Using TNIUT Server


The Server Interface:

The Server interface looks like this (click on the picure below to view it full size):
Click on this image to view full size image



The Top Buttons:

As you can see, from top left, there are 6 command buttons at the top:
  1. "Configuration" button: This is, as the name implies, is for configuration of the server. When you run the program for the first time, the configuration interface appears by itself, starting with the password interface. This button is useful when you want to make any changes to the configuration, and to put the registration number and registration code. The details of configuration is given in the "Configuration" section.

  2. "About" button: When you click this form, you will get a form with informaitons such as the version of the software, about the creator and marketers, contact address, and who this copy of software is registered to. It looks something like this:

  3. "Minimize to System Tray" button The system tray is the rectangular space in the bottom right corner of your screen where there is computer clock (if you have not hidden computer clock). The following picture will give you an idea where the system tray is (the system tray in the picture is marked with a red circle and is enlarged in the center of the picture).

    Now clicking on the "Minimize to System Tray" button will minimize the program to the system tray. The icon in the system tray is shown in the following picture by an arrow:

    When minimized, the TNIUT always resides in the system tray. You can click on the system tray icon to enlarge or restore TNIUT, when enlarged, it resides in the taskbar.

    You can right click in the taskbar form of TNIUT to bring it to the front if it is not already in front.

    If your computer gets some system error, or fault from explorer.exe, most of the system tray icons are not seen in the system tray. You can even double click on the short cut in the desktop or start menu short cut of the program to bring the interface to the front. This program runs only one instance in one computer. So if it is already running, new interface will not come up, and the one which is already running will show. So clicking the system tray icon or double clicking on the short cuts or the program itself have the same effect.

  4. "View log" button: This button opens up the TNIUT log viewer program. As you know, TNIUT always keeps a record of all internet usage time in database, so that you can retrive and edit your past internet of each client computers, and even calculate income of specified time period. For details about the TNIUT Log Viewer, please go to "Log Viewer Help" section.

  5. "Help" button This button, of course, brings up the help file you are currently vieweing.

  6. "Close"button This button closes the program. It will first ask if you are sure that you want to close the server application. This will prevent from closing the program accidentally.



Controlling Timer Usage:

Controlling the timer usage is the main part of the program, and all other functions are made to serve this purpose better.

This software can handle upto 20 clients, and so you can monitor 20 client computers from a single server. When you have more than 10 clients to monitor, you will see another tab in the server interface. You can click on the tab to see the computer numbers more than 10. The tabs look like this:

Now coming to the main client control interface. Please note the the following in the picture on the right(click on the image to view it full size):Click on this image to view full size image

  1. Computer Number
  2. Red/Green rectangle
  3. Start/Stop buttons
  4. Start Time column
  5. End Time column
  6. Usage Time column
  7. Charge column
  8. Clear Field buttons
  9. Time Sync buttons
  1. Computer Number: Every client computer in your network is given a computer number. You can choose which computer is to be given which number, during the Client configuration, after installing the client software in the client computer.

  2. Red/Green rectangle: This rectangle lies just right to the computer number.

    When it is red, it means that the client software is not connected to the server computer. Either the client computer is not on, or the client software is not running, or your Local area network is not working properly, or the client server connection is blocked by some firewall.

    When it is green, it means that the client is connected to the server.

    When it is dark grey in color, it means there is something wrong in the Operating system that is not allowing the software to run properly.

    In the above picture, client 1 is not connected to the server, but client 2 and 3 are connected to the server.

  3. Start/Stop buttons:These buttons lie below the computer number. They are used to start and stop the timer respectively. When you click on the Start button, the timer is started in the server as well as in the client both. In the same way, when the Start button is clicked on the Client, it starts the timer in the client as well as in the server. In the above picture, The timer of Computer 2 is started. Please note the background of computer 2. When the timer is running, the background color of the specific computer's control monitor changes to pinkish, so that you can know which computers are online, even from a distance.

  4. Start time, End Time, Usage Time and Charge columns: These 4 columns show the start time of each client, the end time, the time spent as calculated by the start and end time, and the calculated charge to be paid by the customer for the specific usage time. Please note that the currency you specify in configuration is shown just to the left to charge, as "Rs." is seen in the above picture.

  5. Clear Fields button: This button is used to clear the Start Time, End Time, Usage Time, and Charge field of that particular computer. This works only on the server part, and for the client, similar button is used. This has no other function than showing the fields empty, and is active only when the timer is not running and fields are not already cleared.

  6. Time Sync button: This button can be used for synchronization of Client computer's time with the server's time, so that the particular client computer has exactly the same time as the server has. This function can be used when the timer is not running, and once the time is synchronised, the button is disabled till next time you run and stop the timer. Please not that after synchronizing time, you may not see the changed time in the system tray of the client as Windows refreshes its system tray clock every minute, & not in second or millisecond.



Using TNIUT Properly:

Once you install and configure Server and Client software properly, TNIUT is ready for use. When you see the red rectangle on the right to the computer turn green, the particular client is connected to the server. If you have not disabled the "Start" button for the clients in your configuration, customers who want to use the client can click on the "Start" button and thus start the timer both in the client and the server. Same can be done from the server as well. You can click on the "Start" button in the server, so that the timer in the server as well as the client starts and the mouse in the client is released, and the computer can go online too. The client can also be minimized to the system tray.

During the usage, the customer can view the usage time and the amount he has to pay by restoring or bring up the client interface by clicking in the system tray icon of the client.

When the customer is done with his work in the client, they can stop the timer from the client if you have not disabled the "Stop" button of client in your configuration. Same thing can be done from the Server too. Once the timer is stopped, It will show the usage time and charge in the client, & record the date, start & end time, usage time and charge in the server. This record is kept in a database. You can view this database, calculate income of a specified comptuer or all computers, and edit the database (delete those records, which are recorded during testing or during other work).

For any problem, please refer to the "Troubleshooting" section, or visit http://nepalitimer.tripod.com for online help.

End