VisTimer Help

VisTimer

Thank you for selecting the VisTimer. The VisTimer was developed to provide a gentle implementation of time imposed limits. It utilizes an animated shrinking pie chart to depict elapsed time. Visual thinkers, especially when they are children, have difficulty conceptualizing time. Being able to see the changing pie chart as time passes makes it easier to understand time and duration. It is easy to explain to a child that when the circle is completely gone, an activity is finished or a task must be completed. There is an Early Warning preference setting to indicate the timer is approaching completion. This provides a gentle reminder to prepare and set expectations. Even the color of the pie chart can be customized to a calming favorite color. Sometimes allowing a child to participate in selecting these preferences creates a sense of ownership and commitment. The VisTimer can also operate in Lock Mode, where all settings are locked after the timer is started. This imparts it with a higher sense of authority and detaches its consequences from you.

The low stress animated circle combined with restful colors and gentle sounds also make it ideal for timing relaxation activities such as meditation and yoga.

Operation

Press on the button to get to the Preferences screen. The large scrolling dial is for setting the amount of time. The minimum time is 1 minute and the maximum time is 23 hours and 59 minutes. VisTimer will remember this time setting until you change it. You can navigate to other preferences which are described below. Press the Done button at the top of the screen to return to the main screen. The large button under the pie chart has 3 possible states.

indicates the timer will start the count down when pressed.

indicates the timer is running and will pause when pressed.

indicates the timer has been paused and will resume when pressed.

indicates the timer has started in Lock Mode and all the controls are now locked until the timer runs to completion. The Lock Mode can be enabled or disabled from the Settings app.

The numbers on the large button indicate the amount of time the VisTimer is set to count down.

indicates how much time is left.

will restore the pie chart to a full circle and start the count down from the beginning.

Lock Mode

Open the Settings app .

Press on the entry titled VisTimer.

Press the Lock After Start switch to toggle on or off. When the switch is On, VisTimer will operate in Lock Mode. Once the Start Button is pressed, all the controls on the VisTimer screen (Main Button, Reset Button, or i Button) will not operate. This lock can be turned on or off while the timer is running. The change will be effective immediately. If the VisTimer is running and all the controls are locked, you can unlock by pressing the Home button (moving VisTimer to the background) and starting the Settings app and changing this setting.

Running in the Background

The VisTimer will properly count down time even if it is sent to the background when the Home button is pressed. You can switch to other applications. When you return to VisTimer the proper elapsed time will be displayed. If the timer has an Early Warning or Finished event while in the background, a notification dialog will pop up. The configured sounds will normally play along with the popup, but other apps that utilize sounds may prevent the VisTimer sounds from playing. These notifications will also occur if your device is asleep, but not if it is completely powered down.

Preferences

Press the button on the main screen to bring up the Preferences screen. On the bottom of the screen there is a scrollable table with a row for each preference described below.

Start Sound

Press on the button next to the Start Sound preference. This brings up a table with a list of sound titles that will play when the timer begins. Select a sound by touching its title. Once selected you will hear the sound play. If you do not want any sound to play when the timer begins, select the title “None”. A check mark on the right indicates which title has been selected. Press the Done button at the top of the screen to return to the Preferences screen. Your selection appears as a subtitle to the Start Sound preference.

Finished Sound

Press on the button next to the Finished Sound preference. This brings up a table with a list of sound titles that will play when the timer runs to completion. Select a sound by touching its title. Once selected you will hear the sound play. If you do not want any sound to play when the timer finishes, select the title “None”. A check mark on the right indicates which title has been selected. Press the Done button at the top of the screen to return to the Preferences screen. Your selection appears as a subtitle to the Finished Sound preference.

Early Warning

Press on the button next to the Early Warning preference. This brings up a table with a list of early warning times. Select a time by touching its title. The selection indicates the number of minutes remaining on the timer when the Early Warning message will appear on top of the pie chart. If you do not want an Early Warning select the title “None”. A check mark on the right indicates the selection. Press the Done button at the top of the screen to return to the Preferences screen. Your selection appears as a subtitle to the Early Warning preference.

Early Warning Sound

Press on the button next to the Early Warning Sound preference. This brings up a table with a list of sound titles that will play when the remaining time reaches the Early Warning selection. Select a sound by touching its title. Once selected you will hear the sound play. If you do not want any sound to play when the timer reaches the early warning point, select the title “None”. A check mark on the right indicates which title has been selected. Press the Done button at the top of the screen to return to the Preferences screen. Your selection appears as a subtitle to the Early Warning Sound preference.

Circle Color

Press on the button next to the Circle Color preference. This brings up a color mixing screen. The three sliders below the mixing screen represent the additive primary colors: red, green and blue. The mixing screen will change dynamically to show the resulting color created by combining different amounts of each primary color. Moving a slider to the right will increase the amount of that color on the mixing screen. Moving a slider to the left will decrease that color. As the amount of one color is adjusted (by moving its slider to the left or the right), the color bars for the remaining two colors will change to reflect the possible color combinations that can be created given the new amount of the adjusted color.

For example, if all the sliders are set to the furthest left position, the result is black since all the primary colors will be set to minimum amounts.

Now move the red slider completely to the right, this applies the maximum amount of red. As a result the color bar behind the green slider will go from red to orange to yellow. The color bar behind the blue slider will go from red to magenta. As you move the red slider, the mixing screen changes to the color under the red slider position.

Now move the green slider completely to the right, this applies the maximum amount of green. As a result the color bar behind the red slider now goes from green to yellow. The color bar behind the blue slider now goes from yellow to white. As you move the green slider, the mixing screen changes to the color under the green slider thumb.

In general, when a slider is positioned at a certain point along the color bar, the mixing screen will reflect the color at that particular point. Press the Done button at the top of the screen to return to the Preferences screen. Your customized color appears in a circle to the left of the Color preference.

Sm Digital Display

Press the toggle switch to turn the small digital time remaining display on or off.

Lg Digital Display

Press the toggle switch to turn the large digital time remaining display on or off.

Disable Sleep

Press the toggle switch ON to disable sleep mode on your device. Note that sleep mode will only be disabled when the timer is running. When the timer is paused, stopped or in the background, your device will enter sleep mode based on your system settings, regardless of this option setting.

Disabling sleep mode is not recommended with the VisTimer for long durations. This can drain you battery.

Text Color

Press on the button next to the Text Color preference. This brings up a color mixing screen which allows you to customize the color of the Lg Digital Display. Customizing a color is described above in the Circle Color option instructions.

Auto Rotate

Press the toggle switch to turn on auto rotation. This enables VisTimer to operate in portrait or landscape modes according to the orientation of your device.

11 Commentsto VisTimer Help

  1. Julie s says:

    The sound for the “warnings” and “finished” won’t work on this app anymore. I’ve tried deleting and redownloading but it didn’t help. Please help. Thanx

    • ftignib says:

      Sorry, I did not see this post. Please provide more details. Which version of iOS and what device you are using. Are you using VistTimer 1.2?

  2. Karin Hopper says:

    Free vis timer is not working anymore. It is “stuck” off-center which makes it non-functional and unable to access the settings. I hope this can be fixed because I use it all the time!

    • ftignib says:

      Please provide more details. Which version of iOS and what device you are using. Are you using VistTimer 1.2? Do you have Auto-Rotate turned on in the VisTimer Settings? Is it possible to send a screenshot?

  3. Kendra says:

    All sound has stopped on early warning and finished functions. The app is running on both iOS 7 (on an iPad mini) & iOS 10 (on iPhone 5). I have downloaded& reinstalled twice and restarted my iPad. Very disappointing as I was using this app everyday in my classroom that had children that rely on routine and structure. Also when the app is opened it opens on the side restricting setting access (no auto rotate is not on the functions & auto rotate is locked on the actual iPad). I have to open both the paid app and the free app to correct this. Please fix urgently – the kids love your app!!!

    • ftignib says:

      Sorry you have having problems with the VisTimer. I will try to simulate your problem. As far as the sound not working, is there any sound when you select a new sound for one of the events? Was the app working on iOS7 and iOS10 at some point and suddenly stopped working? Which iPad mini? Do you know the screen resolution? Is the side opening problem on both devices?

  4. Angela says:

    Will you be updating this to work with IOS 11?

    • ftignib says:

      Sorry, the current VisTimer is 32-bit which Apple will no longer support in IOS 11. Unfortunately because many functions used by VisTimer has also been deprecated in IOS 11, this will require a complete rewrite. Which I will attempt, however I do not have a time estimate as of now.

    • ftignib says:

      VisTimer 1.3 and VistimerLite 1.3 has been approved by Apple. It should be available in the App Store soon. Both will run in iOS 11.

  5. Christina says:

    I have been using this app in my classroom for several years now and love it!!!! When I recently updated my iPhone the app is no longer functioning and I am devastated and my students keep asking where the ‘color’ timer is. PLEASE update your app so I can use it again. Thank you!!

    • ftignib says:

      Sorry for the delay. Changes to ios required significant rewrite. I will release a version for the lastest ios in about a week. Then it is up to Apple to approve. Thanks for your patience.

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