mounted. (Try this first.)
2. The Disk Copy mounting process has somehow got confused, and ithas a reference to a mount that's not there. It may have created a new volume for the new mount with a "1" after the title, "StopWatch1". If this is the problem, restarting should do the trick. Restart, then follow the SW+ install instructions again
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StopWatch Plus Auth Code Submit Issues
StopWatch Plus tries to automatically use your default email reader to send the unlock registration information. If you experience problems submitting your StopWatch Plus registration be sure to inform OS-X which email application you want as your default reader. To update this setting follow these steps:
Jaguar or earlier
Double click the System Preferences Icon from the OS-X Dock
Open the Internet Icon under the Internet/Network Section
Select the Email Tab at from the top row of tabs
Click the down arrow next to the "Default Email Reader" field
Select the email application of your choice from the list
Panther:
Open OS-X Mail
Choose Preferences under the Mail Menu
Choose General Preferences Panel
Choose your default mail application
Close the Preferences
If you checked all the above and it still is not sending the email then just paste the Machine ID from the StopWatch Plus Registration Window along with your company name in an email message addressed to: support@designsoft.com
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OS-X File Permission Issues: Allowing other applications to read & import your time sheet
Please note that OS-X enforces many new file access restrictions that were never there in previous Mac OS versions. If you desire to share time sheet data with other applications, please make sure that you DO NOT have your time sheet write protected. This setting is found under the StopWatch Plus Preferences Menu. If it is write protected please UNCHECK the "Write Protect My Time Sheet" box which will make sure that it is NOT write protected.
Just as important, please also be sure to save the time sheet file in your personal PUBLIC folder so it can share the data with other machines, software, and non-OS-X Native applications on the same machine. You can control where the file is saved as well as the name from the StopWatch Plus Preferences Menu Window.
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Why do my StopWatch Plus fonts look different from the screen images on the StopWatch Plus web page?
StopWatch Plus uses the system dfonts; Lucida Grande and Times. The location of these dfont files should be in the System/Library/Fonts folder of your OS-X drive.
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My StopWatch Plus windows look strange and are unreadable. (Windows)
The current version of StopWatch Plus supports the normal 96 DPI screen resolution. If you change the Display Control Panel's Settings/Advanced tab to 120 DPI, it may make the software's windows unreadable or unusable. To switch it back to the normal setting:
1. Open your Control Panel list from the Windows Start/Settings menu
2. Open the Display Control Panel
3. Click the Settings Tab
4. Click the General Tab
5. Choose 96 DPI-Normal from the drop down menu
6. You may wish to test this before applying it permanently
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Can I subtotal time on the time sheet for a specific job?
Yes! To total the time for a certain job follow these steps:
1. Click on the Job Number Title Header to sort your time sheet by job
2. Highlight the first and last entries for the job
3. The Duration and Entry Count Fields at the bottom of the time sheet will now show the total for just the highlighted entries. You can also print this list while the entries are highlighted.
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Can I use my time sheet data in other applications?
You sure can. StopWatch time sheets can be red directly by either DesignSoft Creative Billing or DesignSoft Time Sheet Manager and it can be read by many third party applications as well.
Since the time sheet file is saved as a generic tab delimited text file it can also be read, as is, by spreadsheet, database, and word processing applications with no data conversion at all. (just make sure to tell your third party app that you want to open a text file.) If you wish to do selective exporting (like all the time for just a certain job) then we suggest Time Sheet Manager which can merge all your time sheets together and then export just the specific data you need to send to your third party application.
We are often asked if it can be read by many popular third party accounting applications. We have no information of any accounting applications that can import time from text file. But it is worth a check with your applications developer to see if it can.
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LAUNCH PROBLEMS: StopWatch Plus won't load
StopWatch Plus is built on Mac-OS-X Java and Windows .NET. In both cases if the core is not installed on your computer the application can not run. A simple reinstall of Mac OS-X on your computer should also reinstall Java. If that does not work check the Apple web site for the Java download. The StopWatch Plus Installer for Windows checks and tries to install .NET for you if it is missing. If this does not work then select Update from Windows XP/Win2k Start Menu.
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CLEARING A JOB: How do I clear out a job's time & timer after it is finished?
If you use StopWatch Plus along with DesignSoft Time Sheet Manager or Creative Billing your time sheet data is automatically removed for you as it imports your time. If not make sure to select Clear Time Sheet when you import your time. When using StopWatch Plus as a stand alone solution you can remove the job data as follows:
Time Sheet:
1. Click on the job number header on the time sheet to sort the time by job.
2. Highlight the entries for the particular job.
3. Click the Delete Entries Button on the bottom of the Time Sheet Window.
Timers:
Option 1. Rename the timer with a new job number by clicking on the timer name in the Timer Drawer
Option 2. Delete the Timer by highlighting it and pressing the Delete Key
Drop Down Menus:
1. Choose Manage Bill Codes under the StopWatch Plus Menu
2. Highlight the job number you wish to delete and press the Delete
Selected Button.
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READ ERROR (Windows): I got a launch error saying "Encountered an error while reading from time sheet. Not enough columns in record"
This can happen if a time sheet file becomes corrupted or if you edit the file in a third party application. If you can remember where you saved your time sheet please rename it. If you never set or changed the time sheet filename and/or location preference then check the default location and rename it:
C:\Documents and Settings\$WINDOWS_USERNAME$\Application Data\DesignSoft StopWatch Plus\
Once done start the software again and it should run correctly.
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INSTALL ISSUES (.NET) : The Installer is trying to install .NET but it is already installed.
If the Installer is not able to see .NET on your machine it may try to install it again. In that case cancel Setup and contact support via email for a different installer.
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INSTALL ISSUES (.NET) : The Installer is trying to install .NET but it won't install.
The StopWatch Plus Installer checks your machine to see if it can find .NET present. If not it will request a Microsoft .NET installer for you. This can take a VERY long time. This is normal. It can take 15 - 30 minutes in some cases due to network configuration or if your machine has many active apps running.
There can also be permission issues that restrict .NET installation. In that case the Installer will not be able to finish. Please use the Windows Update Feature found on your Windows Start Menu. After the Windows Update scan is complete choose the .NET option and let Windows Update install it for you. Restart your machine and try the StopWatch Plus Installer again.
If all else fails you can visit Microsoft's .NET site and download and install .NET manually.
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