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https://github.com/nathanlesage/conference-timer

Visually time conference presentations
https://github.com/nathanlesage/conference-timer

conference presentation presentation-tools talk timer timer-clock

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Visually time conference presentations

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README 

          


  

    Conference Timer

  

  


  Conference Timer






  Communicate presentation and Q&A times to your speakers.




![Screenshot of running timer](./resources/screenshot_running_dark_frame.png)



If you have ever been at a conference, you know how difficult it can be to keep

your time; and you probably have experienced speakers overshooting their

allotted time. Conference Timer is a tool intended to make managing time for

conference presentations easier.



Keeping time is difficult, both for session chairs and speakers:



* Managing time as a speaker demands additional mental resources

* Holding up "x minutes left"-signs from a back seat can look awkward

* At many conferences, there are usually no professional time keeping systems



Conference Timer has been developed with common conference setups in mind and

balances the scarce resources we often have at conferences (at least an internet

enabled device with a screen, that is, a laptop or tablet) with the mental

capacities of a speaker.



Conference Timer offers three benefits over other common time keeping methods:



1. It can be configured for any presentation length within a few seconds and is

   ready to go instantly.

2. It offers very simple and fast-to-understand visual cues to inform speakers

   of their remaining time.

3. It can be run in any setup which includes a display and an internet browser.



## Features



* Focus on speed and ease of use

* Many built-in templates with and without dedicated Q&A time for:

  * lightning talks;

  * short and regular conference presentations;

  * keynotes

* Create custom templates for your own conference

* Auto-fullscreen capability, and prevents the display from sleeping while the

  timer is running\*

* Full control (start, pause, resume, stop, restart)

* Built-in dark mode

* Instructions for

  [conference organizers](#instructions-for-conference-organizers),

  [session chairs](#instructions-for-session-chairs), and

  [speakers](#instructions-for-speakers)



\* *These features are not supported in every browser or every device. Please check beforehand.*



## Getting Started



To get started, [open the Conference Timer website](https://conf-timer.hendrik-erz.de/),

and either select a predefined template, or create your own. If you create your

own template, you can copy a link to it to share with, e.g., all of your session

chairs to use.



After you have selected a template, you are redirected to the timer screen. If

you have several screens, you should now move the browser window onto the screen

where it should appear.



Now, press the "Play"-button or the spacebar to immediately start the timer. The

app will now enter fullscreen and request your computer not to put its display

to sleep.



While the timer is running, it will show several pieces of information:



* In the center, it will show the countdown, that is the remaining time for the

  current phase. If the template is set to count up, the counter will go up

  instead of counting down. If the template hides the counter, it will only show

  "Presentation" during the presentation phase, and "Q&A" during the Q&A phase.

* In the top left, you have the timer control buttons, allowing you to pause or

  resume, or stop the timer.

* In the top center, the app will show a warning if it couldn't acquire a wake

  lock, that is, if the display may go to sleep during the presentation.

* In the top right, you can exit the timer and return to the home screen.

* The bottom left shows the template name. This can be your custom name.

* The bottom center always shows the total remaining time (presentation + Q&A

  time combined), or counts up to the total time depending on your setting

* The bottom right shows the current phase (presentation or Q&A)



## Instructions for Conference Organizers



As a conference organizer, you may want to prepare one or more templates suited

to your various session or panel times and share them with your session chairs.



If one of the provided default templates work for you, select it on the home

screen to open the timer screen. To share this template with your session

chairs, simply copy the URL and send it to them, e.g., via email.



Creating a custom template works if you either want to display your conference's

name in the bottom-left, or if you want to set custom reminders/times. To do so,

click the button to create a custom template on the home screen, adjust the

settings, and then click on "Copy to clipboard." This will put a link into your

clipboard that contains all your settings. Share this link with your session

chairs. If someone opens the link, this will apply the settings and immediately

redirect them to the correct timer screen so they can start it.



## Instructions for Session Chairs



As a session chair, you should have received instructions from the organizer as

to which template to use. Ideally, they should've sent you a link that you can

just click to open the correct timer template. Otherwise, select the appropriate

template or create a new template and adjust the settings per the organizer's

instructions.



If you have more than one screen at the device you are using for the session

timer, prepare the session by dragging the window with the timer screen onto the

appropriate display that the speaker can see.



Hit the spacebar or click the play button to start the timer. You should do this

once before the session starts to make sure everything works. If it does, click

the stop icon in the top left to reset the timer.



When the first presentation starts, start the timer. After the first

presentation is over and the finish message is shown, you can either press the

stop button in the top left, or wait until the next presentation is set to

start. If you choose to wait, press the spacebar to reset and start the timer

again.



If you need to pause the presentation at some point, e.g., because an unexpected

event is happening, press spacebar to pause the timer. As soon as you press

space again, the timer will resume.



## Instructions for Speakers



If you are a speaker, you can use the timer to estimate and better manage your

allotted time. The app purposefully makes most of the information too tiny to

properly view, as you shouldn't focus on this; it is intended for the session

chairs.



What you should focus on are two elements. First, whatever is displayed in the

center of the screen in large, bold letters. This will either be the countdown

(or count-up), or the name of the current phase (presentation or Q&A). Secondly,

and more importantly, you should take note of the background of the app. The

background will slowly fill with color from left to right as your presentation

progresses.



The background therefore gives you a very fast visual cue as to how much time

you have left. If the background is filled to one third with color during a 15

minute presentation, this represents 5 elapsed minutes. If the color fills half

the screen, your presentation time is half over. Finally, if almost the entire

app's background is filled with color, you should start to wrap up your

presentation.



Some templates add a dedicated space for a Q&A section after your presentation.

Once the app's background has filled and the Q&A section starts, the timer will

reset to show the remaining time of the Q&A phase. Simultaneously, the color

will leave the app background, again from left to right. Once all the color is

gone, the Q&A section is over.



At the very end, you will see a finish message, usually a "Thank you!",

indicating that the time is up.



During the presentation, you will see reminders with either a custom instruction

or the remaining time. Each reminder will be shown for 10 seconds.



## Creating a Custom Template



To create a custom template for your conference, click the appropriate button on

the home screen to enter the wizard. In there, you can adjust the settings for

your template:



* **Name**: Provide a descriptive name for your template.

* **Slug**: The slug cannot be modified, and is derived from the template name.

  This is what the session chairs will see in the address bar of the timer app.

* **Finish Message**: Write a custom "Thank you" message. This should be very

  short, as space is limited!

* **Presentation duration**: Adjust the amount of time for the presentation. You

  can click on one of the provided standard durations, or enter a custom amount.

  You need to set at least 1 minute.

* **Q&A Session duration**: Adjust the amount of time for the Q&A. You can click

  on one of the provided standard durations, or enter a custom amount. If you

  don't want to add a Q&A section, select 0 minutes.

* **Count up**: If this checkbox is checked, the timer will count up, instead of

  counting down.

* **Show timer**: If this checkbox is not checked, the app won't show a big

  timer, and instead only display "Presentation" or "Q&A". This can be helpful

  if you want to avoid inducing stress in the presenters. The background will

  still slowly fill with color, even if this setting is not checked.

* **Reminders**: Add reminders by setting the time mark (counting up from 0)

  when the reminder will be shown, and optionally provide a custom label. Then,

  click on "Add new reminder." If you provide some text, this will be shown at

  the provided time mark. If you don't, the app will show "x minutes remaining".

  To remove a reminder, click the link after its row in the table.



Once you are happy with the settings, you can do one of two things. First, click

the button to copy a link to that specific template to your clipboard. As a

conference organizer, this is a great way to provide your session chairs with it

so they can immediately use it. Second, by clicking "Create template," the

settings will be applied and you will be redirected to the timer screen. This is

the same as clicking the link that has been copied to your clipboard and can be

used to double-check the settings. Note that you need to copy the link to your

clipboard first, because you won't see it again after leaving the page.



## Sharing a Template



Sharing a template works by providing the corresponding URL to your session

chairs. If you use a provided standard template, simply give them the link with

the URL to the timer screen. If you use a custom template, give them the

provided link that contains the configuration amount. The custom link contains

the template slug, making it easy for anyone to quickly identify the correct

template in case you prepare more than one for different types of sessions.



## Contributing



This app is provided as Open Source. It builds on Vue.js 3 with TypeScript and

uses Vite as a bundler. To contribute, you need to have a Node.js environment.

The project uses Yarn, not NPM, for managing dependencies.



Use the following commands to get started:



```sh

git clone https://github.com/nathanlesage/conference-timer # Clone the repository

cd conference-timer # Move into the directory

yarn install --immutable # Install the dependencies

yarn serve # Start the development server

yarn build # Generate the static page

yarn lint # Run ESLint over the code

```



Pull Requests are appreciated.



## License



Copyright (c) 2025 Hendrik Erz 



This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under

the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free

Software Foundation, version 3 of the License.



This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY

WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A

PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details.



For more information, refer to the [LICENSE](./LICENSE) file.