Dejalhttp://dejal.org
enDejalNews #75: Time Out tips & supporter pollhttp://dejal.org/blog/2019/02/dejalnews-75-time-out-tips-supporter-poll
<p><img src="/files/dejalnews/header.png" alt="DejalNews header" width="100%" border="0" /> </p>
<p><b>DejalNews 2019-02</b>, <i>issue #75</i></p>
<h4>Welcome</h4>
<p>This is <i>DejalNews</i>, an occasional newsletter from <a href="/">Dejal</a>.</p>
<p><i><b>If you want to receive these newsletters in your email inbox, head over to the <a href="/subscribe/">DejalNews subscribe page</a> to sign up.</b></i></p>
<h4>Time Out tips</h4>
<p>So far I've been sticking to my goal of a <a href="/blog/">Dejal blog post</a> each week. No idea if I can keep it up, but I want to try.</p>
<p>Following the <a href="/blog/2019/01/dejalnews-74-its-back">previous <i>DejalNews</i> newsletter</a>, a couple of weeks ago I <a href="/blog/2019/02/time-out-tip-dry-eye-blink-reminders">posted a Time Out tip to help with dry eyes</a>, and last week I <a href="/blog/2019/02/time-out-tip-lifetime-supporter">posted about making your own lifetime supporter option</a>. Check out those posts if you missed them.</p>
<h4>Auto-renewing Time Out supporter option?</h4>
<p>Speaking of the Time Out supporter options, there's something I've been considering for a while. As you may know, currently the 3-, 6-, and 12-month supporter options are one-time payments; they don't automatically renew. Which is fine for many people, who either only want to buy once, or want to choose when to renew. But lots of customers do renew their support when it expires, which I greatly appreciate.</p>
<p>So I was wondering if people would like and use an option to automatically renew their supporter status. To be clear, this would be completely optional, in addition to the current non-renewing choices.</p>
<p>I've created <a href="/poll/2019/02/timeout-auto-renew">a poll to ask about this option</a>.</p>
<p>I know this newsletter doesn't have a huge readership (since I removed the old subscribers rather than risk anyone thinking it spam), but I would really appreciate it if everyone who reads this would vote on this poll. Thank you.</p>
<p><i>- David</i></p>
DejalNewsWed, 20 Feb 2019 04:36:50 +0000David Sinclair11517 at http://dejal.orgWould you like an option to automatically renew the Time Out supporter status?http://dejal.org/poll/2019/02/timeout-auto-renew
<form action="/rss.xml" accept-charset="UTF-8" method="post" id="poll-view-voting">
<div><div class="poll">
<div class="vote-form">
<div class="choices">
<div class="form-radios"><div class="form-item" id="edit-choice-0-wrapper">
<label class="option" for="edit-choice-0"><input type="radio" id="edit-choice-0" name="choice" value="0" class="form-radio" /> I don&#039;t use Time Out</label>
</div>
<div class="form-item" id="edit-choice-1-wrapper">
<label class="option" for="edit-choice-1"><input type="radio" id="edit-choice-1" name="choice" value="1" class="form-radio" /> I only use Time Out for free</label>
</div>
<div class="form-item" id="edit-choice-2-wrapper">
<label class="option" for="edit-choice-2"><input type="radio" id="edit-choice-2" name="choice" value="2" class="form-radio" /> No, I only want to pay once</label>
</div>
<div class="form-item" id="edit-choice-3-wrapper">
<label class="option" for="edit-choice-3"><input type="radio" id="edit-choice-3" name="choice" value="3" class="form-radio" /> No, I prefer to choose when to renew</label>
</div>
<div class="form-item" id="edit-choice-4-wrapper">
<label class="option" for="edit-choice-4"><input type="radio" id="edit-choice-4" name="choice" value="4" class="form-radio" /> Yes, I&#039;d like to have that option, but may not use it</label>
</div>
<div class="form-item" id="edit-choice-5-wrapper">
<label class="option" for="edit-choice-5"><input type="radio" id="edit-choice-5" name="choice" value="5" class="form-radio" /> Yes, I&#039;d definitely use that option</label>
</div>
</div> </div>
<input type="submit" name="op" id="edit-vote" value="Vote" class="form-submit" />
</div>
<input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" id="form-17b1dc74f02b11cb77e2113bc45a8a13" value="form-17b1dc74f02b11cb77e2113bc45a8a13" />
<input type="hidden" name="form_id" id="edit-poll-view-voting" value="poll_view_voting" />
</div>
</div></form>
http://dejal.org/poll/2019/02/timeout-auto-renew#commentsWed, 20 Feb 2019 04:29:13 +0000David Sinclair11516 at http://dejal.orgTime Out tip: lifetime supporter?http://dejal.org/blog/2019/02/time-out-tip-lifetime-supporter
<p><a href="/timeout/"><img src="/timeout/images/icon.png" align="right" /></a>In ye olde days, software was sold once, for what would be considered nowadays to be a high price, and every year or so the developer would release a major paid upgrade, typically charging about half of the original price.</p>
<p>I still do this for <a href="/simon/">Simon</a>, my pro tool to monitor websites and servers for changes or failures, since that model is still common for pro apps. Though it is also available on <a href="https://go.setapp.com/stp124?refAppID=201&amp;stc=site&amp;utm_medium=available_on_setapp_button&amp;utm_source=201&amp;utm_campaign=blog">Setapp</a>, as part of a subscription along with hundreds of other apps.</p>
<p>But for <a href="/timeout/">Time Out</a>, my popular break reminder app, I wanted to try something different. I introduced a "supporter" model, where people can get the main features completely free, but be rewarded for supporting ongoing development with extra features. </p>
<p>Unlike old-school purchases, the supporter purchases are much cheaper, only a few bucks, and for a specific period of time, 3, 6, or 12 months. The extra features can be tried for an hour at a time, or are unlocked permanently with any supporter level. The "catch", such as it is, is that when I update the app, I may add new features that are only available to current supporters, so if your support has expired, you won't get those features unless you renew your support. Of course, you can try them, to help decide if you want to renew.</p>
<p>That seems really fair to me; you can have breaks for free, or get extra features cheaply, and if you like my improvements, you can help pay for their development. Or continue using the older features forever without paying more.</p>
<p>Win/win &mdash; you get a useful app that is regularly improved, and I get to eat. I also don't have to hold back major features for a big paid upgrade; I can add things whenever desired.</p>
<p>Even so, I occasionally get people asking about a lifetime purchase option. I don't currently offer that, since I feel it would be detrimental to the long-term survival of the app. However, you can effectively make your own lifetime option, by purchasing multiple 12-month supporter statuses. Each one you purchase will extend your supporter status by a year. So if you envision using Time Out for the next 5 years, purchasing 5 times will extend your support that long. Or whatever duration you want to use.</p>
<p>Of course, it’s worth reiterating that you don't have to pay more than once if you don't want to. You can become a supporter at whatever level you feel comfortable with, and not pay again unless you want to show your appreciation (kinda like a tip jar). After your supporter status expires, all of the advanced features that you had when you were a supporter will remain available permanently. You’d only need to renew if I add new features in the future that you want to use.</p>
timeouttipsMon, 11 Feb 2019 22:56:00 +0000David Sinclair11514 at http://dejal.orgTime Out tip: dry eye blink remindershttp://dejal.org/blog/2019/02/time-out-tip-dry-eye-blink-reminders
<p><a href="/timeout/"><img src="/timeout/images/icon.png" align="right" /></a>People use <a href="/timeout/">Time Out</a> for lots of reasons; to avoid RSI, to get regular exercise, to avoid sore eyes, to remember to eat regularly, to stop work at the end of the day, and more. But one use case that I've seen several people mentioning recently is to help with dry eyes.</p>
<p>A nice comment from one example:</p>
<blockquote><p>
"...my eyes are freakishly dry, way over-the-top compared to the average dry eye patient, and your app has allowed me to use my computer longer without killing my eyes. I can't thank you enough for making it!!"
</p></blockquote>
<p>People who experience dry eyes can sometimes find that blinking more frequently can help keep the eyes lubricated. That can be hard to remember when focused on work, though. Time Out's default Micro break can help with that, but some people prefer even more frequent reminders.</p>
<p>Time Out breaks can currently be configured to occur as much as once per minute, which is a lot for a typical break, but by making the break only last one second, and configuring the other <b>Schedule</b> settings to avoid skipping or delaying it, the break can be a very brief reminder without being too disruptive:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2019/timeout/dry-eye/schedule.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2019/timeout/dry-eye/schedule.png" alt="Time Out schedule page" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>In the next version of Time Out, I am considering enabling using frequency units of seconds, instead of minutes (and hours, etc). It is currently limited to a minimum of 1 minute, as that seemed like a reasonable minimum, but a very quick break like this every few seconds does have merit. But read on for a way this can be achieved even now.</p>
<p>The <b>Appearance</b> options can be set to avoid fading the screen via the <b>None</b> theme, with zero fade-in and fade-out times (set the fade times before changing the theme):</p>
<p><a href="/files/2019/timeout/dry-eye/appearance.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2019/timeout/dry-eye/appearance.png" alt="Time Out appearance page" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>A great way to very quickly remind yourself to blink is to flash the screen. This can be done via the <b>Flash Screen</b> action. The color and duration of the flash can be tweaked as desired.</p>
<p>And if once per minute isn't enough, you can add as many as you want on the <b>Actions</b> page, spaced out by setting the offset <b>After Start</b>, like this to have it flash every 10 seconds:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2019/timeout/dry-eye/actions.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2019/timeout/dry-eye/actions.png" alt="Time Out actions page" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>I hope this is helpful to people suffering from dry eye, or anyone wanting more frequent reminders.</p>
timeouttipsMon, 04 Feb 2019 21:23:49 +0000David Sinclair11513 at http://dejal.orgDejalNews #74: It's back!http://dejal.org/blog/2019/01/dejalnews-74-its-back
<p><img src="/files/dejalnews/header.png" alt="DejalNews header" width="100%" border="0" /> </p>
<p><b>DejalNews 2019-01</b>, <i>issue #74</i></p>
<h4>Welcome</h4>
<p>This is <i>DejalNews</i>, an occasional newsletter from <a href="/">Dejal</a>.</p>
<p><i><b>If you want to receive these newsletters in your email inbox, head over to the <a href="/subscribe/">DejalNews subscribe page</a> to sign up.</b></i></p>
<h4>DejalNews is back!</h4>
<p>The previous issue of <i>DejalNews</i> was a bit over a year ago. I didn't intend to take a year off publishing these newsletters, but sometimes things just happen. I want to get back on that horse, so hopefully will resume publishing a newsletter each month. Usually they will cover recent releases and news, but I've got a bit of catching up to do this time.</p>
<h4>Simon 4.3.1, Time Out 2.5</h4>
<p>Since it's been a while since the previous newsletter, I should mention the updates to my main two apps, <a href="/simon/">Dejal Simon</a> version 4.3.1, and <a href="/timeout/">Time Out</a> version 2.5. If you missed them, take a look at the release notes or <a href="/blog/release">blog</a> for what changed.</p>
<h4>Introducing SheetPlanner</h4>
<p>An exciting new Mac app was introduced recently: <a href="/consulting/sheetplanner/">SheetPlanner</a>. This app was written by me as a consulting project. It is a pro-level outliner, planner, todo, calendar, and more.</p>
<p>Version 1.0 of this app was well-received, and we're working on some great enhancements for version 1.1 and beyond. Check it out!</p>
<h4>Summary blog posts</h4>
<p>A great resource to catch up with or review what happened in the past year are my traditional end-of-year blog posts:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="/blog/2019/01/featured-blog-posts-2018">Featured blog posts of 2018</a>: highlighting a few interesting posts from 2018.</li>
<li><a href="/blog/2019/01/dejal-year-review-2018">Dejal year in review: 2018</a>: summarizing updates to Dejal and consulting apps in 2018.</li>
<li><a href="/blog/2019/01/looking-ahead-2019">Looking ahead: 2019</a>: trying to predict what's coming up this year.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Personal blogs</h4>
<p>But wait, there's more! Blogs, that is. Perhaps one reason for the hiatus of newsletters is that I've been publishing a lot more on my personal blogs, fulfilling that creative outlet. If you want to learn a bit more about the man behind the apps, my non-Dejal projects and interests, check out my other blogs:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://dejus.com/">Dejus</a> is my personal blog, where I post a photo every day, and other short tweet-like comments. If you follow one blog, this the the one; everything gets linked from here.</li>
<li><a href="https://yellowcottagehomestead.com/">Yellow Cottage Homestead</a> is a blog that has longer posts about goings on around the homestead of my wife and I, featuring a weekly #Caturday post with pictures of the feral cats we care for, plus our chickens, bees, building projects, and other homestead topics. If you want to see what I build when not building apps, this is the place.</li>
</ul>
<p><i>- David</i></p>
DejalNewsMon, 28 Jan 2019 23:40:14 +0000David Sinclair11512 at http://dejal.org#10YearChallenge: Time Outhttp://dejal.org/blog/2019/01/10yearchallenge-time-out
<p><a href="/timeout/"><img src="/timeout/images/icon.png" align="right" /></a>There's a recent meme going around called <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%2310YearChallenge">#10YearChallenge</a>, where people post pictures (often of themselves) from 2009 and 2019.</p>
<p>While I usually don't bother with memes, I thought it'd be fun to look at <a href="/timeout/">Time Out</a> from 2009 vs 2019.</p>
<p>Here's what a Time Out break looked like back in 2009, plus you can see the old app icon during the break (no other themes!):</p>
<p><a href="/files/2019/2009vs2019/2009-break.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2019/2009vs2019/2009-break.png" alt="Time Out 2009 break screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Vs 2019:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2019/2009vs2019/2019-break.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2019/2009vs2019/2019-break.png" alt="Time Out 2019 break screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>The Timer preferences in 2009:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2019/2009vs2019/2009-normal.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2019/2009vs2019/2009-normal.png" alt="Time Out 2009 timer screenshot" width="401" height="399" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Vs the Schedule prefs in 2019:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2019/2009vs2019/2019-schedule.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2019/2009vs2019/2019-schedule.png" alt="Time Out 2019 schedule screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>The Appearance prefs in 2009:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2019/2009vs2019/2009-appearance.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2019/2009vs2019/2009-appearance.png" alt="Time Out 2009 appearance screenshot" width="379" height="260" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Vs 2019:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2019/2009vs2019/2019-appearance.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2019/2009vs2019/2019-appearance.png" alt="Time Out 2009 appearance screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Things can certainly change quite a bit in a decade!</p>
historytimeoutMon, 21 Jan 2019 22:22:22 +0000David Sinclair11511 at http://dejal.orgLooking ahead: 2019http://dejal.org/blog/2019/01/looking-ahead-2019
<p>Last week I published my annual <a href="/blog/2019/01/dejal-year-review-2018">Dejal year in review</a> post for 2018. This week, let's look ahead for what's in store for 2019.</p>
<p>I am currently working on a complete rewrite of <a href="/pack/">Pack</a>, my simple packing list app. It was originally written in Objective-C, using some legacy techniques and technologies, but I decided to rewrite it from scratch using Swift and modern approaches. It's usually not a good idea to rewrite working code, but this app is small enough, and the code crusty enough, that I deemed it worthwhile. I use this app every time I travel, so I'm keen to keep it fresh and current, and add some great new features... hopefully including iCloud syncing, though we'll see how that goes.</p>
<p>Next up I will start on <a href="/timeout/">Time Out</a> version 2.6, with a number of enhancements planned, and several more queued up for future versions. If you have any requests for 2.6 or later, now would be a great time to <a href="/contact/?prod=timeout&amp;ref=summary&amp;subj=Time+Out+2.6+suggestion">get in touch</a>.</p>
<p>Fun fact: this week Time Out is the top featured app in the Mac App Store, with <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/story/id1446914963">a great feature story</a>. (That link will take you to the story in the App Store on a Mac or iOS device.)</p>
<p>I also have a couple of new apps in various states of planning or prototyping; one for macOS, another for iOS. Handy tools to scratch my own itch, which can sometime be a great way to work on an app, though not necessarily a key to commercial success. I hope to get to one or both of those later in the year.</p>
<p>And let's not forget <a href="/simon/">Simon</a>; I have some big enhancements planned for its next release, too.</p>
<p>On the <a href="/consulting/">consulting</a> side, I'm continuing to work on <a href="/consulting/sheetplanner/">SheetPlanner</a>, <a href="/consulting/newsblur/">NewsBlur</a>, and other client projects this year, with some great new releases coming up.</p>
<p>I've noticed that <a href="/blog/">the Dejal blog</a> was a bit neglected last year, with relatively few posts, and I haven't done a <a href="/subscribe/">DejalNews newsletter</a> for a while, so I want to get back into those; I've set a goal to do one post per week, and one newsletter per month, so please hold me to that! I also want to do some improvements to the website this year. (I guess I satisfied my blogging needs with my <a href="https://dejus.com/">personal</a> and <a href="https://yellowcottagehomestead.com/">homestead</a> blogs, but I don't want to ignore the Dejal one too.)</p>
<p>In terms of conferences, last year I attended <a href="http://altconf.com">AltConf</a> in San Jose and <a href="https://swiftbynorthwest.com">Swift by Northwest</a> in Portland. This year I'm considering entering the lottery for <a href="https://developer.apple.com/wwdc/">WWDC</a>, since it'll likely have a strong Mac focus, but plan to attend AltConf again if I don't get in. I'd also like to attend other conferences, to be determined.</p>
<p>It's going to be another busy year!</p>
summaryMon, 14 Jan 2019 22:10:28 +0000David Sinclair11509 at http://dejal.orgDejal year in review: 2018http://dejal.org/blog/2019/01/dejal-year-review-2018
<p>Happy New Year! </p>
<p>As we start a new year, let's review what happened with the <a href="/apps/">Dejal apps</a> in 2018:</p>
<table border="0">
<tr>
<td valign="top"><a href="/simon/"><img src="/simon/images/icon.png" width="64" height="64" /></a></td>
<td>My pro app to monitor websites and servers for changes and failures, <a href="/simon/"><b>Simon</b></a>, had a couple of updates in 2018, to version 4.3.1, including Mojave dark mode, meta refresh options, pause improvements, refinements to services and filters, and more. It continues to be sold both directly and as one of the foundation apps in the popular <a href="https://go.setapp.com/stp124?refAppID=201">Setapp</a> subscription service.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><a href="/timeout/"><img src="/timeout/images/icon.png" width="64" height="64" /></a></td>
<td>My popular break reminder tool, <a href="/timeout/"><b>Time Out</b></a>, had two significant updates in 2018, including version 2.4, adding a useful statistics chart, options to disable buttons for a few seconds, scheduling enhancements, and other improvements, and version 2.5, which included Mojave dark mode, day-of-week availability options, and other improvements. It continues to be available both directly and via the Mac App Store, where it was recently picked as an app they love, and regularly ranked #1 in the Health &amp; Fitness category.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><a href="/pack/"><img src="/pack/images/icon.png" width="64" height="64" /></a></td>
<td><a href="/pack/"><b>Pack</b></a>, a simple iPhone app to make it easy to pack for trips, didn't have any updates in 2018, but I am working on a big update (more below). I use it for every trip, and have a number of improvements planned. Try it for your next trip!</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><a href="/datestamp/"><img src="/datestamp/images/icon.png" width="64" height="64" /></a></td>
<td><a href="/datestamp/"><b>Date Stamp</b></a>, an iMessage app to provide customizable date stamp stickers, was updated to version 1.0.1. It may or may not be updated again, but works really well as-is. The iMessage store didn't have a very good start, but is more visible in recent iOS releases. Tell your friends if you like this.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><a href="/chickens/"><img src="/chickens/images/icon.png" width="64" height="64" /></a></td>
<td><a href="/chickens/"><b>Chicken GIFs</b></a> is a sticker pack featuring many fun animated GIFs of my chickens, which can be used as reactions in messages. It may or may not get any future updates, but is fun as-is.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h4>Consulting</h4>
<p>Dejal also produces macOS and iOS apps for other companies, under the banner of <a href="/consulting/">Dejal Consulting</a>. (I do wonder if I should split it into a separate company... but it's been fine for nearly 30 years.)</p>
<table border="0">
<tr>
<td valign="top"><a href="/consulting/sheetplanner/"><img src="/consulting/sheetplanner/images/icon.png" width="64" height="64" /></a></td>
<td>The big news in 2018 was the release of <a href="/consulting/sheetplanner/">SheetPlanner</a>, a pro-level outliner, planner, todo, calendar, and more. I'm really proud of how this app turned out, and it has been fairly popular on the Mac App Store already. I'm continuing to work on this app, so stay tuned for some great enhancements throughout the year.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><a href="/consulting/newsblur/"><img src="/consulting/newsblur/images/icon.png" width="64" height="64" /></a></td>
<td>I have also resumed working on the iOS client for <a href="/consulting/newsblur/">NewsBlur</a>, a popular RSS reader, with many great enhancements in version 8, and more to come.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><a href="/consulting/"><img src="/consulting/images/icon.png" width="64" height="64" /></a></td>
<td>I'm also currently working on a macOS project for another client, that I can't mention yet. More about that in the future.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>I am currently fully booked up for the next several months at least, but am always interested in talking with potential new clients. If you have a macOS or iOS project you'd like help with (or a custom Simon enhancement), <a href="/consulting/">check out my consulting page</a> for more information.</p>
<h4>Thank you</h4>
<p>Thank you and welcome to my new customers, and many thanks to the long-term customers who are still enjoying my apps. I really appreciate your support.</p>
summaryMon, 07 Jan 2019 22:43:14 +0000David Sinclair11508 at http://dejal.orgFeatured blog posts of 2018http://dejal.org/blog/2019/01/featured-blog-posts-2018
<p>My blog posts often just cover new <a href="/blog/release">releases</a>, but sometimes I post general-interest or <a href="/blog/development">developer</a>-interest topics. Some highlights from 2018 included:</p>
<ul>
<li>The previous list of <a href="https://www.dejal.com/blog/2018/01/featured-blog-posts-2017">featured blog posts</a>.</li>
<li>A peek behind the curtain, <a href="https://www.dejal.com/blog/2018/01/about-author">about the author</a>, with links to my personal and homestead blogs and social media accounts. Check out <a href="https://dejus.com/">my daily photos</a>!</li>
<li>A report on <a href="https://www.dejal.com/blog/2018/03/time-out-2-two-years">Time Out 2, two years on</a>, with numbers and a chart evaluating the supporter durations and purchases.</li>
<li>Following the trend to <a href="https://www.dejal.com/blog/2018/05/more-secure-world">support secure connections to the site</a> via <code>https://</code> TLS/SSL.</li>
<li>Announcing that <a href="https://www.dejal.com/blog/2018/05/heading-san-jose-wwdc-week">I'd be in San Jose for WWDC week</a>, and <a href="https://www.dejal.com/blog/2018/06/wwdc-week-san-jose">a followup</a> afterwards.</li>
<li>And <a href="https://www.dejal.com/blog/2018/10/attending-swift-northwest-conference-portland">attending another conference, Swift by Northwest</a> in Portland.</li>
<li>A useful tip for Time Out: <a href="https://www.dejal.com/blog/2018/11/time-out-tips-lunchtime-night-breaks">lunchtime and night breaks</a>.</li>
<li>Finally, <a href="https://www.dejal.com/blog/2018/11/introducing-sheetplanner-mac">introduction of a new app, SheetPlanner</a> (written by me as consulting work).</li>
</ul>
<p>I hope you enjoyed these posts.</p>
summaryMon, 07 Jan 2019 21:29:33 +0000David Sinclair11507 at http://dejal.orgIntroducing SheetPlanner for Machttp://dejal.org/blog/2018/11/introducing-sheetplanner-mac
<p><a href="/consulting/sheetplanner/"><img src="/consulting/sheetplanner/images/icon.png" align="right" /></a>I'm pleased to announce the release of a new macOS app: <a href="https://sheetplanner.com">SheetPlanner</a>. This is a powerful new app that combines an outliner, todo, spreadsheet, timeline, calendar, and more, enabling you to easily plan projects, manage tasks, organize information, and many other uses. </p>
<p>It includes support for multiple types of columns, inline notes and links, sorting, an option to focus on a subset of rows, flexible smart filter options, styles, dark mode, and many more features, yet is very simple to get started.</p>
<p>SheetPlanner was written by me over the past 18 months or so, as a <a href="/consulting/">Dejal consulting project</a> for SheetPlanner Software LLC.</p>
<p><a href="/files/2018/sheetplanner/planning.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2018/sheetplanner/planning.png" alt="SheetPlanner planning document screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Start by picking one of the pre-made templates, or an empty document:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2018/sheetplanner/templates.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2018/sheetplanner/templates.png" alt="Template chooser screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Configure columns, the theme, and other options in the Inspector:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2018/sheetplanner/theme.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2018/sheetplanner/theme.png" alt="SheetPlanner theme screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>You can show any combination of the Outline, Timeline, Month, Year, and Inspector views, in horizontal or vertical orientation:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2018/sheetplanner/vertical.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2018/sheetplanner/vertical.png" alt="Vertical orientation screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Show a month view to see dates on a calendar:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2018/sheetplanner/calendar.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2018/sheetplanner/calendar.png" alt="Month view screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>And/or a year view for a heat map of tasks:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2018/sheetplanner/expenses.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2018/sheetplanner/expenses.png" alt="Year view screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Include inline notes and/or attachments:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2018/sheetplanner/inspector.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2018/sheetplanner/inspector.png" alt="Inspector screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Customize powerful filters to show only matching rows:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2018/sheetplanner/sales.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2018/sheetplanner/sales.png" alt="Editing a filter screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Or edit the preferences:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2018/sheetplanner/preferences.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2018/sheetplanner/preferences.png" alt="Preferences screenshot" width="75%" border="0" /></a></p>
<h2>Try it now!</h2>
<p>SheetPlanner is available as a free download, and includes a free three-week full-featured trial. The app can be purchased for just $49.99, or continue with a free read-only mode if you're not ready to buy.</p>
<p>Visit the <a href="https://sheetplanner.com/">SheetPlanner website</a> to learn more, or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/sheetplanner/id1438761088?mt=12">download from the Mac App Store</a> to try it for yourself!</p>
consultingWed, 28 Nov 2018 18:20:14 +0000David Sinclair11501 at http://dejal.orgTime Out tips: lunchtime & night breakshttp://dejal.org/blog/2018/11/time-out-tips-lunchtime-night-breaks
<p><a href="/timeout/"><img src="/timeout/images/icon.png" align="right" /></a>On <a href="https://twitter.com/dejal">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/earthabbey">Abbey Jackson</a> asked:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/dejal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dejal</a> Love TimeOut! Just noticed on the appstore screenshots an example that shows &quot;Lunch&quot;. Could you share the set up for a daily lunch break at lunch time (rather than a rolling time frame)</p>
<p>&mdash; Abbey Jackson (@earthabbey) <a href="https://twitter.com/earthabbey/status/1062909036486524929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>Sure! Here's the <b>Schedule</b> page for my <a href="/timeout/">Time Out</a> preferences, showing my <b>Lunchtime</b> break configuration:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2018/timeout/lunchtime.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2018/timeout/lunchtime.png" alt="Lunchtime schedule screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>There are two important steps to do this: firstly, set the frequency to <b>Every 1 day</b>, and secondly, use the <b>Available</b> options to set a fixed start time of noon. In my example, I have this break only occur on weekdays. I also have the natural break option set to <b>Continue Countdown</b>, since I want the break to start immediately, not get pushed back due to idle time.</p>
<p>Didn't realize that you can set daily breaks? Yep! Click, arrow, or tab to the units of the duration ("Break for") and frequency ("Every") fields to change between various units: seconds, minutes, hours for the duration, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years for the frequency.</p>
<p>As a bonus, here's my <b>Night</b> break, that tells me to go to bed:</p>
<p><a href="/files/2018/timeout/night.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2018/timeout/night.png" alt="Night schedule screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>This is similar, but a longer duration. And yes, I go to bed rather early, as I usually get up at 05:30 (but don't get to my Mac till after breakfast).</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
http://dejal.org/blog/2018/11/time-out-tips-lunchtime-night-breaks#commentstimeouttipsto2Thu, 15 Nov 2018 16:32:52 +0000David Sinclair11500 at http://dejal.orgTime Out 2.5 releasedhttp://dejal.org/blog/2018/10/time-out-2.5-released
<p><a href="/timeout/"><img src="/timeout/images/icon.png" align="right" /></a>I'm pleased to announce the general release of version 2.5 of <a href="/timeout/">Time Out</a>, my popular break reminder tool.</p>
<p>The most obvious change in version 2.5 is dark mode support on Mojave (macOS 10.14):</p>
<p><a href="/files/2018/timeout/2.5/schedule.png" title="Click for full size."><img src="/files/2018/timeout/2.5/schedule.png" alt="Mojave dark mode schedule screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></a></p>
<p>Isn't that pretty?</p>
<p>In addition to Mojave compatibility, this update also includes a new option on the <b>Break Schedule</b> page of the preferences to choose which days of the week a break is available. Eagle-eyed people may have noticed it in the above screenshot:</p>
<p><img src="/files/2018/timeout/2.5/schedule-avail.png" alt="Mojave dark mode schedule screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></p>
<p>Using this option, you could indicate that breaks should only occur on weekdays, as above, or only Fridays, or any other combination. The days of the week can combine with a time range, or apply all day on the indicated days. This new feature is available as a reward for current supporters, or you can try it as often as you like, for an hour at a time.</p>
<p>(Don't worry, the first day of the week will respect your System Preferences; if you consider that the week starts on Sunday, for example, that'll be first in the control.)</p>
<p>Another new supporter option is on the <b>Advanced</b> preferences page: the ability to disable the app switcher, force quit, and shut down panels during a break:</p>
<p><img src="/files/2018/timeout/2.5/advanced.png" alt="Mojave dark mode advanced screenshot" width="100%" border="0" /></p>
<p>Most people probably don't need this, but if you need a little extra encouragement to avoid skipping breaks, this might be helpful, when combined with existing options to disable the postpone and skip buttons.</p>
<p>There are of course a number of other enhancements and fixes. I recommend everyone update to this version.</p>
<p>Here are the full release notes:</p>
<h4>Mojave dark mode and compatibility</h4>
<ul>
<li>All of the app content has been updated to support dark mode on macOS 10.14.</li>
<li>Built for Mojave (macOS 10.14), but still compatible back to Yosemite (10.10).</li>
</ul>
<h4>New option to choose which days of the week a break is available</h4>
<ul>
<li>Renamed the <b>Break Schedule Available</b> options to "Every Day" and "Between", and added a new "All Day" option.</li>
<li>The latter two now include buttons for the days of the week, enabling days to be toggled off or on, to indicate on which days to use the break.</li>
<li>The difference between them is that "All Day" doesn't have the time fields, and "Between" does.</li>
<li>This new feature could be useful to have breaks that are only used on weekends, or working days, or Wednesdays and Fridays, or any other combination.</li>
<li>This new option is available as a reward for current supporters. If you were a supporter in the past, but it has expired, you can extend your supporter status to use this feature, or try for an hour at a time.</li>
</ul>
<h4>New option to disable the app switcher, force quit, and shut down panels during a break</h4>
<ul>
<li>Added a checkbox on the <b>Advanced</b> page to disable the panels that appear when switching apps via Cmd-Tab, force quit via Cmd-Option-Escape, and sleep, restart, or shut down via Ctrl-Eject (or Ctrl-Power). Defaults off.</li>
<li>This new option is also available as a reward for current supporters.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Other changes</h4>
<ul>
<li>Can now manually postpone a break for longer than the frequency interval.</li>
<li>Fixed playing a sound for the <b>Display Notification</b> break action.</li>
<li>Fixed a scheduler issue where a lower priority break may be skipped if a higher priority break has never been done.</li>
<li>Removed the Fabric crash reporter, to avoid sending unnecessary data to a third party.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Want to try it?</h4>
<p>If you are using the Mac App Store edition, you can update via the <b>App Store</b> app.</p>
<p>If you are using the direct edition, you can use the <b>Check for Updates</b> feature in the app to update.</p>
<p>Otherwise, <a href="/download/?prod=timeout&amp;op=show&amp;ref=blog">download Time Out 2.5 now!</a></p>
http://dejal.org/blog/2018/10/time-out-2.5-released#commentsreleasetimeoutto2Wed, 17 Oct 2018 16:11:03 +0000David Sinclair11497 at http://dejal.orgTime Out 2.5b2 releasedhttp://dejal.org/blog/2018/10/time-out-2.5b2-released
<p><a href="/timeout/"><img src="/timeout/images/icon.png" align="right" /></a>What's this? Another <a href="/timeout/">Time Out</a> beta already? Yep!</p>
<p>This second beta of version 2.5 includes a couple much-requested new features for supporters, improvements for Mojave, and a fix for prior OS versions, among other changes.</p>
<p>Read on for details:</p>
<h4>New option to choose which days of the week a break is available</h4>
<ul>
<li>Renamed the <b>Break Schedule Available</b> options to "Every Day" and "Between", and added a new "All Day" option.</li>
<li>The latter two now include buttons for the days of the week, enabling days to be toggled off or on, to indicate on which days to use the break.</li>
<li>The difference between them is that "All Day" doesn't have the time fields, and "Between" does.</li>
<li>This new feature could be useful to have breaks that are only used on weekends, or working days, or Wednesdays and Fridays, or any other combination.</li>
<li>This new option is available as a reward for current supporters. If you were a supporter in the past, but it has expired, you can extend your supporter status to use this feature, or try for an hour at a time.</li>
</ul>
<h4>New option to disable the app switcher, force quit, and shut down panels during a break</h4>
<ul>
<li>Added a checkbox on the <b>Advanced</b> page to disable the panels that appear when switching apps via Cmd-Tab, force quit via Cmd-Option-Escape, and sleep, restart, or shut down via Ctrl-Eject (or Ctrl-Power). Defaults off.</li>
<li>This new option is also available as a reward for current supporters.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Mojave dark mode and compatibility</h4>
<ul>
<li>Fixed a crash of the previous beta on macOS versions before Mojave, when displaying the status popover. Sorry about that!</li>
<li>Fixed some cosmetic visual issues from the previous beta.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Other changes</h4>
<ul>
<li>Can now manually postpone a break for longer than the frequency interval.</li>
<li>Fixed playing a sound for the <b>Display Notification</b> break action.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Want to try it?</h4>
<p>If you are using the direct edition, you can change your <b>Updates</b> preferences to include beta releases, then use the <b>Check for Updates</b> feature in the app to update.</p>
<p>Otherwise, <a href="/download/?prod=timeout&amp;op=show&amp;rel=beta&amp;ref=blog">download 2.5b2 now!</a></p>
http://dejal.org/blog/2018/10/time-out-2.5b2-released#commentsreleasetimeoutto2Wed, 10 Oct 2018 03:37:02 +0000David Sinclair11495 at http://dejal.orgAttending Swift by Northwest conference in Portlandhttp://dejal.org/blog/2018/10/attending-swift-northwest-conference-portland
<p>I will be attending the <a href="https://swiftbynorthwest.com/">Swift by Northwest conference</a> in Portland on October 18-20. This is a sold-out conference for macOS and iOS developers, with a focus on the Swift programming language, and related topics.</p>
<p>I've written a blog post on my personal blog to introduce myself to attendees. Others may also be interested.</p>
<p><a href="http://dejus.com/2018/10/09/0928/">Check it out!</a></p>
http://dejal.org/blog/2018/10/attending-swift-northwest-conference-portland#commentsconferencestravelTue, 09 Oct 2018 16:55:57 +0000David Sinclair11494 at http://dejal.orgSimon 4.3.1 releasedhttp://dejal.org/blog/2018/10/simon-4.3.1-released
<p><a href="/simon/"><img src="/simon/images/icon.png" align="right" /></a><a href="/simon/">Simon</a> version 4.3.1 is now available. This bug-fix update just has a couple of tweaks:</p>
<ul>
<li>Fixed a crash when generating a remote report.</li>
<li>Further tweaks for dark mode on Mojave.</li>
</ul>
<p>Remember, Simon's price has been temporarily reduced (for the full license and upgrade license), to celebrate version 4.3 (and 4.3.1). Get it while it lasts!</p>
<p>Changes in 4.3 included:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mojave dark mode and compatibility</li>
<li>Added the ability to follow or not follow a meta refresh for each test</li>
<li>Several improvements to the pause and auto-pause functions</li>
<li>A number of refinements of services and filters</li>
<li>Updated the default data</li>
<li>Plus many other improvements</li>
<h4>Get it now!</h4>
<p>If you are using the direct edition, you can use the <b>Check for Updates</b> feature in the app to update.</p>
<p>If you are using the <a href="https://go.setapp.com/stp124?refAppID=201&amp;stc=site&amp;utm_medium=available_on_setapp_button&amp;utm_source=201&amp;utm_campaign=https://www.dejal.com/blog/">Setapp edition</a>, the app will automatically update shortly.</p>
<p>Otherwise, <a href="/download/?prod=simon&amp;op=show&amp;ref=blog">download Simon 4.3.1 now</a>.</p>
</ul>http://dejal.org/blog/2018/10/simon-4.3.1-released#commentsreleasesimonMon, 08 Oct 2018 18:33:00 +0000David Sinclair11493 at http://dejal.org