Time Tracking

Start and Stop Tracking

Start a desktop work session with the correct employer and task, stop it at clear boundaries, and protect pending records.

How do I start and stop a work session?

On Home, confirm the employer beside You are working for: and review the task above the timer. Select Start to begin the session and Stop when the work, task, employer, or uninterrupted work period ends. ZMorning does not currently have a Pause action.

Check the session before selecting Start

A short pre-start check prevents time and activity from being recorded with the wrong context.

  • The desktop app is signed in with the employee account.
  • You are working for: shows the employer responsible for this work.
  • The task selector shows the intended assigned task, or the list is genuinely empty.
  • The computer has a connection so the app can load the employer's current tracking settings.
  • You are ready to work; do not start the timer early while preparing for a later session.

Start a new tracking session

  1. 1

    Review the employer and task

    Read both values on Home. Refresh the task list first if an assignment was recently changed.

  2. 2

    Select Start

    ZMorning requests the selected employer's screenshot, keyboard-count, and mouse-click settings. The session does not begin correctly if that request cannot be completed.

  3. 3

    Choose a capture mode when asked

    On a computer with multiple displays, choose All monitors or Active monitor only, then use the modal's Start button.

  4. 4

    Confirm the timer state

    The Home timer begins counting, the main Start button becomes unavailable, and Stop becomes available. The system tray also changes to make Stop Tracking available.

Understand what happens while tracking

The timer is the employee's visible session indicator. Behind it, ZMorning creates minute activity records inside ten-minute time slots and queues enabled screenshots at randomized times within those slots.

Always associated

Employer and time slots

New records use the employer captured at Start and are organized into the wall-clock slot in which they occur.

When selected

Task context

The captured task connects the session to its task and project. An empty task list produces records without that context.

When enabled

Keyboard and mouse counts

The app counts press and click events; it does not store typed content, cursor paths, or pointer coordinates.

When enabled

Screenshots

The app can capture the chosen display mode once at a randomized point in a ten-minute slot.

Stop the session deliberately

  1. 1

    Select Stop

    Use the Stop button on Home or Stop Tracking from the system tray.

  2. 2

    Confirm the controls reset

    The timer returns to 00:00:00, Start becomes available, and Stop becomes unavailable.

  3. 3

    Allow pending records to send

    Stop triggers another synchronization attempt. If the connection is unavailable, leave ZMorning installed and reopen it later so its saved pending queue can retry.

  4. 4

    Prepare the next session

    Change the employer or task only after Stop, then select Start again when the next work period begins.

Know which actions do not replace Stop

Closing the window
ZMorning hides the window in the system tray. The timer and tracking state continue.
Changing the visible task
The running session keeps the task captured at Start. Stop and create a new session for different work.
Computer sleep or suspend
The desktop process notices suspend and resume but does not perform Stop or backfill missed activity. Stop before sleep when possible.
Quit
Quit ends the desktop process rather than performing the normal Stop workflow. Stop and allow synchronization first.
Automatic update restart
The app closes to install the update. After reopening, verify the employer, task, and timer before continuing work.
Logout
Logout stops the app's local tracking state, but selecting Stop first gives pending records a deliberate synchronization opportunity.

Troubleshoot tracking sessions

Start does not begin the timer
Check the connection and sign-in session. Start first requests the employer's current tracking settings.
The timer runs but no work appears later
Confirm that a valid employer was shown before Start, reconnect the app, select Stop, and leave it open while pending records retry.
The session used the wrong task
Stop immediately. A selector change cannot rewrite the running session; select the correct task and start a new one.
No screenshots appear
The selected employer may have screenshot tracking disabled, the capture may not yet have occurred in the current slot, or a pending upload may still need to synchronize.
Keyboard or mouse counts are zero
The relevant employer setting may be disabled, or no matching input events occurred while the timer was active.
The window disappeared during tracking
Closing hides it. Double-click the ZMorning tray icon to show the window, then use Stop when the session is finished.