Timer Widget

Use a timer when time itself matters to the experience. It can create urgency, structure a challenge, or pace a routine activity.

Where the settings live

Select the timer on the canvas and click the floating ⚙ Configure button to open its setup dialog — the mode, the length, auto start, and the display choice all live there, next to a live preview. The right sidebar keeps only Style & Layout (font, colors, border radius, size and position).

Settings to know

In the ⚙ Configure dialog:

• Mode switches between count down and count up.
• Start Time or Max Time sets the timer length.
• Auto Start begins the timer when the scene loads. An auto-start timer is display-only: learners watch it but can't pause it, so a timed challenge stays timed.
• Display controls whether learners see the timer.

Sizing a timer

A timer sizes itself around its text:

• Drag a corner to scale the whole display — the digits and their padding grow together, and a badge shows the text size as you drag.
• Drag a side handle to set how wide the box is.
• Height is automatic. The display is one line tall at its text size, so changing the Font Size setting resizes the box.

The clock always shows minutes and seconds with two digits each — 00:30, 10:00 — and every digit takes the same width, so the display never shifts as the time changes. Size the width once for that five-character clock; only a timer longer than 99 minutes shows more digits and needs a wider box.

A timer never gets smaller than a comfortable tap target. Unless it starts automatically, the timer itself is the button learners press to start and pause it, so it has to stay big enough to hit reliably on a tablet. Pressing it after the time is up starts it over from the beginning. Changing Start Time or Max Time never resizes the box.

Timers you made before this update keep their exact size until you resize one or change their font size.

Grading setup

Timers are not graded directly, but they often trigger scene logic. Their main value is in pacing and event-driven flow.

How to set up the content

Pick a duration that supports focus instead of panic. If the timer is only for internal logic, turn the display off. If learners need to pace themselves, keep it visible.

Set the length as minutes and seconds in the dialog. A countdown left at 0:00 has nothing to count: it shows 00:00 and finishes one second after it starts, so the dialog points that out before you save.

A count-up with Max Time left at 0:00 has no limit — it keeps counting for as long as the learner stays on the scene and never finishes. That is the setting for "how long did this take?"; if you add a Time runs out behavior to it, the dialog warns you that the behavior can never run.

A hidden timer that doesn't start automatically has no way to start: hiding it hides the button learners would press. The dialog warns you unless Auto Start is on or another widget's behavior starts it (for example a button whose behavior is Start the timer).

Timers on a layout

A timer on a layout shows on every scene that uses the layout, but it is not one clock running across them — it starts over on each scene. Use it for a per-scene time limit, not a lesson-wide one.

Useful setting combinations

• Countdown + visible display + Auto Start:

Best for timed practice or quick-response routines.

• Countdown + display hidden + Auto Start:

Best when the timer is there for scene logic, not learner pressure.

• Count up + visible display:

Best when learners should track how long they worked rather than race the clock.

• Count up + Max Time 0:00 + Auto Start off, started and paused by buttons:

A stopwatch. A Set Variable action can copy its Elapsed time into a number variable, so a later scene can say "You read it in {{ seconds }} seconds." Step-by-step: Time a read-aloud with a stopwatch.

Strong use cases

• A one-minute fluency challenge. Step-by-step: Give students 15 seconds to answer a question.
• A timed read-aloud that tells students how long they took. Step-by-step: Time a read-aloud with a stopwatch.
• A countdown before discussion or reveal.
• A timed station rotation or practice sprint.

Great pairings with other widgets

• Pair timer with button to start a challenge sequence.
• Pair it with interactive rain for arcade-style pacing.
• Pair it with score to show both time and results.
• Pair it with text to reveal feedback when time runs out.