AutoTools Countdown Timer Webscreen 02/08/2017

The Speed Reader Webscreen is an excellent tool for honing your speed reading tools; it works by presenting the text to the user one word at a time. The user can then improve their speed reading skills by increasing the speed that words are presented to them. It’s a great little tool; go check it out!

Sometimes, though, you discover a way to use a webscreen that João Dias perhaps never intended it for. Here’s a little toy made using his Speed Reader Webscreen.

It’s a small Countdown Timer!

Requires AutoTools (and, optionally, AutoVoice and AutoNotification).

Essentially, it 'reads' a list of numbers input by the user and displays/sounds an alarm when it reaches zero. You could also set it to run a task, or whatever you feel.

The user need only enter the starting number; AutoTools does the rest.

The task can be started in two ways:

1. The user can bring up an AutoVoice command dialog and simply say, “Countdown <number> seconds”, and it’ll begin, or

2. The user could create a shortcut (maybe on the desktop), or use an AutoTools Swipe WebScreen - see video - to start the Countdown Timer Webscreen task. This opens an AutoTools Input Dialog allowing the user to type in the required countdown length. Clicking OK will start the countdown.

The countdown is set to a maximum of 1800 seconds; I thought this a reasonable amount, and it avoids a huge text variable.



Notes:
The display is a Non-input Overlay, which allows the user to continue using the phone while the task is running.

I’ve added an AutoNotification notification to run in the Notification Shade for the length of the countdown. The Countdown can be stopped, and the countdown overlay removed, by dismissing this notification. If this notification is not required, simply disable the AutoNotification action at A11 in the Countdown Timer Webscreen task.

Colours and other settings (position, etc.) can be changed in the Countdown Timer Webscreen task.

Alarms/settings for countdown complete can be changed in the Countdown Complete Actions task; currently it shows a flash, TTS reads out a message, and a series of beeps are played. Set it to run a task, or whatever you feel.

Enjoy!

Update: It appears the "AutoTools Showing overlays - Click to remove" notification I discussed in the original version is expandable (pull down with 2 fingers) and allows individual overlays to be removed while leaving all the others. I've removed the wrong information from the description above.