NiceClock
An on-screen timer for PowerPoint slide-shows.
The problem: while running a fullscreen slideshow presentation (i.e. PowerPoint or LibreOffice Presenter) it is sometime useful to have a visible clock BOTH for you AND for the audience. Since I was unable to find something suitable, I wrote a program myself, and I place it here for everybody willing to use it. It is freeware, both as in "free beer" and "free speech" sense; see Download section below.
Usage:
A typical full screen presentation looks like the image below. During a lecture or a business meeting it is possible that both the presenter and the audience might lose the sense of time:
If the presenter does not have a fancy hardware timer, or there is no wall-mounted clock, keeping track of time can be a problem. This can be solved with NiceClock program. It draws a simple, unobtrusive analogical clock on top of the slide-show, even if the slideshow is fullscreen:
(Notice the small clock on the lower right corner).
It is not a problem if the clock obscures something displayed in a corner. With a single click on the clock, it moves automatically to the next available free corner of the screen:
On start-up the clock starts on the top right corner; by left-clicking on it, it moves to the next corner, and so on:
Settings
Right-click on the clock brings up a dialog for basic customization: size, colors, and the display of seconds' hand:
Tips for Windows / PowerPoint full screen:
If you decide to let the clock sit in the bottom corners, please note that:
1) The PowerPoint slide controls are laid in the left-corner; you might not able to click on the clock (depends on the PowerPoint version).
2) The clock positions itself in the space above the Desktop Toolbar (for Windows with a Tollbar):
If you do want it to be positioned exactly at the bottom of the physical screen (and not to the bottom of the desktop, as in the image above), you can simply set the toolbar to "Autohide".
Download
The program file (no installation required: niceclock4.exe (28 kb); zipped version (7 kb).
Integrity md5sum: 0a66c4e2f3bc6f043fa1539a156c6b9a
The author takes no responsibility about the intended use; the program is provided "as is", without any kind of warranty. It was mainly conceived for educational use, and provided for free especially for teachers, but anyone can use it. The program is free for use, copy and/or share; resale or modification is prohibited.
Requirements
- it works out of the box on Windows 2000, XP and newer (Windows 10 - not tested yet).
- It could work on older Windows 95 (!), 98, ME, NT, but it will need also MFC42.DLL (it is already installed by default in all newer Windows OSes). This file stands for "Microsoft Foundation classes Library" and can be downloaded from Microsoft websites).
Installation
It is not required; just double click on the downloaded file, and the clock will start. A short message window will be displayed for few seconds, reminding the commands:
Tips:
- It is fast and useful to let the file (niceclock4.exe) directly on the desktop; you can start it just by double-click.
- Rember: if you left-click the clock, you can move it; If you right-click it you can change its appearance and size.
Updated and newer versions:
There will be none; the program does not suffer from "featuritis" (it was designed to be as simple as possible); it is doing it's job well since 2001 (!), when the fourth version was ready, after small fixes in the previous versions.
Backlinks:
misc:time-tracking
Romanian:c.misc:timp
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