start and end date handling0
Mark
via web
Hi I'd like a tweak to your UI so that I can adjust a timed
session by adjusting the start and end dates, disregarding the
duration. At the moment, a timed session has a start and end and a
duration. If you go in and change the start date/time, the duration
stays the same, so the end date/time is adjusted to start+duration.
I'd like to be able to move either a start or an end date/time and
have the application modify the duration...
As it is, you have to set the start time, and do mental arithmatic
(!) to make the duration add up to the end time...
It comes up when you've forgotten to start the timer at the
appropriate moment, so you go in later and add the shim timed
session for the bit of work you did before you remembered to hit
the timer...
Seems quite a basic issue, perhaps I'm missing something? Hopefully!
Support Staff 2 Posted by Dan Messing on 03 Feb, 2010 05:26 PM
Hi Mark,
So basically you want to be able to adjust the duration of a task by changing it's start or end date. That idea certainly makes sense to me, we will have to look at what we can do to enable that functionality in the future.
Just for clarification - what is the end goal here, is it just adjusting the time of a timing session, or do you find yourself running into the problem in other situations?
Dan Messing
3 Posted by Mark on 17 Feb, 2010 12:38 PM
Hi Dan,
End goal is I'd like to be able to adjust the start or end time of a timed session without affecting the other end. I want the duration to change to meet the start and end brackets.
If I start work on a job, and then later I remember to hit the timer, I need to add a timed session for the work I did, but didn't time. I'd like to do that by start and end dates & times, rather than by start and duration, as the software currently allows you to do. Currently I have to enter when I started work, and then figure out the duration mentally up to when I started the timer. I'm a bit worried that I'll do it wrong some time and have an unhappy client because i've charged them twice for the same hours in the day...
It would be cool to have a gant chart view of the jobs over time. it would be really obvious then if you've double billed. Would also be a good visual way of seeing how busy you are.
One more thing, I need to be able to start a timed session on a date and time and have the end date and time on a different day. I typically work in the evening and into the small hours, e.g. start at Feb 16 11:20PM end at Feb 17 4:19AM.
Maybe the interface could have 3 fields. Start, Duration, and End. Each field could have a lock next to it. If start is locked and you mess with duration, the end data changes. if you lock the end field, and mess with duration the start data changes. In the same interface, you could enter start and end data and have the duration calculated. You could also lock the duration field, so as to shift the start and end data at the same time. Seems to me that interface would let you tweak the data in all the ways that are important.
Cheers, Mark.
Support Staff 4 Posted by Dan Messing on 18 Feb, 2010 12:22 AM
HI Mark,
Thanks for the clarification. I think your implementation idea might work, although I'm always worried about making things more complex than they need to be. I'm not saying your idea is, just that I'd like to try it out to see how it feels in practice.
You should be able to start a timer on one day and have it continue over to the next day - are you seeing this not working in a specific case?
Dan Messing