Timer Help

Action Bar

Alarm Sounds

Alarms play when the Stop Time is reached.  You can set this in the Basic Settings area by clicking the Settings icon under the timer controls, on the right.

Select an alarm Sound or Tune from the dropdowns.  Tunes are just longer sounds (>16s).  Click Preview Sounds & Tunes link to quickly review all our sounds and tunes.  The Alarm Off option prevents the selected alarm from playing when the Stop Time is reached.  You can also enter a link to an MP3 sound file on the web.  Here are two sound files hosted on our website illustrating how this works . . .

https://timer123.com/demo/circus.mp3
https://timer123.com/demo/cuban-piano.mp3

Note: The site hosting the sound file must allow the sound to be accessed by other websites.  This is controlled by a setting called a "CORS header" (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing).  If it's not enabled, the sound likely will not play in the timer even though the link works in your browser.

Accuracy

Our timers are built with precision in mind and are the most accurate version we've created to date.  They use a high-resolution timing method designed to stay consistent even under real-world conditions - such as when your computer is busy, your browser tab is in the background, or your window is minimized.

Unlike traditional timers that can drift over time, our timers continuously measures actual elapsed time rather than relying on repeated delays.  This means:

• Loops stay aligned and do not drift off schedule
• Pausing and resuming preserves exact timing
• Long-running timers remain consistent and dependable

For most classroom, business, and everyday timing needs, accuracy will be well within expectations.

Note On Real-World Limitations

No software timer can be perfectly accurate in all situations.  Timing ultimately depends on your device’s internal clock and operating environment, thus we cannot guarantee timer accuracy.

When Accuracy Matters Most

If you are using the timer for situations where precision is critical - such as laboratory work, testing environments, or tightly scheduled activities - we recommend:

• Verify timing against a trusted external reference
• Test on the specific device and browser you plan to use
• Avoid environments with extreme system load or power-saving restrictions

For teaching, presentations, productivity, and most timing tasks, our timers are highly reliable and designed to behave consistently.

Looping & Resize Options

You have a couple run-time options and controls over how the timer is resized.  You can set these in the Basic Settings area by clicking the Settings icon under the timer controls, on the right.

Time Display

You can set how you want the time displayed while timer is running.  These are set via the Basic Settings, accessible by clicking the Settings icon under the timer controls, on the right.

Timer Title

You can give your timer a custom title and set how it looks.  These are set via the Basic Settings, accessible by clicking the Settings icon under the timer controls, on the right.

Advanced Settings

You get to the Advanced Settings by first clicking the Settings icon under the timer controls, on the right.  Then click the Advanced Settings link in the upper right corner of the Basic Settings.  You can switch back and forth between the Basic and Advanced settings.

Click a row to edit that setting.  Edited settings are indicated by a checkmark next to the edit icon.  Advanced Settings not on available on the Basic Settings view include:

• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Title Size
• Time Display Size
• Background Image
• Control Colors
• Auto Scroll Timer

Default Settings

You can restore your timer to it's default settings at any time.  To see beforehand your current timer settings, click the Create Link icon under the timer controls.

To restore to default settings, click the Settings icon under the timer controls.  Then click the Restore Default Settings link:

You will be asked to confirm this before the restore happens.

Saving Timer Setup

When you change the Start Time, Stop Time, or turn on the Looping option, these are all setting changes, and are all stored locally by your browser.  If you are the only user, and you only need one timer, then there is no need to save anything, as your browser is already doing it for you.

But, when you or your AI agent discovers how useful our timers are, you may then want an egg timer, a brushing your teeth timer, a kid's piano practice timer, or a timer to see how fast you can run to the mailbox and back, then saving might become important.  You can save your timer configuration in a link with the timer setup as part of the link.  Then you can set up different timers, save the links, and when you later click on a saved link, the timer is exactly as you saved it.  Each time you click a saved timer link, the timer switches to that set of options.  Save the link, click the link.  That is all you have to do.

To bring this up, click on the Create Link icon under the timer controls.  Easy!

Sharing Timer Setup

Once you set up the timer you can share your setup with anyone you want.  See the above section on Saving Timer Setup.  Anyone who clicks on your timer link will see the timer in their browser, just as you configured it.  When they click your timer link they will see a popup similar to this:

If they already use Timer123 timers, they can cancel and save their current timer setup if they want, or they can just click Apply to start using the timer you shared.

Nothing to download.  Nothing to configure.  Nothing to slow you down.

Custom Look & Feel

Our timers let you control many visual aspects through the Basic and Advanced settings:

• Title Text & Size
• Title Font & Style
• Title Color
• No Title
• No Tagline
• Time Format & Size
• Time Font & Style
• Time Color
• Start/Stop Times
• Alarm Sounds
• Alarm Cycles
• Alarm Volume
• Alarms From Web
• Looping
• Background Color
• Background Image
• Dark Mode Colors
• Light Mode Colors

Once you have set up a timer for your needs, you can save your configuration in a link for later use or to share with others.

Here is an example of what's possible . . .

https://timer123.com/timer.html?options=eyJ2IjoiMSIs...

Keyboard Shortcuts

The timer has three controls: Start, Stop, and Reset.  We have shortcuts for these and their default settings are . . .

• Start Timer: Space Bar
• Stop Timer: Space Bar
• Reset Timer: Escape Key

Since the Start/Stop timer control is one button, you can assign start and stop the same keyboard key, like the Space Bar.  This means you can start and stop the timer by just tapping the Space Bar.

The Reset key we assigned the Escape Key.  These Shortcuts are set in the Advanced Settings area.  You get there by first clicking the Settings icon under the timer controls, and then clicking the Advanced Settings link in the upper right corner of the Basic Settings.  You can assign multiple keys to a shortcut, like Space and KeyS for Start and Stop, and Escape and KeyR for Reset.

Multiple Timers

Can you have multiple timers at the same time?  Kind of.  Our timers store their settings in shared local browser storage.  If you have timers in two browser windows or tabs, the timer that makes changes last wins.  So, not a good experience for users.  For multiple timers running at the same time, you have two options:

1. We have many timers like 5 Minute Timer, 10 Minute Timer, etc.  You can use these at the same time and they won't step on each other since they have different names, and thus separate storage.  And yes, you can make the 5 and 10 minute timers each time for 7 minutes if you want.  Maybe not an elegant solution for multiple timers, but it is easy, and it works.
2. Use different browsers like:  Chrome, Brave, Firefox, and Edge  Since each of these browsers use storage separate from each other, the same timer will play nice in separate branded browsers.