Countdown Timers on the Desktop

The Toolchest countdown timers we have created are designed to embed easily into the software you may be using for your work:  PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook, Evernote, Whiteboard, Jamboard, Teams, Zoom, Trello, and Social Media.

However, we have discovered that in some cases, meeting software is totally indifferent to its charms. Notably: Conceptboard, Mural, Miro, Klaxoon. In other cases, the options you require may be locked out by corporate policy. And, sometimes, you just want to keep things as simple as possible.

For those reasons, all of the countdown timers can run independently of everything but the browser. Simply clicking any of the countdown timers opens them up in their own small tight fitting window (see the example on the left). There it will happily count down until the time is up.

Try it out now using the example timer on the right, or find your own timer at: https://meeting.toolchest.org/timers

When they have finished you can close the window, open a new timer, or simply click ‘Restart’ in the bottom left corner – and off you go – again.

You can position the window strategically on a shared screen. Or you can apply it to personal use, or place it on top of what is being shared.  Simple.

And in most cases, that is all you will need.

However, you may find you are having to interact with the window you are presenting via your shared screen. And in this case, each time you interact, the main window risks overlaying the countdown timer as you do so.

And you may get a bit frustrated, by constantly having to bring the timer window back on top.

In which case, if your corporate policies permit it, I would recommend you apply one of the solutions in this post about pinning a window so that it stays in front: https://www.groovypost.com/howto/howto/windows-programs-always-on-top/ 

The solution I have used is the first one, which I found very easy to apply and it has never let me down. Added to which, I have found both pinning windows, and ‘AutoHotKey’ useful in other circumstances also.

If that solution is not available to you, I would recommend resizing your main window on the shared screen. Then, your Timer window can either: