SongShow Plus

Tips & Tricks > Countdown Timer

osborn4

8/30/2006 5:00:06 AM

Many folks have been interested in adding a countdown timer to thier announcement slide show. Currently, you can either have a countdown timer or you can have a slide show running.

In a different forum, I've seen folks talking about using Smart Clock (no longer officially available) to do this. Evidently it has setting to show a countdown instead of the current time.

I have not yet tried this with SSP, but wanted to post this while it is fresh in my memory.

osborn4

9/1/2006 6:03:10 PM

I just tried this with SongShowPlus and it works great!

This piece of freeware is worth much more than it costs.

daveg

12/1/2006 10:07:03 AM

Joel,

Can you tell me where to find SmartClock?
The web site for the program seems to have been shut down.

Thanks!!!

daveg

osborn4

12/1/2006 11:19:19 AM

No. Sorry.

That's too bad. It was a nice piece of freeware.

We'll have to start the look for another possibility.

iamgap

12/3/2006 8:10:34 AM

I think I have it on my PC at home. If I do, I will upload it to the web, and then make a link here.

iamgap

12/14/2006 9:45:37 PM

I am sorry it took so long to get back to this. We have a LOT of issues going on the the MEUs coming and going.

Smart Clock

akins

1/28/2007 4:23:19 PM

OK, I've downloaded and know how to run Smart Clock, but could someone tell me how to superimpose the downcounter over a slide or video being displayed via SSP program on a 2nd monitor and projector?

Dick

bobiedon

2/25/2007 3:24:14 PM

We have a "short" visitation period and have started using the SSP countdown timer. I have downloaded the SmartClock and will try that soon. We have been asked about having a "bell" or some other audible indication when the time has expired. Does anyone have a suggestion?

Thanks, Don

Rod

2/25/2007 4:04:49 PM

Just download a "bell" or "Whistle" MP3 or WAV.
and fire it from SSP as an audio cue when the countdown hit's 0

Just do a google for bell sound effect...

Rod

bobiedon

2/26/2007 7:08:47 AM

Do you have to hit the WAV file manually or can you have the SSP timer hit it automatically?

Thanks, Don

Rod

2/26/2007 3:48:32 PM

You would have to hit the sound cue manually.

Rod

Eagle117

4/20/2007 11:17:13 AM

One thing our graphic designer does is creates the announcment slideshow and then puts a text box in the lower right corner and uses a digital clock font to make her own clock. The first slide has 5:00 in the corner and the next slide has a 10 or 20 second change on it and then it changes to 4:40 and so on. So we have our own countdown built into the PowerPoint. Takes a bit more work but no third party software invovled at all.

Lee

4/23/2007 6:01:38 AM

That is a good idea to a point. Your graphics designer's preferred layout of using a small text box in a corner for a count-down is really the way to go, but the method of manually displaying the time seems a bit tedious to develop, and the time-value displayed is dependent on when the show is started and might be too approximate.

With the forthcoming beta, text box objects now have transparency (and whatever other effects you might want) so let's all "wish" for a text box enhancement (or other implementation method) allowing appropriate time-calculation displays in draggable and animation-able objects; that would provide a real countdown! (It is on the wish-list and you might want to go vote for it: Superimpose Timers Over SlideShows.)

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