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Hourglass Frequently Asked Questions

The original Hourglass FAQ can be found here.

How do I start, stop, pause or resume a timer?

To start a timer enter a duration or date and time in the large text box in the middle of the timer window and click Start or press Enter.

To stop a timer click Stop or press Ctrl+S or simply close the timer window.

To pause or resume a timer, click Pause or Resume or press Ctrl+P.

To pause or resume all the timers click Pause all or Resume all in the timer window options menu or in the notification area context menu.

Note

The Pause and Stop buttons only appear when you move your mouse cursor onto the timer window.

What do symbols ⏺⏸⏹⏏🔁 mean?

Symbol Meaning
⏺ New
⏸ Paused
⏹ Stopped
⏏ Expired
🔁 Looped

Taken from here.

What formats are supported when entering a duration or date and time?

Minutes - To start a timer for a specified number of minutes, enter the number of minutes:

  • 1 - count down for 1 minute
  • 5 - count down for 5 minutes
  • 10 - count down for 10 minutes

Specifying units - To start a timer specifying the units, enter a number followed by one of the supported units: seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years are supported:

  • 30 seconds - count down for 30 seconds
  • 5 minutes - count down for 5 minutes
  • 7 hours - count down for 7 hours
  • 3 days - count down for 3 days
  • 25 weeks - count down for 25 weeks
  • 6 months - count down for 6 months
  • 2 years - count down for 2 years

You can also use the short form of the supported units: s, m, h, d, w, mo and y:

  • 30s - count down for 30 seconds
  • 5m - count down for 5 minutes
  • 7h - count down for 7 hours
  • 3d - count down for 3 days
  • 25w - count down for 25 weeks
  • 6mo - count down for 6 months
  • 2y - count down for 2 years

Bare unit - To start a 1-unit timer, enter just the unit without a number:

  • second - count down for 1 second
  • minute - count down for 1 minute
  • hour - count down for 1 hour
  • day - count down for 1 day
  • week - count down for 1 week
  • month - count down for 1 month
  • year - count down for 1 year

Short forms work too: s, m, h, d, w, mo, y.

Combining units - To start a timer using a combination of units, simply concatenate the units:

  • 5 minutes 30 seconds - count down for 5 minutes 30 seconds
  • 5m30s - count down for 5 minutes 30 seconds
  • 7 hours 15 minutes - count down for 7 hours 15 minutes
  • 7h15m - count down for 7 hours 15 minutes

Decimal notation - To start a timer specifying a duration that is not a full number, use decimal notation:

  • 5.5 minutes - count down for 5 minutes 30 seconds
  • 1.5 hours - count down for 1 hour 30 minutes
  • 0.5 years - count down for 6 months

Short form duration - To start a timer for a specified duration, you can alternatively use the short form m:ss or h:mm:ss formats:

  • 5:30 - count down for 5 minutes 30 seconds
  • 7:15:00 - count down for 7 hours 15 minutes

You can use . instead of : as the separator if you prefer:

  • 5.30 - count down for 5 minutes 30 seconds
  • 7.15.00 - count down for 7 hours 15 minutes

Note

  • Until date or time can also be set using until, u, un, till, @ prefixes.
  • Time is processed in accordance with the Advanced options / Prefer 24-hour time when parsing option when no am / pm is specified.

Until time of day - To start a timer until a specified time of day, enter the time of day in the h am/pm, h:mm am/pm or h:mm:ss am/pm formats:

  • 2 pm - count down until 2:00:00 pm
  • 2:30 pm - count down until 2:30:00 pm
  • 2:30:15 pm - count down until 2:30:15 pm

You can use . instead of : as the separator if you prefer:

  • 2.30 pm - count down until 2:30:00 pm
  • 2.30.15 pm - count down until 2:30:15 pm

If the specified time of day has already passed today, the timer will count down until the specified time of day tomorrow.

Until date - To start a timer until a specified date, enter the date in the month day, day month, month day, year or day month year formats:

  • January 1 - count down until midnight January 1
  • 1 January - count down until midnight January 1
  • January 1, 2019 - count down until midnight January 1, 2019
  • 1 January, 2019 - count down until midnight January 1, 2019

You can use the full month name: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. Or you can use the short form of the month name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec:

  • Jan 1 - count down until midnight January 1
  • 1 Jan - count down until midnight January 1
  • Jan 1, 2019 - count down until midnight January 1, 2019
  • 1 Jan, 2019 - count down until midnight January 1, 2019

Or you can use the month number instead or a two-digit year, if you prefer:

  • 1/1 - count down until midnight January 1
  • 01/01 - count down until midnight January 1
  • 1/1/19 - count down until midnight January 1, 2019
  • 01/01/19 - count down until midnight January 1, 2019
  • 1/1/2019 - count down until midnight January 1, 2019
  • 01/01/2019 - count down until midnight January 1, 2019

Important

The order of the day, month and year depends on your system settings in some cases.

Until weekday - To start a timer until a specified weekday, enter Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday:

  • Monday - count down until midnight Monday
  • Wednesday - count down until midnight Wednesday
  • Saturday - count down until midnight Saturday

You can also use the short form of the weekday: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat or Sun:

  • Mon - count down until midnight Monday
  • Wed - count down until midnight Wednesday
  • Sat - count down until midnight Saturday

To specify a day next week rather than this week, append next week. To specify the weekday after next, append next or after next:

  • Wednesday next week - count down until midnight Wednesday next week
  • Wednesday next - count down until midnight the Wednesday after next Wednesday
  • Wednesday after next - count down until midnight the Wednesday after next Wednesday
  • Thu next week - count down until midnight Thursday next week
  • Thu next - count down until midnight the Thursday after next Thursday
  • Thu after next - count down until midnight the Thursday after next Thursday

Tomorrow - To start a timer until the next day, enter tomorrow:

  • tomorrow - count down until midnight tomorrow

Combining date and time - To start a timer until a specified date, specified weekday or tomorrow and specified time of day, join the date, weekday or tomorrow and the time of day and separate them with at or on as appropriate:

  • January 1, 2019 at 2 pm - count down until 2 pm on January 1, 2019
  • 2 pm on January 1, 2019 - count down until 2 pm on January 1, 2019
  • 01/01/2019 at 2 pm - count down until 2 pm on January 1, 2019
  • 2 pm on 01/01/2019 - count down until 2 pm on January 1, 2019
  • Wednesday at 2 pm - count down until 2 pm on Wednesday
  • 2 pm on Wednesday - count down until 2 pm on Wednesday
  • tomorrow at 2 pm - count down until 2 pm tomorrow
  • 2 pm tomorrow - count down until 2 pm tomorrow

You can omit the at or on separating the date, weekday or tomorrow and the time of day in most cases:

  • January 1, 2019 2 pm - count down until 2 pm on January 1, 2019
  • 2 pm January 1, 2019 - count down until 2 pm on January 1, 2019
  • 01/01/2019 2 pm - count down until 2 pm on January 1, 2019
  • 2 pm 01/01/2019 - count down until 2 pm on January 1, 2019
  • Wednesday 2 pm - count down until 2 pm on Wednesday
  • 2 pm Wednesday - count down until 2 pm on Wednesday
  • tomorrow 2 pm - count down until 2 pm tomorrow
  • 2 pm tomorrow - count down until 2 pm tomorrow

How do I start a second timer with the Hourglass?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and select New timer.

How do I keep the timer window on top of other windows?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and check Always on top.

How do I run a timer in full screen mode?

To enter full-screen mode, press Alt+Enter or F11; Double Click on any empty space in the timer window or Right Click on any empty space in the Hourglass window and check Full screen.

To exit full-screen mode, press Alt+Enter or F11 again; Double Click on any empty space in the timer window or Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and uncheck Full screen.

How do I stop the timer from prompting me when I close the window?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and uncheck Prompt on close.

How do I minimize the timer window to the notification area?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and check Show in notification area. Now when you minimize the timer window, it will be hidden in the notification area. To restore all the timer windows, Double Click on the Hourglass icon in the notification area.

To remove the Hourglass icon from the notification area and restore any hidden timer windows, Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and uncheck Show in notification area.

What are the timer window keyboard shortcuts?

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+N Create a new timer
Space
Ctrl+P		 Pause/resume the timer
Ctrl+S Stop the timer
Ctrl+R Restart the timer
F11
Alt+Enter
Double Click		 Toggle full screen
F2 Edit the title; holding Shift removes selection
F4 Edit the time; holding Shift removes selection
F5 Edit the time's minutes; holding Shift removes selection
F6 Edit the time's seconds; holding Shift removes selection
F7 Edit the time's hours; holding Shift removes selection

What are the notification area keyboard shortcuts?

Shortcut Action
Double Click Show/hide all the timer windows
Ctrl+Click Create a new timer window
Shift+Click Show the first timer window
Shift+Middle Click Show the recently opened timer window
Middle Click
Shift+Right Click		 Open the timer window options menu

How do I repeat the timer automatically when it expires?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and check Loop timer.

How do I stop the timer from popping up on top of other windows when it expires?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and uncheck Pop up when expired.

How do I automatically close the timer window when the timer expires?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and check Close when expired.

Note

The timer window will not close until the notification sound has finished playing.

How do I automatically shut down Windows when the timer expires?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and check Shut down when expired in the Advanced options submenu.

Note

The Windows will not shut down until the notification sound has finished playing.

How do I start a timer for a duration or until a date and time that I recently entered?

When you relaunch the Hourglass, the last duration or date and time that you entered will be automatically populated in the input text field. To start a countdown for that duration or until that date and time, simply press Enter.

To start a timer for another duration or until another date and time that you recently entered, Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and select the duration or date and time from the Recent inputs submenu.

How do I clear recently entered durations and dates and times?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and select Clear recent inputs from the Recent inputs submenu.

How do I resume a timer that I accidentally closed?

The Hourglass keeps track of running timers that you have closed. To resume a saved timer, Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and select the timer from the Saved timers submenu.

You can also resume all saved timers by checking Open all saved timers in the Saved timers submenu.

And you can set the Hourglass to automatically open saved timers when it starts up by checking Open saved timers on startup in the Advanced options submenu.

How do I save a timer?

A not expired yet timer is saved automatically when closed if Save timer on closing option in the Advanced options submenu is checked. You can change it in the close confirmation dialog shown if the Prompt on close in the timer window options menu is checked.

See also How do I resume a timer that I accidentally closed?

Important

Timer is saved implicitly when:

  • It is not expired yet on application exit.
  • It has been stopped explicitly.

How do I clear saved timers?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and select Clear saved timers from the Saved timers submenu.

How do I set a title for a timer?

Click in the text field that says Click to enter title or press F2, enter a title and press Enter.

To clear a title that you entered, click the title text field, delete the title text and press Enter.

How do I set a time for a timer?

Click in the time field or press F4, enter a time and press Enter to accept the new time or Esc to revert it back. In case of an error the red border will blink for a some time.

How do I change what is displayed in the timer window title?

By default, the timer window title displays the application name Hourglass. You can change it to display the time left, the time elapsed or the timer title instead.

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and then select the appropriate option from the Window title submenu.

How do I change the timer window color theme?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and select a color theme from the Theme submenu.

Is there a dark color theme available?

Yes. Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and select Dark theme from the Theme submenu.

How do I add a custom color theme?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window, select Manage themes... from the Theme submenu. Pick a color theme from the drop-down menu to base the new theme on and click New.

Click on each color your want to change and select a color using the color picker. Type the theme name in the textbox at the top of the dialog and click Save to save your changes.

How do I rename a custom color theme?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window, select Manage themes... from the Theme submenu. Pick the color theme that you want to rename from the drop-down menu, type the theme name in the textbox at the top of the dialog and click Save.

The built-in color themes cannot be renamed.

How do I delete a custom color theme?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window, select Manage themes... from the Theme submenu. Pick the color theme that you want to delete from the drop-down menu and click Delete.

The built-in color themes cannot be deleted.

How do I change the notification sound?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and select a sound from the Sound submenu.

How do I add a custom notification sound?

Save the sound file to the folder where you installed the Hourglass (typically %PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\Hourglass) or to the %LOCALAPPDATA%\Hourglass directory or to the Sounds subdirectory.

Your sound file should then appear when you Right Click on any empty space in the Hourglass window and select the Sound submenu.

The supported formats are .aac, .m4a, .mid, .midi, .mp3, .ogg, .wav and .wma. If your sound file is not in one of the supported formats, you should convert it first.

How do I remove a custom notification sound?

Delete the sound file from the folder where you installed the Hourglass (typically %PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\Hourglass). Be careful not to delete any other files.

How do I loop the notification sound?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and check Loop sound from the Sound submenu.

How do I stop the timer keeping the computer from going to sleep?

By default, the Hourglass keeps the computer from going to sleep so that progress can be displayed and the notification sound can be played.

To stop the Hourglass keeping the computer from going to sleep, Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and check Do not keep computer awake in the Advanced options submenu.

If the computer goes to sleep while a timer is running, the Hourglass will try to wake the computer around the time the timer will expire so the notification sound can be played.

How do I show the time elapsed rather than the time left?

Right Click on any empty space in the timer window and check Show elapsed time instead of time left in the Advanced options submenu.

How do I create a shortcut that automatically starts a timer with the Hourglass?

To create a shortcut, Right Click on your Desktop or the folder where you want to create the shortcut and select Shortcut from the New submenu. Enter the location where Hourglass.exe is (typically %PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\Hourglass\Hourglass.exe) followed by the duration or date and time for your countdown in quotes.

Then click Next, give your shortcut a name and click Finish to create the shortcut.

You can also specify additional command-line arguments to set other options for the timer.

What command-line arguments does the Hourglass accept?

You can launch the Hourglass and immediately start a timer by running Hourglass.exe "<duration or date and time>". For example, to launch the Hourglass and start a 5-minute timer, run Hourglass.exe "5 minutes".

You can also set any option that you can set using the user interface by specifying additional command-line arguments. To view a full list of command-line arguments, run Hourglass.exe --help or click here.

How do I search in the command-line usage dialog?

The command-line usage dialog supports incremental search with match highlighting.

Key Action
/
Ctrl+F
F3		 Open search bar
Escape Close search bar
Enter
F3		 Navigate to next match
Shift+Enter
Shift+F3		 Navigate to previous match

The match count is displayed next to the search box as current/total. Closing the search bar (via Escape, clicking in the text, or moving focus away) removes the highlight and returns the caret to the last matched position.

How to launch the Hourglass on Windows startup?

  1. Press Win+R.
  2. Execute shell:startup to open the Startup folder for the current user.
  3. Drag and drop the Hourglass executable while holding Alt key to create the shortcut for the Hourglass.

Important

Check Open saved timers on startup in the Advanced options submenu to open all the saved timers on the Hourglass startup.

How to speed up the Portable Hourglass startup?

Processing the Portable Hourglass with the Native Image Generator (Ngen.exe) speeds up the Portable Hourglass startup.

To run script as an Administrator press Win+X and select the Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin). Copy script full path to the console opened and execute one of the following:

  • Generate the Hourglass native image and its dependencies and install in the native image cache:
ngen-Hourglass.bat install
  • Delete the native images of the Hourglass and its dependencies from the native image cache:
ngen-Hourglass.bat uninstall

How to find the Hourglass settings?

The Hourglass settings file location can be opened directly from the timer window context menu Open settings file location in the Advanced options submenu.

Alternatively, the settings can be located by the following command (to run it press Win+R and copy-paste command below):

cmd /k dir "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Chris_Dziemborowicz*"

The settings are stored into the corresponding hourglass.EXE subdirectories in the user.config file.

The Hourglass Portable keeps settings next to the executable in the Hourglass.config file.

How to disable the Hourglass updates?

  1. Exit the Hourglass.
  2. Open the Hourglass.config or user.config settings file.
  3. Set CheckForUpdates to False.
  4. Launch the Hourglass.

Note

If CheckForUpdates is missing, add it under the <Hourglass.Properties.Settings> tag:

<setting name="CheckForUpdates" serializeAs="String">
  <value>False</value>
</setting>

Note

To hide Update link in the timer window without disabling updates set ShowUpdateLink to False.

If ShowUpdateLink is missing, add it under the <Hourglass.Properties.Settings> tag:

<setting name="ShowUpdateLink" serializeAs="String">
  <value>False</value>
</setting>

How to enable editing of the timer start time instead of time left?

  1. Exit the Hourglass.
  2. Open the Hourglass.config or user.config settings file.
  3. Set EditTimerStartTime to True.
  4. Launch the Hourglass.

Note

If EditTimerStartTime is missing, add it under the <Hourglass.Properties.Settings> tag:

<setting name="EditTimerStartTime" serializeAs="String">
  <value>True</value>
</setting>

How to enable the Hourglass Jump List?

  1. Exit the Hourglass.
  2. Open the Hourglass.config or user.config settings file.
  3. Set UseJumpList to True.
  4. Launch the Hourglass.

Note

If UseJumpList is missing, add it under the <Hourglass.Properties.Settings> tag:

<setting name="UseJumpList" serializeAs="String">
  <value>True</value>
</setting>

How to disable the Hourglass thumbnail toolbar?

  1. Exit the Hourglass.
  2. Open the Hourglass.config or user.config settings file.
  3. Set ShowTaskbarThumbButtons to False.
  4. Launch the Hourglass.

Note

If ShowTaskbarThumbButtons is missing, add it under the <Hourglass.Properties.Settings> tag:

<setting name="ShowTaskbarThumbButtons" serializeAs="String">
  <value>False</value>
</setting>

How to always open the Hourglass timer windows centered?

  1. Exit the Hourglass.
  2. Open the Hourglass.config or user.config settings file.
  3. Set AlwaysCenterWindow to True.
  4. Launch the Hourglass.

Note

If AlwaysCenterWindow is missing, add it under the <Hourglass.Properties.Settings> tag:

<setting name="AlwaysCenterWindow" serializeAs="String">
  <value>True</value>
</setting>

How to allow the Hourglass timer windows to be placed off-screen?

By default, the Hourglass checks whether the timer window is visible on screen after restoring its position. If the window would appear off-screen (e.g. on a disconnected monitor or at negative coordinates), it is automatically centered instead.

You can disable this check to allow windows to be placed at any position, including negative coordinates or outside the current screen bounds.

  1. Exit the Hourglass.
  2. Open the Hourglass.config or user.config settings file.
  3. Set AllowOffScreen to True.
  4. Launch the Hourglass.

Note

If AllowOffScreen is missing, add it under the <Hourglass.Properties.Settings> tag:

<setting name="AllowOffScreen" serializeAs="String">
  <value>True</value>
</setting>

Note

This is particularly useful when starting the Hourglass via command-line with the /b switch and negative coordinates, e.g. Hourglass.exe /b "-300,1000,259,159".

Warning

When AllowOffScreen is True, timer windows may appear on disconnected or unavailable monitors and become inaccessible.

How to configure delay timeouts for automatic close, minimize or shut down when expired?

By default, when Close when expired, Minimize when expired or Shut down when expired options are enabled, the action is performed immediately after the timer expires. You can configure a delay timeout in seconds before the action is performed.

  1. Exit the Hourglass.
  2. Open the Hourglass.config or user.config settings file.
  3. Set one or more of the following values:
    • CloseWhenExpiredSeconds - delay in seconds before closing the timer window when Close when expired is enabled (default is 0)
    • MinimizeWhenExpiredSeconds - delay in seconds before minimizing the timer window when Minimize when expired is enabled (default is 0)
    • ShutDownWhenExpiredSeconds - delay in seconds before shutting down Windows when Shut down when expired is enabled (default is 0)
  4. Launch the Hourglass.

Note

If any of the above settings are missing, add them under the <Hourglass.Properties.Settings> tag:

<setting name="CloseWhenExpiredSeconds" serializeAs="String">
  <value>30</value>
</setting>

<setting name="MinimizeWhenExpiredSeconds" serializeAs="String">
  <value>30</value>
</setting>

<setting name="ShutDownWhenExpiredSeconds" serializeAs="String">
  <value>30</value>
</setting>

Note

  • Setting the value to 0 means the action will be performed immediately.
  • The maximum allowed timeout value is 3600 seconds (1 hour).
  • These settings only apply when the corresponding Close when expired, Minimize when expired or Shut down when expired options are enabled in the timer window context menu or via command-line.

How to ignore settings write errors?

If the Hourglass settings file is read-only or the Hourglass has no write access to, you can configure it to silently ignore settings write errors instead of reporting them.

  1. Exit the Hourglass.
  2. Open the Hourglass.config or user.config settings file.
  3. Set IgnoreSettingsWriteErrors to True.
  4. Launch the Hourglass.

Note

If IgnoreSettingsWriteErrors is missing, add it under the <Hourglass.Properties.Settings> tag:

<setting name="IgnoreSettingsWriteErrors" serializeAs="String">
  <value>True</value>
</setting>

Important

When IgnoreSettingsWriteErrors is True, any changes made to settings (themes, options, etc.) will not be persisted between sessions.

What should I do if the Hourglass does not start?

Important

The Hourglass writes error files in case of the crash to the %TEMP% folder (usually it is the %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp folder). File mask is the Hourglass-Crash*.txt.

If the Hourglass does not start or fails silently

What should I do if there is no notification sound?

Some audio files could not be played for Windows with no Windows Media Player installed. To fix this, download the NAudioHourglassPack and upzip its content to the Hourglass folder.

The supported formats are:

  • .aiff
  • .mp3
  • .ogg
  • .wav

You can also optionally speed up the Hourglass startup afterwards.