Tech-Pro World Clock 2 Support

Tech-Pro.net no longer develops software. The rights to Tech-Pro World Clock have now been passed to Crave Worldwide. The product is now being sold as Crave World Clock and support, updates and new versions will in future come from Crave Worldwide.

The Crave version of this software will require a different license key therefore as there are no changes in functionality in the initial Crave release we recommend that you keep the Tech-Pro version until you require an upgrade. If you need to reinstall Tech-Pro World Clock 2 download the last Tech-Pro version here.

Please do not ask what the policy will be regarding upgrading from Tech-Pro World Clock to Crave World Clock. This will be entirely at the discretion of Crave Worldwide and is not known at this time.

License key issues

Lost license key

If you have lost the license key to Tech-Pro World Clock, click here to have it sent to you again. Before doing so, check your email spam filters to ensure that they will accept mail from tech-pro.net.

License key does not work

If you are reinstalling Tech-Pro World Clock and the license key is not accepted, then please check that you have a valid license key for Tech-Pro World Clock version 2. If the key is in the form of 4 blocks of 4 characters then this is a key for the obsolete version 1. This may be downloaded from here.

Support issues

Important: Check that you are running the latest version of the software as the issue that you are experiencing may already have been fixed.

Clouds are not updating

Program appears to freeze during cloud update

Occasionally, there may be problems with the Coral Content Distribution Network servers that distribute the cloud overlay files. This is outside our control, as the cloud images that World Clock 2 is able to display are not provided by Tech-Pro.net. The problems are temporary, and are usually resolved within a few days.

If such problems occur, a temporary remedy is to use an alternative download location as documented in the online help. We recommend reverting to the default setting once the Coral servers are working again.

The option to display cloud overlays is selected but nothing happens

The cloud cover overlays are generated by a third party and are distributed using the Coral Content Distribution Network. Sometimes, in some parts of the world, the overlay file may be slow to download. You may need to wait several minutes for the download to complete. If you check the temporary files folder you may see that the file clouds.jpg has only been partially downloaded. Normally, the size of the file is 300 - 400KB.

When downloading using the Coral Content Distribution Network, a different port (8080) is used. This port may be blocked by some firewalls.

Sometimes the cloud overlay file may be corrupt. World Clock tries to be fail safe and does not display any overlay when this happens. After the default six hour interval it will try to download a new file.

If you have previously used cloud overlays, you may be able to display the previous file by opening Settings, selecting the Clouds tab and clicking Revert to previous.

You can clear a corrupt file download by opening the temporary files folder (click Start, Run, type %TEMP% and click OK) and deleting the file clouds.jpg. This is the cloud overlay file. The previous cloud overlay, if present, is clouds.bak.

The default cloud overlay download location is expected to give the most reliable operation. World Clock is able to use compatible files downloaded from an alternative location. This may be the only option if firewall restrictions prevent you from downloading from the default location using the Coral Content Distribution Network. See the online help for more information on using alternative download locations.

Incorrect time display

Tech-Pro World Clock 2 requires the Windows date and time settings in Control Panel to be correctly set for correct operation.

Main time display is incorrect

Tech-Pro World Clock 2's main time display normally shows the current local time, the same as is displayed by the clock in Control Panel, Date and Time Settings. If this time is incorrect, open World Clock Settings, select the Window tab and check that Show UTC time is not selected.

Time is incorrect for cities on the map

If cities on the map show the incorrect time, if cities on the map that are in your own time zone show a different time from the main time display (and Show UTC time is not selected) then this normally indicates that the Windows time zone settings are incorrect.

World Clock calculates the time to display for cities on the map by adding the time zone difference and daylight saving correction obtained from its database to the current Universal Co-ordinated Time (UTC time or GMT) as provided by Windows. Windows calculates the UTC time by subtracting the time zone and daylight saving time difference from the local time. If the wrong time zone is selected in Control Panel, Date and Time Settings, then the UTC time value provided by Windows will be wrong, and consequently the times for all the cities shown on the map by World Clock will be incorrect.

Daylight Savings Time issues

Windows has its own rules database, separate from the one used by World Clock, which it uses to calculate the dates when daylight saving time should apply. If the rules used by Windows to determine whether daylight saving time is in force are incorrect, or if Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes is not selected, then this could also result in the UTC value being wrong and the city times being out by an hour.

Even if your computer appears to be set correctly, the rules it uses for determining whether daylight savings time is in force may be incorrect. When daylight saving dates change, updates to the rules for supported Microsoft operating systems are distributed using Windows Update. If your computer has not been installing automatic updates, or if your version of Windows is no longer supported by Microsoft, then the daylight saving rules that it uses may be out of date. There is nothing that Tech-Pro Limited can do about this problem, but the following resources may be of help.

Further information

Program does not appear on start-up

World Clock remembers the last window position used when you log out, and resumes that state the next time you log in. If you log out with the clock window minimized, then it will start up with the clock window minimized. This is a common reason for the program apparently failing to start.

If World Clock starts minimized you can activate it by clicking on the icon in the system tray. If the icon does not appear, you may have the option Hide inactive icons selected. In that case, click the arrow to the left of the icons in the system tray to show the icons that are hidden. See "World Clock window disappears when minimized" for more information on this Windows option.

Another possibility is that an invalid setting is causing the program not to appear. If this is the case, the issue can be resolved by clearing all the stored settings related to the program. Download the file wc2cleanreg.reg (you may need to right-click the preceding link and then select "Save File As...") and then double-click to execute it. This will restore all World Clock settings to the defaults.

Another possibility is that a program component has been deleted or corrupted. This would normally result in an error message. To resolve this issue, uninstall the program from Control Panel, Add and Remove Programs, then download and install the latest version from this website.

World Clock window disappears when minimized

screenshotSystem tray icon does not show

The Windows task bar property Hide inactive icons is selected. To resolve this issue, right-click the task bar and select Properties. Either deselect Hide inactive icons or change the setting for just this icon by clicking the Customize... button next to it. In the Customize Notifications dialog, select the World Clock icon, and change its setting to Always show. (Note: If World Clock is configured to show a balloon when you point at the icon, there will be no text shown next to the icon in the Customize Notifications dialog.)

Clock does not minimize automatically on startup

There is no specific option to tell World Clock to start minimized with only the tray icon showing. The program remembers its window position and whether it was showing or minimized when it is closed, and will start up next time in the same position and state. Sometimes, Windows may close down without allowing enough time for all applications to store their settings in the registry. In this case, position the window where you want it, minimize it, then close World Clock from the system tray icon menu. This should cause the position and status to be stored correctly.

Strange symbols on the lower part of the map

This means that the cloud file overlay is corrupt or an incomplete download. On the Clouds tab of the Settings dialog box, click Revert to Previous to reload the previously downloaded cloud overlay file. If that does not resolve the problem, deselect Download and display cloud cover overlays and then wait a few hours before re-enabling it. The cloud overlays originate from a third party so if the original file is corrupt there is nothing to do except wait a few hours for the file to be updated.

License key is not accepted

The system for entering the license key has been designed to be as easy as possible. Normally it is necessary just to select with the mouse the block of 4 lines containing the license key, as shown in the screenshot below, and copy it to the clipboard using Ctrl+C. When the Enter License Key dialog is open, it will automatically grab this text from the clipboard and enter it in the relevant fields.

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In a few cases, such as where a third party clipboard utility is being used, this procedure may not work. In this case, it may be necessary to copy and paste the name and license key into the fields individually. We strongly advise that you use copy and paste to avoid transfer errors.

There is a third way to enter the license key which may also be tried if problems are experienced with the standard method. Click on Start, Run and enter "C:\Program Files\Tech-Pro World Clock 2\wc2.exe" register. (Note the quotes round the program path. The path may be different if you installed the software into other than the default location.) A plain dialog should appear containing fields for entry of the name and key. Copy and paste the information into these fields, ensuring no leading or trailing spaces are included in the copied text.

Other issues

A corrupt file (especially a cloud overlay file) or a corrupt setting may be the cause of the problem. Try the following:

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is there no clock synchronization function?

This feature of World Clock 1 became redundant under Windows XP and Windows 2000. An atomic clock synchronization facility is built into these versions of Windows. It works better than the one that was in World Clock 1 and causes fewer problems for users as the Windows Firewall knows about it and automatically grants it access to the Internet.

To enable this Windows service open Control Panel, Date and Time, select Internet Time and check the box Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server.

An alternative solution for those who can handle any firewall issues that might arise, is NTP for Windows NT/2000/XP. This is a Windows version of the official Network Time Protocol reference software and is free.

Is it possible to add cities to World Clock 2?

It is technically possible, but we do not support it. If you wish to do so anyway, read this technical note on how to add new cities.