Add seconds to time display in system tray (WinXP)

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Hello:

I want to add the seconds to the time display in the system tray.

Alas, neither right-clicking on the time display nor going through Regional Settings in the Control Panel will allow me to do this.

Am I missing something, or do I need to download a thirtd-party utility?

Much thanks,

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(Edited by Leif on 07-Feb-05 15:21. to update the link)

TClockEx sounds like what you need.
(Make sure you read all the notes regarding a few limitations when used on XP)

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He Lief,

Thanks for the link; I just downloaded TClockEx, but, alas, it’s not what I’m looking for, since it sits over, i.e., blocks, the system tray.

Rather, I simply want something that will integrate into the system tray, providing only the seconds of the time, completely in line with the hour and minutes.

Yet now that I’ve articulated it, this does sound like too much to hope for…

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Hmm. As far as I can see it replaces the clock display – see the attached which I screen-grabbed at, er, 18:55:26….
Did you actually try it?

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Hi Leif,

When I was running I believe Win 98–I am now running XP Home–the program *seamlessly* integrated into the system tray.

Now it sits conspiciously over the system tray–especially if you, like me, have a two-row system tray.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

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There are a few clock replacements around, but the tray in XP is different enough from all previous versions of Windows that I know TClockEx won’t do the job. Add visual styles to the mix and it gets even more complicated.

However, I don’t think all hope is lost. Just because I don’t know of a suitable program certainly doesn’t mean that one isn’t out there. Have you browsed around the shareware sites, such as ZDNet’s software, Simtel, and others?

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Well, I tried searching–but to no avail.

So I submitted a suggestion to Microsoft via http://register.microsoft.com/mswish/suggestion.asp%5B/url%5D.

Thanks for your help.

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I’m still a bit mystified by what you mean when you say ‘sits over the system tray’ – do you mean it is positioned above it?
No matter what I do, I can’t get it to do anything other than replace the normal clock

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Hi Leif,

I want something similar to the image in your post no. 200666 — except that instead of having the clock in blue, I want it to integrate transparently with Windows’s clock.

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I don’t honestly think you are going to get what you want – if you wanted the seconds to be to the right of the Windows clock, the clock would have to move from its default position.
Are you sure TClockEx will not do what you want? If you add the seconds to the display, how are you going to be able to tell the difference between the hours and minutes it displays and the one your standard clock would display? Mine is blue because I set it to blue – if you set the colour to the that of your taskbar, it will appear to be transparent….

Otherwise, have a delve around the selection of timepieces at Prospector – there are some transparent ones and something might suit.

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(Edited by Leif on 05-Jan-03 12:49. to reduce the graphic size.)

Well, I tried it again, and, while not perfect, this is as good as I think I’m going to get it:

Thanks for your patience and persistence, Leif!

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Those using TClockEx might be interested in the following trick: adding a vertical bar within the clock format results in a display of the time and date on 2 lines. This works very well with UXGA monitors at high resolution on Windows XP. See attachment.

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Good one Francois! I’ve been using it that way for a long time since I have a preference for a double-height taskbar. I posted the settings I use on one of my website’s pages in case anyone who tripped across it was interested. The shot below is on my Win2000 Pro box at the office.

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Thank you Mark. That reminds me that a few laptops ago I used to have a double-height taskbar too. I have since forgotten how to set that up. Can you oblige please. Thank you.

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Certainly I can oblige!

1. WIth Windows XP or other Windows versions that have IE6 installed, you must first unlock the taskbar. Right click and clear the check next to “Lock the Taskbar.” The toolbar handles should then be visible. With versions of IE lower than 6, the locking feature isn’t present.
2. After that, move the mouse pointer to just above the top of the taskbar until it becomes a north/south arrow. Then drag it to the desired size.
3. To add the toolbars, right-click in an empty area of the taskbar, and move to the Toolbars option at the top of the menu. It will cascade out and present the default toolbars (Desktop, Quick Launch, Address, Links). I use all but the “links” because I organize my bookmarks/favorites in a different manner and never use Links.
4. Organize the toolbars to preference. It takes a little bit of practice to figure out where the “sweet spots” are with a double sized taskbar; I prefer two rows, but it can also be organized into columns.
5. If using XP or IE6, lock the taskbar again to prevent wayward mouse movements from destroying your layout.

The address bar in particular is super-handy. Want to go to a website? Type in the domain without the www or .com extensions and press CTRL+Enter. Since the address bar is universal, you can also execute programs from there…..Outlook can be launched by typing “outlook” (without quotes) and pressing Enter. Just about any executable program on the PC can be launched that way. The Desktop toolbar for me, as shown in the screen shot that was attached, remains collapsed for space, and all I need to do is click on the chevron/arrow next to it, and I have full access to the contents of the desktop, control panel, My Computer, etc. Any “special” icon on the desktop should cascade out and display its contents. At the office I’ve added “Network and Dial-up Connections” to the desktop so that I can quickly access my DUN connections.

Phew! I think I’ve covered it all, but if not….let me know!

Cheers,

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Mark, thank you very much for the very extended reply. Actually, I am familiar with what you detailed and you made me realize that I had not made my request clear enough. I apologize for this. What I am looking for is the tip to have a single “row” of the taskbar but to have all the icons shown immediately to the left of the clock in the “Notification area” on two “rows” (these icons are reduced to a very small size) while the icons in the “Quick Launch bar” are on a single “row” and at normal size. It may “sound weird” but it can be done as I had it at one time on a UXGA monitor at 1600×1200 resolution with Windows XP Pro.
Any idea on this?
Thank you again.

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I think you had a third party software installed to do this. I have NOT seen this in any Windows OS and I have been running Windows since version 2.0

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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You are probably right Dave. I’ll try to find it and let everyone know because it was really very “cool.”

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Francois, unless I am misunderstanding you, I have to agree with Dave’s statement. The only way I have ever been able to “stack” the icons in the system tray is to double-size the taskbar. XP provides a little more real estate down there, but in all other Windows versions, the tray is tied to the taskbar’s height.

I can’t say that what you’re after sounds weird, because my own desktop configuration could be called that by many others….right along with “confusing” and “hard to use.” It’s all in what suits you best.

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Thank you Mark. Yes, “weird” is in the eye of the beholder… I think Dave is right and I will look for the darn thing. It was not only very “cool” but also very useful.

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No guarantees, but maybe it had something to do with font sizing? I’m fairly sure that at one stage I had a two row task bar with three rows of icons (in W98). Maybe not so weird after all?

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Now that you mention that, I will experiment again. It may actually have to do with icon sizes.
Thank you.

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Hang on – I think I see what you are after.
You want to keep the normal clock, but have an additional item in the system tray displaying only seconds – yes?

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That’d be fine…

THANKS!

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Leif, thanks for the lead; this link appears broken to me.
This PCWorld Link worked for me.

TClockEx; Copyright ©1998-2000 Dale Nurden; All Rights Reserved; Version 1.4.2 installed flawlessly, and is displaying seconds as we speak:

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Thanks for pointing that out and adding that link – I’ve just updated my original post, correcting my link, so that it now points to the author’s new website. Loungers should now have a choice of two download sites!

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> choice of two download sites!

Right!

I realised this morning that although I wanted the clock to display seconds, the software has an added bonus – I no longer need to take my mouse and hover over the clock to learn today’s date! (How stressed out can we be when we feel that “hovering a mouse” is a great deal of effort?!!).

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