TinyClock

[Features] [Download] [How to Install] [How to Uninstall] [User feedback] [Version History] [Planned changes] [Contact] [Licence] [Warranty] [Donate to Charity]

TinyClock is (surprise!) a tiny clock. It was written because the standard taskbar clock is unreadable on a narrow vertical taskbar.
Other clock utilities I found took up too much screen space, and many were huge programs.

Features:

Use TinyClock as a floating window clock and/or a taskbar-icon
Choose 12/24 hour time, font & colours, optional seconds display
TinyClock has a tiny screen footprint and tiny program size
TinyClock remembers its last position (per user)
TinyClock floats above other windows, or can be hidden as a taskbar icon.
TinyClock reacts intelligently to changes in display resolution and taskbar position
Secure version available (no date/time change or taskbar icon menu options)

Download:

Download normal version as .EXE (23 Kbyte)
Download secure version (no date/time change or taskbar icon menu options) as .EXE (23 Kbyte)
Download source as .zip (19 Kbyte)

How to Install:

Move the file tinyclock.exe to the folder where you want to keep it, e.g. to "c:\program files" and put a shortcut to the .EXE file in your startup-programs folder or in your start-menu folder
Run it! You can drag the clock around with the left mouse-button, or right-click on the clock to hide it or change 12/24 hour mode. Moving the mouse over the clock shows the date as a tooltip.
By default, different settings are kept for each login-name used on the computer. If you want to force all login-names to have the same TinyClock settings then:
- Right-click on the TinyClock startup-shortcut
- Select the 'shortcut' tab in the shortcut properties
- Add the characters '--common-profile' to the 'target' edit box. It should end up reading something like:
  c:\some\bunch\of\directories\tinyclock.exe --common-profile
  or
  "c:\some\path with spaces\tinyclock.exe" --common-profile

How to Uninstall:

Just delete tinyclock.exe, tinyclock.ini and the shortcut to the .EXE if you created one -- TinyClock does not create registry entries or menu shortcuts.
On most versions of Windows you can do the following:
- Click the 'Start' button and select 'Find' / 'Files or Folders' from the menu
- Select 'My Computer' drive in the box labelled 'Look in'
- Type in 'tinyclock' in the box labelled 'Named'
- Click 'Find Now'. The computer will search for a while and finally display all the files named 'tinyclock'. You can delete them with a right-button click and selecting 'Delete'.

User feedback:

After wading through clocks with functions I didn't need or care to have, it was nice to find your utility. It required no install. It didn't mess up my registry. It didn't copy any files into my windows directory. It was easy to use. Wow, great things do come in tiny packages.
-- Tyrone Yearwood August 1999
I decided today that the only real reason I keep my taskbar showing is to see the time. So I went looking for something exactly like TinyClock. Small, unobtrusive, doesn't muck with the registry or anything else, stays on top, can be positioned, remembers its position, shows the date as a tooltip -- it's perfect! Thanks for making this little utility available!
-- Steve Crooks October 2001
Thank you very much for tinyclock, I tried another tiny clock that follows your cursor around but I could not get it to work properly, I kept messing with it for about two days and finally gave up, yours, however, was so easy to install, all I did was click on the icon and there it was, I was waiting for another dialog box asking where I wanted to install it --bla--bla--but I was done. thank you very much.
-- Daniel September 2004
TinyClock appears as a green app on Miles Wolbe's TinyApps.Org pages.

Version History:

v1.0 - March 1999 - Initial release
v1.1 - 4 Apr 1999 - Fixed over-assertive topmost window bug
v1.2 - 18 April 1999 - TinyClock now remembers its last position (per user) and reacts intelligently to changes in display resolution and taskbar position
v1.3 - 5 Jun 1999 - 12/24 hour setting now saved as well
v1.4 - 8 Oct 2000 - Clock position bounded by screen area rather than workspace area when restarting. Source code converted from C++ to C.
Download .EXE tinyclock14.exe (32 Kbyte) & source tinyclock14-src.zip (14 Kbyte).
v1.5 - 19 Apr 2002 - Added optional seconds display, font & colour selection, set date/time. Changed compilers from cygwin to LCC. Introduced secure version (Jun 2002).
Download .EXEs tinyclock15.exe (20 Kbyte) & tinyclock15-secure.exe (19 Kbyte) ; source tinyclock15-src.zip (16 Kbyte).
v1.6 - 29 Jan 2003 - Added background transparency for true-type fonts, can select long/short date format for clock/tooltip, TinyClock is now visible to other apps via window title, --common-profile option forces shared settings.
Download .EXEs tinyclock16.exe (23 Kbyte) & tinyclock16-secure.exe (23 Kbyte) ; source tinyclock16-src.zip (19 Kbyte).

Planned changes:

TinyClock has a problem with multiple monitors where a secondary screen is located above or to the left of the primary screen. MS Windows uses negative coordinates to locate widows those secondary screens, while TinyClock uses negative coordinates to indicate an offset from the right/bottom edges of the primary screen. I'll have to delve into the more recent Windows API to address this problem. [Sep 2004]
I've received some suggestions enhancements, which I'm unlikely to pursue because of implementation problems or because I think it would needlessly complicate an otherwise fairly simple user interface. These include:
- Adding multiple clocks to show the time in different time zones.
- Adding a stopwatch facility.

Contact:

Comments, suggestions, bug reports: via WWW form or email to tinyclock@f2.org

Licence:

Freeware: You may freely use TinyClock and its source code. You may freely distribute TinyClock and its source code provided (a) no charge is made for TinyClock and (b) no files in the distribution are modified.

Warranty:

None: TinyClock is supplied "as-is". Use TinyClock at your own risk. By using TinyClock you agree to hold harmless the developer, Fred Curtis, against damages arising out of that use.

Donate to Charity

TinyClock is freeware, and the author (having a paying job) requires no financial support. If you feel compelled to show appreciation then please donate to charities such as Medcins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) or Amnesty International which work to reduce human misery.

	This page last changed: 2 Sep 2004
[Validate HTML]

Donate free
food & land

Feedback by email
or Web form