Tracking project time

The Project Timer feature lets you track the time spent on a project with ease. To fine-tune the tracking records, you can add tasks and track the time spent on each task. You can give a task a meaningful name, and you can edit a task log by resetting the counter or specifying the task duration and start and finish date.

Tracking information is saved with the document and is easily accessible. In addition, you can save the tracking records as Comma-Separated Values (CSV) or text (TXT) files that can be opened and formatted in a spreadsheet application to create time sheet reports.

Additional settings are available to help you customize Project Timer to match your workflow. You can set automation preferences, specify whether and how to track inactivity, and simplify the Project Timer toolbar even more by hiding UI elements.

The Project Timer toolbar appears below the standard toolbar.

The arrow on the Project Timer toolbar lets you show and hide the Project Timer panel, where you can add and edit tasks and access various settings.

To track time spent on a project

2 .	Click the Track/Pause/Off button on the Project Timer toolbar.

If the Project Timer toolbar is not displayed, click Windows Toolbars Project Timer.

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— shows that tracking is off

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— shows that the active task is being tracked

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— shows that tracking for the active task has been suspended temporarily, and Project Timer is not recording the time at present. Depending on Project Timer settings, this may happen when the Project Timer panel is open, or another document is in focus. For more information about settings, see To adjust Project Timer settings.

To add, activate, delete, modify, or move a task

To	Do the following
Add a task	Click New.
Change the task that is being tracked	Choose the task that you want to track from the task list, and click Activate. The task list shows the task as Active to indicate that this is now the task that you are tracking. You can also double-click a task to activate it.
Delete a task	Select the task, and click Delete. You can also delete the selected task by pressing the Delete key.
Rename a task	Click the task name twice in the task list, and type a new name.
Change the task duration	Click the Recorded time field twice, and specify the amount of time you want. Notes: From the task list, you can modify only the duration of a task that is not active (not being tracked). To modify the active task, you must use the Edit Active Task dialog box. For more information, see To edit the active task. Changing the task duration does not update the start and finish time and dates.
Change the start and finish time and dates	Click twice the Dates field of the task, and specify the start and finish time and dates you want. Notes: From the task list, you can modify only the start and finish time and date of a task that is not active. To modify the active task, you must use the Edit Active Task dialog box. Changing the task start and finish time and dates does not update the task duration.
Move the selected task up or down the list	Select a task, and click the Up or Down button.

To edit the active task

You can reset the timer for the active task. You can also change the task start or finish time and date, or you can change the task duration.

To	Do the following
Reset the timer for the active task to 0	Click Reset counter.
Modify task information	Click Edit task, and do any of the following: Type a new task name in the Name box. Type values in the Recorded time boxes to specify the total time spent on the task. The first box shows hours, the second one — minutes, and the third one — seconds. Specify the task start and finish time and date in the Start and Finish boxes. The recorded time for task duration is not linked to the start and finish time and dates. Changing the value in the Recorded time box does not update the Start and Finish boxes, and vice versa.

To create a time sheet report

You can save the tracking information as a CSV or TXT file, and you can then open and format the file in Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet applications.

2 .	Click the Export options button , and click one of the following commands:

To adjust Project Timer settings

With the help of the Project Timer Settings dialog box, you can set Project Timer to start or pause tracking automatically in response to specific actions or changes. In addition, inactivity settings help you decide how to treat periods of time when the project is open but there are no recorded document changes. For example, you can set Project Timer to display a prompt or pause tracking after a specified time of inactivity. You can also customize the Project Timer toolbar by displaying and hiding controls.

2 .	Click the Project Timer options button , and click Settings. The Project Timer Settings dialog box appears.

To	Do the following
Set Project Timer to start tracking automatically upon performing a specific action	In the Automation area, enable any of the following check boxes below Start recording when: Document is opened New document is created Task is activated
Set inactivity preferences	In the Inactivity detection area, choose one of the following options from the On inactivity list box: Prompt — to display a prompt after a specified time of inactivity Pause timer — to pause recording after the specified time of inactivity and resume tracking when you continue working on the document Always track — to ignore inactivity and record all time as work
Specify how long after inactivity to pause the timer or display a prompt	In the Inactivity tolerance box, type a value.
Pause tracking automatically in certain circumstances	Enable any of the following check boxes below Pause recording when: CorelDRAW is minimized and out of focus Another document is in focus Project Timer panel is open Recording resumes when you continue working on the document.
Customize the Project Timer toolbar	Enable or disable any of the following check boxes in the Toolbar appearance area: Track/Pause/Off button — to show or hide the Track/Pause/Off button Task name — to show or hide the name of the task that is being tracked Timer — to show or hide the timer displaying the current task duration

To respond to the Inactivity prompt

If no changes are made to the document for some time, by default Project Timer prompts you to decide how to track this time of inactivity. The prompt is displayed as soon as the inactivity tolerance time elapses.

The Custom Activity Log dialog box

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