UG: Alarm (Rev #8)

This chapter describes version 2.86 (17-Jun-2012)

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Setting the date and time

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To set the date and time click Menu over the time display on the icon bar. In the resulting menu select Set clock… to bring up the Time and date window:

The date and time can be set manually or, if your computer is connected to the internet, automatically from an internet time server.

Setting date and time manually

To set the date and timemanually click the Set manually button at the top of the window. This enables the input fields just below the button. The first is for the date which is selected from the calendar displayed when the menu icon on the right is clicked. Use the arrows to move between the years and months, and then click on the desired day.

The time is set in a similar manner in the fields below using the arrows to alter the hours and minutes.

The new date and time apply to the entire system, not just to Alarm.

Setting date and time automatically

If the computer is connected to the internet a more suitable method of setting the date and time is to use a time server. One advantage of doing this is that you can specify how often your system will check and, if necessary correct, the time. Although your system will maintain the time fairly accurately it will probably drift, and this method ensures it is kept accurate.

You can either specify a time server whose address you know, or let the system select one for you. You can then specify how often the system is to check for accuracy.

Locality and daylight saving time

Ensure that Locality is chosen to suit your time zone. The menu icon displays the range of possibilties to chose from. The image above shows Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is being specified, which is correct for the UK.

The option Switch DST automatically ensures that the computer’s time is corrected at each clock change to and from Daylight Saving Time (known in the UK as BST or British Summer Time).

Finally click on Set to set the clock to the new date and time.

Setting an alarm

This section shows you how to set an alarm using the Set alarm dialogue box which is opened by clicking on the time display on the iconbar.

To set an alarm:

1. Set the date and time by clicking on the arrows each side of the date and time boxes. It is also possible to type the required date and time directly into the boxes — except for the month.
2. In the Message box, type the text that you want displayed when the alarm goes off.
3. Click on Save to save the alarm settings and set the alarm.

When an alarm is set the border of Alarm’s icon on the icon bar changes colour from blue to red and yellow:

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Urgent

You can mark an alarm as urgent by clicking on the Urgent box. It will then sound an audible alarm when it goes off, even if you have selected the Alarms are silent unless urgent option (see Configuring the Alarm choices).

Task alarm

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Working week

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Repeating alarm

You can set an alarm to go off more than once by switching the Repeating alarm option on. Doing this displays some extra options:

Choose whether you want the alarm to repeat at a set time (for example, every 19 days) or on a set day (for example, every third Monday of every second month).

Alter the repeat interval by clicking on the arrow icons and radio buttons in one of two ways:

1. Either every so many minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or years.
2. Or on the first, second, third, last, penultimate or third to last specified day of the week in the specified month.

(How do you specify the fourth Sunday in a month that might have four or five Sundays?)

To limit just the current alarm to the working week, click on the Working week box. To limit all your alarms to the working week by default, choose the Repeating alarms fit into a working week option (see Configuring the Alarm choices).

You can set more than one alarm by simply repeating the Set alarm procedure.

When an alarm goes off

When the alarm time is reached, a window similar to the one below appears on the screen:

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If it is not a repeating alarm, cancel the alarm and remove the window by clicking on Accept or click Menu on the window and choose Accept alarm.

Configuring the Alarm choices

The Choices dialogue allows you to configure:

• how alarms are acted upon
• how the alarm database is used
• the alarm display format
• GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) and BST (British Summer Time) time zone switching.

If your computer is locked (password protected) you won’t be able to change any Alarm Choices until it is unlocked.

To change the Alarm choices:

1. Click Menu over the Alarm icon on the icon bar.
2. Select Choices…
3. Change the options to suit your needs.
4. Click Set to save the options.

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Alarms are silent unless urgent

Repeating alarms fit into a working week

Continuous beep

Turn beep off after

Automatically update the alarm database

Confirm alarm deletions

Display format

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Typing in your own formats

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For information on how to set up your own formats, see Time and date display formats. The format you specify will also be saved when the Set button is clicked.

Switch between GMT and BST automatically

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Browsing through your alarms

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Saving Alarm configuration features

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The options chosen are stored in the string value of system variable Alarm$Options. For example, your choices might be encoded like this:

Set Alarm$Options -format "%w3 %zdy %m3 %24:%mi"

Time and date display formats

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