Timers

SonicMood uses four types of timers. The first type controls the note timing. That is, the length of notes (sustain) and the space between notes (pause). The second type measures elapsed time and (when running) determines the time interval over which a Mood plays (or a Picture displays) before going to another Mood (or Picture). The third type is the sleep/wake timer that controls when SonicMood goes to sleep or wakes up. Finally, the fourth type will play a Mood at a specific day, hour, minute, and second. There are actually a few other timers running, but they control things like the scrolling of messages and can't be changed by the user so we won't talk about them here.

Note Timing

You can adjust the pause and play time values for each instrument in a Mood from the "Edit" window. Select "Edit Mood (Info)" (⌘I) from the "Edit" menu (or click the "edit" button on the toolbar) to open the window. Note timing is adjusted on the "individual note properties" page. More information specific to the editing of Moods can be found in the Help Topic Mood Editing.

Mood and Picture Timers

The Mood and Picture timers operate in essentially the same way. What follows describes both.

The area near the top center of the (SonicMood or Picture) window (the "Marquee") controls the timer. The small round buttons to the left and right let you toggle the timer on/off and set the timer, respectively. When you click the button on the left, it will change from a "play triangle" to "pause bars", the timer will start, and a "progress bar" will appear between the buttons. Click the button on the right (down-pointing triangle) and the timer window will appear.

You can set the behavior of the timer from the timer window. The slider sets the time between Mood or Picture changes (in minutes). Select one of the "Play Order" modes to establish the order in which Moods are played or Pictures are viewed. "Shuffled" - a random Mood/Picture is selected after each interval, "In Order" - Moods/Pictures occur in sequential order starting from the current one, and "✓Marked: xxx" - the Moods/Pictures with check marks next to them in their list will happen in order (xxx indicates how many Moods/Pictures are checked in the list). Timer settings are remembered.

Each Mood or Picture can have its own time setting. You are adjusting the time interval for the item highlighted, unless you check the box labeled "Change All". The time for each is displayed in its list, next to the checkbox.

Another way to change the timer setting is by direct editing of the value displayed in the list. This works the same way as editing a Mood/Picture name. Highlight the item and use "select-pause-click" on the value, or select "Edit Highlighted Text" (⌘E) from the "Edit" menu or the contextual menu that appears when you right/control-click on the list.

While running, the timer displays a "progress bar". At the left of the bar is the elapsed time and at the right is the total time (both in mm:ss). The next Mood/Picture starts when the time has elapsed.

If a row is highlighted in the list, you can toggle its checkmark by pressing "⌥-spacebar".

Sleep and Wake Timers

Selecting "Sleep Timer" (⌘T) or "Wake Timer" (⌥T), or pressing the relevant toolbar button (if shown), will drop down a sheet window where you can set a time of day for SonicMood to pause (sleep) or resume (wake) playing. When that time is reached, the volume will change slowly up or down and after approximately one minute SonicMood will pause or start playing, as appropriate.

The Sleep and Wake timer windows are essentially identical. In either window you can set a time of day (hours and minutes in 12 hour format - use the button to set AM/PM), or a length of time, when SonicMood will either pause (sleep) or resume playing (wake).

To change a time setting click on a digit to select it, or use ← or → to move one digit. Use ↑ or ↓, click the up/down arrow buttons, or use the mouse wheel to change the highlighted value by one. You can also just type a new time in the appropriate places. You'll notice that the current digit is highlighted. You can use Tab and Shift-Tab to move between the three time entry fields.

Once a time is set the timer can be started by clicking the "On" radio button. To have the same event repeat, set a repeat time.

Click "Done" once the timer is set and running. The event time will be displayed under the timer's button.

Mood Scheduled Play Timer

SonicMood will play a Mood at a given time if it's been scheduled using the "Mood Scheduled Play" timer. Like the "Wake Timer", if SonicMood is paused it will "wake" to play the scheduled Mood, and stay awake. Select "Mood Play Schedule" (⌘U) from the Timers menu (or click the "Schedule" toolbar button if displayed) to open the scheduling window.

When the window opens, select a Mood from the “Play” pop-up menu or select an already-entered item in the schedule. You can set the time of day (including a "day" number, which is the number of days from the current day) or elapsed time, a repeat interval, and the minimum time a Mood should play (if two or more Moods vie for the same start time). The minimum play time (“For At Least”) and repeat interval (“Repeat Every”) settings are remembered if they were set/changed by the user.

To change a time setting click on a digit to select it, or use ← and → to move one digit back and forth. Use ↑ or ↓, click the up/down arrow buttons, or use the mouse wheel to change the highlighted value by one. You can also just type a new time in the appropriate places. You'll notice that the current digit is highlighted. You can use Tab and Shift-Tab to move between the three time entry fields and the schedule list.

Click "+" to make a new entry using the Mood in the "Play" menu, or click "Update" if you want to change the Mood highlighted in the schedule. Delete a highlighted schedule entry by clicking "-". To start the time of day timer, click the "On" radio button. If you need to, you can resize the window by dragging its “resize tab” at the lower right. To exit the window, click "Done"

In the Moods list you should see the time you've set for a Mood in the column "Schedule".

If the Mood timer (discussed in the "Mood and Picture Timers" topic above) is running when a Mood is scheduled, the Mood that's playing will pause and the scheduled Mood will start playing. While it's playing, the "progress bar" will increment up to the minimum time (“for at least” slider) the scheduled Mood was allocated. When that time is up, the previously playing Mood will resume. Note that “volume fade down” and “volume fade up” times are observed (“preferences” window, “general” page), so there may be a delay before the volume is back up and the “progress bar” starts to move again.