Stopwatch

What this is for

A stopwatch for timing up to four people at once, with laps, music while it runs, and a result you can save or send. The volume buttons of the phone can start and stop it, so you can time a run without looking at the screen.

In this order

Open the stopwatch: it starts counting at once in every participant area 1. The big reading 2 shows minutes, seconds and hundredths.
To time one person, two or four, press the gear 10 and pick Participants. Each person gets an area of their own, and one person gets the whole screen.
While a participant runs, press Lap 4 to record a split. The newest lap goes to the top of the list 3. When that participant finishes, press Stop 5.
With two or four participants, Stop all 7 halts everyone at once, and the same key becomes Start all. Reset all 8 clears every time and every lap.
For music, choose a track in the settings 10. It plays while anything is running, and the slider 6 sets how loud.
When you are done, press Result 9, add a description and a note, and save the times to a file or send them on.
If the screen says that the stopwatch is off, press 12 to open Settings and switch it on.

The elements

Participant areas

1Participant areaOne person's stopwatch: the screen is split into one area for each participant.

With one participant the area fills the screen. With two the screen is split in half, and with four it becomes a grid of four, each area named Participant 1 to Participant 4. Every area counts on its own, so stopping or resetting one never touches the others.

Tapping anywhere on an area does the same as its Start or Lap button, which is handy when you cannot aim at a small key. On a keyboard or a remote, press 1 to 4 to jump to an area.

The stopwatch starts counting as soon as the screen opens. The times are kept while the screen is open, so turning the phone or switching to another app does not stop them. Closing the screen throws them away, so press Result first if you need them.

Shortcut: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

2Time readingThe elapsed time of this participant, in large digits.

It reads minutes, seconds and hundredths of a second, for example 2:07.45, and adds hours when a run passes an hour. The digits shrink on a crowded screen so that four participants still fit.

3Laps listThe splits recorded for this participant, newest at the top.

Every press of Lap adds a line with the lap number and the time since the start, so the one you have just recorded is readable without scrolling. Before the first lap the list asks you to press Lap while it runs. Long lists scroll.

4Start / LapStarts this participant, and once it runs records a lap.

The key says Start while the participant is stopped and Lap while it runs. A lap does not interrupt the count; it only writes down the time so far. Pressing Start after a Stop continues from where the participant stopped.

Shortcut: Space / Enter

5Stop / ResetStops a running participant, and clears a stopped one.

While the participant runs the key says Stop and freezes the time. When it is stopped the key says Reset and returns the participant to 0:00.00 with no laps. Reset stays grayed out until there is something to clear.

On a keyboard, S stops and R resets the area that has focus.

Undo: Reset removes that participant's time and laps for good and cannot be undone. If you may need them, open Result and save or send them first.
Shortcut: S / R

Volume and the bottom bar

6Music volumeSets how loud the music is, since the volume buttons of the phone drive the stopwatch.

While the stopwatch is open and Volume keys start and stop is on, the phone's volume buttons start, lap and stop instead of changing the volume, so the slider gives the volume back on screen. It moves the media volume of the phone, the same one music apps use.

The row is hidden where there is no sound to adjust, for example in the Photos edition.

7Start all / Stop allStarts or stops every participant with one press.

While nobody runs, the key says Start all and starts all visible participants together. As soon as anyone runs it says Stop all and halts everyone; laps and times stay. A participant that is already running keeps its time when you press Start all.

The key is shown only with two or four participants. With one participant the Start and Stop keys of its area do the job.

8Reset allClears the times and laps of every participant.

Use it between two runs to start from zero for everyone. Running participants stop too, because their times go back to 0:00.00.

Undo: All times and laps are lost and there is no undo. Save or send the result first if you need it.

9ResultOpens a window to save or send the measured times.

It collects the time and laps of every visible participant into a text you can describe, save and send. If nothing has been measured yet, a short message says so and the window does not open.

10Stopwatch settingsOpens the stopwatch settings: participants, music and the volume buttons.

The settings window is also reachable from Settings, on the Management tab. A change you apply reaches an open stopwatch at once.

When the stopwatch is off

11Stopwatch is offTells you that the stopwatch is switched off in Settings.

When the program is off, this short message replaces the participant areas. You can meet it, for example, by opening the stopwatch from a home-screen widget that was placed before the program was switched off. Nothing is measured until you switch it on.

12Open SettingsOpens Settings on the tab where the stopwatch is switched on.

It takes you to the Management tab of Settings; the Stopwatch switch is under Additional programs and scenarios. Turn it on, come back here, and the areas are there.

Stopwatch result window

13DescriptionA short title for the measurement, such as the name of the race.

It goes on the first line of the result. Leave it empty and that line is simply left out of the preview, the file and the sent text.

14NoteAnything else worth keeping with the times, for example the weather or the track.

It can run to a few lines and goes right after the description. An empty note is left out.

15PreviewShows the exact text that will be saved or sent.

It lists the description, the note, the moment of the measurement (Measured at) and one line for each participant with the total time and the laps. What you read here is what leaves the screen. The times are frozen at the moment you pressed Result, even if the stopwatch keeps running behind the window, so the preview, the file and the sent text agree.

16CancelCloses the window without saving or sending anything.

The stopwatch behind it is untouched.

17Save to fileWrites the result to a text file in your Downloads folder.

The file is named FastMediaSorter_stopwatch plus the date and time, and a message tells you its name. If the file cannot be written, a message says so and nothing is saved. Press it once; a second press while it writes is ignored.

18SharePasses the result to another app, such as a chat or email.

It opens the system share sheet with the text of the preview. Which apps you see depends on what is installed on the phone.

Stopwatch settings window

19ParticipantsChooses how many people you time: 1, 2 or 4.

The screen is split into that many areas. Changing the number does not stop a run in progress; areas that are no longer shown are simply hidden.

20Play music while it runsPlays the chosen track while any participant is running.

The track loops for as long as a measurement is running, so a long run never falls silent halfway. It stops when everyone is stopped, and also when you leave the screen, although the times keep counting. The switch and the track row are hidden where the edition has no audio. Choosing a track turns the switch on.

21TrackOpens the list of music on your phone to pick the track.

The row shows the chosen track, or Not chosen. Tapping it opens the music chooser, where you tap one track; the choice comes back to this window and takes effect when you press Apply.

22Volume keys start and stopLets the volume buttons of the phone start, lap and stop the stopwatch.

On: while the stopwatch is open, volume up starts or records a lap and volume down stops, so you can use it with gloves or without looking. The buttons act on the area that has focus, or on Participant 1 when nothing has. The phone volume does not change while you use them; use the slider on the screen instead. Off: the buttons go back to the system.

23CancelCloses the window and drops your changes.

The settings stay as they were when you opened the window.

24ApplySaves the four choices and closes the window.

Only the stopwatch's own options are written, and an open stopwatch follows them at once.

Music chooser

25Choose musicLists the music on your phone so you can pick one track.

Each row shows the title and, when known, the artist and the length. Tap a row to choose it; the window closes and the track appears in the settings. Only audio files that the phone has indexed are listed. When there are none, the window says no music was found on this device and suggests copying audio files to it.