Time Out 2.9.6 released

Let’s make it three: another update of Time Out, my popular break reminder tool.

When I did the recent 2.9.4 update, I figured I didn’t need to do a beta release, since it was just basic bug fixes. Oops… no, beta releases are useful even for bug fixes, since I can’t test on older OS versions, and sometimes Apple changes things that break apps, even apps for taking breaks.

Version 2.9.6 includes a critical fix for people on older macOS versions:

Fixed a crash on pre-Sonoma macOS versions. Sorry about that!

If you missed them, versions 2.9.5 and 2.9.4 were released a few days ago, and included several more fixes and tweaks:

Fixed the app launch helper unexpectedly opening Terminal on older macOS versions.

Fixed the settings window unexpectedly appearing after restarting the Mac, when the Dock icon is hidden.

Fixed misnaming the app in the sidebar when using a When Open app exclusion.

Fixed the Also skip breaks during focus exclusion option.

Fixed a break with a large negative duration when scheduling from the calendar with no more events.

Fixed the tooltip for the Ask When to Start scheduling option.

When there are multiple displays available, now uses the names of the displays in the menu.

Fixed the With Inactive Menubar option for multiple displays.

The other displays now fade out and back in correctly.

Fixed requesting full calendar access when using the calendar exclusion option (need full access to look for matching events).

Fixed the Skip button appearing when previewing a break if the end early option is enabled.

Fixed the option to alert of another copy of the app.

Added support for break-specific pause via a URL like timeout://break/micro/pause/30m, where micro is the break name, and 30m means pause for 30 minutes.

Also break-specific resume via a URL like timeout://break/micro/resume.

Fixed using a timeout://pause URL without an amount (to pause all breaks indefinitely) possibly crashing.

Fixed the settings window unexpectedly appearing when using a timeout:// URL.

Bonus: added the Sinclair Trails 2023 theme, with random timelapse clips of driving around the US.

Want to try it?

If you are using the Mac App Store edition, you can update via the App Store app.

Similarly, if you are using the Setapp edition, it will handle that update for you.

If you are using the direct edition, you can use the Check for Updates feature in the app to update. (If it says you’re up-to-date with a previous version, turn off the Via SSL checkbox; CloudFlare caches the version state for a few hours.)

Otherwise, download Time Out 2.9.6 now!