gbWorldClock is an extremely easy to use freeware application for monitoring the time at any number of locations around the world. Several display modes and application settings are available, allowing you to fit gbWorldClock onto your desktop in a convenient manner and to view the data formatted in a manner of your choosing.

Key Features: Opaque, transparent and popup display modes 200+ location data base Displays location icons Select text/background colors Sort by location or UTC (ascending and descending) Application Docking (detect Taskbar AutoHide0 Separate transparent and non-transparent fonts AutoSize with font changes Hyperlink support 12-hr or 24-hr time formatting Online Help

Download (v1.2, 104K)

Display Modes

Standard Mode

In this mode, the gbWorldClock window is filled with a location list. The list contains the user defined location string and the local date/time for each location.

PopUp Mode

Double-clicking the caption bar will toggle display of the location list, with the caption always remaining in view. This mode is very non-intrusive on the user's desktop while maintaining a familiar window caption for users who prefer it.

Transparency Mode

In transparency mode, the gbWorldClock window client area is not drawn, making it appear that the location information is drawn directly on the desktop. This mode is perhaps the least intrusive on the user's desktop.

The image above is of my PC desktop, which has a blue background.

gbWorldClock Window

Drag Window to New Location
To drag the gbWorldClock window to a new location, just left-mouse click anywhere on the window or caption and drag the window. This is slightly different from most applications, where only dragging on the caption is supported. In transparency mode, a "gripper" can be displayed to as an easier target on which to click.

Window Resizing
gbWorldClock does not automatically resize to fit location content, but the user can manually resize the window as needed. If the window is resize smaller than the displayed data, scrollbars are not provided to scroll data into view.

RollUp Feature
Double-clicking on the caption causes the window to "roll up", leaving only the caption visible and hiding all location data. Double-click again to restore gbWorldClock to it's full size.

If rollup occurs near the bottom of the screen, gbWorldClock will reposition itself so that all of the window is drawn onscreen.

Closing gbWorldClock

gbWorldClock can also be closed by double-clicking anywhere on the window, excluding the caption. This is particularly useful for closing gbWorldClock when in transparency mode. In that case, just double-click on an icon or on the gripper to close gbWorldClock.

Fonts

gbWorldClock uses the same font size and font style in opaque and transparency modes.

Location Data

     Fairbanks, Alaska : -9 : usa.ico
     California : -8 : usa.ico
     Texas : -6 : texas.ico
     UK : 0 : uk.ico
     France : 1 : france.ico
     Sweden : 1 : sweden.ico
     Sydney, Australia : 10 : australia.ico
     New Zealand : 12 : newzealand.ico
     Spain : 1 : spain.ico 
     Gary Beene : -6 : texas.ico : http://www.garybeene.com
     ********** anything after this is ignored ***********
     Abu Dhabi : +4
     Adelaide : +9.5
     Aden : +3

Each location is kept on a single line. Each line contains a title, UTC time zone, and icon file name, each separated by a colon.

When gbWorldClock loads, it reads the file up to the first line beginning with "***". Remaining content of the file is not read.

The location.txt may be edited by the user, using the context menu option "Edit Location List" while gbWorldClock is running. Notepad is used to edit the file. gbWorldClock suspends execution until Notepad is close, at which point the location.txt file is reread and it's modified content displayed.

Icons

As noted in the discussion above on Location Data, the name of the icon is placed in at the end of each line of location data.

Context Menu

Online Location Search
Opens to a web page that provides location and UTC information. The page does not belong to me, but it can be used to find UTC information on locations.

Edit Location List
Opens the Locations data file (location.txt) for editing. See above discussion for more details.

Select Text Color
Selects the text color to be used in all display modes.

Select Background Color
Selects the dialog background color to be used in opaque modes. Does not apply to transparency mode.

Select Opaque Font
Selects the font to be used to display text in opaque display modes. See the discussion above for more information on fonts.

Select Transparency Font
Selects the font to be used to display text in transparency display modes. See the discussion above for more information on fonts.

Restore Default Fonts
Returns the fonts to default settings "System/8/normal" and "Consolat/8/Bold", corresponding to transparency and opaque modes.

Size To Fit Data Now
Resizes the dialog to fit currently displayed location data.

Refresh Now
Reloads the location data base and refreshes the display. This option would be use if the user manually updates the location data base. The same effect is achieved by closing and then re-opening gbWorldClock.

Sort None
Displays the location data in the same order as it is found in the locations.txt file (no sorting)

Sort by Time, Ascending
Sorts the displayed location data by UTC in ascending order

Sort by Time, Descending
Sorts the displayed location data by UTC in descending order.

Sort by Title, Ascending
Sorts the displayed lcoation data by location description in ascending order.

Sort by Title, Descending
Sorts the displayed lcoation data by location description in descending order.

Transparency
Toggles transparency mode.

Show Gripper
Toggles display of the gripper, which is used to re-position gbWorldClock in transparency mode.

24-Hr Time
Toggles between 12-Hr and 24-Hr display mode.

Show Icons
Toggles display of location icons.

Local Time
Show local time in the gbWorldClock caption.

AutoDock to Tray
When the caption is doubled clicked to get a rollup, the rolled-up application is re-located to the bottom of the screen, just above the system tray. The docking position relative to the Taskbar is maintained even when the Taskbar AutoHide is active.

AutoSize
Automatically resizes the gbWorldClock dialog to fit the currently displayed location data. Selecting fonts, toggling transparency, and changing time format will all trigger an AutoSize action.

Online Help
When clicked, opens the online Help page in the user's default browser. F1 may also be pressed to open the online Help page. The following dropdown menu is available:

Exit
Closes gbWorldClock

Other Comments

Sessions
When gbWorldClock starts, it opens to the same location and window size in effect when it was last closed. It does not reopen in minimized or maximized states.

INI File
gbWorldClock application settings are saved in an INI file, kept in the same folder as the gbWorldClock application.

Comments and suggestions are welcome!