1. System Requirements

Operating System
TimeCore Pro is designed to run on systems using the Microsoft Windows Operating System and has been tested successfully on Windows 95**, 98, NT4**, 2000, and XP.

** Out-of-Date Common Controls
TimeCore requires the latest versions of the Windows common controls which are usually installed by having the latest version of Internet Explorer. New installations of older versions of Windows 95 appear to have an earlier version of these controls which affect the Transfer and Rate Table dialogs in TimeCore. To resolve, please install the latest version of Internet Explorer or if you are not an IE fan you can download just the controls by searching for 50comupd.exe on Microsoft's web site.

** XML Component
TimeCore Pro uses a third-party component for the XML export which older versions of Windows 95 may be unable to register during installation. This will produce an error during installation which you can safely ignore if the XML export is not essential since it does not affect the TimeCore Pro application itself.

Screen Resolution
The recommended minimum Screen Resolution is 800 x 600 pixels using 96 DPI font size. Please note that the TimeCore Pro interface may not display correctly when using DPI settings other than the normal 96 DPI or a factor of 25% thereof - eg. a DPI of 72 (75%), 120 (125%), 144 (150%) should display correctly. For more information on this please read the "Custom DPI settings affect TimeCore display" article in the online forums.

Colour Settings
To view TimeCore Pro at it's best we recommend High Color (16 Bit) or better.

Disk Space
After installation the disk space required to run TimeCore Pro is approximately 9 MB.

Recommended Tweaks
The windows fade out and slide menu effects that can be set in XP sure look pretty. However, if you want optimum response from your Windows applications, including TimeCore, you may wish to consider switching this "eye-candy" off.

2. Initial Settings

TimeCore Pro stores all your data in a single file - TCPRO.DAT - otherwise known as the DAT file. On running TimeCore Pro for the first time you will need to select an existing Pro DAT folder or specify a new folder in which to store the new DAT file. If creating a new DAT, you can also decide whether to to use an existing Solo (see DAT Template option below) or Pro DAT as a starting template rather than create an empty DAT from scratch.

DAT Folder
This dialog is used to create a new DAT or open an existing Pro DAT by specifying the DAT folder. If the folder already exists and is not empty then TimeCore will expect to find an existing Pro DAT file - TCPRO.DAT - to open. If the folder is empty or does not yet exist then TimeCore will create a new DAT file. If the DAT folder does not exist TimeCore will attempt to create it. Once TimeCore has successfully opened a DAT file, it memorizes the path and automatically opens it in future.

TimeCore always displays the path to the DAT folder in it's status bar so you always know where your data is being stored. Click on the status bar to open the folder in the Windows explorer.

The DAT folder is not set in stone, if you decide that the original location is not suitable then feel free to move it - if TimeCore is unable to find or access the last DAT folder to be used it will keep asking until a valid folder is specified.

If you select a valid, existing Pro DAT folder then TimeCore will open it on Select, otherwise if you are creating a new DAT file you will be asked for some initial settings..

DAT Template
This lets you create a new DAT based on an existing one. The default is 'Empty' but you can also select the location of an existing DAT, be it Solo or Pro, and TimeCore will use it as the starting point of the new DAT. If you are currently using TimeCore Solo, then the location of that DAT is automatically added to the template list to facilitate upgrading to Pro.

By selecting an existing Solo DAT as the starting template you can effectively upgrade it to the new Pro format whilst retaining all your existing data.

When using an existing DAT file as a template the original DAT is not affected - what happens is that the the original DAT is copied to the new DAT folder instead.

DAT Signature
A globally unique write-once ID derived from the license that is used to identify the source DAT file in exported data. For more information on the DAT Signature, please read "TimeCore Pro Licenses - Common Questions" in the online forum.

DAT Owner
The actual name of the person who owns the DAT. This will be displayed in the TimeCore status-bar. This can also be updated from the TimeCore Administration page.

3. Three Steps to Tracking Time

1. Pick a date using the Monthly Calendar (A). TimeCore always starts on the current date.
   
2. The periods of time, or Sessions, you have logged on that day are displayed in the Session List (B).
   
3. Use the Session Editor (C) to add, delete, modify, duplicate or move Sessions. Repeat as and when required. Simple as that!