User Manual

Introduction

Stage Timer Online is a professional cloud-based countdown timer designed for conferences, live streams, and broadcast environments. It decouples the Control Dashboard from the Speaker View, allowing you to manage timing remotely from anywhere in the world.

Quick Start

Get your stage ready in seconds:

1. Create Room: Click "Create a Timer" to generate a secure controller room.
2. Start: Select a duration in the center agenda and hit the Play button.
3. Share: Open the "Output Links" menu, copy the Speaker Link, and display it on your confidence monitor.

output Links & Roles

Each room provides specific views tailored to different roles in your production. Access them via the Link Icon in the header.

Transport Controls

Located on the left Monitor Panel, these are your primary tools during a show.

• Play/Pause: Toggles the timer state. Pausing holds the current time.
• Reset: Stops the timer and resets it to the full duration of the current item.
• +/- 1m: Nudge buttons allow you to quickly add or subtract minutes on the fly if a speaker is running long or short.

Vision & Blackout

Control what the speaker sees instantly with three display modes:

• Focus Mode: Maximizes the timer to fill the entire screen, hiding next items and sidebars.
• Standby: Shows a "Standby" placeholder or logo. Useful before the show starts.
• Blackout: Cuts the screen to black immediately. Use this for transitions or to hide the display during breaks.

Monitor Stats

The Monitor Panel provides real-time calculations to help you stay on schedule:

• Time of Day: Shows current wall-clock time. You can change the Timezone by clicking the globe icon.
• Cue Finish: The exact time the current timer will hit 0:00.
• Event Finish: The estimated time the entire agenda will complete.
• Schedule Drift: Shows how far behind (Red) or ahead (Green) you are compared to the planned total.

Agenda & Rundown

The center column is your playlist. You can drag-and-drop items to reorder them live.

• Active Timer: Highlighted in the list. This is the one currently controlled by the transport.
• Completion Mode: Click the "Settings" gear above the list to configure auto-advance behavior (e.g., stop at end, or automatically start next).
• Progress Bar: The visual timeline on the left shows segments in Green (Normal), Yellow (Warning), and Red (Danger/Overtime).

Timer Types

When editing a timer, you can choose behavior modes:

• Countdown: Standard timer (10:00 → 0:00). Turns red when overtime.
• Count Up: Starts at 0:00 and goes up indefinitely. Useful for "Time Elapsed" tracking.
• Time of Day: Turns the active display into a wall clock (e.g., "14:30").
• Hybrid (C/D + ToD): Shows Countdown as primary, but small Time of Day underneath.
• Hidden: Runs internally but shows "--:--" to the speaker. Good for backstage timing.

Wrap-Up Actions (Pro)

Automate speaker cues with "Wrap-Up" triggers. You can configure actions for 4 states: Start, Warning, Danger, and End.

Messaging System

Communicate discreetly with talent using the Operator Console (Right Panel).

• Colors: White (Standard), Yellow (Warning), Red (Urgent), Green (Success).
• Flash Mode: Makes the message blink on the speaker screen for high urgency.
• Macros: Quick-fire common phrases like "Wrap Up" or "Speak Louder" with one click.

Q&A Management

The Q&A tab allows you to crowdsource and moderate questions.

1. Submit: Share the Moderator Link with your team to gather questions.
2. Inbox: Questions appear in the "Pending" tab of your controller.
3. Go Live: Click the "Eye" icon to push a question to the Speaker Screen. It will appear alongside or replace the timer depending on layout.
4. Archive: Clean up old questions to keep your dashboard tidy.