Countdown Clock is a Windows 95/98/2000/ME/XP/NT/Vista software program that displays an onscreen clock that counts down to a specific date and time, displaying the exact time until that date and time in years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. The program comes with two preset events to count down to:
1) Midnight of December 31, New Years Eve. If you choose this event, the program will automatically adjust itself for the next New Year's Eve on January 1 of each year.
2) The beginning of Christmas Day, one second after midnight on Christmas morning to be precise.
You can also create a custom event, in which you set the date and time.
In addition to showing the time until the event you choose, Countdown Clock displays a description of the event. You can choose this description, although a suggested description is provided for the packaged events that come with Countdown Clock.
When the event time arrives, Countdown Clock will display an announcement window on your screen. You can set the text of this announcement yourself, although suggested text is provided with the prepackaged events that come with Countdown Clock.
Main screen
The main screen is the screen that appears when Countdown Clock runs. It contains various menus on the top menu bar to allow you to configure and operate Countdown Clock. These menus are explained below. Where you see two phrases separated by a slash (such as Files/Exit), this indicates that you click on the word before the slash on the top of the Countdown Clock window and then you click on the word or phrase after the slash from the menu that appears.
Files/Uninstall Countdown Clock
This option allows you to remove Countdown Clock from your computer if you decide you do not want it anymore. Countdown Clock will ask you several times if you are sure you want to do this, and then uninstall itself.
Files/Exit
This option exits the program, removing the Countdown Clock window from your screen, but does not uninstall it from your computer.
Configure/Select Event
When you click on this menu option, Countdown Clock will display the Event Selection Window. This Window has three option buttons. These are
1) Midnight New Year's Eve
2) Christmas Day
3) Custom
The time for the first event is midnight December 31 of the current year. The second is the start of Christmas day, one second after midnight.
If you pick the third choice, custom, a frame will appear that lets you pick a month, day, and year from dropdown boxes. (You could also input these into the boxes manually.) You can also input a time of day or select one from the dropdown list.
There is also a text box where you can input a description of what you are counting down to. If you pick one of the set events, a description will be provided for you. For example, if you picked event 1 (New Year), the provided description would be "until ####", where #### is automatically the next year, such as 2008. However, you can alter this description if you want to. The description would normally begin with the word "until", but that is not absolutely required. If you pick the custom option, you must provide your own description, such as "until my birthday" or "until I retire". The word "until" is provided to get you started, but you do not absolutely have to keep that. Whatever description you provide is displayed on the countdown display after the countdown. For example, if the description is "until Christmas", the display might read something like "45 days 10 hours 31 minutes 23 seconds until Christmas".
There is also a box that allows you to set an announcement. This announcement is displayed in a window when the event time occurs. If you select one of the three packaged events, a default announcement is provided. For example, if the countdown to midnight New Year's Eve, the default announcement is "Happy New Year". You can alter the default announcement if you like. If you choose to create a custom event, you must provide the announcement.
When you have finished selecting and setting up the event you want, click on the Ok button to close down the event selection window and display the display screen.
Configure/Set Appearance
When you select this option, Countdown Clock will display the Select Appearance screen. This screen lets you set features of the display appearance such as color and font size. When the screen appears, the current values will be selected.
There are four selections for you to make, three colors and the font size. You make your color selections by clicking on the option button of your choice. The option buttons are labeled with color names and the text is also the actual color to make it clear what colors you are selecting.
The first color you need to select is the color of the numbers that will be displayed. The second choice is the color of the non-number text. For example, suppose you choose red for number color and blue for the text color. If the display is showing "3 hours 45 minutes 30 seconds", then "3", "45", and "30" would be displayed in red and "hours", "minutes", and "seconds" would be displayed in blue. This allows you to highlight the numbers for dramatic effect if you like.
The final color selection for you to make is the background. This is the color between the letters. It is very important that neither the number color or text color be the same color as the background, or you will not be able to see the letters and numbers.
The final thing for you to select is the font size. You can select a font size from the dropdown list. You can also type a value into the text box, but some values other than the ones on the list do not look as good as the ones on the list.
When you have selected the colors and font size you want, click on the Set button. Since the display screen is visible at the same time as the Appearance window, you will see the change immediately. This allows you to experiment easily with the appearance of your display. When you have found the appearance you like, click on the Close button on the Appearance screen to close down that screen.
Configure/Move to screen top
This option will move the display window to the upper left corner of your screen, concealing the blue title bar and menu line. This uses the minimum amount of space on your desktop. However, without the title bar, you cannot move the display, and without the menu line, you cannot change the settings. However, if you click on the display, it will drop down enough to show the title bar and menu line again.
Help/Instructions
This option displays this information document.
Help/About
This option displays the version information about Countdown Clock.
Register
This item appears at the top of the main screen if you have not yet registered Countdown Clock. It disappears once you register and input the unlock code. Clicking on this item will display the registration screen, where you can input the unlock code, print the registration form, or easily go to the Internet payment site
http://Leithauser Research.com/paylr.html
and register online.
Minimizing Countdown Clock
If you minimize Countdown Clock by clicking on the minimize button in the upper right corner of the main screen, Countdown Clock will drop down to the bottom bar. From here it will show the countdown time in simplified format in order to reduce space needed.
Bug reports, help requests, suggestions
If you need help with this program, have found a bug, or have a request for additional feature, please contact Leithauser Research. The best way is to send an email to [email protected]. You can also call Leithauser Research at 386-410-6769 .
If you are suggesting an additional feature or other improvement, we will make these changes and release a new version soon if we believe these improvements would have broad appeal. You will be notified when the new version is released. If we feel that the changes you suggest are not commercially viable, we can still create a custom version of Countdown Clock for you for a fee. Contact Leithauser Research if you are interested in this.
Return to countdown Clock
download page
Go to Leithauser Research
home page