How to insert a clock in powerpoint

A real-time clock can be a great feature to add to your PowerPoint presentation. A clock can help your audience keep track of time in case they need to be somewhere else afterward, or to keep focused knowing that the break is coming up soon. Here you’ll learn 2 easy ways to add a PowerPoint real-time clock to your presentations.

Adding a PowerPoint feature to show time can be really useful. In the case of big conventions with many different presentations and events, adding a PowerPoint real-time clock can help your audience manage their time better. If you have a time limit for your presentation, adding a PowerPoint clock to show time can also help you make sure you don’t go over the established schedule.

Adding a PowerPoint real-time clock is very easy! Here you’ll find 2 easy ways to show time in your presentation slides. Plus, one extra option for those who are looking for something more eye-catching and are willing to spend more time and effort making sure it looks just the way they want it.

How to add a PowerPoint real-time clock

1. PowerPoint built-in feature

Luckily, if you want your PowerPoint presentation to show time, there’s a built-in function. You just need to go to the Insert tab > Date &Time option (in the ‘Text’ group).

You’ll then get a new window where you can customize what information you want to display. Check the box Date and time and then use the arrow to pick between different ways to convey your date/time. Don’t forget to verify that the Update automatically option is checked too.

Take into consideration that this PowerPoint real-time clock will only update when you change slides. If you’re planning to stay on one same slide for a long time, then it’s probably not what you’re looking for. Also, since it’s a footer option, there are not many customizable options. Still, it’s a great option for those looking for a simple and effective way to show time in your PowerPoint without it being too distracting for your audience.

2. Adding a flash real-time clock to PowerPoint

If you want a PowerPoint real-time clock that is more eye-catching than just a footer, you can always use flash clocks! It is as easy as doing a quick Google search for ‘free flash clocks’. What you’re looking for is a .swf archive that you can copy to your PowerPoint. If the site offers an embedded code, copy it from http:/…. all the way to .swf. Copying and pasting this link in your browser’s search bar will let you download it automatically. Save the .swf archive on your desktop. From then, it’s easy as just drag and drop into your presentation! Once you start your presentation, flash player will play the real-time clock.

However, take into consideration that not every PowerPoint version supports flash player. You can either use a flash player plug-in or choose another option from this article. Flash clocks also need a constant internet connection. Despite all this, flash clocks are still a great way to display the time during your presentation!

BONUS: Create a customized PowerPoint real-time clock

If neither of the options above is quite what you were looking for to show time in your PowerPoint, don’t worry! You can always make your own customized PowerPoint real-time clock for your presentations. You don’t need to have the built-in feature, nor a flash player plug-in. However, since you’d be creating it from scratch, it can get quite tricky.

This method consists of using coding to transform a text box into a PowerPoint real-time digital clock. This is great because you can then edit and alter your text box as much as you want to create the perfect complement to your presentation. The Tech Train has a video that explains step by step how to do this to create the perfect PowerPoint real-time clock.

Are you willing to display a live and advancing clock in your PowerPoint presentation or slide show? Well, let’s be honest. There is no native way in PowerPoint to accomplish this.

The user can only insert the current date and time on the slide that will be updated each time the user opens the presentation . But nothing more afterwards. It will not update during the show and that is what the user wants with a clock, isn’t it?

Display a live clock

PresentationPoint is the worldwide reference when it comes to dynamic and data driven presentations. A new product named Dynamic TIME was recently launched and it contains a PowerPoint add-on to display the current time or current clock in a PowerPoint presentation or running slide show. PresentationPoint teamed up with PresentationLoad to build this solution.

PresentationLoad is internationally the market leading online shop for PowerPoint presentations, Charts and Designs. Their team of 20 PowerPoint experts, communication pros and designers is specialized to develop and promote PowerPoint slides for various business presentations.

This joined effort resulted in this new Dynamic TIME component that delivers a PowerPoint add-on to update the clock in real time but also a professional template with some 40 slides that the user can use right away. After installation of the Dynamic TIME setup, the user open Microsoft PowerPoint and the will notice a new menu entry in the PowerPoint menu. See this new Dynamic ELEMENTS option.

Open Time Task Pane

Click the Dynamic ELEMENTS option to open its sub menu. The user will find the TIME component listed here.

Now start with a new presentation or open an existing one and click the TIME button to open the Dynamic TIME task pane.

Select now an existing text box or draw a new text box on the slide and have that one selected. At the TIME task pane set the mode to Clock to instruct the component that this text box will not hold the normal static text as usual in PowerPoint, but that this text box will display a live clock from now on. When the user set the clock mode, TIME is copying the current time into the text box.

Note that the user is now working in design mode. The user is setting up the slides and the user is not running in slide show mode yet. In design mode, the clock will not update automatically. Only when the user hits the F5 to start the slide show, then the live clock controls will start updating.

Clock Options

When the user looks more in detail at the task pane, the user will see a few options the user can choose from for this clock shape and choose format. There is the long time format and the short time format. And the user can customize the format for the users for whatever syntax that the user would like to see. The user can choose to display seconds only for example. Select the desired format or select a custom format. With this last option, the user can set the formatting options at the custom text box control. For more information on the custom formatting options and its possible values, visit the Microsoft documentation.

Time zones

When the user is doing business internationally or the user needs to display clocks of different time zones, then the user can change the default local time zone to another time zone. Open the time zone combo box and select ‘(UTC-10:00) Hawaii’ to display the local time of Honolulu.

On all slides automatically

The user can also choose to insert a live clock for all slides of the presentation. To do so click View and then Slide Master .

Then choose a slide in the master layout and insert a text box with clock options there. Click Close Master View to go back to the normal slide.

Start the show

Now start the slide show and the Dynamic TIME component will update the clocks in real time, second by second. That is what a clock is for!

In this article, I’ll cover a simple tutorial on how to add timer to PowerPoint Slides.

PowerPoint is a popular Microsoft Office program that is used for making presentation slides. In case of some specific type of slides, you might wish for an option to add a timer to your slides. For example, when you are making slides with quizzes, questions or other timely tasks, having a timer on screen is so much better. But, there is no native option to add a timer to slides in the PowerPoint.

Thankfully, you can still add a timer to your slides. In this tutorial, we’ll use an MS Office add-in called “Slice Timer”. With the help of this add-in, you can easily add a timer to PowerPoint slides.

How To Add Timer To PowePoint Slides?

To add a timer to your PowerPoint slides, go to the Insert tab on the top ribbon. In the Insert tab, click the Add-in option and select Store. This will open up the MS Office Add-ins Store in a small popup window on your screen.

In the Office Add-ins Store, search for the “Slice Timer” add-in. When you find this add-in, simply click the “Add” button beside its name to add it to your Office suite.

Once the add-in is installed, you can access it from the Add-ins option under My Add-ins. Now, click this add-in to add a timer to your current slide. This adds a new timer box to your slide. In the timer box, you can set a countdown timer and add it to your slide. You can resize and reposition this timer box anywhere on your slide.

This timer runs when you open that slide and click on the timer. It also gives you an option to autostart the timer while setting countdown time. When the autostart option is enabled, it automatically starts the timer when you move to that particular slide.

There are also a few other methods which you can use to add timer to PowerPoint slides. There is an animation method by Microsoft which you can find here. And, you can also use the timer templates from PowerPoint template gallery and modify them to show countdown time.

Closing Words:

By following this simple tutorial, you can easily add a timer to PowerPoint slides. You can use a timer for various purposes; you can use it for quiz, questions, or other time-related tasks.

You can add and animated on-screen timer or progress bar to make your presentation more interesting. For example, you might want to include a timed quiz at the end of a training with a countdown display. You can use the animation features in PowerPoint to create many different kinds of timers.

If you’re looking for a timer to track how long you’ve been speaking to stay within your allotted time limits, see Start the presentation and see your notes in Presenter view.

Tip: You can also find other types of timers, such as stopwatch timers, at the Office Store.

Create a countdown timer

This timer uses a simple but dramatic animation sequence. It shows a countdown in one-second intervals from 5 to 1.

Begin by creating five text boxes with numbers 5 through 1. We will animate these to disappear one at a time, in one-second intervals.

Tip: Create the boxes in order from highest to lowest so it’s easier to animate them in order.

To create text boxes, on the Insert tab, in Text group, click Text box, and draw the text box on your slide. Then add the number. You can copy and paste to duplicate and then edit the new boxes.

Click inside the text rectangle with the number.

On the Animations tab, in the Advanced Animation group, click Add Animation, and go down to Exit. Here, you can select the animation you want, for example Disappear.

Select the rest of the rectangles 4, 3, 2, 1 in order, and apply the same exit animation, Disappear, to each, one at a time.

Click Animations > Animation Pane to show the Animation Pane. The numbering of the rectangles can be a little confusing because PowerPoint is accounting for other objects on the slide. Look at the number to the right, which shows the text in the rectangle.

You want only the first rectangle with the number 5 to start on a click, and you want it to stay on screen for one second before it disappears. You want the other boxes to then each wait one second before disappearing automatically, one by one.

Select Rectangle 5, and in the Animations > Timing group, leave the settings Start: On Click and Duration: .01, but set Delay to 01.00, one second.

Now, in the Animation Pane, select the rest of the rectangles one at a time, from 4 to 1. Again in the Timing group, set the timing details to: Start: After Previous, Duration: Auto, and Delay: 01:00.

When you’re done, try it out by going to Slideshow Mode and playing From Current Slide. Click to begin the countdown!

You can preview your animation effects any time. On the Animations tab, in the Preview group, click Preview.

After the countdown, you might want to add an animation, such as a text box that reads Finished! To do this, insert the text box, select it, go to Animations > Advanced Animation > Entrance > Appear. Then, in the Timing group, set Start to After Previous, set Duration to Auto, and set Delay to 00.00. Notice that this text box also appears in the Animation Pane.

Note: You can just as easily animate shapes to appear or disappear using the different entrance and exit animations in PowerPoint. You can use any interval, but it’s a good idea to set the same delay for each object in the sequence.

How to create a progress bar timer

Another effective way to add a countdown timer is to emulate the appearance of a progress bar.

On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click Shapes, and select a rectangle.

On the slide, click where you want the progress bar, and draw a rectangle with its edge against the left border of the slide.

You can color the bar as you like. Right-click the bar, and select Format Shape > Shape Options > Fill > Solid fill.

On the Animations tab, in the Animation group, select Fly In.

Click Effect Options, and select From Left.

In the Timing group, set the Duration to the number of seconds you want the progress bar to run, for example, 30 seconds. For Start, select On Click.

Here’s what your settings should look like:

When you’re done, try it out by going to Slideshow Mode and playing From Current Slide. Click to begin the timer. The progress bar should appear to grow from the left side of the screen for 30 seconds and then stop.

Constantly glancing at a clock on a wall or at your watch to keep up with the time can be distracting and possibly come off as rude during a presentation. Keep your eyes on the presentation and remain focused by inserting a clock in your presentation.

Inserting a Clock in PowerPoint

There are a couple of ways to go about doing this. The first is using a built-in PowerPoint function that allows you to unobtrusively show the time and date in the presentation. This method isn’t a live method and only updates the time/date once you switch slides during the presentation. It’s mostly handy if you want to keep an eye on the time.

The second method is adding a live clock, downloadable from several different third-party websites. Using this method allows you to show real-time updates during the presentation—not only when you switch slides. It’s probably best used when you want to keep your audience’s eyes on the presentation.

PowerPoint’s Built-in Function

To use PowerPoint’s built-in function, go ahead and open the PowerPoint presentation we will be working with and head over to the “Insert” tab.

Here, find the “Text” section and select “Date & Time.”

Once selected, the “Header and Footer” window will appear. Here, check the box next to “Date and time” and select “Update automatically.” This will allow the date and time to update each time you change slides. Now, select the arrow next to the displayed date.

This will bring up several different date/time variations for you to choose from. Select the one you like best to use in your presentation. In this example, we’ll use the third option from the bottom, which shows the hour, minute, and second on a 24-hour clock.

If you’d like to leave this off of the title slide, simply check the box next to “Don’t show on title slide.” Once you’re ready, click “Apply to all” to insert the clock on all your slides.

You’ll now see date/time variation you selected appear at the bottom left of the presentation. The time and date that appears is the same as your system’s clock, so make sure it’s set correctly.

Using Online Flash Clocks for PowerPoint

As we said earlier, several different websites provide flash-based clocks that you can use for your presentation. We’ll be using a clock downloaded from Flash-Clocks in this example, but feel free to browse around and find a website you like, as the basic premise for making this work is the same.

Head over to the Flash-Clocks website and make sure to have Adobe Flash Player enabled. Once you’re there, you’ll find a large gallery of different clocks to choose from, ranging from analog to digital, and even antique. Choose the type you’d like to use. We’ll be taking a look at the digital options.

Browse through the large gallery of available clocks and find one you like. Once you find one, click the “HTML Tag Code” link found above the clock.

Here, you’ll find the embed code. Highlight and copy everything from http:// through .swf, as shown in the image below.

Head over to the address bar, paste the code, and then press “Enter.” If you’re using Chrome, you’ll receive a message telling you that this type of file can harm your computer. Since this is from a trusted website, you’re safe to go ahead and click “Keep.” This will download the .swf (Shockwave Flash Object) file to your computer.

To insert the file in PowerPoint, simply drag and drop. Similar to when you embed a YouTube video, you will only see a black box at first. That’s fine, as you will see the live clock during the presentation. Go ahead and resize and re-position the clock.

Once you’re happy with its size and position, copy and paste the box in each slide of the presentation.

Now once you play your presentation, the clock will appear in real-time!

Though this option may stand out a little more, this will allow you to have a real-time display of the current time throughout the entire presentation.

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PowerPoint provides several different options for inserting a digital clock into a presentation. You can manually create the clock out of multiple text boxes. You can insert a video clip showing a clock. Or you can download and install an add-on for PowerPoint which lets you create clocks in any presentation you give. If you just want a static digital clock effect, the text box option gives you the most flexibility in creating exactly the look you want.

Step 1

Launch PowerPoint and open the presentation in which to add a digital clock.

Step 2

Click the “Insert” tab and choose “Text Box” from the Text section. Click and drag on the slide to create the text box.

Step 3

Type the time the digital clock displays.

Step 4

Click and drag over the time you typed to highlight it. Click the “Home” tab. In the Font section, choose a digital clock font. If you don’t have one, download a digital font and install it (link in Resources).

Step 5

Adjust the size of the text in the Font section. Click the “Font Color” button and choose red or green.

Step 6

Click the “Format” tab under Drawing Tools on the far right side of the Microsoft Office ribbon. If you don’t have the text box selected, the tab won’t be visible.

Step 7

Click “Shape Fill” in the Shape Styles section and choose black as the color.

Step 8

Click and drag to highlight the text again. Click “Text Effects” in the WordArt Style section of the Format tab. Point to “Glow” and choose a glow color that complements the color of your text. Choose a red glow for red numbers or a green glow for green numbers, for example.

Step 9

Press “Ctrl-E” with the text selected to center the text inside the text box.

• Tushar Mehta: TM Timer for Microsoft PowerPoint
• Font Space: Digital Fonts
• Free Countdowns: Home

• Make the digital clock move by copying the original text box and pasting it on the next slide. Set the transition time between slides to go automatically at the interval you’ve set for the clock. For example, set one minute between slides for a one minute change on the clock. You need a new slide for every time you want the clock to change in the presentation.
• Add a video of a digital clock for a ready-made countdown. Either link to a web-based video or download one to run from your computer (link in Resources).
• If you’re constantly using clocks and timers in your presentation, install an add-in to create them quickly (link in Resources).

James T Wood is a teacher, blogger and author. Since 2009 he has published two books and numerous articles, both online and in print. His work experience has spanned the computer world, from sales and support to training and repair. He is also an accomplished public speaker and PowerPoint presenter.

How to Set Up a Countdown Timer

Step 1: Create New Custom Operation: Countdown Timer

In AccessAlly > Custom Operations, click on the “Add New Operation” button.

You can name the operation, then select the Show Countdown Timer option under “Choose what this operation will do”.

Step 2: Configure Countdown Reference

Next, you need to decide the “reference” for the countdown timer (in other words: what will cause it to start? Will it be specific to one user, or will it be the same timer for everyone?).

You have three options to choose from:

Option 1: Contact-Specific Countdown Timer

This countdown timer is only shown to logged-in individuals when they first access the page that the countdown timer is located on. This makes it a great option for timed promotions inside your members-only area, whether that means a welcome promotion (“As a thanks for signing up…”) or something else.

1. Select the Custom Field

Since the countdown timer is specific to each user, you’ll need to select a custom field in your CRM to store the reference time. (In other words: AccessAlly needs a place to reference where the countdown should be at for each individual user).

• Infusionsoft: please select the Date / Time custom field type
• Ontraport: please select the Date custom field type
• ActiveCampaign: you can use the Date OR Text custom field type
• ConvertKit: “regular” custom field
• Drip: “regular” custom field

2. Calculate the “Countdown-towards” time

Now, decide how long your countdown timer lasts for. (A 24 hour promo? A week?) Please note that you must always calculate this in hours (so if you have a week-long timer, you’ll have to do the math: 7 x 24 = 168 hours).

3. What to do if the reference time has not been assigned yet

You can choose to either “show nothing” or “assign now as the field value”

4. SAVE

As always, please make sure to click on the “save changes” button before exiting the page or moving onto the next step.

5. Add the countdown timer to a page

Now, you can add it to a page using the shortcode adder. When your logged in users first visit that page, the timer will begin the countdown.

Option 2: Global Countdown to a Fixed Time

This countdown timer can be placed on a private (logged-in users only) or public page, and simply uses a date and time as the reference point. This makes it great for static countdown needs like launches, events, or other timed promotions.

1. Select the expiry time for the countdown

Here, you can simply enter the date and time that you would like the timer to end on.

2. SAVE

As always, please make sure to click on the “save changes” button before exiting the page or moving onto the next step.

3. Add the countdown timer to a page

Now, you can add it to a page using the shortcode adder. When your logged in users first visit that page, the timer will begin the countdown.

Option 3: Countdown timer to when a coupon expires

This countdown timer can be used on a page to tell a user when a specific coupon is about to expire, OR you can add it to an order form itself (leave the dropdown blank if you will be using the countdown timer in an Order Form or with a URL-supplied coupon).

1. Select the Promo that the countdown timer references

If you have a timed promo created, you can select it in the dropdown. With this setup, when the promo begins (via the AccessAlly Product > Promo settings), the countdown timer will show accordingly.

If you’re using the countdown timer in an Order for (or with a URL-supplied coupon), you can leave the dropdown blank).

2. SAVE

As always, please make sure to click on the “save changes” button before exiting the page or moving onto the next step.

3. Add the countdown timer to a page

Now, you can add it to a page using the shortcode adder. When your logged in users first visit that page, the timer will begin the countdown.

Step 3: Configure the Countdown Timer Display

Finally, you can configure how you’d like the countdown timer to display.

The placeholder tags available are:

• > : this will be replaced by the timer that blinks down.
• > : only populated if using with the coupon option. this will be substituted with the coupon code, so you can say something like “the coupon code ‘abc’ will expire in 30 minutes”

Step 4: Add the Countdown Timer to a Page

Now that you have the countdown timer created, you can add it to a page using a shortcode or block, depending on what set up or theme you’re using.

Simply choose “Custom Operations” and select the Countdown Timer one you just created.

When we making a PPT, we often think about how we can make a cool and eye-catching animation effect to impress the viewer.

For example, when a company’s new product launch, product promotion, or company annual meeting is about to begin, we can all make a countdown timer in the PPT, which is very cool, and it will be very atmospheric for the whole audience to count down together.

Therefore, today the author will teach you how to make a PPT countdown effect that just like the movie effect. After learning, hurry up and add a countdown title to your PPT!

Sandra’s birthday is coming. So I want to create a happy birthday theme. You can also make Christmas theme, or other themes you need.

Step1: Open a PowerPoint and insert the picture you like as the background. You can use the shortcut key “Ctrl +C” and “Ctrl +V” to quickly get the same slide.

Step2: Go to the Home tab to click the [Shapes], and pull the mouse pointer to create a heart shape. Then you can adjust the size and color of it.

Step3: Select the shape and press F2 to quickly enter text in the shape.

Step4: Go to Animations tab to choose Wheel in the exit box as heart shape’s effect. Now our heart shape has countdown animation . Then set Start With Previous, and set the Duration to 01.00 second.

Step5: You can use shortcut key “Ctrl +C” and “Ctrl +V” to copy and past, now you get the same 5 slides. Click on every slide to change the number on the heart shape.

Step6: Press Ctrl+A to select all the slides, then go to Transitions to Uncheck the [On Mouse Click] and set 00:00.00 on After.

That all the steps. Let’s see the finally effect. Cool right?

Constantly glancing at a clock on a wall or at your watch to keep up with the time can be distracting and possibly come off as rude during a presentation. Keep your eyes on the presentation and remain focused by inserting a clock in your presentation.

Inserting a Clock in PowerPoint

There are a couple of ways to go about doing this. The first is using a built-in PowerPoint function that allows you to unobtrusively show the time and date in the presentation. This method isn’t a live method and only updates the time/date once you switch slides during the presentation. It’s mostly handy if you want to keep an eye on the time.

The second method is adding a live clock, downloadable from several different third-party websites. Using this method allows you to show real-time updates during the presentation—not only when you switch slides. It’s probably best used when you want to keep your audience’s eyes on the presentation.

PowerPoint’s Built-in Function

To use PowerPoint’s built-in function, go ahead and open the PowerPoint presentation we will be working with and head over to the “Insert” tab.

Here, find the “Text” section and select “Date & Time.”

Once selected, the “Header and Footer” window will appear. Here, check the box next to “Date and time” and select “Update automatically.” This will allow the date and time to update each time you change slides. Now, select the arrow next to the displayed date.

This will bring up several different date/time variations for you to choose from. Select the one you like best to use in your presentation. In this example, we’ll use the third option from the bottom, which shows the hour, minute, and second on a 24-hour clock.

If you’d like to leave this off of the title slide, simply check the box next to “Don’t show on title slide.” Once you’re ready, click “Apply to all” to insert the clock on all your slides.

You’ll now see date/time variation you selected appear at the bottom left of the presentation. The time and date that appears is the same as your system’s clock, so make sure it’s set correctly.

Using Online Flash Clocks for PowerPoint

As we said earlier, several different websites provide flash-based clocks that you can use for your presentation. We’ll be using a clock downloaded from Flash-Clocks in this example, but feel free to browse around and find a website you like, as the basic premise for making this work is the same.

Head over to the Flash-Clocks website and make sure to have Adobe Flash Player enabled. Once you’re there, you’ll find a large gallery of different clocks to choose from, ranging from analog to digital, and even antique. Choose the type you’d like to use. We’ll be taking a look at the digital options.

Browse through the large gallery of available clocks and find one you like. Once you find one, click the “HTML Tag Code” link found above the clock.

Here, you’ll find the embed code. Highlight and copy everything from http:// through .swf, as shown in the image below.

Head over to the address bar, paste the code, and then press “Enter.” If you’re using Chrome, you’ll receive a message telling you that this type of file can harm your computer. Since this is from a trusted website, you’re safe to go ahead and click “Keep.” This will download the .swf (Shockwave Flash Object) file to your computer.

To insert the file in PowerPoint, simply drag and drop. Similar to when you embed a YouTube video, you will only see a black box at first. That’s fine, as you will see the live clock during the presentation. Go ahead and resize and re-position the clock.

Once you’re happy with its size and position, copy and paste the box in each slide of the presentation.

Now once you play your presentation, the clock will appear in real-time!

Though this option may stand out a little more, this will allow you to have a real-time display of the current time throughout the entire presentation.