Keeping Track of Time with Timers

Timers are always helpful in our lives today. We use them for cooking, gaming, and counting down for various reasons. The Alarm & Clock app allows for easy countdowns using the Timer tab. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Timer tab of the Alarms & Clock app.

By default, the Timer tab has a default timer for you set at 00:15:30. Windows will allow you to create up to 20 timers, which can all be run at the same time. An important note: Timers will only work properly when your computer is actually on. The Timer tab displays a Notifications Will Only Show If The PC Is Awake disclaimer. Some Windows 10 systems have InstantGo installed which allows the networking and clock functions to keep going while your PC is asleep.

To start using the Timer:

1. Click on the default timer (a faint box will appear around the timer). When you click an area other than the icons, the Edit Timer window opens. You can also click on the Add New Timer button (the plus icon). This opens the New Timer window. (There is virtually no difference between the Edit Timer window and the New Timer window.) (See Figure 2.)



Figure 2. The Add New Timer window.

2. Set the length you want for the countdown. For example, if I want to set a countdown for 1 hour, 35 minutes, and 30 seconds, I would scroll the first column of numbers to 1, the second column to 35, followed by 30 in the third column.
3. Under Timer Name you can name the countdown timer. Click on the name link, and type in the name you want.
4. When you're finished press the Start button or press Enter. The timer starts automatically.
5. When the timer is done, a notification appears on the screen, accompanied by a sound, letting you know the name of the timer and the time that the timer stopped. (See Figure 3.)



Figure 3. The timer notification.

While you're using the timer you can click on the Pause button to temporarily suspend the timer. You can also click on the Reset button, even while the timer is going, to reset or restart the timer. You can enlarge the timer by pressing the Expand button; this will enlarge the timer to make it easier to view from across the room.

Pin the timer to the Start menu

Unlike the clocks you can set up under the World Clock tab, you cannot pin a specific timer to the Start menu. You can, however, pin the Timer tab itself to the Start menu. When you press the pinned tile in the start menu it will open the Timer tab of the Alarms & Clock app. To pin the Timer to the Start menu:

6. Click the Pin Timers To Start button in the bottom bar of the Alarms & Clock app. Windows displays the Do You Want To Pin This Tile To Start dialog box.
7. Click Yes. Windows adds the timer tile to the Start menu. (See Figure 4.)



Figure 4. The Do You Want To Pin This Tile To Start dialog box.

Whether you need to track the amount of time until the eggs are done or until you return a phone call, keeping track of multiple timers with the Alarms & Clock app will help you stay on time.

 This tip (13516) applies to Windows 10.