Computer activity in CaseClock Desktop
Let CaseClock Desktop notice the time you spend in programs you choose, what it records and never records, how to pause or stop it, and how measured time reaches Reconcile.
Computer activity is an optional feature of CaseClock Desktop for the time that slips past dictation: the hour in a Word document, the afternoon in Acrobat. It is off until you turn it on, it records only the programs and websites you choose, and it never bills anything. What it measures appears in Reconcile for you to turn into entries or dismiss.
Computer activity, in short
You choose the programs. CaseClock Desktop notes how long each document was in front of you while you were active, and shows that time in Reconcile for you to turn into entries or dismiss. Nothing is billed from it on its own.
Before you begin
- CaseClock Desktop 0.2.53 or later on Mac or Windows.
- Capture is available to every lawyer and off until you turn it on. If the desktop Settings show Off: your firm switched capture off, your firm's administrators have turned it off for the firm.
- Websites are measured only with the CaseClock browser extension, which is not yet published to the Chrome Web Store or Edge Add-ons. Until it is, capture covers programs only.
What you authorise
When you turn capture on, a consent screen, Let CaseClock notice your work, sets out exactly what follows. In its words:
- Only what you choose. Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Acrobat to start. Add or remove programs any time. Websites only with the CaseClock browser extension, and only the sites you list.
- What it records. The program or website, the window or tab title (often the document name), and when you were actively working. After 5 minutes without activity it stops counting.
- What it never records. Keystrokes, your screen, screenshots, document contents, or anything not on your list.
- Only you can see what it records. Entries you create from it are ordinary entries your firm and delegates see as usual.
- Nothing is billed without you. CaseClock suggests entries in Reconcile; you decide.
A checkbox lets CaseClock's AI use titles to suggest the client, matter and description; the screen notes that to provide AI features, data may be processed on Microsoft Azure servers outside your region. Choose Turn on or Not now. If the wording of this screen ever changes, CaseClock asks you to agree again before recording anything more.
Turn it on
Open the CaseClock recorder, then Settings, and open the Computer activity section.
Turn on Capture time in the programs you choose and read the consent screen. Choose Turn on.
On a Mac, allow CaseClock under System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility so it can read window titles. Open Accessibility settings takes you there.
Check Tracked programs. Each program has a checkbox for recording titles and a Remove button. Add a program lists every program with a window open right now.
The status line reads Ready when capture is on and nothing on your list is in front, Capturing while you work in a listed program, and Paused until a time while paused. The compact view shows the same word beside a small dot, which pulses slowly while capturing, and the icon's menu shows it as Computer activity: Capturing.
What is measured
- One item per document or site per day: "Worked in Word: Harrison lease", with the active minutes.
- Counting stops after 5 minutes without keyboard or mouse input (you can set 1 to 30 minutes on the web). After that, a window asks Still working on the program, with Keep counting or Stop and a 60-second countdown; no answer stops counting at your last input.
- Locking or sleeping the computer closes the stretch.
- CaseClock's own windows are never tracked. Browsers are measured only through the extension.
Measured today in the recorder and Today's activity in the icon's menu open the Today panel: the day's total at the top, then each item led by its document title or site name over the program and minutes ("Word · 7 min"), a pulsing dot on the one in front, and the actions below.
Pause, exclude, stop
| Control | Where | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Pause capture for 1 hour / Resume capture now | Icon menu, Today panel | Stops all measuring for an hour, then resumes on its own. Survives a restart. |
| Pause / Resume on one item | Today panel | Stops counting that document until you resume. |
| Do not count this | Today panel | Removes the item from today's time and from Reconcile for the day. Reads Not counted. Restore it from Dismissed in Reconcile. |
| Turn off Capture time in the programs you choose | Settings | Stops capture entirely. |
| Delete my captured activity | Web app, Settings, Computer activity | Deletes every captured interval and item at once. Entries you already made stay. |
Change what is tracked
- Programs are added only from CaseClock Desktop, because only the desktop app can see what runs on your computer. On the web you can rename a program, remove it, and turn Capture document titles off for it.
- Websites are managed on the web under Settings, Computer activity: track only the sites you list (the default), or every site except the ones you list. Banking, health, personal webmail, social media and similar sites are never recorded in either mode. The desktop picks up changes within a minute while capture is on; Settings last refreshed at a time, at the end of the Computer activity section, shows when it last asked.
- The Idle limit, the daily Reminder, AI suggestions and whether titles show in the recorder's ticker are also on the web.
Where the time goes
Measured items appear in Reconcile as computer activity, labelled "measured", once CaseClock's analysis has checked them. From there you Create draft (the draft carries the measured minutes), Count it for a gap CaseClock could not measure, Split across matters, mark it Already captured or Not for me. Nothing becomes an entry until you choose. How this fits with dictation and the timer: How recording, the timer and computer activity work together.
Retention and who can see it
- Captured intervals and items that were not turned into entries are deleted 30 days after capture.
- Only you see what was captured. Your firm can switch capture off for everyone but can never turn it on or see your items. Entries you create from captured time are ordinary entries.
- After your trial or subscription ends, nothing more is uploaded or changed until your access is restored; you can still read what is there and delete it.
If something goes wrong
- Status says Not capturing: capture did not start. Quit and reopen CaseClock. On a Mac, check the Accessibility permission.
- A program is missing from Add a program. Open a window in it first; the list shows programs with a window open now.
- Websites are not counted. Website time needs the CaseClock browser extension, which is not yet published; the status line says so.
- Something private was measured. Choose Do not count this on the item, remove the program or site from your list, and use Delete my captured activity if you want everything gone.
- For support, choose Copy diagnostics in Settings and paste it into your message; it carries no titles or entries.
Related guides
Work timer
Start a timer on a client and matter from CaseClock Desktop or the web, pause and resume it, and stop it to create a draft entry with the measured time.
Recording, timer, activity
What each way of capturing time measures, how CaseClock keeps the same work from being counted twice, what reaches Reconcile and what needs your approval.