Timer

프레젠테이션

Timer is an advanced timer for performing various tasks at specific times that you set.
It is your perfect companion for board games, sport workouts, cooking, zen meditation or whatever activity that needs a precision and powerful timer.

Timer allows to define multiple special events that will be triggered when the timer is running.
Sounds, messages, photos, screen flashing and more actions can be triggered at any time thanks to a complex time scheduling system (that can be easily previewed).
The majority of these actions can be done when the application is open, but it is still possible to play sounds and display messages when the application is closed.

Here are some events you'll be able to create (and combine) :

Play a Gong sound 30 seconds before end
Every 10 seconds during 1 minute, produce a sound with an increasing pitch
Play a tic tac sound every seconds
Once One-half the time is elapsed, play an iPod song and show a custom message on the screen
While in background, plays a Tibetan bell sound 4 times (every 25%) until 6PM
Take a photo every minute

Here are the main features :

9 complex timers with time scheduled events can be used at the same time.
The timer can be looped forever or for a specific number (the number of loops being displayed).
Elapsed time, remaining time, current time can be either displayed. Various display modes are available (including textual or graphical ones).
The time is displayed in full screen, in the biggest possible way. Two different areas can be customized.
The timer start can be delayed, allowing to have a short preparation time before the timer is automatically started.
The stop time can be entered as a relative duration or as an absolute hour value.
Portrait and Landscape visualization modes are handled in all application screens.
The timer can be used when silence is needed (thanks to a flashing screen, vibrations and a dimmed display).
When the timer is done, the time is still displayed, allowing to know since how long the timer elapsed.
The screen can be blocked, keeping the timer visible, in order to avoid pressing accidentally the buttons.
Different dedicated alarm sounds can be used (Bell, Cooking timer, Watch, Gong, Danger, Lama Bell...)
Shepard tones can also be used : those tones creates the auditory illusion of a tone that continually ascends or descends in pitch.
Import custom sounds or record them directly. Use them as audio alerts when the application is opened. Play a random iPod song.
Custom musics/sounds can be selected from the iPod library to be used as internal alarms. The iPod music can also be stopped.
Automatically take pictures at given times. Use the flashlight as a visual alert.
Load, save, import and export your settings, allowing you to share and have multiple configurations ready to be used.
Customize the look of each timer to your taste.

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Manual

Q : Can you explain how to use the application ?

Here are the basic steps for the iPhone version (the iPad version being quite similar) :

In Timer you can create 5 (or more) different timers, and use them independently.
To switch from one Timer to another, use the tab bar located at the bottom of the screen.
The first tab bar item is not a Timer, it is a special screen that lists all the Timers, and allows to start/stop/pause/resume/toggle them at the same time, and gives you access to some general settings (top right gear button).

Once a Timer screen is selected, you can start/stop/pause it and you can also define precisely the way it will behave.
To configure a Timer, you first have to define the total time of your routine.
Defining this total time is the basic definition of Timer, you do it using the time picker of this main screen.

Once your total duration time has been set, you might want to define what will happen once this time will be elapsed.
Press the Settings button in the main timer screen to configure this Timer behavior.
Under the Timer actions section, you can find the End actions item (which displays a short preview of its content).
Select it to change the end actions of the Timer.

When the End actions item is selected, the following screen is displayed.
From here, you can select and define the different actions that will be performed.
Most generally, you'll only want to have a sound played or a message displayed. But as you can see, you can do more than that (change the colors of the screen, flash the screen, change the look of the time widgets displayed on the screen).

Those actions are grouped in two different sections :
- the Application opened actions section : the actions that will occur when the Timer app is opened (visible)
- the Application closed actions section : the limited actions that will occur when the Timer app closed (running in background)

At any time in the application, you can press the preview button (either located in the main screen, or at the top right part of most of the screens).
This preview screen can list all the actions defined by your timer configuration, and the time when they will occur.
Touching a list item in this preview, will trigger most of the associated actions (which can be useful to hear the associated audio volume, for instance).
The bottom tab bar allows to choose to preview the Application Opened or the Application Closed actions.
In this screenshot, the most simple configuration is displayed : the actions that will occur at the end of the time.

Go back to the main screen, pressing all the top left back/close buttons.
You can now press the start button to start your timer.
The settings can still be changed, even if the timer is running. It is also possible to pause, resume and stop the timer.
You can touch the time areas to change the way they are displayed (this can also be changed under the Timer actions section of the Settings screen).
A lock button can be pressed to avoid any unintentional changes, while the timer is running.
Please, note that the application supports also landscape orientation, which allows bigger things to be displayed.

Timer allows you to define some slightly more complex time configurations, in the Settings screen :
- Under the Global section, you can make the timer loop, change its name, or you can delay the start of the timer, so you can have a short preparation time. You can also decide if the time entered in the main screen is a duration (which is mostly used) or a day hour (which can be useful, if you need, for instance, your timer to end at 8PM)
- Under the Timer actions section, you can decide to repeat the end action (every 5 seconds). This way you will hardly miss your audio notifications. You can also define some Intermediate actions : this is the most powerful feature of Timer, but we'll talk about it later.
- Under the Timer look section, you can change the look of the Timer. The main things to change are the main and secondary displays : this will change the way the time is displayed when the timer is running (like having the time displayed as digits or as a progress bar).

Timer allows you to define some highly more complex time configurations, defining some Intermediate actions (located under the Timer actions of the Settings screens).
Those intermediate actions are quite similar to the end actions, but they can be triggered at various time events, while the timer is running.
You can add as many time events (with associated intermediate actions) as you want.
You should look at the 4 (disabled, by default) sample events, to see how they are defined. That should help you to create your own.

Once an event is created or selected, you can configure it.
- the Name and status section, helps you to identify your event, to enable or disable it, and to quickly see how it is defined, in a human readible way. Don't forget that you can also press the preview button to see the impacts of your changed event to the total timer configuration.
- the Action section, is similar to the end action you already know.
- the Time section, allows to define when the actions of this event will occur. This time definition is relative to the start or the end of the timer. It can be defined in seconds or in percents (of the total duration of the timer) for a great flexibility. You can also make the action repeat several times, if needed. You can check the Configuring Events part of the FAQ in this web site to see some examples of time definitions.

In the Settings screen of each Timer, you have access to a Presets button located at the bottom. Pressing it will display the presets screen.
In this sceeen, you can save/load/preview/export a timer configuration.
Some samples are included so you can load them and have an idea of some different things you can do with Timer.

Q : What is the URL scheme supported by Timer?
The URL scheme to open Timer is timer://
One or several actions can be added to this scheme, as the query parameters.

Here are the different actions.
They take, as values, a coma separated list of screens (represented by their position in the tab bar of Timer).
- show : shows the specified screen.
- start : starts the timer(s) in the specified screen(s).
- stop : stops the timer(s) in the specified screen(s).
- startstop : toggles the start/stop state of the timer(s) in the specified screen(s).
- resume : resumes the timer(s) in the specified screen(s).
- pause : pauses the timer(s) in the specified screen(s).
- resumepause : toggles the resume/pause state of the timer(s) in the specified screen(s).
- lock : locks the specified screen(s).
- unlock : unlocks the specified screen(s).
The x-success parameter from the x-callback-url protocol can be used to go back to the source app.
- x-success : the (callback) url to open once all the actions are done.
Samples :
1. timer:// : Open Timer
2. timer://?resumepause=1 : Open Timer and pause (or resume) the first timer.
3. timer://?show=0 : Open Timer and show the list screen.
4. timer://?start=1,2&x-success=http%3A%2F%2Fpacolabs.com%2FiOS%2FTimer%2F%23Help : Open Timer, start timers 1 and 2 and goes to safari.
5. timer://?stop=0&show=1&start=1&lock=1 : Stop all the timers, show timer 1, start it and lock the screen.

General Problems
- Q : No alam sound is playing on my device when the application is opened. What's the problem?
  To quickly check if the alarm sounds are working, just select one of the alarm in the Alarm list, located in the End Actions -> Openen application actions -> Alarm -> Simple and complex sounds section of the Timer Settings screen (selecting one of those alarms, should trigger the sound). If you cannot hear anything :
  - Be sure that the volume is not too low (using the hardware volume button).
    According to your device settings, (in the General->Sounds screen of the Device Settings application), the volume buttons might not be active for the alerts, you can then change the volume in this dedicated screen.
- Q : No alam sound is playing on my device when the application is closed. What's the problem?
  To quickly check if the alarm sounds are working, just select one of the alarm in the Alarm list, located in the End Actions -> Closed application actions -> Alarm -> Simple and complex sounds section of the Timer Settings screen (selecting one of those alarms, should trigger the sound). If you cannot hear anything :
  - You have probably muted the audio alerts using the hardware side switch button on your device, try to toggle it.
    According to your device settings (in the General->Side Switch section of the Device Settings application), this hardware button might be dedicated to the rotation lock.
    You can then access to the mute audio onscreen button double clicking on the device home button and swiping the displayed bottom bar to the right.
- Q : I cannot receive notification when the application is closed. What's the problem ?
  On iOS5 if you are not receiving notifications, when Timer is in background, check the parameters of the new Notification page of the Device Settings Apple application (Settings App -> Notifications -> Timer).
Special Features
- Q : I am unable to find a way to save custom presets. What am I missing on this?
  The presets work the following way :
  - If you want to save the current configuration (everything defined in the settings screen) you have to press the "Presets" button and then the "New preset" list item.
    Give a name to your preset and press the done button (or the "Presets" top left back button).
    Your current configuration is now saved to this newly created preset.
  - If you want to load a preset, and then change the current configuration to the one previously saved in a preset, press the "Presets" button and select the name of the preset you want to load.
    Press "Load" to confirm that you really want to load this preset (which will change the current settings of Timer).
    (Before loading the preset, you can preview it, pressing the blue arrow located to the right (after the preset name), or selecting the preview option).
  If you make a change to the current Settings, it won't affect the preset you may have selected to initialize those settings.
  To save those changes you will then have to edit and replace the content of your preset.
- Q : How can I add my own sounds?
  You can add your own sounds to be used as an alarm when the application is used in foreground.
  You have to use iTunes to import those sounds. Here is more information on how to use iTunes Files Sharing in order to add your audio files to the folder associated to the Timer app.
Configuring Events
- Q : How to configure Timer? all I need is a sound every 10 seconds
  First, you have to set a global Timer duration on the big time picker. Set it, for instance to 1 hour.
  
  To have a sound every 10 seconds (during this 1 hour) you have to create a specific event for that :
  - in the Settings, under the "While The Timer is active" section, press the "Events" item to show the events screen.
  - in the Events screen, press "Add event" to create a new event. (This Events screen shows all the events, the event is green if it is currently active or red if not)
  - in the Event screen, select the audio alarm you want (for both internal and external notifications) and focus on the Time section. Your configuration should be set like the one in the following screenshot to trigger the notification of this event every 10 seconds.
  - You can press the preview button (second screenshot)to see if your definition will behave as expected.
  (You can get the dedicated preset here)
- Q : Am trying to set up a 75%, 50%, and 25% alarm event. How should I set up the event to achieve this?
  You need a single event to perform those notifications. The following screenshot displays the time definition for that.
  The second screenshot displays the preview of this event for a 20 minutes timer duration.
  
  (You can get the dedicated preset here)
- Q : I want to divide a set amount of time (say 20 minutes) into alternating events of 1.5 and 2 minutes. Would you please help me?
  To perform those alternating '1 minute 30 seconds' and '2 minutes' events, you have to think of a global repeating time pattern of '3 minutes 30 seconds'.
  You can create 2 events, as defined in the following time definitions.
  You'll then get the notifications displayed in the third screenshot.
  
  (You can get the dedicated preset here)
- Q : I have created a timer that pops up a message 5 seconds after the start and 20 seconds before the end. Is there away to have the message disappear after a few seconds rather than having to hit OK?
  Messages in popups always need a confirmation.
  If you want a message to be displayed without any confirmation, you can do it whether the timer application is opened or not :
  - if the Timer application is opened, set your message in the "Message on top" list item (and not in the "Popup message" one). Your message will then be displayed on the top of the displayed time. This message will remain displayed until it is replaced by another message (you can then add, if you want to remove it shortly thereafter, a new event to set the top message to an empty string few seconds after your previous event defining your message)
  - if the Timer application is closed, you have to change the way iOS displays the notifications coming from Timer. You can then replace the "popup" type display, with a "banner" type that will automatically make the message disappear after some seconds. Here is some information on how to do this