The Timer component counts down a set number of minutes on a form, for example to remind staff that a soak is done or that the next row of a check sheet is due. Running timers show in the timer pill in the page header, together with the checks and deadlines of a Cooling Log. The pill shows the most urgent one with a live countdown, and stays in view on every page, so a timer is not lost when you leave the form, open another batch or move to another screen. Click it to see every timer that is running and to open the batch or form.
The pill replaces the countdown tile that used to sit at the top of a form, and the notification bell, which only ever listed timers.
Where to find it
| Screen | Where the pill is |
|---|---|
| Every page | On the right of the bar that holds the page title and breadcrumbs. |
| Operator screens | In the header, where the bell used to be. To save room it shows only the time and the number of other timers. |
| A form opened as a pop-up | In the pop-up's title bar, beside the close button, because the pop-up covers the page header. |
When nothing is counting down, there is no pill and the header looks as it always has.
Concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Form timer | A Timer that starts once another field on the form has a value, for example “Soak done” 45 minutes after Soak start is filled in. |
| Table timer | A Timer that expects a new row in a table every so many minutes, for example a line check every 30 minutes. It counts from the latest date entered in the table. |
| Cooling check | The next reading a running Cooling Log expects, named for the log or the item on a board: “Cooling check · Cook 1”. |
| Cooling deadline | The time limit of a cooling stage that has not been reached yet: “CCP2 A deadline · Cook 1”. |
| Active form | A form still being filled in. Only active forms have timers; a confirmed form's timers stop. |
Quick start: add a form timer
- Open a form template, go to Versions, and choose Edit Version on a draft version.
- Drag Timer onto the form and click it to open its settings.
- Under Timer Settings, leave Table Timer? unticked and set Value Field Name to the name of the field that starts the timer, for example the field where staff record the soak start time.
- Set Time Between Checks (Mins) to how long the timer runs, and Timer Message to what the pill should say, for example “Soak done”.
- Save the version. On a form, fill in the start field and save: the timer appears in the pill a few seconds later.
Table timers
A table timer reminds staff to add the next row to a table on the form, such as a check sheet filled in every 30 minutes while the form is open.
- Drag Timer onto the form and tick Table Timer?.
- Set Date Field Name to the name of the date field in the table that records when each row was taken.
- Set Time Between Checks (Mins) to how often a new row is expected, and Timer Message to what the pill should say, for example “Line check due”.
The timer counts from the latest date in that column. Each time a row is added and the form is saved, it starts again from the new row’s date. A table with no dated rows yet has no timer.
Cooling Logs need no extra setup. Their checks and deadlines appear in the pill on their own; see Cooling Log: Reminders.
Reading the pill
The pill shows the most urgent timer: its time, its label, and the batch number (or the form number when the form is not on a batch). +2 means two more timers are running.
| Looks like | Shows | Means |
|---|---|---|
| Grey | 1:12:05 | Due in more than an hour. |
| Orange | 29:21 | Due within the hour, counting down. |
| Yellow | Due now | The time has come. For a cooling check, a reading is due and the grace period is still running. |
| Red, pulsing | Overdue 4:12 | A cooling check past its grace period, or a passed cooling deadline, counting up from when it went overdue. |
The most urgent timer is the one longest overdue, then the one longest due, then the one due soonest. On the operator screens the pill shows “Due” instead of “Due now”, and an overdue time without the word “Overdue”.
The timer list
Click the pill to open Active timers, headed with your current site’s code and the number running. Each row shows the time, the timer’s label, the form name with its batch or form number, and Open ›. Overdue rows are tinted red.
Click a row to open it. A form on a batch opens on its batch; any other form opens on its own. Clicked from a form pop-up, the pop-up closes as the batch or form opens. Click anywhere else, or press Esc, to close the list.
Who sees which timers
| Timer | Shown to | Shown until |
|---|---|---|
| Timer (form or table) | Everyone at the site. | 5 minutes after it is due. |
| Cooling check | The people the log’s reminders go to: everyone who entered a reading, and, once it is overdue, the users and roles chosen under Also tell these users when overdue. Turning a reminder off in the log’s settings takes it out of the pill as well. | The next reading, or 6 hours after it went overdue. |
| Cooling deadline | The same people as an overdue check. | The stage being reached, or 6 hours after the deadline. |
The pill only lists the forms at your current site. Switch site to see another site’s timers; the pill updates straight away.
How up to date it is
- The countdown moves every second.
- The list is fetched when the app opens, every minute, when you switch site, and twice in the few seconds after you save a form. A timer someone else starts can take up to a minute to appear.
- On the form you have open, cooling checks follow the readings as you type them, before you save, as the tile on the form used to.
- With no connection the pill keeps counting from the last list it had, and catches up when the app is back online.
Availability and permissions
- The pill is part of the Quality module. Accounts without Quality do not see it.
- Everyone who can see forms sees the pill. Opening a row needs the same access as opening that batch or form.
- Anyone who can edit a form template can add a Timer.
Things to know
- The bell is gone. It only ever listed timers, which are now in the pill. Push notifications to the QTRACA app are unchanged.
- A form timer counts from the last save. Its time is worked out when the form is saved, so saving the form again while the start field is filled in starts the countdown again. A table timer counts from the latest row’s date instead.
- Timers do not send push notifications. Only Cooling Log reminders do.
- The pill does not skip the form you are on. A timer on the open form shows in the header like any other, since the tile on the form is gone.
- A confirmed form's timers disappear. Timers only run on forms still being filled in.