# The &kworldclock; Handbook

&Brad.Hards; &Brad.Hards.mail;
2004
Brad Hards
&FDLNotice;
2004-01-22
0.00.00

&kworldclock; is an application that shows which parts of the world are currently experiencing daylight, and which parts are currently in night. It also shows the current time in a range of cities around the world.

KDE
kdetoys
kworldwatch
World Clock
day / night clock

## Introduction

&kworldclock; is an application that shows which parts of the world are currently experiencing daylight, and which parts are currently in night. It also shows the current time in a range of cities around the world.

Please report any problems or feature requests to the &kde; mailing lists.

## Using &kworldclock;

### The main display

When you start &kworldclock;, you will see a small window appear, as shown below.

Here's a screenshot of &kworldclock; Screenshot

The light section (which in the screenshot above covers Antartica, Australia, eastern and southern Africa and most of Asia; plus the Indian Ocean and the western part of the Pacific Ocean) shows the area that is currently experiencing daylight, while the darker section (which in the screenshot above covers western Europe, North and South America, and the Arctic zone) shows the area that is currently experiencing night. The border between the dark and light section is the area that is experiencing morning or evening twilight.

Each small black square indicates a city or population centre. If you locate the mouse over (or near) one of the black squares, you will see the date and time that is current for that location. In the screenshot above, the tiny island of Pitcairn is shown.

You may find it more convenient to expand the window, so that there is more space between the various squares. Remember that you can expand the window by either clicking on the maximise button (second button from the right in the top right hand corner) or by using the mouse to drag the corner of the main window. An expanded window, with Melbourne (Australia) now selected, is shown below.

Screenshot of &kworldclock; with expanded window Screenshot showing expanded window, with Melbourne selected.

### Configuring &kworldclock; with timezone clocks

If you need to know the time in a number of areas around the world, it may be useful to have &kworldclock; show the applicable times. An example of how this can look is shown below.

Screenshot of &kworldclock; with clocks Screenshot showing expanded window, with three clocks.

Note the clocks for Perth, Sydney and Berlin at the bottom of the main &kworldclock; window.

These clocks are added by using the right mouse button, and selecting the Clock entry, as shown below.

Screenshot of &kworldclock; &RMB; clock Screenshot showing &RMB; menu, with Clock selected.

This will allow access to the Add... selection, which will bring up a dialog box as shown below. The contents of the dialog box are determined from the closest city to the mouse cursor when you make the selection.

Screenshot of &kworldclock; Edit Clock Settings dialog Screenshot showingEdit Clock Settings dialog.

You can now make an appropriate selection for the clock label and the timezone. Note that you can change the label to whatever is appropriate, and the timezone as required. An example, for the small Australian town of Quairading, is shown below.

Screenshot of &kworldclock; Edit Clock Settings dialog changed to Quairading Screenshot showing Edit Clock Settings dialog for Quairading.

When you select OK, the clock entry is added to those at the bottom of the main window. A screenshot, with the extra entry for Quairading, is shown below.

Screenshot of &kworldclock; with Quairading clock Screenshot showing Quairading clock.

You might notice that Perth and Quairading are now showing the same information (since they are in the same timezone). In this case, the Perth entry is no longer required, so it can be removed. This can be done by again using the right mouse button on the clock display, and selecting the Remove item.

You can also edit entries by using the Edit... entry on right mouse button menu, which may be useful for making minor changes.

### Adding Flags to the &kworldclock; display

As shown in the screenshot below, you can add flags to places on the map (in this case, Fremantle near Perth, Western Australia; near Moscow in Russia; and the Azores in the mid-Atlantic). These flags don't affect any other functionality - they just allows you to quickly locate places of interest.

Screenshot of &kworldclock; with flags Screenshot showing expanded window, with three flags.

You add flags by locating the mouse at the point where you want to appear, and using the right mouse button to select the the Flags... entry. You can select one of the three pre-defined flag colours (that is, Add Red, Add Green or Add Blue), or you can select a custom colour.

You use the same menu action to remove just one flag (whichever one is closest to the mouse when you make the Remove Flag selection; or to remove all the flags, using the Remove All Flags.

### Changing the &kworldclock; display

In addition to the additional clocks and flags, there are other minor variations you can make to the main &kworldclock; display, such as not showing the flags, not showing the small black city squares, and not showing the day/night areas. Each of these is selected using the right mouse button menu.

To enable and disable the display of the day / night sections, you use the right mouse button, and select the Show Daylight item from the menu. Each time you select it, the selection will be toggled. When showing day and night is enabled (normal mode on first startup), there will be a small check mark (tick symbol) next to the Show Daylight. An example of the menu item (with day / night not enabled, hence no check mark) is shown below.

Screenshot of &kworldclock; &RMB; daylight Screenshot showing &RMB; menu, with Show Daylight selected.

To enable and disable the display of the small black city squares, you use the right mouse button, and select the Show Cities item from the menu. Each time you select it, the selection will be toggled. When showing cities is enabled (normal mode on first startup), there will be a small check mark (tick symbol) next to the Show Cities. An example of the menu item (with city display enabled, hence a check mark) is shown below.

Screenshot of &kworldclock; &RMB; show cities Screenshot showing &RMB; menu, with Show Cities selected.

To enable and disable the display of the flags, you use the right mouse button, and select the Show Flags item from the menu. Each time you select it, the selection will be toggled. When showing flags is enabled (normal mode on first startup), there will be a small check mark (tick symbol) next to the Show Flags. An example of the menu item (with flags enabled, hence a check mark) is shown below.

Screenshot of &kworldclock; &RMB; show flags Screenshot showing &RMB; menu, with Show Flags selected.

After reconfiguring &kworldclock;, you may wish to save your settings. This is done using the right mouse button, and selecting the Save Settings option.

### Selecting alternative maps

In addition to the normal surface depth map, you can add additional maps, which can be selected using the Map Theme item from the right mouse button menu. &kworldclock; comes with a single map, which provides surface depth (relief). Additional maps can be obtained from http://www.radcyberzine.com/xglobe. Maps need to be appropriately installed - typically into `share/apps/kworldclock/maps` under the main &kde; directory. Consult your system administrator for assistance in doing this, if required.

If you want to use your own map, you should make sure that Greenwich is exactly in the middle of the map, and provide an appropriate desktop file.

## Developer's Guide to &kworldclock;

The most common requirement for development of &kworldclock; is to add additional cities to the map. The cities are determined by a file named `zone.tab`, which is located under `share/apps/kworldclock` under the main &kde; directory.

To add an additional city, you need to know the latitude and longitude, and also the applicable time zone information. There is additional information on the exact format required in the `zone.tab` file.

## Credits and License

&kworldclock;

Program copyright 2000 Matthias Hoelzer-Kluepfel.

Documentation Copyright © 2004 &Brad.Hards; &Brad.Hards.mail;.

&underFDL;

&underGPL;

## Installation

### How to obtain &kworldclock;

&install.intro.documentation;

### Compilation and Installation

&install.compile.documentation;

&documentation.index;