astime(1) Version 2.8 astime(1)
12 December 2000
NAME
astime - the AfterStep analogue clock
SYNOPSIS
astime [-h] [-H] [-V]
[-iconic] [-withdrawn] [-standout] [-noborder]
[-geometry [WxH][+|-]x[+|-]y]
[-rc file name]
[-u update rate]
[-exe program name]
[-shift hours]
[-ns] [-nd] [-nap]
[-display display]
[-title name]
[-bg color]
[-fg color]
[-sec color]
[-min color]
[-hour color]
[-day color]
[-date color]
[-ampm color]
[-nt] [-at] [-fs]
[-ts] [-fh] [-nh]
[-ht number]
[-ot number]
[-nf]
[-label text]
[-fn font name]
[-lcol label color]
[-ltop]
DESCRIPTION
The astime is a X11 application that acts as an analogue clock that we
all are familiar with. It shows the current time on the dial. The day
of the week is in the upper left corner and the current date is at the
bottom. The AM/PM indicator is in the top right corner.
CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
-h or -H
Prints a short description and usage message.
-V
Version control. Prints out the version of the program.
-rc <file name>
Read the configuration from the given resource file. The default
resource file read if none are given on the command line is
~/.astimerc. The settings on the command line overwrite any
settings read from the resource file. A single '#' character can
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be used to "comment out" any line in the .astimerc file, which is
useful for making temporary changes.
-geometry [WxH][+|-]x[+|-]y
Displays the window at the specified location on the screen and
resizes the window to the specified size WxH. This works as
standard X Windows geometry option. (See XParseGeometry (3x)).
-iconic
Starts the astime application in the iconized mode. The icon has
the same appearance with the main window. When this option is
given, the -position refers to the position of the icon window as
well as the main window.
-withdrawn
Starts the astime application in the withdrawn mode. This option
is necessary to be able to dock the astime in the WindowMaker
dock. When this option is given, the -position refers to the
position of the icon window as well as the main window. astime
ignores the -iconic option when started in withdrawn mode.
-standout
This changes the appearance of the astime display from "pushed-
in" to "popped-out". The first is the default look. The
"popped-out" applets look much better in WindowMaker's dock
according to some opinions. Give it a try in any case.
-noborder
The clock looses its border effectively becoming a 2D clock
instead of having a raised or lowered faceplate. This option is
reportedly recommended for FVWM use. When this option is used
"-standout" is ignored.
-u <update rate>
Changes the polling rate for updating the clock. The update rate
is specified in seconds. The value of 1 is the minimum. Default
value is 1 second. Updating at a different value is hardly a
good idea when you have the seconds hand on. Switch it off with
the "-nosec" option.
-exe <program name>
Specifies which program should be executed when you click on the
clock's face. If this switch is not specified, astime does not
intercept the mouse clicks at all. So, by default, nothing is
run. This option uses system(3) call to execute the specified
program. The maximum length of the command is restricted to 255
characters (for no particular reason).
The icon does not usually respond to mouse clicks (you would want
to be able to de-iconify the window, right?) unless you are
running in the "withdrawn" mode (-withdrawn option). Then the
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icon responds the same way the clock face does.
-shift <hours>
Shifts the clock by the specified number of hours. This is a
simple way of putting a clock in a different timezone. Useful
when you want several clocks showing the current time in
different places. The value can be both positive and negative.
The values above 23 and below -23 are silently ignored.
Note that the date and day of the week are not adjusted.
-ns
Do not draw the seconds hand of the clock. Only the minutes and
hours hands are drawn.
-nd
Do not show the current date.
-nap
Do not show the AM/PM indicator.
-display <name>
The name of the display to start the window in. It works just as
X Windows display option.
-title <name>
Set the window title and the icon title to the specified name.
-bg <color>
Changes the color of the background of the dial. Default colour
is #385971.
-fg <color>
Changes the color of the foreground of the dial. Default colour
is #ffffff.
-sec <color>
Changes the color of the second hand of the clock. Default
colour is #efc669.
-min <color>
Changes the color of the minute hand of the clock. Default
colour is #ff3030.
-hour <color>
Changes the color of the hour hand of the clock. Default colour
is #ef3838.
-day <color>
Changes the color of the day-of-the-week display. Default colour
is #a0a0a0.
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-date <color>
Changes the color of the date display. Default colour is
#a0a0a0.
-ampm <color>
Changes the color of the AM/PM display. Default colour is
#a0a0a0.
-nt
Don't draw the second ticks on the clock face.
-at
Draw all ticks, not only every 5 seconds.
-fs
"Floating" second indicator in the style of xclock.
-ts
Use a thin second hand - default in the regular mode. Use it to
change the appearance of the second hand while in the -fh mode.
It looks very good with the normal hands of large thickness too.
-fh
Fancy hands mode. Renders fancy xclock-style hands.
-nh
"Neon" hands. Try this with the fancy hands mode.
-ht <number>
Hand thickness. Can be a number from 0 to 200.
-ot <number>
Hand outline thickness. Can be a number from 0 to 200.
-nf
No foreground. Equal to "-nd -nap -nt".
-label <text>
Asks the astime to label the clock's face with the specified
text. Useful when you want to distinguish between different
instances of astime running on your desktop.
-fn <font name>
Use the specified font for the label. The default font is "-*-
helvetica-medium-r-*-*-9-240-*-*-*-*-*-*". Don't ask me why, I do
not know, I just found it fits my desktop well. If you have a
better idea - send me a mail. The font is loaded only if you
specify a label and has otherwise no effect.
-lcol <label color>
Draw the label using the specified color. The default color is
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#a0a0a0. Has no effect if you did not specify a label.
-ltop
Draw the label on the top of the clock's face instead of drawing
it at the bottom by default. Does not do anything if a label was
not specified.
RESOURCE FILE SYNTAX
astime can read and parse a configuration file. This configuration
file describes the desired look of the applet (there are equialents to
all command-line options) and specifies actions to be taken on
particular events. The configuration file is usually ~/.astimerc but
astime can be forced to read any file using the -rc option. Any
options read from the configuration file may be overridden with the
command-line options (if a corresponding command-line option exists,
naturally).
The configuration file may contain only one option per line. Empty
lines and lines starting with # are ignored.
geometry <geometry specification>
Your standard X Windows geometry specification.
background <color>
Specifies the background color.
foreground <color>
Specifies the foreground color.
secondColor <color>
Specifies the color for the second hand of the clock.
minuteColor <color>
Specifies the color for the minute hand of the clock.
hourColor <color>
Specifies the color for the hour hand of the clock.
secondOutColor <color>
Specifies the color for the second hand outline in fancy and
outline modes.
minuteOutColor <color>
Specifies the color for the minute hand outline in fancy and
outline modes.
hourOutColor <color>
Specifies the color for the hour hand outline in fancy and
outline modes.
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12 December 2000
secondFillColor <color>
Specifies the fill color for the second hand in fancy mode.
minuteFillColor <color>
Specifies the fill color for the minute hand in fancy mode.
hourFillColor <color>
Specifies the fill color for the hour hand in fancy mode.
dayColor <color>
Specifies the color for the day of the week indicator.
AMPMColor <color>
Specifies the color for the AM/PM indicator.
dateColor <color>
Specifies the color for the current date indicator.
drawSecondHand <0 | 1>
A boolean variable (0 | 1) specifying if the second hand should
be drawn.
drawDayDate <0 | 1>
A boolean variable specifying if the day/date indicator should be
drawn.
drawAMPM <0 | 1>
A boolean variable specifying if the AM/PM indicator should be
drawn.
drawTicks <0 | 1>
A boolean variable specifying if the second ticks should be drawn
at all.
drawAllTicks <0 | 1>
A boolean variable specifying if all ticks should be drawn and
not only every 5 sec.
drawForeground <0 | 1>
A boolean variable specifying if the foreground elements should
be drawn. When zero is specified only the clock hands appear.
floatSeconds <0 | 1>
A boolean variable specifying if the second indicator should be a
floating pointer (a bit like in xclock) rather than a hand.
thinSeconds <0 | 1>
A boolean variable specifying if the second hand should be thin.
handThickness <thickness>
Specifies the thickness of the hands. Can be a value between 0
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and 200.
outThickness <thickness>
Specifies the thickness of the outline of the hands. Can be a
value between 0 and 200.
fancyHands <0 | 1>
A boolean variable (0 | 1). Render polygonal, xclock-like hands.
outlinedHands <0 | 1>
A boolean variable (0 | 1). Render polygonal, xclock-like hands
without fill.
neonHands <0 | 1>
A boolean variable (0 | 1). Darken the hand fill colors with
respect to their outlines, useful with fancy hands.
execProg <command line>
Specifies a command to be executed when the clock face is
clicked. The command line must be enclosed in double quotes.
withdrawn <0 | 1>
A boolean variable (0 | 1). This option is necessary when running
with WindowMaker. Produces a withdrawn window that can be docked.
iconic <0 | 1>
A boolean variable (0 | 1). Specifies if the applet should start
as an icon rather than a full window.
standout <0 | 1>
A boolean variable (0 | 1). Changes the appearance of the display
from "pushed-in" to the "standing out".
noborder <0 | 1>
A boolean variable (0 | 1). Changes the appearance of the display
from 3D to plain 2D by removing the shaded border around the
faceplate.
shift <+-hours>
Specifies that the clock should show the local time shifted by
the given number of hours. Useful to see the time in different
timezones.
title <name>
Specifies which title should be given to this clock.
at hh:mm:ss <command line>
Specifies program to be run at a particular time. The command
line must be enclosed in double quotes.
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12 December 2000
Label <text>
Asks the astime to label the clock's face with the specified
text. Useful when you want to distinguish between different
instances of astime running on your desktop. Equivalent to the
command-line '-label' option.
Font <font name>
Use the specified font for the label. The default font is "-*-
helvetica-medium-r-*-*-9-240-*-*-*-*-*-*". Don't ask me why, I do
not know, I just found it fits my desktop well. If you have a
better idea - send me a mail. The font is loaded only if you
specify a label and has otherwise no effect. Equivalent to the
command-line '-fn' option.
LabelColor <color>
Draw the label using the specified color. The default color is
#a0a0a0. Has no effect if you did not specify a label.
Equivalent to the command-line '-lcolor' option.
LabelTop <0 | 1>
If the value is 1 draws the label on the top of the clock's face;
if the value is 0 - at the bottom (default). Does not do anything
if a label was not specified.
INVOCATION
astime can be called in different ways. The most common invocation is
the command line:
user@host[1]% astime -bg blue -fg white &
Another way to call astime is from the window manager:
*Wharf "astime" nil Swallow "astime" astime -nosec &
This line, when placed in the wharf file in the user's Afterstep
configuration directory will cause astime to be a button on the Wharf
(1) button bar under the afterstep (1) window manager.
If you run WindowMaker then you should use the "-withdrawn" option:
user@host[1]% astime -withdrawn -standout &
and then drag the icon to the dock.
If you run fvwm2 I think you will like to try this one:
astime -geometry 120x120+890+0 -bg black
-fg \#0000ff -sec \#efc669 -min \#20b2aa
-hour \#8141d7 -day \#7766aa -ampm \#7766aa
-date \#7766aa -at -fs -fh -nh
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astime(1) Version 2.8 astime(1)
12 December 2000
Of course, it looks less scary if you put all those settings in the
~/.astimerc file. The example .astimerc file (sample.astimerc)
included in the distribution provides the aforementioned settings.
BUGS
My programs do not have bugs, they just develop random features ;-)
Well, there are limitations. All the strings for the color names,
display name, and the geometry have the length limit of 64 characters
(terminating zero included). The string copying routine cuts the names
that are longer.
SEE ALSO
date(1),X(1x)
COPYRIGHTS
Copyright (c) 1998-2000 Albert Dorofeev <albert@tigr.net>
Copyright (c) 1999 William Kostis <kostis@ee.cornell.edu>
Distributed under GNU General Public License v2 ; see LICENSE file for
more informations.
AUTHORS
Albert "Tigr" Dorofeev <albert@tigr.net>
William Kostis <kostis@ee.cornell.edu>
See the README file for details and credits.
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