We have been working quite hard on TrackMyPeople lately. New features/improvements/fixes are a daily routine and that’s a good thing. But sometimes you have to keep an eye on the ‘basics’, time tracking is what it’s all about. That’s why i decided to sum up the different ways to track your time using this free service !

1. Using the time entry page

Time entry is split up in day and week views. The weekly overview allows you to quickly register your weekly time sheet. Use the tracker drop-down (see : what is a tracker?) to select/add trackers to the list, and then easily add the time spent on a day-to-day basis. You can use different formats too, the system will notice the difference between time entered in another format (for example 3:30 is the same as 3,5). When you’re done, press the “save” button to register your time-blocks.

The day view allows you to work in a more detailed way. The time-block entry contains a field allowing you to enter the ‘description’ of the timeblock. Clicking add will instantly save the block to our system.

Note that time entry uses the “free block” principle (see : what is the difference between free and fixed blocks). Basically this means we do not have a start/stop date for this timeblock, meaning we cannot ‘draw’ it on on the calendar.

2. Using our time punch clock

Have you noticed the play/stop buttons on the right top of the page (only when logged in), this is the timeclock. This clock is displayed on most pages and will display the total time registered for the current day. Using the start/stop buttons allows you to easily “punch” in your time, just don’t forget to press “stop” when you are finished.

time punch clock

3. Quickadd (one by one) timeblock

Next to the clock we have the “quick add” button. So now you might be thinking : what is difference between time entry and quickadd ? For that you have to understand the difference between free & fixed blocks. Quick add allows you to add a single block forcing you to enter an exact start and stop date.

When saving the system will verify you don’t have any other timeblocks for the same timerange. If this is the case it will allow you to fix the problems by moving or deleting the duplicate time entry.

4. Use on of our widgets

If you want to enter your time on a regular base, this is the way to go ! Our widgets/applets allow you to easily “register” your time right from your desktop. Pick a widget from our download page and install it. Afterwards you can easily press start/stop to register your timesheet as you go. If you want to switch to a different project, just use the dropdown to switch to a different tracker (company/project/task or issue).

We have a public API allowing developers to write new widgets/applications that interact directly with your trackmypeople account. If you want to give us a hand drop us an email, we’ll be glad to help.

The developers behind TrackMyPeople love the open-source community & the tools it has given this world. With our new api documentation we’d want to give developers the opportunity to easily interact with the TrackMyPeople engine.

Our own widgets of course already use this interface, but we believe that the best software is developed by & for the community. The software is more inclined to move towards the real needs of the actual users, plus you can’t do everything yourself. With this announcement we’d like to once more ask you for your feedback, suggestions & perhaps we might even feature some of your own applications.

By the way, we’re really interested in an iPhone app for TMP, so if anyone’s interested, feel free to contact us!

A new version of the gnome applet is online. We fixed some small bugs.

• bugfix: The widgets wont start tracking when there is no internet.
• small: "user logged in success!" => "User logged in successfully!"

Feel free to informs us about bugs or leave some feedback or suggestions.

We have just released a new Windows/Mac version for the time tracking applet and now we have an update of the  Linux Gnome applet. Download the .deb here , and install it using synaptics.

A list of things we changed:

• small : language fix 'iva' -> 'via'
• bugfix : fixed day timer (time you have already worked for today) when refreshing applet
• feature : added autostart option : this option will automatically start tracking your attendance when the widget launches
• feature : autoload support : use this option to automatically log in using a certain user
• feature : authentication over http auth (improved)
• feature : using new XML/API protocol
• feature : improved checking of password when setting up an account
• feature : you can now enter a description spanning multiple lines
• feature : auto reminder on new version : the widget will tell you when there is a new version available
• fixed few minor bugs

As always, feedback welcome. Keep in mind we need your feedback to make trackmypeople the best available web timesheet software that is free !

After a few days of testing we got plenty of feedback resulting in a big update. Use our new & improved time widget to track your time from your desktop (download here ).

What's new ?

New features :

• added option "open urls": this option will allow us to open an url from your widget. In the future we will use this to inform you about widget updates, conflicting time blocks or other urgent issues that need your immediate attention.
• added option : "automatic attendance tracking" : when this option is enabled, the widget will automatically start tracking your attendance as soon as the widget is loaded (or when you start your computer)
• added option : "stop on close" : this option will automatically stop your time tracking session as soon as the widget (or your computer) is closed.
• added option : "choose your display" : choose wether you want to use the widget in small / large view (see screenshots)
• new feature : timeblock comments : when closing a time block (after you have worked on a single project) you can enter a description. This description will be stored together with the timeblock details for future reference.
• bugfix : parsing errors when pressing stop multiple times
• bugfix : parsing errors when there is no internet connection

You don't believe we did all that in a few days ? Check out some screenshots below.

Widget preferences

Right click your widget and select "widget preferences" to set these options.

Display Options

How does it look ?

I present you : the "light" layout. You can set this widget as 'always on top' to check your current working time from every application, all day long…

Normal Layout

Don't forget to keep sending your feedback & suggestions : support@trackmypeople.com

We are proud to announce the release of the first version of a new time tracking widget. This tool is based on the "yahoo widgets " platform, that also means you can use it on MacOS aswell as on windows (vista & XP). For more information try the "get started " manual. When you are set, you can get the widget over here .

You can use this widget to punch in & out. Allowing you to communicate with the TrackMyPeople systems without even opening your browser. 

Yahoo Widget for Track my People

Yahoo Widget for Track my People

A new version of the Linux-Gnome applet is released, which is available in our download section .

BUG FIXED

• Applet returned "503"-error when trying to login.

If you are still having troubles with our widget or website functionalities, or you have a great idea which we should include in our free timetracking service, do not hesitate to contact us or file a bug report . Keep in mind that you need an account to make us of the bugtracker. Registration is easy and free!

The new Linux Gnome Applet for TrackMyPeople is now available. We're at version 0.2.1211542279

Fixed bugs

• New GUI user administration / preferences
• Global config (include debug option)
• Updated language xml file
• Updated icons
• Project sorting fixed
• Increased size of description (when stopping/switching project)

Download this new version
(0.2.1211542279) here.

If you come across any other bugs, please let us know at support@trackmypeople.com so we can correct them.