The system tray clock, situated on the right side of the Windows taskbar, is kinda boring. Wouldn’t it be great if you could select a variety of different skins for the system tray clock and jazz it up a bit? Alas, Windows doesn’t let you do that by default, and will instead force you to make do with the bland, basic clock.
However, you can change the system tray clock’s skin with an app called Free Desktop Clock. It’s a freeware program that includes nine alternative skins for the system tray clock. And with the app, you can change the system clock’s appearance on Windows 10, 8, 7, and XP.
How to Install Free Desktop Clock
To download Free Desktop Clock, open the Free Desktop Clock page in your favorite browser. Then, click the blue Download button to save the program’s setup wizard.
Once you have the file downloaded, double-click the freeclock.exe file to open the setup wizard and install the software.
How to Select a New System Tray Clock Skin
Once everything’s set up, open the Free Desktop Clock window. Click Skins on the left side of the window. Select Enable tray clock if that option isn’t already checked. Then select one of the skins on that tab and click OK to add it to the system tray clock as in the screenshot directly below.
You can add more details to the system tray clock with the extra settings. Click Show date and Show day of the week to include date and day details alongside the clock. Selecting Show percent of memory in use displays RAM utilization percentage on your PC.
To change the background color of the clock, click the Default background drop-down menu. Select the Color background option. Then click on the palette box to choose a different color from there. You can also apply some transparency to the clock by adjusting the value for the Transparent setting.
How to Add Different Time Zone Clocks
Free Desktop Clock includes options that show clocks for different time zones. Such clocks can be handy if you ever need to check the time in another country before making an international phone call. Click the Time Zones tab to view those options.
To enable a time zone clock, select the Show this clock checkbox. Choose a zone in the Timezone drop-down menu. You can also input a clock title in the Enter display name box.
How to Create an Hourly Time Announcement
Free Desktop Clock also has an hourly time announcement setting. This option, once enabled, will chime on the hour every hour. It’s a good way to keep track of the hours passing without needing to look at the clock.
The Customizations tab includes that setting. Click the Hourly time announcement checkbox on that tab to select the option. Then press the button beside the Sound box to choose an audio file for the announcement.
Additional Features in Atomic Alarm Clock
You’ll probably notice the alarm tabs on the Free Desktop Clock window. Those are additional features that are only available within the more advanced Atomic Alarm Clock software, which is currently retailing at $14.95. That software enables you to set alarms for specific times and includes more system tray clock skins to choose from. You can also select to sync the clock with an internet time server in the paid version.
Revamp Your System Tray Clock With Free Desktop Clock
As you’ve now seen, you don’t have to stick with that dreary old system tray clock in Windows 10/8/7/XP. Instead, you can quickly and easily select a different skin for it with Free Desktop Clock (or Atomic Alarm Clock). Once you get to grips with the software, you can add much more visually appealing clocks to the Windows system tray and customize them further with additional settings.
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