Contents

How to Access the Setup Screens

Main Setup Screen

Chime Setup Screen

Alarm Setup Screen

Alarm Event Screen

Troubleshooting


Saving Generated MIDI Files

Normally the MIDI files generated are created in your "TEMP" directory and then deleted after they are played.  In the event that you want to save one of these files (for example, to use the MIDI chimes with another application), use this procedure to save the file.

Using the chimes setup screen, use the controls and test buttons to get the chimes the way you want them to sound in the saved file.

Next, hold down the "Ctrl" key and mouse click on one of the test buttons.  A "MIDI File Save As" screen will appear.  Enter the name under which you wish to save the MIDI file.  Press OK; the file will be created and the chimes will play as with a normal test.

The MIDI driver will keep the file open for about five seconds after the last note plays.  This is done to keep long sustaining instruments from getting clipped.  So you'll need to wait this extra five seconds or so before you can open the file in another application.  If you cannot wait that long, press the "Stop Sound" button and the file will be closed immediately.

The MIDI channels used in the saved file corresponds to those configured in the Windows MIDI Mapper.  If the mapper is setup for a basic synthesizer, channels 13-15 are eligible for use; for an extended synthesizer, channels 1-9 are eligible for use.  The number of actual channels used depends on the chord selected, and is never more than four.  The percussion channels (10 and 16) will not be used even if available.


Auto-Repeat Last Test

Once a test has been selected (using any of the four "Test" push buttons on the right of the setup screen), it will repeat anytime a change is made on the left side of the setup screen.  This facilitates immediately previewing any changes.

To stop the Auto-Repeat, press the "Stop Sound" button.

In the event that the clock crosses a quarter hour boundary while the Chime Setup screen is showing, the chimes will sound provided they do not interrupt any test in progress.


How to Access the Setup Screens

Using the mouse: Position the mouse over the clock window.  Notice the cursor changes to a square box.  To access the main setup screen, press the left button.  Alternately, to go directly to the alarm setup screen, press the right button.

Using the keyboard: Using the task manager (or Alt+Tab keystroke) make the clock the foreground task.  Then, to access the main setup screen, press the letter S.  Alternately, to go directly to the alarm setup screen, press the letter A.


Main Setup Screen

Clock Features

Selection Boxes

Display Order

Time Format

Date Format

Clock Position

Text Mode

Push Buttons

OK

Setup Font & Color

Setup Chimes

Setup Alarms

Shutdown Clock

About

Cancel


Alarm Setup Screen

Alarm Features

Quickest Way to Set an Alarm

Selection Boxes

Select Alarm to be Set or Cleared

Alarm Frequency

Alarm Setting Fields

Hour

Minute

AM

PM

Month

Day

Year

Or in ## Minutes

Reminder

Auto-flush any pending alarms at startup

Push Buttons

OK

Add Another Alarm

Clear This Alarm

Set Wave File

Test Wave File

Cancel


Chime Setup Screen

Chime Features

Chimes Enabled On/Off Switch

Selection Boxes

Tune

Chord

Voice

Sort Voices Numerically

Mute Chimes During Nighttime Hours

Mute Starting Time

Mute Ending Time

Volume Scroll Bar

Speed Scroll Bar

Pitch Scroll Bar

Push Buttons

OK

Test 1/4 Hour

Test 1/2 Hour

Test 3/4 Hour

Test Top of Hour

Stop Sound

Cancel

Auto-Repeat Last Test

Saving Generated MIDI Files


Alarm Event Screen

Push Buttons

OK

Flush All Remaining Alarms (## Follow)

## Minute Snooze

Adjust Snooze Time Scroll Bar


Clock Features

•	Transparent background when covering wall paper; wall paper shows through between digits.

•	Optional shadow under clock text, giving a raised text effect.

•	Optional silk-screen clock text, maximizing visible wallpaper.

•	Uses any TrueType® font installed on your system.  Decorative fonts may be used, providing a unique clock display.

•	Optional International date/time format (specified in the International applet of the Windows Control Panel).  Month and weekday display in one of eleven languages as selected in the Control Panel.

•	User selectable display format, including 12 and 24 hour time formats.

•	Alarm facility including perpetual and one-time alarms.  "Wave" audio files can be associated with alarm events.

•	Quarter-hour chimes (provided MIDI hardware and drivers are installed).


Display Order

This selection box selects the order (top to bottom) of the information displayed.  Date and weekday are optional.


Time Format

Select 12 hour format (with or without AM/PM), 24 hour format, or international format.

International format displays according to settings in the "International" applet of the Windows Control Panel.  If your locale uses a time separator other than a colon, the International format should be used.


Date Format

Select from one of the six sample formats shown, or two international formats.

International format (short and long) displays according to settings in the "International" applet of the Windows Control Panel.  If using the long format, the weekday will not be displayed redundantly if the Display Order (top selection box) also specifies weekday.


Clock Position

Select from one of six positions, top/bottom, left/center/right.


Text Mode

Opaque with Shadow

The text consists of solid color (set on the Setup Font & Color screen) with a shadow underneath, giving the text a floating raised effect.

Opaque (no Shadow)

The text consists of solid color (set on the Setup Font & Color screen).

Silk-Screen

The text consists of 50% of the color set on the Setup Font & Color screen and 50% wallpaper.  Although this provides for a maximum visibility of wallpaper and is a distinctive effect, it is also the most difficult to set.  After selecting Silk-Screen, use the "Setup Font & Color" screen to adjust the color for good contrast against your wallpaper.

When using a wallpaper manager that changes wallpaper a regular intervals or using wallpaper with much contrast, one of the opaque text modes will achieve better results.  Also, thin-lined fonts may have a pitted appearance when silk-screened; silk-screening works best with bold, bulky fonts.  Note also the silk-screening may not work well with 16-color dithered wallpapers, since the left/right shifting of the clock may result in the text color changing, or disappearing altogether.


OK

Pressing OK saves any changes made on the Main Setup screen.


Setup Font & Color

Pressing this button brings up a standard font selection box.  The selection box will list the TrueType® fonts installed on your system.

The point size selected applies to the time digits.  The date, weekday, and AM/PM (if present) use one-half the selected point size.

The list of fonts is not restricted to "ANSI-only" fonts.  This was done so that decorative fonts that do not have the full ANSI character set will still be included in the list.  This also means that you can select symbol fonts, even though the display might not be all that meaningful.


Setup Chimes

Press this button to display the Chime Setup Screen.


Setup Alarms

Press this button to display the Alarm Setup Screen.


Shutdown Clock

Press this button to shutdown the clock.

Alternately you may use the Task Manager or Alt+Tab keystroke to make the clock the foreground application, then press Alt+F4 to shutdown the clock.


About

Pressing this button displays copyright and disclaimer information.


Cancel

Pressing Cancel abandons any changes made on the Main Setup screen.  Changes made on subordinate setup screens (Font, Color, Chimes, Alarms) are not undone by pressing this button.


Alarm Features

•	Up to 30 alarms may be set.

•	Both perpetual (e.g. Daily, every Wednesday, etc.) and one-time alarms can be set.

•	Alarm date (month, day and year) are set in the same order as the International short date format (as specified in the "International" applet of the Windows Control Panel).

•	Quick-Set feature to set a count-down timer alarm (e.g. "in 5 minutes").

•	Snooze alarm can be invoked at the time of an alarm.  Snooze time can be varied from 1 to 120 minutes.

•	Alarms missed (while Windows was not running) are optionally displayed at Windows startup.  A count of pending alarms is shown (if more than one) and the alarms can be flushed, if desired.  Alternately, the "missed alarms" feature can be defeated altogether with a check-box setting on the alarm setup screen.

•	Wave audio files can be associated with alarms, if desired.


Quickest Way to Set an Alarm

When you enter the Alarm Setup screen, the program is in "Add an Alarm" mode (unless all alarm slots are in use).

To set a count-down alarm (for example, "in 5 minutes"), tab to the "or in ## minutes" field and enter a number.  As soon as you tab out the field the alarm is set.

To set an alarm at a specific time (e.g. 10:00PM), tab to the "Setting" field (actually, the screen starts up tabbed to this field), enter the hour, tab, and enter the minutes.  As soon as you tab out the minutes field, the alarm is set.  The program will assume a date within the next 12 hours when the clock is in 12 hour mode, or a date within the next 24 hours if the clock is in 24 hour mode.  You can override the date, if necessary.

It is not necessary to associate a reminder or wave file with an alarm.

To add another alarm, press the "Add Another Alarm" button.


Select Alarm to be Set or Cleared

This box contains a list of set alarms, sorted first by time, then by day of the week.  The top slot will show "New Alarm" provided there is still a vacant slot.

The alarm times are shown in the same format (12 or 24 hour) as the main clock display.


Alarm Frequency
Alarm Frequency Selection Box

When entering an alarm, the box is initially set to "Specific Time/Date" indicating that a one-time alarm will be set.  Drop down the box and select one of the other possibilities to set a perpetual alarm.

A "Specific Time/Date" alarm is erased after it is acknowledged; the slot is then available for reuse.  A perpetual alarm remains set, ready for the next day at which it should occur.


Hour

If you have the clock configured in 12 hour mode (on the Main Setup screen) enter a number from 1 to 12.  If the clock is in 24 hour mode, enter a number from 0 to 23.


Minute

Enter a number from 0 to 59.


AM

The computer will normally select an AM/PM that will occur in the next 12 hours.  Press AM or PM to override its assumption.


PM

The computer will normally select an AM/PM that will occur in the next 12 hours.  Press AM or PM to override its assumption.


Month

Enter a number from 1 to 12.


Day

Enter a number from 1 to 31.  The computer will check for months with fewer than 31 days and wrap forward if necessary (for example April 31 wraps forward to May 1), however the data entry fields will not get wrapped until you've had an opportunity to specify the year.


Year

Enter a number from 1994 to 2037.


Or in ## Minutes

Use this field to set a count-down alarm.  For example, to set an alarm to sound in 20 minutes, enter 20 and tab out of the field.  The time and date will be computed and filled into the appropriate fields.


Reminder

Enter a text reminder, up to 63 characters.  Use of a reminder is optional.


Auto-flush any pending alarms at startup

If X-marked, any alarms missed (while Windows was not running) will not be displayed when the clock is started.


OK

Pressing OK saves all alarm settings changed since the Alarm Setup screen was entered.


Add Another Alarm

After adding one alarm, pressing this button clears the entry fields so that another alarm may be entered.  The cursor positions at the "hours" field.

Pressing this button has the same effect as selecting "New Alarm" from the alarm selection box.

The button is grayed if (1) the selection box is already positioned to "New Alarm", (2) an alarm is being entered but not all fields are complete, or (3) no more alarms slots are available.


Clear This Alarm

The currently showing alarm is erased.

The button is grayed if the alarm selection box is positioned at "New Alarm".


Set Wave File

Press this button to associate a wave audio file with the current alarm.  A standard file selection box will appear.  Position to a different directory (if needed) and pick a wave file.

Associating a wave file is optional.  If no wave file is chosen, the default is to play the "Default Beep" as set in the Windows Control Panel.  If you have no sound card, the default sound is the short "bip" from the PC's internal speaker.

The button is grayed if no wave audio driver is detected on your system.


Test Wave File

Press this button to play the wave audio file that has been associated with the alarm.

The button is grayed if no wave file has been associated.


Cancel

Pressing Cancel abandons all alarm settings changed since the Alarm Setup screen was entered.

Note that any alarms that sound while the Alarm Setup screen is showing result in their settings being written directly to the WPCLOCK.INI file.  As such, those alarms cannot be undone with a cancel.


Chime Features

•	Choice of the three tunes commonly available on grandfather and mantle clocks: Westminster, St. Michael, and Whittington.

•	Choice of melody-only or one of seven chord arrangements.

•	Choice of any of the 128 General MIDI patch (voice) assignments.

•	Optional mute of chimes during nighttime hours for those who leave their PC's running continuously.

•	Variable volume (provided the sound card supports MIDI note velocity).  Volume settings do not interfere with master volume settings for the sound card.

•	Variable speed.

•	Tune transposition (pitch) over a four octave range.

•	An "Auto-Repeat Last Test" facility that repeats that last tune after each adjustment is made on the setup screen.

•	Facility to save the generated MIDI files for use with other applications.


Chimes Enabled On/Off Switch

Uncheck this box to temporarily (or permanently) disable the chimes.

Changing any options (tune, chord, volume, etc.) on the setup screen will automatically turn this switch back on.


Tune

Select from Westminster, St. Michael, and Whittington.  These are the tunes commonly available on grandfather and mantle clocks.

Westminster is the most familiar.  St. Michael and Whittington sound similar and are identical at the first quarter-hour.


Chord

Select "Melody Only" or one of seven chords.  The chord selections play in stereo, provided the sound card and its driver support stereo.

These are the notes played for each chord (based upon a C3 in the melody):

Melody Only

C3

Major Root

C3 E3 G3

Minor Root

C3 D#3 G3

Major 1st Inversion

E3 G3 C4

Minor 1st Inversion

D#3 G3 C4

Major 2nd Inversion

G3 C4 E4

Minor 2nd Inversion

G3 C4 D#4

Minor Two Octave

D#2 C3 G3 C4


Voice

Select any of the 128 General MIDI patch (voice) assignments.  All 128 voices are included for completeness, even those that aren't musical (e.g. helicopter, applause, seashore).  Exactly how each voice sounds depends on how your sound card is designed.  Try 'em all and find those you like.

Normally the voices are listed alphabetically.  A check box immediately below the selection list may be use to reorder the list by numerical patch number (1 to 128).  Those familiar with MIDI keyboards will recognize these numbers.


Sort Voices Numerically

This check box controls the sort order (alphabetical versus numerical) of the voices in the selection box directly above it.


Volume Scroll Bar

Move the slider to adjust the volume.  This sets the "MIDI note velocity" and does not interfere with your sound card's master volume setting.

Depending on your sound board's implementation, not all voices may respond to volume changes.  If the scroll bar seems ineffective, try another voice to see if the volume can be lowered.


Speed Scroll Bar

Varies the speed of the music.  Adjust to personal taste.


Pitch Scroll Bar

Varies the music over a four octave range.  Adjust to personal taste.


OK

Pressing OK saves any changes made on the Chime Setup screen.


Test 1/4 Hour

Plays the tune for 15 minutes past the hour.


Test 1/2 Hour

Plays the tune for half-past the hour.


Test 3/4 Hour

Plays the tune for 45 minutes past the hour.


Test Top of Hour

Plays the tune for the top of the hour along with hour strike.  The hour strike will correspond to the time hour actually showing; 1 to 12 strikes if the clock is in 12 hour mode, or 0 to 23 strikes if the clock is in 24 hour mode.


Stop Sound

Immediately halts the chimes, regardless of whether they originate from a test request or from the clock itself.  Also exits "Auto-Repeat Last Test" mode.


Cancel

Pressing Cancel abandons any changes made on the Chime Setup screen.


OK

Pressing OK acknowledges receipt of the alarm.  If the alarm was for a specific date and time, the alarm is erased.  Perpetual alarms (e.g. Daily, Wednesday's, etc.) are acknowledged but are not erased.


Flush All Remaining Alarms (## Follow)

This button appears only if additional alarms are pending following the one showing on the screen.  Pressing this button clears all remaining alarms, erasing snooze and one-time alarms.  Perpetual alarms are reset until the next day on which they should occur.


## Minute Snooze

Press the button to retain the alarm and re-sound it in the specified number of minutes.  If a snooze time different than the one shown is desired, use the scroll bar to the right to adjust the snooze time before pressing the button.


Adjust Snooze Time Scroll Bar

Use this scroll bar to adjust the snooze time from 1 to 120 minutes.  Snooze is invoked by pressing the push button to the left of the scroll bar.


Troubleshooting

Problems with Third Party Wallpaper Managers

Problems with Alarms not Sounding


Problems with Third Party Wallpaper Managers

Some wallpaper managers (i.e. automated wallpaper changers) do not fully emulate the same action that the Windows Control Panel uses to change wallpaper.

If the wallpaper behind the clock does not change AT ALL, try adding a "/C" command line switch when starting up the clock.  For example, if you've placed WPCLOCK.EXE in a directory called C:\WPCLOCK, alter the command line under File/Properties in the program manager as in this example:

C:\WPCLOCK\WPCLOCK.EXE  /C

Then shutdown and restart the clock.  Leave the /C switch in only if it fixes the problem, since the /C switch results in the clock blinking more often and uses more machine resources.


Problems with Alarms not Sounding

Screen Savers: The alarm event screen cannot interrupt most screen savers, particularly those that are password protected. However, the wave file associated with the alarm will play provided neither the screen saver nor any other task is using the wave device.  Solution: use a distinctive wave file for important alarms or use the Windows default "Blank Screen" screen saver.

Full Screen DOS Applications: If alarms fail to sound while a DOS application is running full screen, make sure that the DOS application is not running in a manner that blocks Windows applications from running.  Specifically, a DOS box running in any of the following three ways will block Windows applications from running: (1) while Windows is running in "Standard" mode (e.g. on a 286 or a machine with less than 2MB of memory), (2) with a PIF that specifies exclusive mode, and (3) running Windows with AllVMsExclusive=1 in the SYSTEM.INI file.  Solution: Use 386 enhanced mode, do not specify exclusive mode in any PIF file, and do no specify AllVMsExclusive=1 in the SYSTEM.INI file.


Font Selection Screen

Font Selection Box

Select from any of the TrueType® fonts listed.  Since some decorative fonts do not include the full ANSI character set, all fonts will be listed, even those that contain only symbols.  After selecting a font, press the Apply button and view the clock display on the screen to be sure that all letters, digits, and the colon in the clock are showing.

Font Style Selection Box

Select from any of the stroke weights shown.

Size Selection Box

Select from 18 to 72 points.  To use a point size not listed, it may be manually typed in the box at the top of the list.  The point size applies to the clock digits.  The date, weekday, and AM/PM use one-half the selected point size.  The minimum is bound at 18-point since smaller sizes usually yield an unreadable display.

Effects Selection Box

Generally, you will wish to leave these both un-checked.

Color Selection Box

Select from any of the stock colors listed.  When white is selected, nothing will appear in the Sample box, but you can still press the Apply button and preview the font on the clock display.

Apply Push Button

Pressing this push button previews how the font will actually look on the clock display.  Pressing the OK button does the same, and exits the Font selection screen as well.


Wave File Selection Screen

File Name Selection List

Select from one of the listed wave files.  If no files are listed, you will need to move to a directory that contains wave files.

Directory Selection List

Select a directory containing wave files.

Type Selection List

".WAV" is the only allowable file extension.

Drive Selection List

Select a drive letter containing wave files.


MIDI File Save Screen

File Name Selection List

Normally, you will want to type a new file name in the box.  ".MID" is the default extension.

Directory Selection List

Select the directory where you wish to save the file.

Type Selection List

".MID" is the only allowable file extension.

Drive Selection List

Select the drive letter where you wish to save the file.


Mute Chimes During Nighttime Hours

X-mark this box to have the chimes shutoff during selected nighttime hours.  After marking this checkbox, select the starting and ending times of the mute period using the selection boxes immediately below.

Changing the mute starting or ending times will automatically X-mark this box.


Mute Starting Time

Use this selection box to mark the start of the mute period.  It is perfectly acceptable (and logical) for the starting time to be later than the ending time; doing so specifies a period that wraps across midnight.  The mute period is effective only if the checkbox immediately above is X-marked.

Example: If the mute starting time is 11PM, the last chime of the evening will be at 10:45PM.

If the clock is configured for 24-hour format, the starting and ending times in the selection lists are also in 24-hour format.


Mute Ending Time

Use this selection box to mark the end of the mute period, in other words, the time at which the chimes should restart.

Example: if the mute ending time is 7AM, the chimes will sound at 7AM.  The last muted chime is 6:45AM.