Timer

Timer

AnchorCast includes a countdown and count-up timer that displays directly on the projection screen. It is also available as a standalone AnchorCast Timer app.

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Opening the Timer

Click Timer in the top toolbar. The Timer control window opens.

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Timer Modes

Mode	Description
Countdown	Counts down from a set duration to zero
Count Up	Counts up from zero — useful for tracking elapsed time

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Setting Up the Timer

1. Enter a Title / Message — this appears on the projection screen above the countdown (e.g. "The Service Is About to Start")
2. Select Countdown or Count Up
3. Set the Duration in minutes and seconds (Countdown only)
4. Use the quick-set buttons: 1 min, 3 min, 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 30 min, 45 min, 60 min
5. Choose the Screen Location: Center, Top, or Edge
6. Adjust Font Size using the A− / A+ slider
7. Customise Text Style — font and color for the title and number separately

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Starting the Timer

1. Make sure the Projection window is open (Ctrl+P) — the timer requires an active projection screen
2. Click ▶ Start
3. The timer appears on the projection screen immediately
4. The Live Preview panel shows exactly what the congregation sees

Note: The timer will not start if the projection screen is not open. You will see an error message if you try.

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Warning & End Behaviour

• When time is low (final 60 seconds), the timer flashes red on the projection screen
• When countdown reaches zero, the display shows:

  "Thank you. Kindly conclude your session."

• The Flash Faster button (appears during warning phase) — hold it to speed up the blink rate

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Clock & Date Display

Toggle Clock & Date Display in the timer window to show the current time and date on the projection screen (useful for pre-service display).

Options:

• 12h / 24h format
• Show / hide date
• Position — 5 placement options (top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right, center)
• Color — custom color picker

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Projection Background (Standalone Timer)

When running as the standalone AnchorCast Timer app, you can set the projection background independently:

• Default — standard dark background
• Solid color — pick any color
• Image — browse for an image file
• Video — browse for a video file (loops automatically)

This control is greyed out when running inside the main AnchorCast app, which manages its own projection background.

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Standalone AnchorCast Timer

The AnchorCast Timer is a separate lightweight app that installs alongside AnchorCast. It does only one thing — runs the countdown timer with its own projection window.

Use cases:

• Run the timer on a separate computer from the main AnchorCast operator machine
• Use as a simple standalone countdown for events that don't need the full AnchorCast workflow
• Open the timer independently without launching the full app

How to open:

• Double-click the AnchorCast Timer shortcut on your Desktop (created during installation)
• Or run: AnchorCast.exe --timer

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Keyboard Shortcuts (Timer Window)

Action	Shortcut
Start timer	Click ▶ Start
Stop timer	Click ■ Stop
Flash Faster (during warning)	Hold the Flash button