WatchMe’s Files

Files Used By WatchMe

The following is a list of all of the files used by the WatchMe application.

  • WatchMe.exe – This is the main executable for the application. There is no installer for this application so you can just copy this EXE to your machine and run it.
  • WatchMeConfig.xml – This is the primary configuration file used by WatchMe. This file contains a list of all of your timers and settings. It is automatically created by WatchMe if it doesn’t exist. This file is updated once every minute, and any time that a change in the application is made (timer is started or stopped, a new timer is created, etc). This is a system critical file – if it is deleted you will lose all of your timers and settings. We highly recommend that you manually backup this file so that you can avoid lost work if the file is deleted or lost. One way to safely store the file is to use a file syncing service like Dropbox.
  • WatchMeConfig.xml.*.bak – These are automatic backups of the WatchMeConfig.xml file. If WatchMe detects that the WatchMeConfig.xml file is corrupted or cannot be loaded, you can copy one of these files over the top of the corrupted file. You can control the frequency of the backups and the number of backup files to keep in the Options screen (File > Options or Ctrl-O). The automatic backup system only works in some situations; it does not replace the need for you to manually backup the WatchMeConfig.xml in a safe place. 
  • WatchMe.log – This is a simple log file that is used to store basic information about the application when a major change is made or an error occurs. When reporting an issue with the application, it would be appreciated if you could send a copy of this file along. This is not a critical file and can be deleted at any time.
  • *.CTF files – Copy Timer format files. These define the different formats that WatchMe will use when copying timers to the clipboard (version 2.3.3 and higher). See here for more information.
  • *.WMT – WatchMe Template files. These template files contain sets of timers, countdowns, and counters that you can load to quickly create new tabs (version 2.4.5 and higher). See here for more information.

 How does WatchMe Know Where to Find the Configuration Files?

In order to operate correctly WatchMe must be able to find and use a WatchMeConfig.xml file. So how does it know where to find this file? Glad you asked.

The application does the following checks on startup and the first valid configuration file it finds is the one it uses.

  1. It checks in the same directory as the EXE. This is handy if you want to run WatchMe on a USB key – just move the WatchMeConfig.xml file into the same directory on your key as the WatchMe.exe file and you are good to go.
  2. It checks the Windows registry to see if a specific directory has been selected. This registry value (Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Flamebrain\WatchMe\ConfigFileDirectory) is set whenever you move the configuration files, or re-point the application to a set of existing configuration files using the Manage Data files screen (System | Manage Data Files).
  3. It checks the default location for the file. The default location to check for the file is in your PC’s application data folder (on Windows 10 it’s usually something like “C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Flamebrain Technologies Inc\WatchMe”).

When starting up, if the application cannot find a configuration file in any of these spots, it automatically creates a new WatchMeConfig.xml file in the default location. This is usually what happens when you first run the application on your machine.

If you want to know exactly where the configuration files are for your instance of WatchMe, just go to the Manage Data Files screen (System | Manage Data Files).

It is highly recommended that you backup these configuration files to avoid losing any of your timers.