topic Tracking time in Archicad in Collaboration with other software

Tracking time in Archicad

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 02:05:53 GMT

While I am asking dumb questions. Is there a timer in AC somewhere? I used a package many years ago that recorded how long I had each project open for which was great for recording how long I spent on a project. It even turned the timer off if the program was idle for a certain period of time. It was a very useful tool

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Barry Kelly — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 02:34:01 GMT

I have split you post from your other as it is a completely different topic and it is best to keep them separate.

There is no timer as such although I remember something from years ago (may still be there somewhere) but it just kept track of how long Archicad was running - not how long you are working on a job.
If I can remember what it was I will let you know.

Maybe someone has created an object or an add-on that can be switched on/off to track the time.
I am not aware of any but I'm sure it would be possible.

Barry.

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 03:07:57 GMT

Cheers - Always nice to your assistance.

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 05:19:30 GMT

Cigraph do a timer, Architime, I think you have to buy the whole suite though & its quite pricey.

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Bruce — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 13:03:20 GMT

Although it's not automatic, I use a neat little program called TimeLeft (TimeLeft.info).

I've pared back the size, so it just sits neatly down the bottom right corner of my screen, without blocking anything important.

I use the free version.

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Gerald Hoffman — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 16:07:31 GMT

For Mac guys I use a little program (Freeware) called Active Timer. You have to remember to start it of course but it keeps track of time you spend in all the programs you have open until you stop it. I then just to a journal entry each day to each job to keep totals.

Cheers,

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 02:12:14 GMT

I had a look at the timers suggested. I liked the apple one as it tracked the software. I found a similar app called rescue time which really sounds good for me. I will let you all know how well it works.
The limitations with these apps is it only tracks when I am using graphisoft. The timer I used in an alternative drawing application would track each project including turning the timer off when the project was idle for more than five minutes. That made it very easy to invoice for the drafting time.

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

RandyC — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 02:32:57 GMT

try procrastitracker

http://strlen.com/procrastitracker/

free & tracks everything - windows only

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Laszlo Nagy — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 14:22:00 GMT

JoWplan wrote:
I had a look at the timers suggested. I liked the apple one as it tracked the software. I found a similar app called rescue time which really sounds good for me. I will let you all know how well it works.
The limitations with these apps is it only tracks when I am using graphisoft. The timer I used in an alternative drawing application would track each project including turning the timer off when the project was idle for more than five minutes. That made it very easy to invoice for the drafting time.

I have purchased and have been using RescueTime for a long time now. I am very satisfied with it.
Although it does not record which project is opened in ARCHICAD, it will report how much time you spent in each application in each hour. It would be great if it tracked project file names as well, but this solution is still very helpful to me.

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Karl Ottenstein — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 15:52:52 GMT

Rogerdodge wrote:
Cigraph do a timer, Architime, I think you have to buy the whole suite though & its quite pricey.

Yes, AFAIK, this is the only add-on that tracks by project, task, being idle, etc.

http://www.cigraph.it/en/node/307

Years ago, you could purchase only ArchiTime for a low price. Now, you do indeed have to pay for the entire suite which is unreasonable for many users. Also, they have not posted AC 20 versions on their web site (yet).

Besides the other timer solutions listed below, if you use QuickBooks Mac as your accounting/invoicing package (I recommend it - unless you need payroll): QB Mac includes a mini app called "My Time" that lets you track time spent on tasks tracked to Customer:Jobs and activity (item). The time entries are one-click transferred to QuickBooks Mac which can either generate detailed time reports, or transfer the billable time to client invoices.

QuickBooks Windows (recommended, especially if you need payroll) has only a built-in timer. Same idea, but you have to leave QB running. (Years ago they had a separate timer app but got rid of it. 3rd parties have iPhone/Android timer apps that can transfer to QB Windows.)

The tough thing about this and other manual timers is remembering to pause the timer if you step away or switch activities... and to resume the timer when you resume something you want to track. It becomes a habit after you forget and kick yourself a few times. 🙂

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

DGSketcher — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 15:56:04 GMT

Gerald wrote:
For Mac guys I use a little program (Freeware) called Active Timer. You have to remember to start it of course but it keeps track of time you spend in all the programs you have open until you stop it. I then just to a journal entry each day to each job to keep totals.

Cheers,

Thanks for the suggestion Gerald. I just installed the fully functioning demo. Looks like it could be a new friend of my accountant On the other hand I'll need to stop hanging round this forum so much

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Gerald Hoffman — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 16:50:56 GMT

DGSketcher wrote:
Thanks for the suggestion Gerald. I just installed the fully functioning demo. Looks like it could be a new friend of my accountant On the other hand I'll need to stop hanging round this forum so much

Your welcome. What is nice about this one is that it seems to only add time to each program that is running while you actually have that program window open. Any background programs stop adding time. The timer also stops even when a program window is open and you stop working, which means you don't have to remember to pause it if you get a phone call or decide to get a coffee.

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 02:38:29 GMT

I have purchased and have been using RescueTime for a long time now. I am very satisfied with it.

Are you using the full version or the cheapy one?

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Laszlo Nagy — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 23:01:17 GMT

I am using the paid version that has full functionality.

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Stress Co_ — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 05:06:48 GMT

I demoed the free version of this one:
Hours Time Tracker

It doesn't keep track of software running on your computer,
but it does work on iPhones & desktops (thru browser).
Data is synced in the cloud. Nice to be able to turn a timer on/off
when out of the office (site visits, meetings, etc.).
User friendly.

Only problem (for me) is it doesn't share with Quickbooks.
Like Karl... I use Intuit's "My Time" (which has it's own quirks ).

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 20:45:17 GMT

Can’t seem to find Active timer on google search would you have a link to a download site? Thank you

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 18:38:49 GMT

laszlonagy wrote:
I have purchased and have been using RescueTime for a long time now. I am very satisfied with it.
Although it does not record which project is opened in ARCHICAD, it will report how much time you spent in each application in each hour. It would be great if it tracked project file names as well, but this solution is still very helpful to me.

Hi,
bit of an older post, but could still be of use. While rescuetime is great for analysing on what sort of activity all your valuable time was spent, I don't like it for time tracking for specific projects.
Manictime (http://www.manictime.com/) is a lot better for that. And it tracks the project name in AC as well, so you can easily see how much time you spent on each project. I have a paid version with greater functionality.

Rescuetime does have an android app that also allows you to track phone calls, that's the only feature I'm missing in manictime..

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Richard Morrison — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 20:51:16 GMT

Patrick,
I guess I have a request for a reciprocal review.

I just took a look at ManicTime. It's very impressive; quite easy to use and at a good price. However, my one concern is that it seems to take a small screen capture of every website you visit and compiles a massive amount of computer usage data. I'm wondering what size of tracking file gets created after, say, a year's worth of use?

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Richard Morrison — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 21:05:59 GMT

Richard wrote:
I'm wondering what size of tracking file gets created after, say, a year's worth of use?

Sorry, just found the answer in the knowledgebase. Surprisingly small file!

Have you used this as a single user in multiple locations? Without a network server, I'm wondering if Dropbox would work.

Re: Tracking time in Archicad

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 21:18:40 GMT

I never asked myself, so it's the first time I checked. I have a backup of 172MB since August 2014..
You can also have it take screenshots at regular intervals, that takes a lot more storage of course. But there you can determine the amount of days before deletion or the maximum storage.

Manictime is a very fast way to see where your computer hours went. Could not recommend it enough! I have the paid version just to be able to manually select blocks of time to tag to certain projects. It has saved me a ton of billable time and headaches. If you don't register your time right away, this will be a big help.

I register my hours in another app - Paymo, which is equally brilliant. Paymo has its own activity log, but just like in Rescuetime, I find it hard to visually discern what time blocks were spent in what project.
A Zapier or IFTTT connection between manictime and paymo would come in handy, but entering time in paymo is so fast it's not a big problem. Also, manictime gives yo uan overview of the time spent on a project per day, so in Paymo I put some time block together to have a cleaner overview of the day.