TimeRibbon v2.1.0

Release notes

Five more colour schemes, every one following the theme

The Colour submenu now offers ten schemes: Classic, Neon, Ocean, Sunset and Forest as before, plus Amber in golds, Ruby in deep reds, Indigo in blues, Berry in magentas and Contrast in black and white, with yellow picking out the secondary text on its dark side. Each has a light and a dark side that follow Light, Dark or System, as Classic does. No two schemes look alike: each is tinted through the whole ribbon (its background, dividers and text). Every one keeps its text as readable as Classic's.

Ocean looks like the sea

Ocean was drawn in near-black blues so close to Classic that the two were hard to tell apart. It is now deep teal with aqua text when dark and pale aqua with deep-sea text when light.

Neon has a light side

Neon used to stay dark whatever the theme, so choosing Light with Neon did nothing. It now has a light side: white, with deep cyan times and place names beside magenta zone abbreviations. Dark keeps its glowing cyan on near black.

The whole clock shows when Windows text is enlarged

With Windows' Accessibility Text size set above 100%, the ribbon's window was too small for its clocks, cutting off the date and time. The window is now sized by the scale the page is really drawn at, so the whole clock shows at any text size.

Update check

TimeRibbon now tells you when a newer release is out. A few seconds after it starts, then once a day, it asks GitHub for the latest release; when that is newer than yours, the ribbon shows it with Download (the file for your platform, opened in your browser), Skip this version and Later. A skipped version is never offered again unasked. Help has a new Check for updates, which asks at any time and always answers, including when GitHub cannot be reached. This is TimeRibbon's one network request: it sends nothing about you or your clocks. It never installs anything by itself. The Linux Flatpak now has network access for this check alone.

TimeRibbon v2.0.0

Release notes

macOS and Linux

TimeRibbon now runs on macOS and Linux as well as Windows. On a Mac with Apple Silicon and macOS 12 or later it comes as TimeRibbon.dmg, signed and notarised by Apple: drag it to Applications. On Linux it comes as timeribbon.flatpak, installed for your own account with flatpak install --user. Everything the Windows ribbon does, it does there: the frameless ribbon kept off the Dock or taskbar; the icon in the menu bar or system tray with the full menu; the right-click menu; dragging onto any display; Position; every style, size and colour scheme; starting when you sign in.

Each platform keeps to its own ways. On macOS a click on the menu bar icon opens its menu; starting at sign-in is called Open at Login there. On Linux it is Start when I sign in; on Ubuntu a double click on the tray icon shows or hides the ribbon. On Linux the ribbon draws through X11 (XWayland on a Wayland desktop), since a window on Wayland may not choose where it stands. About lists the components each platform's build actually ships.

A new name: TimeRibbon

TimeStrip is now TimeRibbon, renamed over a trademark concern; its window is now called the ribbon. Everything that carries the name has changed with it: the application and setup program (TimeRibbon.exe and TimeRibbonSetup.exe), the install folder (%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\TimeRibbon), the settings folder (%APPDATA%\TimeRibbon), the Apps list entry, the Start with Windows entry and the menus, which now offer Show ribbon and Hide ribbon.

Installing over TimeStrip

TimeRibbon is a fresh install and carries nothing over from TimeStrip: not its clocks, its choices, its place on screen or its install. The two are separate programs as far as Windows is concerned, so uninstall TimeStrip from the Apps list in Windows Settings before installing TimeRibbon; otherwise both will run. TimeStrip's settings folder, %APPDATA%\TimeStrip, stays behind after uninstalling unless you tick Also forget my settings; delete it by hand if you no longer want it.

Centre the ribbon on an edge

A new Position submenu, in both the notification area menu and the ribbon's right-click menu, puts the ribbon flush against an edge of the display it is on, centred along that edge. A vertical ribbon is offered the left and right edges; a horizontal one the top and bottom. The ribbon opens there next time; it stays against that edge as clocks are added or removed and when it changes size or style.

Each orientation has a home edge

Choosing horizontal sends the ribbon flush against the top of its display, centred left to right; choosing vertical sends it flush against the right, centred top to bottom. The same edge is where the ribbon first appears; it is also where it goes when its monitor has gone or it was left off every display.

Small clocks

A new Size choice in Settings draws every clock large or small, in either style. Small clocks are a third shorter in analogue and a fifth shorter in digital, with the text and dial reduced to fit, so a small screen such as a 13 inch laptop holds more of them. Large remains the default.

Colour schemes

A new Colour submenu, in both menus, draws every clock in one of five schemes: Classic, the look TimeRibbon has always had; Neon, near black with glowing cyan digits and hands; Ocean, in deep blues; Sunset, in warm reds and oranges; and Forest, in greens. Every scheme but Neon has a light and a dark side that follow the theme, as Classic does; Neon stays dark whatever the theme. Every scheme keeps its text as readable as Classic's.

Style and orientation in the menus

Digital or analogue and horizontal or vertical are now chosen from Style and Orientation submenus in both menus, each ticking the current choice, rather than in Settings. Settings now holds the size, the time format, the theme, Always on top, starting at sign-in and the clocks. Its title and Close button stay at the top while the rest of it scrolls.