										
		
Computer Use Logger 1.1
by Eric Preston

 1997
All Rights Reserved

What it does

If you use your computer for both professional and 
personal activities, but want to deduct the professional 
use portion from your taxes, the Internal Revenue Service 
requires that you maintain a log of your computer's use.  
Computer Use Logger makes it easy to create a log file 
record that documents the amount of time you use your 
computer for both professional and personal activities.  
Versions of the program are available for Windows 3.1 and 
Windows 95/NT.

The Deal

Computer Use Logger is shareware.  All features are 
fully functional, but it is protected.  If you use it for
more than 24 hours, it will require you to register before
you can continue.  If you find the program useful, and decide to 
keep it, please pay the registration fee.  The 
registration entitles you to a subscription to future 
upgrades for free, as long as you want them.  As long as 
shareware users continue to support development through 
registration, I will continue to try to accommodate 
requests from registered users.

To register Computer Use Logger, launch the included
register application and follow the instructions.  Kagi 
Shareware processes all payments for me.  Instructions for 
disabling the protection will be sent to you by email 
on receipt of your shareware contribution.

Comments on the program and bug reports should be sent directly to me:
EricPRESTO@kagi.com.
America Online:	EricPRESTO



How it works

Computer Use Logger is a standard Windows application.  It 
may be installed anywhere on your hard drive, except the 
Windows folder.  Double clicking on the application icon 
will launch the program and open the log file 
(uselog.cul).  Take a moment to browse the menu and toobar 
selections.  As you pass the cursor over each option, a 
short description of the selection appears on the status 
bar. The example log file illustrates the type of data 
that Computer Use Logger generates.  The log entries will 
occur in chronological order on the left half of the file 
for business sessions and on the right half of the file 
for personal sessions.  The columns of each entry include, 
from left to right, start time (Hours:Minutes in military 
style), end time (Hours:Minutes in military style), 
session time (Hours:Minutes), cumulative time for the day 
(Hours:Minutes), and cumulative time overall 
(Hours:Minutes).

To initiate a session, first select whether the session 
should be logged as business or personal from the Timer 
menu.  Then select Start Timer.  A log line will appear in 
the log window. Initially, the start time and end time will 
be the same and all time entries will appear as 00:00.  
Once per minute, as the session progresses, these values are updated.  
So the log window always displays information accurate to the current 
minute.  The time of the currently logged session appears 
in the lower right corner of the status bar.  During a session, 
you will normally minimize the log window, so that the application runs in 
the background and is out of the way of your other work.  
When the window is minimized, the time and type of the 
current session appears with the application icon in the 
Windows 95 Task Bar.

The log window is a fully functional edit window so you 
can edit and annotate your sessions directly in the log 
window.  The log file is a standard text file, so it can 
be opened and edited by Note Pad or any other word 
processor.  The log file data can also be imported into 
spread sheet programs for formatting or further analysis, 
if you wish.  The data columns are tab delimited. The log 
file must always be kept in the same folder as the 
Computer Use Logger application.

When you are done with the example log file, you can 
delete it and create your own. Exit the application, if it 
is running, delete the uselog.cul file, and then relaunch 
the application.  A new, empty log file will be created.  
Alternatively, simply select all the text in the example 
file and delete it, using the Edit Menu.

The log file can grow quite large.  I recommend archiving 
once per month to prevent it from exceeding its 32 k size 
limit.  If you select Auto Reset in the Options, your log 
file will automatically be archived on the first day of 
each month with the name UseLog_<current date>.cul.  A new log 
file will be created automatically.  

The Menus

  The File Menu:

Most selections are self descriptive.  The "Open..." option 
allows opening any archived log files for viewing.  
Because the log window is larger than normal page size, 
you must select "Print Setup..." and adjust the printout 
Orientation to Landscape before printing. Then select 
"Print..." to actually do the printing.  Selecting "View 
Statistics..." will bring up a dialog that allows editing 
of cumulative time data and displays the percentage of 
business use and the percentage of personal use.  
Selecting "Add Statistics to Log" will save the current 
computer use statistics to your log file.  It is useful to 
do this just before archiving the log file.  The 
statistics are automatically added to the log file when it 
is automatically archived at the end of each month (Auto 
Reset must be selected in the Options). 


  The Edit Menu:

This is a standard text editing menu that is primarily 
used when editing a log file. Selecting "Options..." will 
allow you to customize Computer Use Logger to your 
particular style of use.

  The Timer Menu:

This menu has selections for starting a session, stopping 
a session and choosing whether the session should be 
logged as business or personal.

For Power Users Only

Once you are familiar with how the logger operates, you 
may want to convert to a more automatic operation.  Set 
the Options for the type of sessions that you use most of 
the time (usually business). Then set the "Auto start 
timer on launch" and "Minimize on startup" options.  Make 
an alias (shortcut) of the Computer Logger application and 
place it in your Startup Folder.  Now the program will 
automatically launch when you boot up the computer. The 
Timer will start timing and the application window will 
minimize itself automatically.  Just let the program 
continue to operate in the background.  Unless you need to 
change the session from business to personal, you need do 
nothing more.  When you shut down the machine, the 
sesssion will be logged and the time data saved.  The next 
time you boot up, the session will automatically be timed.  
Pretty easy!

Disclaimer

I make no warranties, either express or implied, regarding 
Computer Use Logger. Ive made a good faith effort to 
assure that the program performs as documented but use of 
this software is entirely at your own risk.  I will not be 
liable for any direct or indirect damages resulting from 
use of Computer Use Logger.

Limitations on Distribution

Computer Use Logger is copyrighted to Eric Preston, 
1997, and may not be sold or distributed for profit in any 
form, either with other products (commercial, shareware, 
or freeware), or in shareware/freeware collections sold 
for profit, without my prior written consent.  Computer 
Use Logger may be distributed freely provided it is 
distributed in a non-profit manner, and is provided in its 
original unmodified form.  However, please notify me if it 
is to be included in non-profit collection on disk, CD 
ROM, or other media and send me a complimentary copy of 
the collection that includes Computer Use Logger.

Version History


Version 1.0 - October 15, 1996. First Public Release.
Version 1.1 - March 1997. Minor bug fixes and some performance
              enhancements.  Header added to the log window.
