06b54bf05e
Timedot is a plain text format for logging dated, categorised quantities (eg time), supported by hledger. It is convenient for approximate and retroactive time logging, eg when the real-time clock-in/out required with a timeclock file is too precise or too interruptive. It can be formatted like a bar chart, making clear at a glance where time was spent.
85 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
85 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
% hledger_timedot(5)
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% February 2016
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# NAME
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hledger_timedot - time logging format
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# DESCRIPTION
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Timedot is a plain text format for logging dated, categorised quantities (eg time), supported by hledger.
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It is convenient for approximate and retroactive time logging,
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eg when the real-time clock-in/out required with a timeclock file is too precise or too interruptive.
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It can be formatted like a bar chart, making clear at a glance where time was spent.
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Though called "timedot", the format does not specify the commodity being logged, so could represent other dated, quantifiable things.
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Eg you could record a single-entry journal of financial transactions, perhaps slightly more conveniently than with hledger_journal(5) format.
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## Format
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A timedot file contains a series of day entries.
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A day entry begins with a date, and is followed by category/quantity pairs, one per line.
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Dates are hledger-style [simple date](#simple-dates) (see hledger_journal(5)).
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Categories are hledger-style account names, optionally indented.
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There must be at least two spaces between the category and the quantity.
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Quantities can be written in two ways:
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1. a series of dots (period characters).
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Each dot represents "a quarter" - eg, a quarter hour.
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Spaces can be used to group dots into hours, for easier counting.
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2. a number (integer or decimal), representing "units" - eg, hours.
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A good alternative when dots are cumbersome.
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(A number also can record negative quantities.)
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Blank lines and lines beginning with #, ; or * are ignored.
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An example:
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```timedot
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# on this day, 6h was spent on client work, 1.5h on haskell FOSS work, etc.
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2016/2/1
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inc:client1 .... .... .... .... .... ....
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fos:haskell .... ..
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biz:research .
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2016/2/2
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inc:client1 .... ....
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biz:research .
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```
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Or with numbers:
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```timedot
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2016/2/1
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inc:client1 6
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fos:haskell 1.5
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biz:research .25
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```
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I prefer . (period) for separating account components:
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```timedot
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2016/2/3
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fos.hledger.timedot 4
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biz.research 1
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```
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hledger requires : (colon), so rewrite them with --alias:
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```shell
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$ hledger -f t.timedot --alias /\\./=: bal -W
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```
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[default year directives](#default-year) may be used.
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Here is a
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[sample.timedot](https://raw.github.com/simonmichael/hledger/master/data/sample.timedot).
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<!-- to download and some queries to try: -->
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<!-- ```shell -->
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<!-- $ hledger -f sample.timedot balance # current time balances -->
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<!-- $ hledger -f sample.timedot register -p 2009/3 # sessions in march 2009 -->
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<!-- $ hledger -f sample.timedot register -p weekly --depth 1 --empty # time summary by week -->
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<!-- ``` -->
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