NewDeal Hot Tip 1711

[Hot Tips for...] PIMs

Tracking Time with NewPlanner or Solitaire

Here are some ways to keep track of your time on a phone call, or your time online, or how long the kids can play Solitaire before taking turns.

Elapsed Time with Alarm using NewPlanner

  1. Start NewPlanner.
  2. Look at the current time.
  3. Set the Alarm in NewPlanner for the length of time you wish.

NewPlanner Timer Quick Tips

If you don't mind resetting it later, set the time to zero in Preferences to make it easy to set the alarm in NewPlanner.

If you have NewPlanner set for a 10-15 minute warning and you are trying to track a shorter period of time, the alarm may not sound at all if the warning period is longer than the scheduled event.

Use the Snooze feature to have the alarm repeat. It will go off about every 4.5 minutes

How to track elapsed time with Solitaire

  1. Start Solitaire.
  2. Shrink the window vertically to the maximum. Only a tiny slit of cards will be showing.
  3. Shrink the window horizontally so the Time display is in the lower right corner.
  4. Drag the Solitaire box to the lower right corner of the screen.
  5. Click on the left card stack to start the timer.
  6. Choose Re-deal in the Game menu to reset the timer or select Timed Game in the Options menu to clear and reset the timer.
  7. Once a card has been touched the timer will keep on counting: Seconds, Minutes, Hours...
  8. Minimize Solitaire and drag the Icon to the lower right corner of the screen so it will pop up over the icon when opened again. (Keep your work in one place.)

To play the timer copy of Solitaire while using the timer, Click the upper right corner button to maximize the application, press the box again to shrink it down to size. Press the Minimize button (left box in the upper right corner) to minimize the timer, but it makes more sense to start another copy of Solitaire so the timer is not interrupted if something serious is being tracked.

Remember: Re-dealing will stop the clock and reset the timer. So will Selecting Options, Timed Game, without going through Game, Redeal. The options menu can be pinned open and the timer reset in an instant by double-clicking on it.

It is also possible to slide the open timer window to the lower left corner, if you want to see both the NewPlanner clock and the elapsed time in the lower right hand corner. If the NewPlanner clock has already been placed in the lower left corner, select NewPlanner from the Express menu to make it appear in front of the Solitaire application. When other applications are minimized they may obscure the timer or clock unless the numbers are right along the bottom edge of the screen.

Hope you get some use from the "second hand" for your NewPlanner clock.


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Last Modified 6 Mar 1999