WorldClock News

In order to obtain any of the new releases announced below, simply download the same file (and use the same password) as when you purchased your licence. Older users should be aware that their download link(s) may have changed. Please refer to this post.

Feature additions, enhancements, and fixes:

• Added ability to search for a location in the location selector (the one from the main window, not the one from the Preferences)
• Added more places to WorldClock's location database (now at v1.5); if you have places you would like to see added to the location database, let me know and I'll try to incorporate them into the next major release (please limit your requests to major locations)
• Added more help buttons (circled question-mark buttons) for various Preferences to better document what those settings do
• Added a moon phase image to the "Miscellaneous Information" section of "City/Country Information" panels
• The Startup Monitor list in the Preferences' "General" tab will now list descriptive names instead of the generic "Monitor x"; this should make it easier to select the correct monitor
• Added a new Screen Saver "Non-Startup Monitor Display" setting: This is the display mode for monitors other than the main monitor on multi-monitor systems; options are "Blank", "World Map", and "User Image" (click on the circled question-mark button for more information)
• Screen Saver displays on multi-monitor systems (as per your "Non-Startup Monitor Display" setting) are now tailored to each monitor's resolution
• Fixed a bug where you have selected the "Custom" startup mode and then close WorldClock while it's minimized (such as shutting down Windows, or logging out of your Windows session); this would set WorldClock's saved position to an illegal value
• Fixed a bug in the "City/Country Information" panels where all locations would report that drivers drove on the right side of the road
• Fixed a bug in the "Schedule" feature that caused an occasional "the format of value '/29.0' is invalid" error
• Fixed a bug in the alarms' "Specific Date" mode where specifying today's date would reset the alarm
• Fixed a bug in the alarms' "Specific Date" mode where an alarm's armed status was often wrong
• Fixed a bug where the program would sometimes fail to auto-restart after a WorldClock Database update

CHANGES:

• Made the "trial" banner overlay in the trial versions of WorldClock less obtrusive
• Minor tweaks and fixes.

Another clarification: The new settings for the multi-clock display are on the "General" tab of the WorldClock.Net Preferences; see the red-framed area in the image below:

CHANGES:

• .Net: Mostly minor tweaks and fixes.
• .Classic: If you have enabled the "Restrict map to monitor(s) option and set it to "All" on a multi-monitor system, and the second and/or third monitor has a different resolution than the main monitor, then the location panels are drawn at the wrong location for the second and third monitors. This has now been fixed.

CHANGES:

• Major overhaul of the multi-clock display; new dark theme:

  

• New transparent theme:

  

• The multi-clock groups can now be named (e.g. North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania) and are listed in the multi-clock open menu by their names
• WorldClock will now remember which of the multi-clock groups are being displayed, as well as their screen positions, and will automatically open them the next time you run WorldClock
• New option to show/hide the multi-clock clocks' second hand
• New option to show/hide the multi-clock clocks' outer rim (the blue circle in the screenshots above)
• New option to show/hide the multi-clock window's border
• New option to enable/disable all hourly gongs and quarter-hourly chimes via a simple check-box (note that this will not affect any sounds you may have selected for your WorldClock alarms)
• The Timer applet now has a mute button

CHANGES:

• .Classic: Major overhaul of user interface internals. Doesn't affect how you interact with WorldClock but, behind the scenes, the program is significantly more robust.
• .Net: Fixed a bug in the Tomorrow.io weather data parser which, under certain circumstances, caused the forecast display to present stale data.
• Both: Minor tweaks and fixes (mostly affecting the trial versions).

CHANGES:

• Fixed bug introduced in v7.2.0.11 where the selected weather location would be reset under certain conditions.
• Fixed a bug in the code that converted an old user's weather settings from the AccuWeather weather service to the Tomorrow.io weather service.
• Added a check to ensure that the user has selected a weather location before they can turn on any of the weather features.
• Fixed a bug where WorldClock issued an AV when you tried to send a support email.

CHANGES:

• Fixed a bug where, under the right circumstances, you cannot remove the default locations from the world map.
• Several other minor fixes.
• MERRY CHRISTMAS!

CHANGES:

• The location database was missing the UTC/GMT entry.
• Fixed erroneous data pertaining to several locations in the WorldClock database.
• Fixed a bug in the Schedule feature's authentication process for Outlook 365 calendars.

CHANGES:

• Fixed erroneous data pertaining to several locations in the WorldClock database.
• Also fixed a few minor bugs.

As explained for the .Net versions below I have decided to switch weather providers. This update now supports our new weather provider: Tomorrow.io.

Unlike the last release, this release will not force you to switch to Tomorrow.io. If you have a working OpenWeather key there's no need to switch as WorldClock will continue to support OpenWeather. Adding support for Tomorrow.io is solely intended to remove the confusion that OpenWeather has created for new users.

I have also released a PDF document that details the process of obtaining an API key from Tomorrow.io. Note that although the screen shots are for the .Net version, they're very similar to the .Classic version and should be easy to follow.

New version, new weather data provider.

OpenWeather has changed the way it doles out API keys and now requires the user to wait two hours or more (some have said up to eight hours!) for the key to be activated. This caused way too much confusion as OpenWeather doesn't exactly advertise this fact and many people just gave up when their key didn't work. As such, in order to remove this confusion I have decided to add support for another weather provider: Tomorrow.io.

Unlike the last release, this release will not force you to switch to Tomorrow.io. If you have a working OpenWeather key there's no need to switch as WorldClock will continue to support OpenWeather. Adding support for Tomorrow.io is solely intended to remove the confusion that OpenWeather has created for new users.

I have also released a PDF document that details the process of obtaining an API key from Tomorrow.io. FWIW I think this process is easier than OpenWeather's.

In order to better organize my website I have decided to restructure my file downloads and this could affect some licenced users. If you bought a WorldClock licence earlier than Jan. 1 2023, or your download link simply doesn't work, your link has probably changed and you should update your bookmarks. Here are the new links:

WorldClock.Classic (Full Version)
WorldClock.Classic Screen Saver (Full Version)
WorldClock.Net (Full Version) (x64)
WorldClock.Net (Full Version) (x86)
WorldClock.Net Screen Saver (Full Version) (x64)
WorldClock.Net Screen Saver (Full Version) (x86)

Please bookmark your relevant link(s) so you won't have problems downloading future updates.

To clarify the process for enabling WorldClock's weather features using the new OpenWeather service, I have created a document that explains it in detail. This document uses WorldClock.Net screen shots but, even though they're a little different from WorldClock.Classic, the process is essentially the same for both.

Download here

Processing the new weather feed from OpenWeather is not a trivial task; there were several issues in the initial 7.1.0.0 release and these have now been rectified in this release.

Also, during this process several other bugs were discovered and eliminated.

Major overhaul of WorldClock. There are many changes in this release but the most significant is that WorldClock now has a stable source of weather data: OpenWeather.

The only caveat with OpenWeather is that although their service is free (1000 calls/day), they require users to obtain an API Key in order to use their service. Getting this key is very easy; just click on the following link:

https://home.openweathermap.org/users/sign_up

and fill out the form. It is a simple process to generate your key and, once you have it, install and run the new WorldClock. Your weather provider will be automatically switched to OpenWeather and all you need do now is go to the WorldClock Preferences and copy/paste your key into the API Key field of the Weather (Setup) page. WorldClock will now run a quick test to verify that the key is valid and all weather features (forecast, wallpaper weather panel, and weather information in the customized taskbar clock*) will be enabled. Lastly, you will need to re-select your weather location since your old location code is no longer valid.

As I explained in a previous post, Microsoft's vetting process for these new installation files usually takes about a week so, depending on your browser, you may get download warnings.

If you're wondering about the .Net version, it's on the way. Keep an eye on this page.

Disclosure: WorldClock has no affiliation with OpenWeather.

It appears that the new weather feed is only providing current conditions data and no forecast data for certain locations. This causes WorldClock to issue an error and fail to draw the weather panel.

I'm investigating to see what can be done but, for now, I've posted a new release that partially deals with this issue. For those affected, this version will display the current conditions but will blank out the forecast. As usual, to obtain this update simply download the same file (and use the same password) as when you purchased your licence.

The new version numbers are:

• Classic: 7.0.29.0
• .Net: 1.0.23.0

The weather feed that is currently being used by WorldClock has been discontinued and I have now released a new version of WorldClock that rectifies this problem. To obtain this update simply download the same file (and use the same password) as when you purchased your licence.

Please note that this update is currently only available to users who are running the latest Full version of WorldClock (Classic version 7.x or any .Net version). I will follow up with an update for the Trial versions at a later date. I have had to do this in order to limit the load on our server.

Fixed a bug where the weather feature would sometimes fail to process the weather data if you have selected the "English" units option.

Fixed a bug where the weather feature would sometimes fail to process the weather data if you have selected the "English" units option.

WorldClock.Net's Alarm feature has been completely overhauled in order to improve the management of your alarms.

CHANGES:

• Added a new Fast Panel Redraw option which avoids redrawing background elements when repositioning location panels for a smoother click-and-drag operation
• Better text drawing on high-resolution displays (e.g. 4K)
• Added a new option to enable/disable a check for an active internet connection; if not connected, all internet-dependent features will be turned off in order to avoid excessive error messages; you will have the option to override this check
• Added the ability to customize the clock panel's date format
• Added the ability to customize the location panels' name
• Added the ability to set hourly alarms within a specified range of hours
• Trial versions will now save your settings but will instead display a "trial" banner across the main screen
• Fixed an installation error for trial versions
• Fixed a problem with the schedule feature where the Outlook 365 link was not retrieving all events
• A variety of other bug-fixes and improvements

CHANGES:

• Deal with the access violation error that may occur when you shutdown Windows while WorldClock's wallpaper generation process is running
• Various other tweaks and adjustments

CHANGES:

• Added ability to customize clock panel date format
• Fixed bug in the schedule panel where an all-day event would show on list of events for the following day
• Various other tweaks and adjustments

Weather feature has been further improved to better deal with the situation where the internet is currently unavailable.

CHANGES:

• Added ability to customize location time panel names in WorldClock.Net
• Fixed could not communicate with WorldClock.Net Administrator Service error in WorldClock.Net Screen Saver
• Added new "Simple" icon set for the weather feature
• Various other tweaks and adjustments

CHANGES:

• Fixed Access Violation error when shutting down Windows while WorldClock is running
• Added new "Simple" icon set for the weather feature
• Various other tweaks and adjustments

WorldClock.Classic has gained a new feature (whether to "colorize" the border of any of the relocated location panels on the map display) and a fix (the run WorldClock on Windows start setting was not working correctly).

WorldClock.Net has had a complete revamp of the Schedule feature's Outlook 365 Calendar link.

If you're on Windows 10 or Windows 11, you can now download the WorldClock.Classic and WorldClock.Net apps directly from the new Microsoft Store. Note that these are the trial versions.

Tweaks and adjustments and a few minor bugs fixed.

CHANGES:

• The wallpaper image generation process, a very CPU-intensive operation, now runs in the background. This results in faster startup times as well as eliminating all interference with foreground activities.
• You now have the choice of using any Windows font to display the time on the main window. You still have the option of using the old bitmap digits, but these do not scale well on high-DPI displays whereas the fonts do.
• Added a new all-monitor selection for the World Map on multi-monitor systems. In addition to restricting the map to a specific monitor, you can now elect to show the full map on all monitors. This is different from WorldClock's default behaviour where the map spans all monitors; this feature will draw the complete map on each monitor in that monitor's native resolution.
• As previously announced, due to Microsoft's overhaul of the taskbar on Windows 11, the taskbar clock customization settings will now be hidden if you are on Windows 11. But note that this feature will continue to be available if you are on Windows 10 or earlier.

This update makes a few necessary adjustments to ensure that WorldClock is compatible with Windows 11.

The biggest change in this release is due to the fact that Microsoft has radically modified the way taskbar elements are displayed in Windows 11 and have eliminated the possibility of taskbar clock customization. For reference, Microsoft's official statement on taskbar customization under Windows 11 can be found in this document: "Apps can no longer customize areas of the Taskbar" (refer to the "Feature deprecations and removals" section). As such, this feature will be deprecated under Windows 11 but will continue to operate as before on previous versions of Windows.

Added a new feature: Stopwatch.

Added a new feature: Timers.

TIMER FEATURES:

• You can create a new timer simply by selecting the "New Timer" menu item from the WorldClock or WorldClock.Net popup menu
• To setup and run your timer, enter the required time in the time edit box at the top-left hand corner of the screen and then click the "Start" button; note that the time editor will automatically adjust any value entered into a valid hh:mm:ss format -- for instance entering 99 seconds will be converted to 01:39 minutes and seconds
• You can optionally include a description which will be displayed in the title bar and the end-of-timer notification
• Once your timer is running, the "Start" button turns into a "Pause" button allowing you to pause your countdown
• If you need to add a little time to your timer while it is running, simply click on the "+ 1:00" button to add a minute to your remaining time
• An alert will sound when your timer expires
• In addition, a notification will be issued in the Windows notification area when your timer expires
• Clicking the "Reset" button will stop the timer and reset it to its initial value, including any time added with the "+1" button
• You may have an unlimited number of timers running at the same time
• All timers will continue running even if you close your WorldClock/WorldClock.Net program
• Timers have an upper limit of 24 hours (actually 23:59:59)

See WorldClock.Net description for details.

Version 7 is a complete overhaul of the program and adds many new features and improvements.

NEW/IMPROVED FEATURES:

• WorldClock has been redesigned to fully support and properly scale on high-DPI (e.g. 4K) displays
• WorldClock now uses the publicly available Time Zone Database to determine timezone offsets and local Daylight Savings Time rules; also added an easy-to-use database update feature
• Extensive overhaul of the desktop wallpaper generation feature to better support multi-monitor systems and improve the way WorldClock handles wallpaper changes via the Windows wallpaper applet
• In order to achieve a consistent look, you can now set one group of display options for all desktop wallpaper information panels; if you wish, you can override these settings for each individual panel
• The size of all desktop wallpaper information panels is now adjustable
• Added public holiday support for over 100 countries
• Added seven day weather forecast display
• Added new weather icon sets and options
• World map time panel display positions can now be easily moved using a click-and-drag user interface
• Added a new option to draw the country's flag as a background on world map time panels
• Added a new digital clock panel display option
• Added new options for clockface panels to draw "tails" on hands and to adjust hand thickness
• Taskbar clock customization features have been improved to better support Windows 10 (note that this feature is not available with Windows 11)
• WorldClock can now determine your latitude/longitude from your address via the Mapbox Geocode service

• Day/Night view window (redundant)
• Sidebar panel on desktop wallpaper (redundant)

• Windows Vista SP2, 7 SP1, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11.
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5. If you're on Windows version 8 or higher, .NET 4.5 is already installed on your system. If you're using Windows Vista SP2 or Windows 7 SP1, you can download the .NET 4.5 Framework installer from the link below:
  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30653
• The way that your Preferences are saved has been changed with this release and I'm afraid you will need to re-configure your settings.