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Horas
World Clock and Time Synchronizer

Horas
Horas		Download
Download		 Purchase
Purchase		 
Version: 5.0
Size: ~1912 KB
Language: English
License cost: $19.95 U.S. dollars
Upgrade cost: $12.95 U.S. dollars

Index
Description
Features at a Glance
Minimum Requirements
Resources
Time Zone Information (TZI)
Updates
Old Versions

Description (go to index)
 With the world becoming more connected, people are following world events, doing business, talking to family, and creating friends internationally. Horas is a world clock that helps you keep track of time in different cities by showing you clocks for multiple time zones. Horas is packed with useful features and yet, it is very easy to use. Whether you are a computer novice, a hobbyist, or a professional, you will find Horas invaluable in helping you stay properly connected to the rest of the world.

Horas screen shot (digital)
Digital western style

Horas screen shot (analog gradient)
Ballsy analog style with a daylight color gradient

Horas screen shot (analog transparent)
Classic analog style with a transparent background

Horas screen shot (tiny)
Digital western style using small fonts - Great for laptops!

Horas screen shot (arco)
Arco style

Just select the locations you want to monitor and Horas does the rest. There are many options available such as the automatic adjustment of daylight saving changes, Swatch Internet Time support, analog and digital displays, auto-hiding of the clocks, custom date and time formats, custom fonts, custom backgrounds, and time zone information downloading. Plus, Horas can automatically adjust your computer clock by synchronizing it with atomic clocks. A powerful time converter is also included to let you enter any time in any city and see the corresponding time in all the other cities. Horas takes very little space on your desktop and can be controlled from a little icon in the taskbar status area.

Horas taskbar status area icon
Hides in the taskbar status area

Features at a Glance (go to index)

  • Automatic adjustment of your computer clock.
  • Automatic adjustment of daylight saving changes.
  • Powerful time converter.
  • Quick time lookup in remote time zones.
  • Swatch Internet Time support.
  • Time zone and server data updating from the Internet.
  • Transparent, textured, and daylight background styles.
  • Color and font customization.
  • Many date and time format options.
  • Foreign language scripts support.
  • Vertical and horizontal clock alignment.
  • Can dock and auto-hide like a toolbar.
  • Can stay on top of other application windows.
  • Scaleable display to look good at all sizes.
  • Simple appearance to economize resources consumption.
  • Does not waste desktop or taskbar space.
  • Compliant until year 10000.

    Minimum Requirements (go to index)

  • 2000, XP, Server 2003, or Vista.

    Resources (go to index)

  • City names in their native language (Horas clock names resource)
  • Time Servers (Horas time adjustment resource)
  • Weird Clocks (for fun)

    Time Zone Information (TZI) (go to index)
     Countries can change their TZI for a number of reasons. When the daylight saving time (DST) transition for a city changes, the related data in your Windows registry becomes obsolete, causing your computer to report the wrong time for that city during certain periods of the year. You can correct the problem using one of the following methods:

    • Updating the Horas Time zone information database:
      The database contains the TZI discrepancies that were brought to our attention so far. Horas can use the database to display the correct time in the affected time zones instead of relying on the information stored in the Windows registry. Note that this method only corrects the time in Horas, not in Windows. You can download the database from the Time Zone Information section in the Horas Options screen.

    • Updating the Windows registry:
      Microsoft has released a number of patches and utilities to update the TZI portion of the Windows registry. For more information, please visit the Microsoft web site.

    If you wish to report an incorrect Windows or Horas TZI record for a city, first make sure that you are using the latest version of HorasTZI.dat, then e-mail us using "TZI Errata" as a subject. Please include the city name, country name, source of your information, and your Windows version and build numbers.

    Updates (go to index)

  • v5.0 on 2007-11-15:
    • Added the option to display time zones by city name so you can find them more easily.
    • Added support for Vista's Dynamic daylight saving time feature to provides more accurate time conversions in past and future years. This enhancement is available in Horas on all compatible Windows platforms.
    • Added the ability to set the Windows time zone by clock name. You no longer need to dig out the time zone you are traveling to in the long list of Windows time zones.
    • Added the option to invert clock and name positions. You can now display the clock name over the time or vice versa.
    • Added the option to sort clocks by time zone.
    • Added the option to run Horas when Windows starts.
    • Added hotkey support to access features anytime, even when Horas is hidden. For example, you can press F4 to display or hide the calendar.
    • Added the ability to automatically return the focus to the user's window when the Calendar is opened for 10 seconds or less and then closed through a hot key. This enables you to consult the calendar and then continue typing without having to reactive your window.
    • Added options to display taskbar notification messages for various events.
    • Added the 'HH:mm:ss tt' 24h time format to make the AM/PM indicator available to analog clocks.
    • Added a clock style feature including many cool clocks (replaces digital/analog option).
    • Added special effects when showing and hiding windows.
    • Updated time continuously in the Time in Zone window.
    • Redesigned the graphics engine to produce higher quality output including gradients. Non-digital style clocks are finally nice to look at.
    • Redesigned the color configuration interface and added a color picker to select any color on the desktop.
    • Redesigned the tool windows so they can be used concurrently.
    • Redesigned the help guide.
    • Updated the software to comply with Vista requirements. Previously, the program and its installer ran on Vista in compatibility mode. Now, they run on Vista in native mode, comply with UAC and other Vista technologies, and are digitally signed with an Authenticode certificate to ensure their integrity and authenticity. These major enhancements provide a better and safer experience when running the software on all supported Windows versions.
    • Redesigned the application to use the Unicode standard and improve its Windows integration and multilingual support.
    • Redesigned the installer to use Microsoft MSI technology and comply with recent Windows guidelines.
    • Discontinued Windows 98 and Me compatibility to take better advantage of new Windows features.
    • Discontinued French versions. Licensees can follow the English upgrade path.
    • Upgrading to this major update requires a licensing fee for existing customers who are licensed to use older versions.
  • v4.1 on 2003-05-18: For Windows 2000, XP, or later: Added support for multiple Windows user accounts. Improved foreign language input support. Minimized the amount of memory used when the clock window is hidden. For all Windows versions: Memorized the settings of most used windows. Showed the clock window when trying to run a second instance of Horas. Prevented the clocks area from being resized -and hence the clocks layout from changing- when the main window border is toggled. Discontinued Windows 95 and NT compatibility.
  • v4.0 on 2003-04-04: Added support for Windows XP features. Added background styles for clocks including transparency (for Windows 2000, XP, or later), variable lightness and textures, along with a gallery of background images. Added support to update time server lists and time zones via the Internet. Added multiple monitor support. Added a calendar for date lookups. Improved several areas in the user interface. Added a wizard to create new clocks. Added a preview function to the fonts dialog box. Stopped displaying the window in auto-hide mode when it is not activated by the user. Upgrading to this major update requires a licensing fee for existing customers who are licensed to use older versions.
  • v3.9 on 2001-10-18: Added an option to auto-hide the clocks window.
  • v3.8a on 2001-05-17: Fixed a v3.8 bug that prevented Horas from starting when it is run on Windows 2000 for the very first time.
  • v3.8 on 2001-05-01: Added Swatch Internet Time support. Added time zone names to the Time in Zone dialog. Corrected and enhanced the handling of daylight saving time transitions in the Convert Time dialog.
  • v3.7 on 2000-11-20: Added vertical clock alignment.
  • v3.6 on 2000-09-23: Added 24-bit color support.
  • v3.51 on 2000-08-11: Added support to display non-western font language scripts. Fixed a bug preventing the date from being refreshed in analog mode.
  • 2000-07-17: Released the French version of Horas.
  • v3.5 on 2000-04-25: Overhauled the time converter and help support.
  • v3.11 on 1999-12-20: Added an option for Windows Dial-Up Networking (DUN) users to automatically disable updating while not connected. This version does not affect users who don't use a modem.
  • v3.1 on 1998-05-20: Optimized analog clock drawing and simplified the TZI section.
  • v3.0a on 1998-05-13: Fixed a bug preventing timely date refreshes when a clock corresponding to the local time zone is not defined, and changed the date to display using the local language.
  • v3.0 on 1998-03-20: Added an option to synchronize the computer clock with that of time servers, such as atomic clocks; added a feature to help you locate the Horas window on the desktop.
  • v2.21 on 1997-12-16: Added an option to hide the window border, and fixed a bug preventing NT users without administrative privileges from accessing system time zone information.
  • v2.2 on 1997-10-28: Added a TZI section, support to correct system DST transitions, and fixed a bug affecting the computation of DST in certain time zones.
  • v2.1a on 1997-08-06: Fixed a memory leak in analog display mode.
  • v2.1 on 1997-07-22: Added clock positioning and task bar/list visibility option.
  • v2.0a on 1997-07-12: Fixed a daylight saving related bug.
  • v2.0 on 1997-07-10: Overhauled the user interface, and added support for time zones, automatic daylight saving changes, and more display options. Increased the end user license price.
  • v1.97 on 1997-06-22: Updated installation procedure and package info.
  • v1.9a on 1997-02-19: Saved settings before rebooting.
  • v1.9 on 1997-01-26: Added day of month and day of year.
  • v1.8a on 1996-11-30: Fixed visibility toggle of Horas when it is covered by other windows.
  • v1.8 on 1996-11-26: Made major UI enhancements and moved the icon to the taskbar status area.
  • v1.7 on 1996-11-13: Made minor adjustments.
  • v1.6 on 1996-11-01: Added the 12 hour format. Added a switch to turn off seconds.
  • v1.0 on 1996-09-01: Initial release.

    Old Versions (go to index)
     DownloadDownload Horas v4.1
    DownloadDownload Horas v3.9
    DownloadDownload Horas TZI database (2007-11-15)

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