System Tray Applet  System Tray Applet
Domain Time II Client
Version 5.2

Domain Time Client has the option of displaying a handy application (DTTray) in the Windows System Tray.

Note: The System Tray is a graphical function of Windows Explorer, so it is not available on Windows Server Core. This means the DTTray program is inaccessible on that version of the operating system.

    DTTray gives you quick access to common tasks (such as manually triggering the machine to sync with its time source) as well as a quick way to launch Domain Time applications.

    It also gives you visual and audible alerts to your current time sync status, traffic monitoring displays, drift analysis graphs, etc.

    Starting the Applet
    The DTTray applet loads into the System Tray automatically when you log in.

      Double-clicking the system tray icon will pull up the Domain Time Client Control Panel applet. Right-clicking the icon will present you the full DTTray context menu. Only Domain Time applications currently installed will appear on the context menu.

      Items installed or removed while the tray applet is loaded may not appear on the DTTray context menu until the user logs off or the system is restarted.

    Hiding the System Tray Applet
    You can hide the system tray applet by clicking the Hide System Tray Icon item on the DTTray context menu itself.

      You can show or hide the system tray applet by setting the "Show system tray Icon" checkbox on the Advanced property page of the Control Panel applet.

      You can also set the value of the HKLM\Software\Greyware\Domain Time Client\Parameters\SystemTrayIcon registry key if you prefer.

    Multiple Instances on Terminal Services/Remote Desktop
    By default, the system tray applet will only appear in the first logged-on instance of the console. If you want the system tray to appear in all terminal sessions, you can set the value of the following registry key to
    True :

      Location: HKLM\Software\Greyware\Domain Time System Tray Icon\Parameters
      Key: (create it if it doesn't exist)
      Allow Multiple Instances
      Type:
      REG_SZ

    Note: Each running instance of the icon holds a file lock on the tray icon executable. If you enable this feature, it will be necessary for all users (local and remote) to log off before performing an upgrade of Domain Time on this machine.

 
System Tray Applet Command Functions
Use the context menu to trigger a sync and check for updates.

    Triggering a Time Sync
    You can trigger the time service to synchronize with its time source by right-clicking system tray icon and choosing Synchronize Now from the context menu.

    Check for newer versions
    DTTray can check directly with the Domain Time Update Service over the Internet to see if any newer versions of the software are available. If your software is currently under support contract, you may download a patch to upgrade you to the latest version directly from the website. You may do this check on-demand or have the system check automatically every time you log in.

    In order to do version checks and install the patch, the logged-in user must have rights to browse the network, do HTTP file downloads, and have sufficient privileges to install software on the local machine.

 
Alert Functions
The DTTray Applet has a number of features that provide visual or audible feedback on the status of your clock synchronization.

      Animate Clock During Timeset
    While Domain Time is synchronizing the clock, the system tray icon will show a running clock icon. When the clock is successfully synchronized the icon will change to the standard Domain Time icon. You can turn off this feature by unchecking the option from the right-click context menu.

      The "Time Not Synchronized" Alert (The Flashing Clock)
    This alert flashes a clock in the system tray to indicate the time is not synchronized.

      If Domain Time is unable to synchronize its time with a time source, it will alert you to the problem by changing the Domain Time icon in the system tray to a flashing clock icon. Once you have resolved the cause (usually due to a network issue preventing Domain Time from contacting its time source) and re-synchronized, the icon will return to the normal Domain Time icon.

    Timeset Chime
    The System Tray Applet can indicate a successful time synchronization with an audible signal.

      Timeset Chimes are off by default. You can enable them by pulling up the context menu and selecting the sound device you wish to use to play the chimes. The Timeset Chimes will play whether or not there is a logged-in user.

      Choose Chime off if you do not want the signal to play.

    Time of Day Chimes
    The Time of Day Chimes feature is a special function that plays sound files at particular times of the day (on-the-hour, and at 15, 30, 45 minutes past the hour) to emulate a chiming clock. You may download selected free chime packs from our site or create your own.

      Time of Day Chimes
      Time of Day Chimes   [Click for larger size]

      The Time of Day Chimes are off by default. You can enable them by pulling up the context menu and selecting the chime pack you want to use. (You must have downloaded and installed at least one chime pack before this feature will be available.)

      In order to play the Time of Day Chimes, you must meet these requirements :

      1. Your system must be configured with a sound card, drivers, and other hardware (such as speakers or headphones) necessary to play .WAV files.

      2. Time of Day Chimes are played by the DTTray Applet, so you must be logged in and have the System Tray Applet installed and visible in the system tray if you want the Time of Day chimes to play.

      3. You must have downloaded and installed at least one chime pack (see below).

      Choose None if you do not want the chimes to play.

      How to Install Chime Packs
      Chimes are standard .WAV sound files played using the Windows Media subsystem. You can choose from free chime packs that we've prepared for you to download or you may create your own.

        Download    Hear a Sample   
        Grandfather Clock Listen
        Westminster Classic      Listen
        Westminster Glass Listen
        Westminster Deep Listen
        Cuckoo Clock Listen

        To install a chime pack, download the zip file and unzip the contents into your Media folder (usually C:\Windows\Media). There will be one text file (.txt) and one or more sound files (.wav) contained in the zip. The text file contains a description of the chime pack, and instructions for which sound file goes with which event. These instructions are used by the DTTray Applet when you chose a chime pack.

      Important: The .txt file from the chime pack must be copied into the Media folder along with the .wav files. It must be present for the chime function to work.

        After unzipping the files into your Media folder, right-click the Domain Time II system tray applet. Your newly-installed chime pack should show up by name under Time of Day chimes.

      Configure and Customize your Chimes
      Chimes are fully configurable using the Windows Sounds Control Panel applet (called Sounds and Audio Devices on older versions of Windows).

        To customize your chimepack, launch the Sounds (Sounds and Audio Devices) applet, then click the Sounds tab. Scroll down through the list until you see the Domain Time II sound scheme. Listed under Domain Time II, you'll see entries for "Every hour at 15 after," "Every hour at 30 after," and so on. You may associate any .WAV files you like with the various sound events.

        The "Every hour tolling the hours" sound is played after any other chimes on the hour, and is played a number of times corresponding to the hour (using a 12-hour scheme). At one o'clock, it will play once, at two o'clock it will play twice, and so forth.

        You can make your own chime pack by collecting the .WAV files you want to use and creating a text file for them. Download one of the chime packs from the list above and look at how the text file specifies the sounds. To have your own chimepack show up so you can select it from the System Tray Applet context menu, simply create a new text file with a .txt extension. The file should be in the same format as the sample chimepack, listing which .WAV plays for which event. Use a full or relative path before the filename if your .WAV files aren't located in the Media folder. You'll notice from the sample .txt files that you can create a very elaborate set of chimes played at various times and events. Feel free to experiment!

    Activity Monitor
    This window displays all Domain Time-related network traffic sent or received by this machine.

      The Activity Monitor provides a visual indicator of when the various types of protocol and control messages are sent or received. Besides being a great deal of fun to watch, it is a useful diagnostic tool you can use to verify that your server or client is receiving and responding to time sync requests and cascade signals.

      For example, click the Synchronize Now option from the DTTray context menu to watch how your system performs a sync request.

      Click the Always on top box if you wish the Activity Monitor to always be visible on your screen.

 
Statistical Functions
View detailed statistics and view drift graphs

    Viewing System Statistics
    You may view the current time statistics on this machine by double-clicking the system tray icon, or by right-clicking the icon and choosing Client (and/or Server) Statistics from the menu.

    Drift Graph
    In addition to detailed summary statistics, DTTray can show you a graphical representation of the accuracy of the clock on your machine sampled at the time it synchronized with its time source. You may scroll through the entire drift data to see how your clock has been performing over time.

 

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