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Problem: Locked Out of Time-Tracking Software (Allnetic Working Time Tracker) 1

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Theophilus

Theophilus

Mechanical
Dec 4, 2002
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Hello, all. It's been a long time since I've posted, being more of a lurker lately. However, I'm not sure where else to turn with this problem.

I've been a long-time user of this little app called Allnetic Working Time Tracker, and I believe I may have even recommended it here in the past. About a month ago I rebuilt my CAD work-horse machine and reinstalled all my applications, etc. Having used the free version of Allnetic Working Time Tracker for many years with satisfaction, I tried out their current version for this new install, which allowed a 30-day trial. That trial period has now expired and I'm in a real pickle.

The time-tracking file created by the new version is not readable by the old version---and here's my big problem---the new version has locked me out of access of this last month's time accumulation for various projects (it now hides everything from view). Fine, so I went to their site and purchased a license for their software, which should have provided a registration code to unlock the software within 12 hours. We are now approaching a full four days with no registration code, so I cannot track ongoing time on projects and I cannot send out new invoices, since I have no access to my own time data! This is ridiculous.

Here's what I'd like the help with:
Does anyone here use Allnetic Working Time Tracker? If so, would you be willing to open my time-file and send snapshots of its contents to me so I can at least move on with project billing? I'm willing to pay for your time to handle this. Otherwise I'm stuck, locked out of a month's worth of project tracking. I'm concerned the software vendor has disappeared from existence, since they do not reply to contact requests, email, etc.

Or, perhaps you can guide me in how to decode the symbols within the data file to recover my time data. Attached is a snapshot of what that looks like.

I appreciate any help with this. Thanks for your time!



Jeff Mowry
A people governed by fear cannot value freedom.
 
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It is customary in a thread like this for someone with no experience with the app and no knowledge of the situation to post some obvious yest useless advice. In that spirit...

Did you jiggle the handle???
 
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Those aren't just symbols... what you have there is a binary file that is not human readable (except for the few portions where ASCII strings are stored). Unless there is already a free reader/translator available or you have some idea as to the file format, getting the original program to read it is your only real option.

Dan - Owner
URL]
 
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MacGyverS2000 said:
I'll add... can't you install a trial version on another system and open it up that way?
Click to expand...

Normally I'm fairly good at finding creative ways around problems. This is one of those times that somehow this thought never went through my mind. I'll try it out and it will probably work great. Thanks! (I may owe you a beer or six.)



Jeff Mowry
A people governed by fear cannot value freedom.
 
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The copyright on the website stops at 2016. It looks like a program one guy sells to make some bucks. It may be there are some problems that have stopped the seller from interacting. It also looks like they stopped at Windows 7 or just stopped updating their website. Any of these are not a good sign.

It may be time to find a new program or send the company a fruit basket.
 
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Yeah, that's exactly what I'd like to do, is figure out a different solution. The biggest problem was that the end of the 30-day trial creates a splash screen that disallows any viewing of your own time-tracking data. Not cool. All they really need to do is prohibit the timer from working any more until you purchase a license. So locking people out of their own data, combined with no ability to register the software--no good at all.

By the way, they finally sent a registration code to me, but this was after I'd freed my data and decided never to be subject to these kinds of software practices again. I was able to get a refund.

Does anyone use time-tracking software they like? I've found most solutions these days to be so ridiculously complex that I find they're not usually worth using. Too much data entry, too many fields to fill out, too much of my time wasted. Damn it, Jim, I'm a designer--not a bean counter!



Jeff Mowry
A people governed by fear cannot value freedom.
 
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Theo....we use Harvest... a time-billing program that is not expensive and is quite robust for the cost. We use two different versions in our two locations. It is always accessible since it is internet based and you can input your time directly or use the timing function to accumulate your time. Invoicing at the end of the month is a button push. Project setup takes less than two minutes.
 
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