Quick Info...

GigAlarm is an alarm program, capable of over 4 million different alarms. Once set, an alarm can be set to auto-repeat on set days or by a time offset. The alarm can be either a wave file playing (random or selected), a program/file running (also random or selected), changing the background wallpaper, a window or various Windows shut down options. It has various other options including alarm search, snooze control, variable alarm cut off, repeating sounds, boot up alarms, countdown, variable pause, variable alarm warning, missed alarm notification, and more. It requires under 100KB of hard drive space. (This size includes a 30 alarm database.)

Tested on...

Win98SE
WinME
WinNT
Win2000
WinXP

Installation...

Run "InstallerA.exe" and follow the instructions. If GigAlarm is already installed and it is a version after 1.08 then it is OK to install on top, otherwise you should uninstall the old version first as the data files are incompatible.

If you do not like GigAlarm, and feel that you require your 100Kb of hard drive space back, use the "Add/Remove Programs" option in the Control Panel.

Use...

This is a description of all of the functions of GigAlarm.

Icon Menu

Right clicking on the icon in the System Notification area (also know as the System Tray) will bring up a menu.

Gig Info - Information about the program
Register - Brings up the registration window which allows you to register the program. This is NOT essential and no features are added if you do this. When you receive a registration code from me you simply copy it into the registration window and then your name will appear in the Gig Info box.
Status - Tells when the next alarm will occur (this also appears when you leave the pointer over the tray icon for a few seconds) and how long Windows has been running for. (Free bonus!)
Help - Shows this File
Set Alarms - Brings up the Alarms Settings window
Options - Opens the Options window
Turn Alarms On/Off - Turns alarms on or off.
Pause/resume Alarms - "Pause" disables alarms for the set pause value (the default is 30 minutes) which can be resumed earlier by selecting "Resume".
Test Alarm - Tests the action of the next non Subtle alarm.
Exit - Exits GigAlarm

Next Alarms

This Window appears when you click on the GigAlarm icon in the System Notification area (also know as the System Tray) and it shows in time order the next 100 alarms. If you double-click on the number of an alarm, the details for that alarm will come up in the "Alarm Details" window. (See below.) The toolbar allows you to enable/disable, add, copy, delete, test, search for alarms (min 3 characters), and access alarms by number, as well as providing easy access to this help file.

Alarm Options

This Window appears when you click on the "Options" button in the "Next Alarms" window.

Snooze - Selects the length of time (5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes,  1, 6 or 12 hours, or 1 day) after pressing the Snooze button that the alarm will repeat.
Pause - Selects the length of time (5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes,  1, 6 or 12 hours, or 1 day) after selecting "Pause" in the tray menu that no alarms will sound.
Tray Tip - Selects the ToolTip shown on the tray icon. This can be either:

Alarm Time - Shows the time when the next alarm will happen. 
Magic 10 - Displays the time between Alarm 10 and the current day in days, hours and minutes. For this to work Alarm 10 must be a Date or a Delay alarm. Alarm 10 does not need to be set for this to work. (This feature will probably be removed next version.)
Countdown - Shows how long away the next alarm is.

Tray Icon - Selects if the tray icon is shown. When this option is enabled the icon is only for ten seconds on boot to enable you to change options. Also, when enabled, the only way to close the program is via the Task Manager.
Auto Start - Selects if GigAlarm will start on boot. GigAlarm will then run on boot using the command line option of "/q", which causes GigAlarm to open without showing any windows.
Reminder - Makes GigAlarm show missed alarms and then quit. This feature can also be used by running GigAlarm with the command line option of "/r".
Force - Selects if you want GigAlarm to close unresponsive programs when a shutdown alarm is running. GigAlarm will only use "Force" if it hasn't closed down after a time, but even so, it should only be used if needed as Windows often doesn't close down properly. For example, I have found that often the Desktop layout is not saved.

Alarm Details

This window appears either when you click on an alarm number in the Alarm Settings window (see above) or if you enter a number in the Goto Alarm box. It allows the setting of the details for individual alarms. The toolbar allows you to save / cancel, enable/disable, add, copy, delete, test, search for alarms (min 3 characters), access alarms by previous alarm, next alarm, or by the alarm number, as well as providing easy access to this help file.

The other controls are:

Text - This is where you enter the text to display in the alarm window.
File/Folder - This is where you enter the file name to work with. "Drag and drop" also works.
Change File - Opens an open file dialog to select a filename.
Test Action- Tests the alarm action. The action is selected by a combo box to the left of this button. Possible actions are below. Next to their name is a four letter code that is displayed in the "Alarm Settings" window.

Play Wave File Wave - Plays the wave file selected in the File box and displays a window
Run File File- Does the default action for the file name in the File box. For example if it is a MP3 file default player will be used. If it is a program then GigAlarm will run it. No window comes up unless "Warn" is on.
Default Sound Beep - Plays the default windows sound and displays a window.
Window Only Wind - Displays a window. No sound is played.
Wallpaper Wall -  Randomly selects a bitmap (BMP)  file from the folder in the Folder box and sets it as the "wallpaper". No window comes up unless "Warn" is on and if the wallpaper directory is devoid of bitmap files you will get a boring blank screen.
Shutdown Shut - Closes Windows. No window comes up unless "Warn" is on.
Reboot Boot - Reboots Windows. No window comes up unless "Warn" is on.
Log Off LogO - Logs the current user off. No window comes up unless "Warn" is on.
Power Off POff - Shuts down the computer and turns power off. No window comes up unless "Warn" is on.
Random Wave RWve - Plays a random wave file selected from the directory in the Folder box and displays a window
Random File RFle - Does the default action for a random file selected from the directory in the Folder box. For example if it is a MP3 file default player will be used. If it is a program then GigAlarm will run it. No window comes up unless "Warn" is on.
Wave Only WavO - Plays the wave file selected in the File box. No window comes up.

Cutoff - Turns off the alarm after sounding for the time in minutes that is in the box to the right.
Subtle - Makes the alarm work but not appear in the tooltip on the tray icon.
Casual - If a casual alarm happens while GigAlarm is off, then there will be no notification/action.
Repeat sound - Repeats the sound every 3 seconds.
Warn - For non window (wallpaper, file and shutdown) alarms, this setting will bring up a window giving selected time in seconds to cancel the set action. Very useful for shutdown alarms.

The combo box on the bottom selects the action that will be taken after the alarm happens. The options are

Just Once - Nothing
Delete After - Once the alarm happens it is deleted
Repeat Every - Repeats the alarm by the time selected on the right.
Set on Boot - Same as Repeat Every except it only happens on GigAlarm start-up.
Selected Days - Repeats the alarm on the days selected below.

Notes...

This program is designed for a minimum footprint. It uses around 100Kb of hard drive space and doesn't slow the computer down in any appreciable way, even while resident. Memory usage is in no way affected by the number of alarms selected - hard drive space is used instead. With no windows open the program generally uses less than 200kB of RAM. The registry is only used if you ask the program to auto-boot, all other setting are stored in the "GigAlarm" directory. It was done this way to enable the same alarms to be used in a dual boot installation, and it also makes transferring alarms between two computers easier.

The other important fact is that the shutdown options do not work the same on different versions of windows. For example I have found that on Win 2000 the Shutdown option will bring the computer to the "You may now turn off the computer" screen, while on WinME it will turn the computer off. Conversely, the Power Off setting on Win ME will bring the computer to the Log On screen (like Log Off), while it will work normally in Win 2000. I did consider making the program adjust in operation for different Windows versions, but seeing that this is a Windows problem, not mine, it is probably better to not. Especially since the whole Win9X/Me world is about to dying now that WinXP is out now. I do advise experimentation and testing out however.

Previous user of GigAlarm will notice that this version is substantially different from the previous versions. In fact, this version is around 80% new compared to v1.16 and it tries to answers the many requests that I have received since the first version come out. Like my only other released programs GigAlarm is intended to be small and not have too many unnecessary features. I have no intention, for example, to add built in MP3 support as it would need more space than the rest of the program. However, I am interested in any other improvement ideas. Planned features for the 1.22 version include:

Multiple events for alarms
Grouping of alarms by label and types for easier finding and configuration
Plug ins

Possible future ideas include:

JPEG wallpaper changer (This would be an external function.)

History...

Licence...

This program is essentially free to use for non-profit purposes. Permission is given for all forms of distribution, including CD compilations and Websites. Just keep it in the ZIP file to keep the files together. To help me keep track of its distribution I would like an EMail from you so I get a general idea of its usage, and also to encourage me to improve it. Advice/insults (on the subject of the program, not myself) are also welcome. People who EMail me can also be added to a mailing list and be sent the newest version when available. Simply send me an EMail with "GigADD" in the subject. The address is at the top of this file and also in the program itself in the "Gig Info" window. I might also add you to the list if you EMail me and show interest my programs. To be removed from this list, write me an EMail with "GigREMOVE" in the subject.

Having said all of that, if you find this program useful I would appreciate $10 AUD (or $5 USD) as a token of your appreciation. Send this to the postal address mentioned in the "Gig Info" window of GigAlarm. (In cash only please - to convert a foreign cheque it costs $7!) Alternatively, I have a PayPal service set up on the website if you find that easier.

Liability...

I accept no liability for this software. Installing this software is your choice and your choice alone. Any unintentional damage/loss cause by the use of this software in any way is not my responsibility, even if it is my fault. By installing this software you acknowledge to accept this totally arrogant proposal.

Support@SinnerComputing.com
http://www.SinnerComputing.com