[Windows/macOS] Automatic timer stop at logout

timo

Originally posted here

Please consider adding the option of stopping the current activity when either the user logs out or the PC is shut down (with the ability to select between one of the two options, both, or none).
Useful for anyone who always (and only) works with the PC.
As an alternative, use a different tag (or start a different activity) for activities not explicitly stopped at logout/shutdown.

timo

As discussed in the old feedback forums, there is currently no real good solution to detect logout/shutdown on Windows and macOS (at least not with the technology I am using right now). Therefore, my current best guess would be do some record the time when the app was "suspended" (which can happen when the app was closed in the progress of logoff or simply when the user minimizes the app). On the next app startup (or resume) that time is compared with the current time and if the delta is large enough (e.g. > 4h), present the user a dialog asking if that "suspension time" should be used as "stop time" for the active timer.

TimDaborn

Thanks Timo,

I can appreciate there are quite a few edge cases, and one person’s edge case can be somebody else’s regular pattern!

I happy to help in this discussion or as a Beta tester perhaps?

timo

So, I'm planning to not make this an "automatic timer stop", but a dialog on app launch (or resume). Timestamp will be recorded when the app is paused/closed/suspended (terminology and available lifecycle events vary on the different platforms).
Once the app is opened/resumed, the app checks if the timer is running, if the timer duration is higher than 10 hours and if the recorded timestamp is more than 4 hours in the past. If that is the case, the user is presented a dialog:

The timer is still running
Do you want to stop it and set the set the end time to {previously recorded timestamp}?

Sounds good?
On Windows it's not possible to detect when the PC was shut down because the "suspended" event would be fired when the app is minimized. If the PC is shut down while the app is minimized, there is no additional event the app could use. But as the app is usually running it's background task every 15 min (incl. the suspended event), the accuracy of that detection shouldn't be worse than 15 min

timo

Finished implementing this feature, will be released with v2.5.29

TimDaborn

Thanks Timo - I look forward to the new release!

FranziskaWestphal

Hello timo,
I also care a lot about this topic and I had the same requirement and then found this post. However, I do not get a message from the software and I am asked or I misunderstood? I have the latest version 2.8.2.0.

timo

The app should behave as explained in a post higher up this thread. Depending on the platform you are using the app on, the feature can work more or less reliable.

sparkplug

Hi,

Using v2.8.4.0 on Windows 10 (10.0.19044), I don't see any dialog when I start my computer after the weekend. Is there a setting to enable this, or maybe it is dependent on another feature?

timo

Maybe your timer wasn't running over the weekend? This dialog only shows when the timer is still running

sparkplug

Not sure what the timer is that you are referring too, but the WorkingHours app isn't running as the computer is shutdown over the weekend. However when I start up the computer on Monday, WorkingHours records that I have been working all weekend.

Maybe I don't understand the description of this feature. My understanding was that this feature runs on app startup and shows a dialog if it is recording an active task which is more than 10 hours in duration and 4 hours has passed since the app last recorded that it was running.

This sounds like a really useful solution to the issue of not being able to detect shutdown to me. I currently have to remember to go back and delete the weekend task from whatever time I shutdown my work computer on Friday afternoon to whatever time I started the computer on Monday morning. I'm not very good at remembering what time I finished work - in fact I do my best to forget it over the course of Friday night!

timo

The timer is the thing that you control with the start/stop/pause buttons. It doesn't require the app to run, WorkingHours just records the timer state and when the timer was started.
When the timer is still running on Monday, that sounds like the timer was not stopped on Friday. In my tests, WorkingHours would show the dialog / prompt then. When I started WorkingHours just now, it showed the prompt because I didnt stop the timer yesterday. Not sure what prevents the dialog to show up for you.

sparkplug

I never stop or start the timer manually. It's set to start the timer when I log in, stop the timer when I become absent, and resume when present. Here are my Timer settings.

On Friday, I turned the computer off at around 17:30 without interacting with WorkingHours at all. When I started up the computer at 8:52 this morning, there was no "timer is still running" prompt but my time tracking page shows as follows:

Note that I only have one task name.

Is it possible that the "if the timer duration is higher than 10 hours" check does not span across days boundaries? Or maybe there is a time zone issue? (my time zone is Australian Eastern Standard Time - GMT+10). Is there any logging feature in the app which could be used to diagnose this?

timo

Currently I don't know what the reason could be that the prompt did not show for you. I will try to reproduce this again as soon as I find time

BenjaminVanBever

thank you Sparkplug.
I have the same issue.
Looking forward for a solution.

sparkplug

The "timer still running" dialog appeared for the first time this morning after leaving my work pc off over the holiday period.

However, clicking on Yes did nothing...

Oddly, there is also one minute less than 24 hours in a full day - although I always wish there were more!

hamza

Hello everyone, the app still doesn't stop when the computer turned off!