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How It Works

Notepad

Windows Notepad will generate a timestamp when the F5 function key is pressed.

If the first four characters of a text file are “.LOG”, Notepad will place the time stamp as a new record at the end of the file.

It follows that if we place a shortcut to such a text file on the QuickLaunch bar, a single click will suffice to start the meter running.

This really works! My telephone rings, I click the QuickLaunch button before I pick up the ‘phone. If the ‘phone call (or knock at the door, or idle thought) does not warrant recording a time interval, I close the file without saving it. Otherwise at the end of the telephone call I record a line of text describing the client and close the file saving my changes.

The application BillT.DOT will make use of the data in these files to provide a summary of time spent on your projects.

BillData.BAT

The BillData.bat batch file obtains the month and year from the system clock and creates or launches a file of monthly logging data. Creation of the file includes the “.LOG” string, so you never have to worry about doing that.

I use a separate file for each month, for while later versions of NotePad permit files longer than 64 KB, the timestamp function does not. Sigh!

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