The Start Clock action is used both to create and start a clock in a publication.
Note:
Every time this action is triggered the time of the specified clock is reset to zero (0) and counts up in second intervals.
Important Note!
Although the counter goes up at one-second intervals it splits the time into hours, minutes and seconds (it also counts tenths and hundredths of seconds as well). In other words, if 96 seconds have elapsed, the clock will only be able to show 1 minute and 36 seconds and not 96 seconds see Clock Format Options for more information.
1. Add the Start Clock action to your trigger, as described in adding actions. The Start Clock tab will automatically appear when you add the action.
2. Use the Clock option to either:
Select the name of a clock previously created from the list of clocks in the Clock box. Click on the down arrow to the right of the Clock box to open a list of clocks you have previously created in this publication.
Note:
When this action is triggered, the specified clock will be reset to zero (0) and begin to count again.
Add a new clock to your publication. Click in the Clock box and type the name of the new clock. If you are using more than one clock within your publication, make sure the name you type is descriptive.
Note:
Clocks always begin their count from zero (0) and count up in second intervals.
Note:
By default the first time you use this action, the Clock box will be named Clock1, the second time Clock2, and so on. If you are selecting a previous name, ignore this name and select the clock from the drop down box. If you are creating a new clock, delete the name and enter your own more descriptive name.
3. Use the Variable box to enter the name of the variable in which the clock time is saved. Click on the down arrow to the right of the Variable box to open a list of all the variables in your current publication.
Note:
Alternatively, click on the New
button to open the New Variable dialog box where you can create a new variable.
Once the Start Clock action has been triggered, Opus will update this variable every second with the new clock time until a Stop Clock or Pause Clock action for this clock is triggered.
4. Use the Format option to set the way the clock should appear on screen using one of the format options supplied.
Note:
This option must NOT be left blank. If no format option is entered, you will not be able to see the clock time see Clock Format options for more information.
5. Click on the Apply button to save your changes.
Note:
Clocks are normally created so the user can see them on the screen for reference. However, clocks do not have to be displayed they may be hidden from the user and created to trigger other actions when the clock time reaches a certain point e.g. after 60 seconds of inactivity by the user, move to the home page.