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Timer App

D

Dignan17

Well-Known Member
I know, there are a dozen timer apps on the market, but none of them do some of the things that I need. I'll start with a general idea and get more specific:

I run a weekly meeting where everyone gets up to speak but has a limited amount of time to do so (around 45 seconds). Also in this meeting, one person gets 10 minutes to speak.

What I want is pretty simple:

- two buttons with adjustable time limits
- ability to select a sound to play or no sound at all
- ability to show the time remaining full-screen on my tablet or phone

Here's the slightly more detailed description:

- two buttons with adjustable time limits
I'd like to be able to choose how much time goes on these buttons. Sometimes we give a little more time to the speakers depending on how many people are in the room.

- ability to select a sound to play or no sound at all
The speaker needs to know when their time is up, but the 10 minute speaker shouldn't be interrupted by a sound, so I want to be able to choose whether a sound plays for each timer or not.

- ability to show the time remaining full-screen on my tablet or phone
This is mostly for the 10 minute presenter. They need to know how much time they have left. A couple of the timers out there will show the time left, but they'll count down the milliseconds, which is very distracting and makes the speaker feel too rushed. I want to be able to choose what gets displayed, whether it's minutes/seconds or just minutes.


Other things:

The key, especially to the shorter timer, is that once the timer stops, I need it to return to the timer buttons immediately, ready to be pressed again. I also want to be able to launch the app with my preset timers and have it be ready to start the timer. So I want to be able to start a timer, have it run down (play a sound or not when it's done), and immediately be ready for me to press that timer again.

I'd like to have an option on each timer that lets the timer keep running in the negative. If the 10 minute speaker is over by a minute, I'd like him/her to know.

Is there any way to let an app shut off all system sounds except for the ones coming from that app? I'd like the ability to do that, if possible.

That's all I can think of right now. I really wish I could code, but I nearly failed my CS class in college. I never got past Logowriter in summer camp when I was 10 :)
 
Haha, I've had this idea as well! I have daily stand-up meetings at work and some people always take too long. I considered making a 'Shot-clock' app that would just buzz or something when your time is up.

I'm still very much a noobie when It comes to Android apps(I've so far just worked through tutorials, I work on boring code-monkey stuff in C# by trade), but I'll start working on this.
 
Woah! Seriously? You, sir, rock! Don't worry, you're way ahead of me. I think all I know how to do is download the SDK. Actually, I'm not sure I could do that right :)
 
Hi there,

I am a hobby Android developer. The requirement of this app looks quite straight-forward, I think I will be able to put something together within a day or two.

I will build the app and put it on the market (free, of course). Do you mind testing it and tell me if there is anything that should be changed?

I will call this Dual Timer (if no objection)

Will post back when the alpha version is up-and-running.

Cheers,
Ken
 
Hi Dignan17,

I put together the alpha/poc version of what I think you are after. The bit still to be implemented is the "negative timing" part. Being the alpha version, this still have some rough edges, and might not be as stable as you'd have hoped. Do you mind trying this app for me, and see if it is what you are after?

Thanks,
Ken

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.kstudio.dualtimer
p.s. I uploaded the app at 2012-03-02 00:30 UTC, it might take a while for it to become available.
 
You rock too!

I'm really liking the app you've made. I just have a couple observations for today (It's been a long day and I need some rest and tomorrow will be crazy too):

- Is it possible to have the sound effect play a single time when the time is up? I really don't want it to repeat.
- I forgot to say how I'd like it to behave when someone actually doesn't use all their time. I definitely need to be able to stop/reset the timer, and it appears as though your app does this.
- I don't really have a need to have two timers running simultaneously. I certainly don't need to always see both of them. Would it be possible, when I press one of the times and it goes large, to have the other timer disappear instead of running over the other timer?
- Could the timer know not to show unnecessary 0's? I'll never use this timer for anything over 10 minutes (let alone 59), so the hour digits are wasted space.
- When launching the app, could the timers automatically go to the set time? (this one isn't that important)
- When a timer is running, could there be a subtle indicator that it's doing so? If I change the update interval to 60 seconds, I basically have to wait a minute to know if I properly started a timer.
- In terms of how it looks, I know this is a rough start, but frankly I like the stark look to it. It's all I really want! I don't mind the ads too much, though I wish they were a little subtler and not so bright/distracting, though I suppose there isn't much you could do about that. For the buttons, it would be nice if I could have larger targets to hit with my finger while in the meeting, but also for them to be toned down in color.


I'm sorry, I feel awful giving you all these notes! I seriously do love the app and really appreciate you taking a stab at it! This is seriously great, and the people at my meetings are going to love it (or hate it). Thanks SO much!
 
Thanks for the feedback. I am aiming to have an updated version released before the weekend runs out.

Market should prompt you for updates automatically.

Cheers,
 
made something the other day for somebody, its very minimal but it could be adapted to do everything you want, thats if ken12 doesn't want/have time completing his ofc (which looks great)

facingworlds.co.uk/kt/counttimer.apk
 
Hi Dignan17,

new version uploaded to the market. Hopefully I did not overlooked any requirements?

Cheers,
Ken

- Is it possible to have the sound effect play a single time when the time is up? I really don't want it to repeat.
---Android uses ogg files for sound/notification, and ogg file decides if the tone should be looped or not. Don't think I have any control over that. Try to pick a tone that doesn't repeat (text message tone, etc) and see if that works :(

- I forgot to say how I'd like it to behave when someone actually doesn't use all their time. I definitely need to be able to stop/reset the timer, and it appears as though your app does this.
---yay :)

- I don't really have a need to have two timers running simultaneously. I certainly don't need to always see both of them. Would it be possible, when I press one of the times and it goes large, to have the other timer disappear instead of running over the other timer?
---change - If the other timer is not running, its counter will disappear

- Could the timer know not to show unnecessary 0's? I'll never use this timer for anything over 10 minutes (let alone 59), so the hour digits are wasted space.
---settings added to give user controls over how display settings (hh:mm:ss / mm:ss / ss)

- When launching the app, could the timers automatically go to the set time? (this one isn't that important)
---should be working now

- When a timer is running, could there be a subtle indicator that it's doing so? If I change the update interval to 60 seconds, I basically have to wait a minute to know if I properly started a timer.
---change the button text to show start/stop

- In terms of how it looks, I know this is a rough start, but frankly I like the stark look to it. It's all I really want! I don't mind the ads too much, though I wish they were a little subtler and not so bright/distracting, though I suppose there isn't much you could do about that.
---that is true, unfortunately :(

For the buttons, it would be nice if I could have larger targets to hit with my finger while in the meeting, but also for them to be toned down in color.
--- increased button size by 50%, should help :)
 
Thanks, ken218!

I'll have to play with this more tomorrow morning, but I like the improvements! I'd prefer it if the clocks didn't automatically go full screen with the press of the start button, but I could get used to that.

The main issue I see so far is that when they DO go bigger, they still don't really go big enough on my tablet. On the phone it's fine, but I'm hoping to make the numbers big enough to see from about 10-20 feet away, and they're still too small. Are there limitations on font size? Is it an issue of the difference between the phone and tablet versions of the app?

Thanks again for all the help. I can certainly use the app as is, I just think there are some final tweaks to get it all the way there...

And again, of course, you totally rock...
 
mancdevguy said:
made something the other day for somebody, its very minimal but it could be adapted to do everything you want, thats if ken12 doesn't want/have time completing his ofc (which looks great)

facingworlds.co.uk/kt/counttimer.apk
Click to expand...
Thanks for the offer! I think the one ken218 is working on will do the job really well, but I do appreciate it!
 
Hello Dignan17,

Just realised today that the screen layout doesn't work very well on android versions 4.0+. Turned out, it was a android bug. Issue 22493 - android - TextView height bug in Android 4.0 - Android - An Open Handset Alliance Project - Google Project Hosting

I have modified the code to try to make it work well with ICS, but it may or may not work properly. You might see texts not vertically aligned properly.

I have also tried to work out the font size using the screen size. This version should show much larger font on tablets now.

I also make the font color red when the timer continues into negative countings.

I thought it was a good idea to automatically maximise the counter if it is the only one running. Guess I was wrong :p If this frustrates you too much, I can add a "option" for you to turn it on/off.

Version 0.0.4 uploaded.

Cheers,
Ken

Dignan17 said:
Thanks, ken218!

I'll have to play with this more tomorrow morning, but I like the improvements! I'd prefer it if the clocks didn't automatically go full screen with the press of the start button, but I could get used to that.

The main issue I see so far is that when they DO go bigger, they still don't really go big enough on my tablet. On the phone it's fine, but I'm hoping to make the numbers big enough to see from about 10-20 feet away, and they're still too small. Are there limitations on font size? Is it an issue of the difference between the phone and tablet versions of the app?

Thanks again for all the help. I can certainly use the app as is, I just think there are some final tweaks to get it all the way there...

And again, of course, you totally rock...
Click to expand...
 
Well, I always like options for everything, but it's not necessary :)

I just tried out the latest version and I love it! This is going to work SO well.

I'll try it out this Thursday morning at my meeting and let you know how I thought it went and if I have any issues.

Now, does anyone have an idea for how I could get an Android-compatible audio file for one of those front desk call bells?
 
ken218 - I have a tiny request: would it be at all possible to add a clock to the app that would appear on the top right or left at all times (except for the timer settings)? I've discovered that in my meetings, it helps me decide how strict to be on timing people if I know what time it is and when the meeting will end.

Thanks! I use this app every single week and I love it!
 
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