The Interval Timer works a lot like a kitchen timer - you wind it up for a set number of minutes and it counts back to 0.
While it ticks away, your work. When it stops, you have a break of a few minutes. The trick is that you HAVE to let it "ring", and that you have a pre-determined number of work - break intervals.
If all that sounds suspiciously like a time planning method named after a fruit that many people think is a veggie, you're totally right. But because of legal issues, of course this is _TOTALLY_ separate.
The Interval Timer can be opened from the Welcome Center or the Tools menu in the List Window. It is separate from the rest of Keeping Time and you can even use it standalone!
Main Area
Time Display
To the left you will find a ring display that shows the elapsed time of the current interval, with the remaining time shown in the middle.
Status Area
The Status Area at the top right of the Time Display shows the current interval or break with the total number of such intervals or breaks.
Start/Stop Timer
These buttons start or stop the timer. Note that once you have started the timer, you can not pause it. It has to ring. Stopping it will reset the sequence!
Work Vault
This button opens the Work Vault, where you can optionally automatically record your intervals in.
Options Toggle
This button toggles the middle right area between showing the Interval Timer Settings and the Options Panel (see below).
Presets Toggle
This button toggles the middle right area between showing the Interval Timer Settings and the Presets Panel (see below).
Interval Sequence Graph
At the bottom of the window, the interval sequence set in the Interval Timer Settings above is displayed as a graph. Each minute is represented by one dash ("-"). Intervals and breaks are separated by "|". WHen a timer is running, elapsed minutes are shown as a "█". Thus, the sequence visually ticks away and shows you at a glance which point in the sequence you have reached.
Interval Timer Settings
Interval Length
Set the length of each work interval in minutes.
Break Length
Set the length of each break interval in minutes.
Number of Intervals
Set the number of work intervals. In a sequence, a break follows every but the last work interval automatically.
Automatically run sequence
When checked, when a work interval or a break is finished, the next one will start automatically until the end of the sequence.
If unchecked, you need to start the next interval manually. This is not recommended, but in included to support alternative workflows.
Options Panel
Play Sounds
If checked, a sound will be played when an interval finishes as well as when the whole sequence finishes.
Add Intervals to Work Vault
If checked, when an interval is finished, its time is automatically added to the Work Vault. This is very useful if you use the Interval Timer to directly track work time.
Add Break to Interval
"Add Intervals to Work Vault" by default only counts the actual work interval time. If your workflow requires counting the short breaks between intervals as work time, too, or if you use these breaks for some other task, checking this option will add one break interval to every work interval when added to the Work Vault.
Work Vault Summary
Here you can enter a text that will be used as the default Summary for entries added to the Work Vault.
Presets Panel
Preset List
The list will show all saved presets. Double click a preset to apply it; from then on these settings will be the default.
Up
Moves the selected preset up in the order.
Down
Moves the selected preset down in the order.
Add
Adds a new preset with the current settings.
Remove
Removes the selected preset.
Import
Imports presets from a previously exported presets file.
Export
Exports all presets to a standalone file to be imported in any other project.
