Timing With the Stopwatch

Written by Eric Wyatt (last updated April 26, 2021)

Stopwatches are helpful in that they allow us to time how long a certain task or activity takes. The Alarms & Clock app in Windows 10 includes a stopwatch function that can help when you need to time certain activities. The last tab of the Alarm & Clock app is the Stopwatch tab. The Stopwatch tab is the most basic part of the Alarm & Clock app, but that doesn't mean it's not still helpful. (See Figure 1.)

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

To start using the stopwatch, simply click on the Start button and immediately the stopwatch starts ticking. As the stopwatch is running you can click on the Lap/Start button (the flag icon, which is visible only while the stopwatch is running) up to 99 times. Each lap is added to the right or below the timer in the app window (depending on the size of the window) in chronological order. Similar to the Timer tab you can enlarge the stopwatch by pressing the Expand button. This enlarges the stopwatch to make it easier to view from across the room.

Pin the Stopwatch to the Start menu

You can pin the Stopwatch tab itself to the Start menu. Once pinned, when you press the tile in the Start menu it will open the Stopwatch tab of the Alarms & Clock app. To pin the Stopwatch to the Start menu, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Pin Stopwatch 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.
  2. Click Yes. Windows adds the stopwatch tile to the Start menu. (See Figure 2.)

    3. Figure 2. The Do You Want To Pin This Tile To Start dialog box.

When it comes time to track how long an activity takes you can easily rely on the Stopwatch tab of the Alarms & Clock app.

 This tip (13518) applies to Windows 10.

Author Bio

Eric Wyatt

Eric Wyatt is a swell guy (or so his friends tell him). He is a formally trained designer and branding expert, bringing a wide range of skills to his Tips.Net articles. ...

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