Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

I am a freelancer, why should I track my time with TimeCase?

For freelancers, the workday seems to melt away without actually knowing how all the time was spent. If you are not using that time to make money, you are essentially wasting time and money.

Beyond just trying to figure out how you used your time, there are at least 10 more reasons why you should track your freelance workday that can result in greater productivity, customer satisfaction, and profitability.

How do I change the date format?

There are two variants of the script, one with Y-M-D and the other one with D-M-Y date format. You can download and use whichever suits you best. Time format is always in 24h format and cannot be changed since there are no am/pm selectors. Please check the demo before buying.

I want to avoid the “Welcome” page and send users directly to the login page.

set default route to be the login page, search _app_config.php and replace this:

'GET:' => array('route' => 'Default.Home'),

with this:

'GET:' => array('route' => 'User.LoginForm'),

Is it possible to display the report for entire month instead of one day?

yes, change inside templates/ReportsListView.tpl.php this line:

<input type="text" value="<?php echo date('Y-m-d')?>" id="start" class="date-picker input-large">

with this line:

<input type="text" value="<?php echo date('Y-m-d', mktime(0, 0, 0, date("n"), 1))?>" id="start" class="date-picker input-large">

you can also use first day of current week with this code:

<input type="text" value="<?php echo date('Y-m-d', strtotime('monday this week'))?>" id="start" class="date-picker input-large">

Can I add or remove certain columns from tables layout?

Yes, you can tweak template *.tpl.php files inside templates folder. For most table layouts there will be some hidden columns under comments. You can uncomment additional columns, hide existing columns by putting them inside comment block or rearrange them to fit your specific needs. Be sure to adjust table cell (td) as well as table header (th) elements.

You can identify adjustable layout elements by searching for this string “UNCOMMENT TO SHOW ADDITIONAL COLUMNS”.

I cannot Login / I am getting 500 Internal Server Error. How can I fix this?

Note: this applies to Apache web servers only, other servers like Microsoft IIS are not supported.

This error usually means that your server cannot process or cannot find .htaccess file where important rewrite rules are applied. This file must exists in base timecase folder where index.php is located. Note that each web server has a different method of doing HTTP rewrites, and may require a slightly different .htaccess file.

Example URL that throws an error:

http://www.example.com/timecase/loginform 

But if you try with this one, Login page is displayed.

http://www.example.com/timecase/index.php?_REWRITE_COMMAND=loginform

If .htaccess is there and you are still getting an error try replacing content of .htaccess file with one of the following:

1. simplified with RewriteEngine set to “On”

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule (.*) index.php?_REWRITE_COMMAND=$1 [QSA,L]

2. same as above but with slash before index.php

RewriteEngine On 
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d 
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f 
RewriteRule (.*)  /index.php?_REWRITE_COMMAND=$1 [QSA,L] 

3. very simplified setup, for CGI/FastCGI PHP installations

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule (.*) index.php?_REWRITE_COMMAND=$1 [QSA,L]

4. with absolute url (final hack)

RewriteEngine On 
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule (.*) http://yourserver.com/somedir/index.php?_REWRITE_COMMAND=$1 [QSA,L]

Some servers require RewriteBase parameter so try adding this (on the first line) with previous combinations:

RewriteBase /

or with subfolder

RewriteBase /somewhere/

http://interactive32.com/tcd/htaccess_variants.zip

Nginx rewrite rules and examples (server block):

    # location blocks must appear *after* the ~ \.php$ location block, otherwise you will see server
    # errors due to an infinite redirection loop

    # url rewriting for timecase installed in its own folder
    location ~ ^/timecase/(.*) {
        try_files /timecase/$1 /timecase/$1/ /timecase/index.php?_REWRITE_COMMAND=$1&args;
    }
    
    # url rewriting for timecase installed in the htdocs root
    #
    #location ~ ^/(.*) {
    #    try_files /$1 /$1/ /index.php?_REWRITE_COMMAND=$1&args;
    #}
    
    # this is an alternate method of rewriting.  this method is discouraged
    # in the ngnix documentation for performance reasons, however it may be
    # helpful or necessary in some situations.  it's here for reference purposes only
    #
    #location ~ ^/timecase/(.*) {
    #    if (!-e $request_filename){
    #        rewrite  ^/timecase/(.*)$  /timecase/index.php?_REWRITE_COMMAND=$1?  last;
    #    }
    #}

How can I translate TimeCase?

Currently there is no single language file so in order to translate the app to your language you must change all strings inside several files mostly inside templates/ folder.

I cannot import database / I am getting SQL: Table ‘timecase.customers’ doesn’t exist

Before using the script you must create a database and import data from sql file: database/database.sql using phpMyAdmin or similar tool. If you are getting an error during database import try using this alternative sql file: http://www.timecase.net/tcd/legacy_database.zip

I need to add/change something, can you help me?

We do not offer customization services at the moment. However, you will receive full source code so you can change whatever you want. Please note that we will not provide support or fix errors caused by modification to the original files.

I forgot admin password

You can clear admin password by executing this sql query:

update users set password = '' where username = 'admin';

After that you can login with admin/admin123 and update any other password.

I need to alter html report.

You can do that in RenderHTML function in this file:

timecase/libs/Controller/ReportsController.php:255

How can I adjust default session login timeout?

Put this on top of your index.php file after php opening tag:

session_set_cookie_params(604800,"/"); // 7 days 60*60*24*7

If you have additional session-related problems, add this as well:

ini_set('session.save_path',realpath('.').'/database');
ini_set('session.gc_maxlifetime',604800);

How can I update TimeCase from v1.7.1 to v2.0

Backup everything before you start!
Replace 3 files:

timecase/bootstrap/css/bootstrap.min.css
timecase/styles/style.css
timecase/templates/_Header.tpl.php

After that, clear your browser's cache and reload the page.