How to use the Windows 10 Timer
While there isn't an official ѕtand-alone timer app for Windowѕ 10, you can use the Timer in the Alarms & Clock app to keep track of time. If you forgot something in the oven because you were all caught up in a video game, or you spaced out watching cat videos again, even though you promised yourself to go to bed in 10 minutes, the Windows 10 Timer can come in handy. It is easy to use and a helpful tool if you don't want to burn down your kitchen or ruin your beauty sleep. This tutorial teaches you everything you need to know about it, so let's get started:
NOTE: The features presented are available in Windows 10 November 2019 Update or newer. If you're using an older version of Windows 10, you might not have access to all the features. Check your Windows 10 build and, if necessary, get the latest Windows 10 update available for you.
How to access the Windows 10 Timer?
The Windows 10 Timer is included in the Alarms & Clock app. We illustrated more ways to access the app in our tutorial How to use and turn off alarms in Windows 10, but we find it easiest to type "alarms" in your taskbar's search field, and then click or tap on Alarms & Clock.
The app opens, showing four tabs at the top of the window. Click or tap on the Timer tab to access the feature.
If you use the Timer often, you can easily create a tile for it in your Start Menu. Click or tap on the "Pin timers to Start" button.
A pop-up prompts you to confirm your choice. Click or tap on Yes.
The Timer tile is now added to your Start Menu, and you can use it to open the tool directly.
You can also use Microsoft's virtual assistant - Cortana - to access the Timer. Just make sure she's listening and say "timer." The Alarms & Clock app opens.
NOTE: This tutorial focuses on using the Windows 10 Timer manually, the old-fashioned way. Microsoft's Cortana is, however, well integrated with the Alarms & Clock app. To learn more about that, read: How to set timers and alarms using Cortana in Windows 10.
How to add timers in Windows 10
In Windows 10, you can set timers for any duration from one second to 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds. As long as your device is on and awake, it alerts you when the countdown reaches zero, even if your computer is locked. You can have as many as twenty timers saved, and they can all be counting down at the same time. This should be more than enough, unless you are running evil experiments in your underground lair. 🙂
Adding a new timer is simple. Click or tap on the "Add new timer" (+) button at the bottom right of the window.
In the New timer window, scroll and click or tap on the desired values for hours, minutes, and seconds to set a duration for your timer.
If you click or tap on the field under Timer name, you can enter a name for your timer to replace the default name Timer (1). Our timer is named Tea, and it's set to five minutes, alerting us when our tea is ready.
If you don't feel like naming your timers, Windows 10 helps you differentiate between them by adding a new number after the generic Timer. When you are done entering your preferences, press the Start button at the bottom to start the timer.
Your timer is now set, and it starts counting towards zero.
Unless you need to keep an eye on your timer(s), you can close the Alarms & Clock app when you are done. Windows 10 lets you know when your timer finishes counting down.
How to use timers in Windows 10
All the timers you create are displayed in the Timer tab of the Alarms & Clock app.
To keep an eye on a timer from afar, or if you just want to focus on a specific timer, click or tap on the Expand button, that looks like a double-headed arrow.
The timer expands to take up the entire window. Press the Restore button to return it to normal.
To pause a timer, click or tap on the round Pause button in the middle.
Clicking or tapping on Start resumes the countdown of a paused timer.
Click or tap on Reset if you want the timer to restart the countdown.
The default behavior when a timer finishes counting down is to alert you by playing a sound and displaying a banner in the bottom right corner of your screen. The volume of any other sounds playing from your computer or device is lowered to ensure you hear the alert sound. Click or tap on Dismiss to stop the alert and hide the banner.
To change this behavior, you need to tinker with the notifications for the Alarms & Clock app. To learn how to do that, read How to stop and configure Windows 10 app notifications.
TIP: Clicking or tapping on the banner in the area displaying the timer's details also stops the alert, while also opening the Timer tab of the Alarms & Clock.
Even though the timer finished its job, you can still see it displayed in the Timer window. Its Start button is active in case you want to use it again.
To edit a timer, click or tap on it. You can only edit timers that either finished counting down or are currently paused.
The Edit timer window opens, letting you change the name and duration of your timer the same way you did when you created it.
How to remove timers in Windows 10
When your timers reach zero, they don't get removed from the Timer tool. They are saved in case you need them again. However, removing a timer is very simple. If your timer is not counting down, click or tap on it to open the Edit timer window. To remove it, either press the Delete key on your keyboard, or click or tap on the trashcan-looking Delete button at the bottom of the window.
Confirm your choice by clicking or tapping on Delete again, and your timer is gone.
To skip the confirmation window and easily delete any one timer, whether it is active or not, right-click or press-and-hold on it, and then click or tap on Delete.
The timer is removed, and you can no longer see it displayed under the Timer tab. From this tab, you can also delete more timers at the same time, whether they are stopped, paused, or currently counting down. First, click or tap on the Select timers button at the bottom of the window.
A select box appears for each timer. Select the timers you want to delete by checking the box.
Use the Delete selected timers button at the bottom of the window to remove the selected timer(s).
No confirmation is required, and you can see that all the selected timers are immediately removed from the Timer tab.
What do you use timers for?
Setting timers in Windows 10 is useful, especially if you spend a lot of time on your computer. If you are one of the people who feel time fly them by, like yours truly, the often overlooked Timer can prove to be an asset. What do you need timers for? Do you think you need more than the twenty timers offered by this app? Let us know in a comment below.