Support

We read everything: sandglass@zone7studios.com

How do I start, switch and stop?

Hold a task and it starts straight away. Tap a task instead and Sandglass asks what you meant: start it now, start it from a few minutes ago, or add time by hand. There is only ever one thing running, and the lit tile is it; tap a different task while one runs and it offers the switch. Tap the running tile to stop it, to stop it at an earlier time, or to move when it started. That is the whole interface; everything else is the record it leaves behind.

I forgot to stop it. Or to start it.

Open the day. Every entry is on the day card, in order, and each one can be trimmed, moved or deleted; an entry you never started can be added by hand with a start and an end. Sandglass keeps time by the minute, so a correction is a couple of taps, not a form. Nothing about a correction is recorded against you, and the record is simply what you say it was.

What is Hours mode, and do I need it?

Only if your week has a number on it. With Hours off, Sandglass is a timer and a record, and that is all. With Hours on, you tell it your usual days (say, seven and a half hours on weekdays) and it tells you when you can knock off today, as a time, worked out from your hours, what you've done so far and your break. It also keeps a running balance.

What is the balance?

Time in credit or time owed, carried from day to day and never reset. It is what a workplace might call flex or time in lieu. It starts from whatever figure you give it (Balance → Opening balance), so you can pick up from the number your workplace holds rather than from zero, and it moves by the difference between what a day owed and what you did. It is arithmetic on what you entered, so if it disagrees with your employer's figure, the day cards are where to find out why.

A public holiday, leave, or a day in lieu

Paint it. In Balance, the calendar lets you mark a day as a public holiday, leave, or a day in lieu, one at a time or as a range. A holiday or leave stops owing anything; a day in lieu spends the balance by that weekday's hours. That is what taking flex looks like, and it is the number most apps get wrong.

Does it notify me when I reach my hours?

No, and it never will. Sandglass never rings and never notifies. When you reach your hours it repaints its own widget, which can happen a few minutes later. It makes no sound and there is nothing to dismiss. If you want to know whether you're done, glance at the widget or open the app; the knock-off time is on both.

The widget changed a few minutes after my time, not on it

That is the quiet kind of repaint, on purpose. It can slide by a few minutes, and it waits while the phone sleeps. The widget catches up the moment the phone is awake, and the app itself is always exact.

The widget says it can't load, or stops updating

Restart the phone; that clears it. If it comes back, remove the widget, add it again and open Sandglass once. On phones that manage battery aggressively, allow Sandglass to run in the background in the phone's battery settings. The app itself is always exact.

I'm on a new phone

On Android, Sandglass's record and settings ride Android's own backup and transfer, so your day arrives with the app and there is no account to sign into. On iPhone the same files travel in whatever backup you have turned on. Uninstalling removes Sandglass's record from the phone; if your phone's backup holds a copy, reinstalling can bring it back.

How do I get Sandglass?

Sandglass is on Google Play in Early Access. No invites, no waiting list. Install it from the Google Play listing. Every new build then reaches you automatically.

Found a bug? Have a thought?

Email us any time at sandglass@zone7studios.com. For bugs, include your device model, the Android version, and the Sandglass version, which is shown in Settings, under About. If it is about the balance, the day in question helps most of all. Feature ideas are welcome too.