Time Matters 14 Calendar Tips

Time Matters 14 switched to a new calendar that looks and works more like the calendar in Microsoft Outlook. It uses new features delivered by the most current version of the programming software use to create Time Matters.

A new Work Week view replaces the old Time Matters Multi-Day view. Some features are better and some features were dropped. These tips cover way that you can work with the new Time Matters calendar. Most are not covered by the Time Matters 14 manual.

Time Matters Six-Day Sliding View

You can view and work with any six consecutive days starting from the TM14 Calendar Work Week View. You can slide the view forward and back in time. That is handy toward the end of a week when you want to see Saturday, Sunday, and what's coming up next week.

You can drag and drop Events into the weekend or next week. The trick is to click on anywhere on the last visible day of the Work Week and press the right-arrow key one or more times.

I discovered this useful, undocumented Time Matters 14 Calendar view, which I have dubbed the Six-Day Sliding View when a post by Mark Spengler sent me on a search for the path of least resistance for moving an Event.

A drawback of the Work Week View in TM14 is that by the time you get to Wednesday or Thursday, you can't see very far ahead, just a day or two, and can't drag an Event into next week. Also, you cannot even see Sunday (or Saturday if you choose), because you can show only six of the seven days of the week in Work Week View.

Solution: The Six-Day Sliding View

To display this view, click anywhere on the last day of your Work Week View. Now press the right-arrow key. Voila! You can see Sunday. Press right-arrow again a few times to slide the Six-Day View forward. This works like the old Multi-Day Calendar, but it is limited to six days at a time.

You can position Today on the far left and work all day long with a view of the next five days. You can drag and drop Events onto Saturday, Sunday on any other day in the view.

Is there a catch? Yes, once in the Six-Day Sliding View, the Daily View tab is highlighted at the top of the Calendar. If you click on the Reference Calendar in the right-side pane to look at some other week, the view switches to a single day. Click Work Week to see the week.

Jumping around with the old Time Matters Multi-Day Calendar was also a bit confusing. I prefer the Work Week View for looking at some week in the future. Monday is always on the left and Saturday is always on the right.

Scroll Week by Week in Month View

Click anywhere in the Monthly Calendar. Press the Up or Down Arrow keys or to scroll back or forward one week at a time.

Press the PgUp and PgDn keys to scroll a Screen at a time.

The Magic Tab Key

Click on any Event in any Calendar View. Press the Tab key to jump to the Next Event. You will see the two tiny white box handles on the top and bottom edges of the Event you are on. Press the Enter key to open the selected Event.

Pressing the Tab and Enter key is a great way to review and add details to to any Events in your day.

Pop-Up Descriptions

Click in the Work Week view anywhere. Then hover the mouse over an Event. A pop-up shows the Description of the Event and other fields.

View Events Off the Screen at the Top or Bottom

If any Events are off the screen at the top of the Calender, view them by clicking the Up icon (a triangle) found in the top cell, right side.

A down icon will appear in the bottom cell of any day if there are Events off the bottom of the screen for that day. Clicking it shows you all the off-screen Events.

Or with the keyboard, click on any day and any cell near the top. Press the Up Arrow to show earlier times. Or use the button at the top of the Scroll Bar between the main calendar and the Reference Calendar pane on the right.

Set the Starting Time of Calendars

To set what time appears at the top of Calendar days:

Set the Days of the Week Displayed

Right-click anywhere on the Calendar.
Click the Daily/Work Week tab.
Check the days of the week to display (limit: 6 days work week!)

Go to Future and Past Weeks

Use the right arrow key in the Work Week view to move ahead day-by-day. To move week-by-week, go to the Reference Calendar (right pane) and click from one week to the next on any day of the week. The view remains oriented with each day of the week in the same relative position.

Go back to Today

Show Two or More Staff Calendars

By adding another Staff to the Staff selector (center of bar just above the Calendar), you can display side-by-side days for two or more people. The day columns are wide, so 7 may be the limit on the number of Staff. To view availability for more people, use the Scheduler view, a button at the top of the Calendar.

Drag an Event Past the Border

You can drag an Event beyond the lower or upper border of the Calendar to a time slot that is not visible. Just click and hold on the Event and drag it to the bottom of the window. The viewing area will scroll up to reveal later times. Drop the Event on the desired time cell.

Drag an Event onto a Full Time Slot

The other Event or Events will make room for it.

Search Box on Lists

The new Search box is cool! Find it at the top of any Time Matters List.

Instead of typing your search and pressing Enter, press the Tab key. That activates the search and puts the focus on the first record. I love saving keystrokes and staying off the mouse.

Want to do another Search? Press Shift-Tab four times and type your new search term. Want to clear the Search? Press Shift-Tab four times, press Spacebar to clear and Tab to return to the full list. I like my mouse, but I really like keeping my fingers on the keyboard for speed.

Add an Event with Click-and-Drag

With the mouse, click on a cell in the Calendar. Keeping the left mouse button pressed, drag down to highligh multiple cells. For example, click on 10:00 am and drag down to 12 noon. Now release the mouse button and press the Insert key (or right-click and choose Add Event).

Work Week View

When looking ahead and then returning to today, the Work Week view is predictable. Formerly the movement between weeks was disorienting.

Click to See More Information

Click anywhere on an Event to see more information such as Memo, Start and Stop Times,

Easier Drag and Drop

Click anywhere on an Event and drag it to another time or day. (You used to have to click only on the top line of the Event.)

Disable Drag and Drop

Are you concerned about unintentionally dragging an Event to the wrong time? You can disable Drag and Drop:

Easier to Change or Delete

Double-click anywhere on an Event to change it. Or to delete an Event, right-click anywhere it and click Delete. (You used to have to click only on the top line of an Event.)

Pop-Up Alarms Don't Cause a Freeze

Pop-up Alarms work reliably. In older versions of Time Matters, a number of users had to stop using Alarms because they caused Time Matters to freeze.

Time Matters 14 Calendar Tips