Timer Applet 2.0

Update: Fixed layout of example code.

So…first blog entry. Let’s get to the good stuff: Timer Applet 2.0!

I’m really excited about this release because it brings some extra polish that I’ve been meaning to add for a long time. I’ve re-written the entire applet in Python, so there are definitely some drastic under-the-hood changes, but let’s talk about the user-visible changes.

Here’s a quick overview:

• New icon
• Countdown animation with a “pie” meter
• One-click selection of timer presets
• Streamlined saving of new presets
• Cleaner first-time experience with the Start Timer dialog
• After a timer finishes, periodically redisplay the notification bubble until the user stops the timer
• GConf option for notification beep using internal speakers (this needs verification)
• D-Bus API

New Icon
I’m no artist, but I tried my best to make something decent. I think it’s at least an improvement over the old one.

old icon vs. new icon

Countdown Animation
A running timer will now show a “pie” meter that will indicate how much time is remaining.

One-Click Presets
Previously, if you wanted to load a preset in the Start Timer dialog, you would have to double-click a preset or highlight it and click ‘Load Selected Preset’. Now, each item in the list of presets is a button that you can just click once to load the preset. Fewer clicks and we no longer need that ‘Load Selected Preset’ button cluttering up the dialog.

old vs new Start Timer dialog

Streamlined Saving of Presets
The most common thing you would probably need to do in the Start Timer dialog is create a preset, so now there’s a ‘Save as Preset’ button that will create a preset out of the duration and name that you currently have entered in the fields. You can now create a preset from the comfort of the Start Timer dialog. The ‘Add’, ‘Edit’, and ‘Delete’ buttons have been replaced with a ‘Manage Presets’ button that will take you to the Manage Presets dialog, where you get access to all of the preset management options.

Cleaner First-Time Experience
A brand-new user, with no presets, will see a simplified Start Timer dialog without the presets list (if there are no presets, then why show it, right?). The list of presets will only appear if there is at least one preset.

Periodic Redisplay of Notification Bubble
After a timer finishes, the notification bubble will keep reappearing until you click on the button to stop the timer. This is just another way to remind the user that the timer has finished, in addition to the blinking timer. BTW, the blinking happens faster now, so that it’s more noticeable.

Internal Speaker Beep
I’ve added a GConf setting for making your internal PC speaker beep when a timer finishes. Since this probably won’t be used by many people, I chose not to expose it in the UI. My computer doesn’t have an internal speaker though, so I haven’t been able to test this feature. Please give it a try and let me know if it works. You can find the GConf key here:

/apps/panel/applet_*/prefs/play_beep

where * is some integer. It’s up to you to figure out which GConf entry corresponds to your current instance of Timer Applet. Or you can use the D-Bus API to figure it out….

D-Bus API
You can now use D-Bus to get the list of timer IDs (an ID looks like ‘applet_*’, where * is some integer; this is the same as the applet’s GConf key). With the timer ID, you can get the corresponding Timer object and use it to start, pause/continue, or stop a Timer Applet instance.

Here’s some sample code:

#!/usr/bin/env python

import dbus

bus = dbus.SessionBus()timer_manager = bus.get_object('net.sourceforge.timerapplet.TimerApplet',                               '/net/sourceforge/timerapplet/TimerApplet/TimerManager')timer_id_list = timer_manager.GetTimerIDList()if len(timer_id_list) > 0:    first_timer_id = timer_id_list[0]    print 'Starting timer with ID: %s' % first_timer_id

    timer = bus.get_object('net.sourceforge.timerapplet.TimerApplet',                           '/net/sourceforge/timerapplet/TimerApplet/Timers/' + first_timer_id)

    # Start() takes: name, hours, minutes, seconds    # Name can be an empty string.    timer.Start('Laundry', 0, 45, 0)else:    print 'There are no Timer Applets in the panel.'

The TimerManager has only one method: GetTimerIDList().

Each Timer has these methods:

• Start(name, hours, minutes, seconds)
• PauseContinue()
• Stop()

I tried to keep the API as simple as possible, so if it doesn’t meet your needs, let me know and I’ll try to work something out.

Phew, that was my first post. Done.

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Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Elevation Chart in Flex – using Timers
• Hello Planet, Meet the Tap-dancing Timer
• Timer class

~ by jimmydo on April 27, 2007.