Time Out

Posts about Dejal Time Out.

Another TestFlight of Time Out 3.0: almost ready for release

One more TestFlight of Time Out 3.0, maybe the last one, unless something turns up.

Version 3.0 includes:

  • macOS Tahoe support
  • Exclusions are now Rules, and more powerful
  • A new theme editor, and image and text theme types
  • Added a Duplicate Break command
  • Enhanced the postpone/skip control limits option to per break, hour, or day
  • But wait, there’s more!

This pre-release build is available via Apple’s TestFlight. Want to help test it? Install the TestFlight. It is open to all — but note that it requires macOS Tahoe (26.0 or later).

I would appreciate any help in testing this update. If you experience any issues, or have any suggestions for improvements, please contact me.

The data format has changed, but updating will leave the old data intact, so you can freely switch back to the general release if you wish; any changes you make in version 3 won’t affect version 2.

Just a few updates in this build.

  • Added a FaceTime Meeting script-based rule, so you can skip breaks when in a FaceTime call (but it ignores when FaceTime is open but not in a call).
  • Fixed a rare crash with the color pickers.
  • Fixed the direct edition not prompting for Accessibility permission (this is not supported in the App Store edition; you need to add it manually, if desired).
  • Modernized the in-app purchase view in the direct edition.
  • You might (randomly) be offered a longer supporter trial period, as an experiment.

Want to help test it?

This pre-release build is available via Apple’s TestFlight. Install the TestFlight. Remember that it requires macOS Tahoe (26.0 or later).

Once it is in general release, it will be available via the Mac App Store, Setapp, and directly from the Dejal website, as usual.

Again if you experience any issues, or have any suggestions for improvements, please contact me.

Another TestFlight of Time Out 3.0: now with a theme editor

Hot on the heels of the previous TestFlight of Time Out 3.0, here’s another build, with a major new feature: an editor for custom themes! Not only that, it now supports image and text theme kinds, and updates several built-in themes; keep reading for the details.

Version 3.0 includes:

  • macOS Tahoe support
  • Exclusions are now Rules, and more powerful
  • A new theme editor, and image and text theme types
  • Added a Duplicate Break command
  • Enhanced the postpone/skip control limits option to per break, hour, or day
  • But wait, there’s more!

This pre-release build is available via Apple’s TestFlight. Want to help test it? Install the TestFlight. It is open to all — but note that it requires macOS Tahoe (26.0 or later).

I would appreciate any help in testing this update. If you experience any issues, or have any suggestions for improvements, please contact me.

The data format has changed, but updating will leave the old data intact, so you can freely switch back to the general release if you wish; any changes you make in version 3 won’t affect version 2.

Read on for details of the updates in this build.

Added a theme editor

Options menu

  • Added an Options menu button before Preview on the Break Appearance page.
  • This menu includes commands to add a new theme, duplicate the selected theme, edit it, reveal it in the Finder, or delete it.
  • Built-in themes can’t be edited or deleted; duplicate them first to make changes.
  • The theme editor sheet includes fields for the theme name and comments, author information, credits information, and a pop-up menu to choose the type of theme (see below).
  • At the bottom is some info text, and buttons to Contribute, Preview, Cancel, or Save the theme.
  • The Contribute button will attach the theme to an email; you can review the email before sending it to Dejal for consideration to bundle with a future version of the app, and/or list on the Time Out Extras page.
  • The editor sheet can be resized if desired.

Edit local themes

Local theme editor

  • In the new Theme Editor, choose Local HTML to add or edit a theme that uses HTML within the theme folder. This kind of theme works offline.
  • It includes a field for the root document name (the main HTML file to display.
  • It also includes buttons to open the HTML file in an editor of your choosing (which is remembered), or reveal it in the Finder.

Edit website themes

Website theme editor

  • In the new editor, choose Website to add or edit remote themes, that simply show a web page.
  • It includes a field for the website URL.

Edit YouTube themes

YouTube theme editor

  • Themes that play YouTube videos can be added or edited via the YouTube Video option in the editor.
  • It includes fields for the video ID and playlist ID.
  • To add a YouTube video, simply copy the URL from your browser and paste it into the URL field, and it’ll extract the video ID and playlist ID (if any).
  • It also includes a field for the video title.
  • A slider controls the playback volume; drag to zero to mute.
  • A checkbox lets you start at a random point in the video or a random video in the playlist; if unchecked, there’s a field for the start offset.

Edit image themes

Theme editor

  • A new kind of theme is Images; you can add any number of images or photos to show during a break.
  • You can choose to show the images in sequential order or randomly.
  • Also choose the transition between images.
  • Specify how many seconds to show each image; set to zero to have only one image per break.
  • Scale options include Fit to display each full image, with space on sides as necessary, Fill to fill the screen, cutting off edges as needed, or Percent to use a specified percentage of the screen.
  • Buttons enable adding images from files, or from your photo library (note that the photo library picker may take a long time to load if you have a lot of photos).
  • The app won’t see any photos other than the ones you choose to add.
  • Thumbnails of the chosen images are listed; drag to change the order if showing sequentially.
  • Trash buttons next to each image will remove them from the collection.

Edit text themes

Text theme editor

  • Another new kind of theme is Text; you can add any number of text to show during a break.
  • Like for Images, you can choose sequential or random order, and how many seconds to show each one (or enter zero to show one per break).
  • Choose the text font and color.
  • Scale the text to use a percentage of the screen (the text will resize to fit).
  • A vertical offset slider lets you position the text to avoid the control panel.
  • A button enables adding text.
  • Enter the text to display; drag the rows to change the order, or remove via the trash button.

New and updated themes

  • The Sinclair Trails, Dejus Chickens, Dejus Ducks & Fish, and Tropical Rain themes now use the new YouTube theme type.
  • Added new Coral World and Fireplace YouTube themes.
  • Added a new Checklist theme, that enables you to add things to remember and check them off.
  • Added a new Desk Exercises theme, that uses the new Text theme kind, with some simple exercises that you can do while sitting or standing near your desk.

Other changes

  • Fixed unintended duplicate themes (a bug in the previous TestFlight).

And lots more

Want to help test it?

This pre-release build is available via Apple’s TestFlight. Install the TestFlight. Remember that it requires macOS Tahoe (26.0 or later).

Once it is in general release, it will be available via the Mac App Store, Setapp, and directly from the Dejal website, as usual.

Again if you experience any issues, or have any suggestions for improvements, please contact me.

Introducing a TestFlight of Time Out version 3.0

I’m pleased to announce the first pre-release TestFlight for version 3.0 of Time Out, my popular break reminder app for Mac. 🎉

I have been working on this big update off and on for the past couple of years, and it is finally approaching readiness for general release, though I do plan to add a few more features before that.

This update includes several huge improvements:

  • macOS Tahoe support
  • Exclusions are now Rules, and more powerful
  • Added a Duplicate Break command
  • Enhanced the postpone/skip control limits option to per break, hour, or day
  • But wait, there’s more!

This pre-release build is available via Apple’s TestFlight. Want to help test it? Install the TestFlight. It is open to all — but note that it requires macOS Tahoe (26.0 or later).

I would appreciate any help in testing this update. If you experience any issues, or have any suggestions for improvements, please contact me.

The data format has changed, but updating will leave the old data intact, so you can freely switch back to the general release if you wish; any changes you make in version 3 won’t affect version 2.

Read on for full details.

macOS Tahoe support

Liquid Glass buttons

  • Time Out now requires a minimum of macOS Tahoe (26.0).
  • Replaced the sidebar and Action icons with modern SF Symbols.
  • Added icons to menus for macOS 26.
  • The buttons at the top of the window now use the modern Liquid Glass style.
  • Modernized the color pickers.
  • Updated Break Actions like notifications and the speech synthesizer to the latest technology.

Exclusions are now Rules, and more powerful

Rules

  • The Exclusions page has been renamed Rules, since they are now much more flexible.
  • The Add (+) button is now in the top-right corner, and shows a menu of the different kinds of rules that can be added.
  • Each rule now includes a checkbox to enable or disable it, so you can turn one off without removing it.
  • Application rules now show the path under the app name; if it isn’t all visible, hover over the path to reveal the full location (or make the window wider).
  • App rules also now support “is” / “isn’t”, to reverse the “open” / “frontmost” option, e.g. to skip a break if some app isn’t being used.
  • Calendar Events rules now group your calendars by account, if you have multiple accounts. And yes, you can now have more than one calendar rule.
  • A new built-in rule is Fullscreen Active, to detect when the frontmost app is fullscreen. Useful when watching videos.
  • Script-based rules are now supported too. Time Out can look in the Rules folder inside its Application Scripts folder, and any scripts there can be added as rules.
  • Three script-based rules are included initially: Teams Meeting and Zoom Meeting to detect when actively in a meeting via Teams or Zoom, and Valve Game to detect when using a Valve / Steam game, since they don’t always appear as normal apps. More scripts will be added over time, and you are welcome to add and/or contribute your own.
  • Script rules support “is true” / “is false”, so the script result can be used normally or reversed.
  • The Add menu now includes script management items like More…, Reveal Scripts, and Get More, similar to Break Actions.
  • All rules now include a menu for what to do when the rule matches, including “automatically skip”, “postpone” by several amounts, and two new actions as follows.
  • A new action is “ignore natural break”. If selected, when a natural break is detected (the Mac is idle), and this rule matches, the natural break will not be taken. Useful when you’re passively watching a video, to make sure you still get breaks.
  • Another new action is “treat as natural break”. If selected, when this rule matches, the app will act as though it is idle, even if you’re actively using it. Useful when you’re doing something that is equivalent to a break, like playing a relaxing game instead of working.
  • The new Fullscreen Active and script-based rules, conditions, and natural break actions are all available as new rewards for recent supporters. Try them for an hour at a time, as often as you like.
  • The status messages in the sidebar are now clearer, e.g. showing reasons like “skipped due to Teams Meeting” or “skipped due to fullscreen rule”.

If you create new script-based rules that others might find useful, please share them, and I’ll probably bundle them with the app!

Added a Duplicate Break command

Duplicate Break

  • The File menu now includes a Duplicate Break command, along with the existing New Break command.
  • The Duplicate Break command is only available if a break is selected, and if adding breaks is allowed.
  • The + button in the window will now duplicate a selected break, or add a new one if none selected.

Enhanced the postpone/skip control limits option to per break, hour, or day

Control limits

  • Added pop-up menus after the existing options to limit postponing or skipping a break (on the Break Appearance page).
  • Options now include per break and per hour, in addition to the existing per day.
  • So for example you can choose to limit yourself to postponing a break only twice before having to take it, to encourage yourself to have more breaks.
  • Perhaps one of the most popular requests!

Adjusted Reset behavior when From Last Done

  • The original description for the From: Last Done scheduler option was “Last Done will reset the break after it is completed, so the next break will occur the frequency interval after that. For example, a 10 minute break every 30 minutes will next occur 30 minutes after the break finishes, instead of 30 minutes after it starts (as with the Last Due option).”
  • But a reset has always set the due date to the break frequency minus the break duration, which didn’t match that description.
  • So now when From is Last Done, reset will only use the break frequency.
  • The “work for” label will also be hidden when From is Last Done, since the work interval will match the frequency.

Clarified the supporter trial to reduce confusion

  • When showing any settings page with supporter rewards being trialed, the info will automatically appear as a reminder.
  • During a supporter trial, the Support Time Out page has a message clarifying the trial, and lists the supporter rewards being tried.
  • After the trial ends, the Support Time Out page lists all of the supporter rewards that have been tried.
  • Now only automatically shows the Support Time Out page once after a trial.

But wait, there’s more!

  • The app data has been modernized in preparation for syncing, coming in a future update.
  • Fixed a shortcut becoming unavailable when deleting a break that used it.
  • If the Event Monitor idle detector is not available, now automatically falls back to Event Source.
  • Improved the reliability of resetting breaks when waking from sleep.
  • Now shows a red badge next to the Updates item in the sidebar after the app has been updated.
  • Fixed some issues with the Updates page.
  • Fixed a rare crasher with the Statistics page.
  • Numerous other minor improvements.

Want to help test it?

This pre-release build is available via Apple’s TestFlight. Install the TestFlight. Remember that it requires macOS Tahoe (26.0 or later).

Once it is in general release, it will be available via the Mac App Store, Setapp, and directly from the Dejal website, as usual.

Again if you experience any issues, or have any suggestions for improvements, please contact me.

Updated Time Out YouTube-based themes

A little while ago YouTube changed the requirements for embedding videos in web pages, which broke the YouTube-based themes for Time Out.

I recently came up with a solution for this problem, and have updated the themes on the Time Out Extras page.

I also added a new theme for the Sinclair Trails travels in 2025, plus a couple new scenic ones, of underwater coral and tropical fish, and of a burning fireplace (from the same creator as the Tropical Rain video, which was also updated).

Here are direct download links for the new and updated themes:

I’ll bundle the updates with the next update of the app, but that’ll be a while off, so if you want to use any of these themes, download them from those links.

To install these themes:

  1. Go to the Break Appearance page within Time Out.
  2. Choose Reveal Themes from the Theme menu to open the Themes folder in the Finder.
  3. Decompress the downloaded archive(s), if your browser didn’t do it for you.
  4. Drag the resulting folder(s) into the revealed Themes folder.
  5. That’s it; the new theme(s) will then appear in Time Out’s themes pop-up menu.

Here’s a preview of the new Sinclair Trails 2025 timelapse theme (just a random screenshot; the terrain varies, of course):

Sinclair Trails 2025 theme

The Dejus Water Features theme:

Dejus Water Features theme

The Tropical Rain theme:

Tropical Rain theme

The new Fireplace theme:

Fireplace theme

And the new Coral World theme:

Coral World theme

Enjoy!

Time Out checklist theme

A customer wrote on Reddit in the /r/Dejal community:

Hey! Long time user and supporter of TimeOut. Is there a way we can add a checklist to pop up for the break theme?

I just LOVE checklists, its so satisfying to click off a task such as exercises during breaks. I know there are other solutions, like I could just customize the text and put an X there, but checklist is just so much more satisfying.

I replied that such a theme would be beyond my HTML skills, but I could try asking ChatGPT to write it for me… which I did. After a number of refinements, we came up with something that works quite well:

Checklist theme

You can add, edit, remove rows, and toggle the checkmark. They are only saved on your local Mac, and are specific to the break, so two breaks using the Checklist theme will have separate lists.

You can download it from the Time Out Extras page; here’s a direct download link. To install this or any other themes:

  1. Go to the Break Appearance page within Time Out.
  2. Choose Reveal Themes from the Theme menu to open the themes folder in the Finder.
  3. Decompress the downloaded archive, if your browser didn’t do it for you.
  4. Drag the resulting folder into the revealed themes folder.
  5. That’s it; the new theme will then appear in Time Out’s themes pop-up menu.

I hope you find this useful.

The Calm theme can’t log in; how can I still use Calm?

Time Out has long had a theme that displayed the Calm.com website, where members of that service can do Calm session on a schedule managed by Time Out.

Unfortunately, they recently seem to have changed their website in such a way that can prevent logging in via email when displayed by Time Out.

As a workaround, I created a simple AppleScript break action to open Calm in Safari:

tell application "Safari"
  activate
  open location "https://www.calm.com/"
end tell

You can download this script from the Time Out Extras page: here’s a direct download link. Then add it to Time Out by using the Reveal Scripts command in the + menu on the Break Actions page.

(If you prefer a different browser, you can edit the script accordingly.)

To use it, set the Break Theme to None:

Theme is None

And add the Open Calm in Safari script to the Break Actions page:

Action is Calm

That way you’ll get the usual Time Out break control panel and progress bar over the Calm session in the Safari browser. Once the break is done, you can simply close that page in Safari.

DejalNews #89: year in review, 2025 plans, new theme, Time Out tip

DejalNews header

Welcome

This is DejalNews, an occasional newsletter from Dejal.

Want to get this newsletter in your inbox? Sign up on the Dejal site.

Dejal 2024 in review and 2025 plans

As is my tradition, I published a Dejal year in review post at the end of 2024, where I summarized what improvements had been done to each of my apps last year, including my two newest apps, Weather Events and Preminder. Check out that blog post if you haven’t already.

I also published a separate blog post with some discussion of my plans for 2025, including work on a big 3.0 update of Time Out, another new app, and more. Have a read of that blog post too for a glimpse of the roadmap.

New theme for Time Out

As you may know, my wife and I travel full-time around the US in a 40-foot motorhome, blogging about it at Sinclair Trails. You may also know that I record our drive times as a timelapse video, published on the YouTube channel. A newer end-of-year tradition of mine is to compile our travels throughout the year, combining all travel timelapse videos into a faster video.

I also make that video into a theme for Time Out. It plays from a random point in the video, without sound, so is great for use during a break to give you a different kind of glimpse of a roadmap, so to speak. Use this theme to see freeways, highways, and back roads in varied areas of the US, including coasts, deserts, forests, mountains, plains, and everything in between.

See the blog post for more information, including links to download the Time Out theme (and those for previous years) and the full video, plus a map showing the route.

Time Out tip: How can I mute the Mac sound before a break, then restore the volume afterwards?

I recently published a Time Out tip, based on a customer query. They said that they play music via YouTube, and wanted to silence it during their breaks. Time Out is very flexible, so I was able to come up with a solution for them, using Automator workflows as Break Actions.

Check out this blog post for the details.

Follow Dejal on Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads, Micro.blog, Facebook, Reddit, and more

Do you use one of the popular social media platforms? Dejal is probably there!

See this blog post for links to Dejal’s account on those platforms and more.

– David

How can I mute the Mac sound before a break, then restore the volume afterwards?

A customer said that they play music via YouTube, and wanted to silence it during their breaks. Time Out is very flexible, so I was able to come up with a solution for them, using Automator workflows as Break Actions.

I created three workflows, that you can download from the Script Actions section of the Time Out Extras page. Here are direct download links for your convenience:

You can of course edit these in Apple’s Automator app to choose different volume levels.

To install them, choose Reveal Scripts from the + menu on the Break Actions page in Time Out:

Reveal Scripts

Then decompress those actions and add to the revealed folder in the Finder. They will then appear in that menu so you can use them with a break.

Here’s a fancy example, where Time Out will flash the screen 10 seconds before a break is due, play a bell sound 5 seconds before the break is due, mute the volume once the break fades in, set the sound volume back to 25% level once the break ends (whether done, postponed, or skipped), and finally play a different bell sound 1 second after it is done (but won’t play if postponed or skipped):

Volume actions

I hope you find this helpful.

Sinclair Trails 2024 theme for Time Out

I’ve just added a new Time Out theme for your enjoyment: a fast timelapse of driving our Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome throughout 2024. This combines all of the motorhome travel timelapses for 2024 into one video, at 20x the speed of the original timelapse videos.

You can download this theme from the Time Out Extras page, and follow the instructions on that page to add it to Time Out.

As you may know, my wife and I travel the US in a 40-foot motorhome. We typically drive about two to six hours between campsites. I record each drive of the RV on a dash cam, and post a much shorter timelapse video of the journey. I sometimes add a view from the truck being towed behind our coach, often at the start and/or end of the journey.

This theme will start playing from a random point in the video each time it is used. A great way to have some ever-changing scenery during your breaks.

You can see the full 52-minute video on the Sinclair Trails YouTube channel — and I’d appreciate it if everyone reading this would subscribe to this channel, as it still has very few subscribers. It’s free!

Thumbnail

Dejal plans for 2025

What’s in store for 2025? When not working on my consulting projects, I plan to split my time between the big 3.0 update of Time Out (and subsequent versions), and working on another new app. Of course, I’ll also work on other existing apps if they need an update, but I don’t have anything planned for them at this stage.

Time Out icon Time Out

Work on Time Out version 3.0 is underway. It will include an overhaul and modernization of the data and user interface, though don’t worry, it’ll still look much the same; I know big UI changes are rarely welcome. I’ll actually update it over several releases; version 3.0 will concentrate on the underlying data, to enable supporting syncing between multiple Macs, and version 3.1, 3.2, etc will update different areas of the app, probably with a little more frequent updates than in recent years. Despite the updates in 2024, I feel that Time Out has been a little neglected of late, while I work on other apps, so I want to refocus on it; it remains my most popular app, so deserves more attention.

I’m also keen to add an optional auto-renewing subscription, to make it easier for people to continue to support the app, and boost revenues. But I know that while subscriptions are more accepted nowadays, some people still don’t like them, so I also plan to continue offering the non-renewing supporter options as now. And continue allowing the core features of the app to be used for free, for people who can’t afford to pay for software or don’t need more than the basics.

I also have a bunch of other enhancements planned for version 3.0 and beyond, like an option to manually end a break, extra exclusion options, easier adding themes, and much more. I always have a long list of feature suggestions and ideas, and have a roadmap planned for versions 3.0 to 3.7, and ideas for 4.0 and beyond. But I always welcome more ideas, too.

To set expectations, I should note that you shouldn’t look for version 3.0 to be released for a few months. Between the major changes and splitting my time with other apps and activities, it’ll take a while to be ready to release. But rest assured that it’s underway. Make sure you subscribe to the DejalNews newsletter to get notified when it is available for a TestFlight or general release.

Date Stamp icon Another New App

I mentioned another new app. I won’t give details of the new app just yet, but I’ll say that it is related to calendars — not a calendar app as such, but a helper. I have a prototype of the new app that I wrote to scratch my own itch (as is often the genesis of an app), but I have a bunch of enhancements before it’ll be ready for release. This will be a simple app, and will probably be free, at least initially; like with Time Out, I have a list of feature ideas that I may add in future versions, so it might become a paid app somewhere down the road, but not initially. Definitely for Mac, and probably other platforms. Again, subscribe to the DejalNews newsletter to be amongst the first to learn of the app.

SheetPlanner icon NewsBlur icon Consulting

On the Dejal Consulting side of my business, I will continue working on SheetPlanner and NewsBlur. Both have major enhancements in the works, which will be released later in the year. I’m really excited to get those updates out, and continue with other planned improvements.

I am currently fully booked up for the next several months at least, but am always interested in talking with potential new clients. If you have a macOS or iOS project you’d like help with (or a custom Simon enhancement), check out my consulting page for more information.

Sinclair Trails logo Sinclair Trails

Finally, on the personal side, my wife and I will continue to explore the US in our motorhome; we should complete visiting all 48 contiguous states by the middle of this year, and visit all National Parks in those states, plus a bunch more baseball stadiums, and other attractions. This is a great time to start reading the Sinclair Trails blog, as I’m now posting daily summaries of our 2024 RV modifications, travels, campgrounds, attractions, and more on the blog, plus will have more travel timelapses on the YouTube channel (please subscribe!). I hope you’ll follow along there.

Thanks for reading! 2025 is going to be an exciting year on all fronts.