Timer Notification Center Widget 1.0
Hi everyone! This is a tiny app (Widget) that I've made for myself, and since I've been using it every day for the last month, I thought I might as well share it with you
. Unfortunately, I don't have the time it takes to fully support it and maintain its development (hence, I'm not releasing it to the App Store), nor did I have the time to test it on any computer other than my own, so please don't expect it to work flawlessly (it won't 😉). I've never done this before so I have no idea if it'll work - try it at your own risk!First, a little backstory: I'm a big Dashboard fan, but when I recently upgraded to macOS Catalina, I sadly had to give up my favorite Dashboard widgets 😢. I had already been using Notification Center Widgets before, but I could never find decent (free) replacements to my Dashboard widgets, so I decided I should try to develop replacements of my own and this is one of the widgets I've made. Granted, there are much better timer apps in the App Store but I think there should be a free alternative for everyone since it's a very basic and essential feature (and it's so much easier to use as a Notification Center widget).
What does it do?
This is a timer widget which allows you to set a time frame (up to an hour) and make your Mac do one of 3 options once the time is up: enter sleep mode, restart itself or shut itself down.
- You can select the action by clicking one of the 3 radio buttons.
- You can select the time frame (in minutes) by scrolling the slider. You will see the destination time in gray next to the timer as you scroll. Once you release the mouse button, the timer app will launch.
- You can also click on any of the buttons on the bottom of the widget in order to select a pre-defined time frame (in minutes). If you want to surprise yourself, click the "?" button to let the widget pick a random time frame between 1-5 minutes and launch the timer app.
Once the timer app launches, it'll automatically start counting down the time. It will only display a menubar item to let you know it's running. You can click it to see the time remaining, the action it will take once the time is up or to quit the app (and cancel the action).
The widget will always reset its display once you dismiss the notification center, or after you pick a time frame. There's no way to accurately display the time remaining on the widget itself so you'll have to use the menubar item once the countdown begins. You can still set a different time with the widget if you want to override your previous decision.
Warnings, Security Issues and Terms of Use
Before you continue to download and install the widget, please keep in mind it's a personal project that I've decided to share after the fact, and by no means should it be considered a finished product. The developer of this app (me) cannot ensure its stable operation on your machine, cannot promise to support the app in any way and probably doesn't have the time to continue its development.
YOU AGREE THAT YYY SHALL, IN NO EVENT, BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR OTHER LOSS OR DAMAGE WHATSOEVER OR FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, COMPUTER FAILURE, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, OR OTHER LOSS ARISING OUT OF OR CAUSED BY YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, EVEN IF YYY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. IN NO EVENT SHALL YYY'S ENTIRE LIABILITY TO YOU IN RESPECT OF ANY SERVICE, WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT, EXCEED THE FEES PAID BY YOU TOWARDS SUCH SERVICE.
Also, I know it's generally a bad idea to download and install files from unidentified developers but, unfortunately, I'm not enrolled to Apple's developer program and I'm not going to pay for a subscription just in order to share a free app that I have no time to maintain.
In short:
TRY IT AT YOUR OWN RISK!
System Requirements
I've only tested it on a Mac Mini running macOS Catalina 10.15.4 but it might run on older versions too (I think it should).
Installation Instructions
Start by downloading the ".zip" file from the link below, unzip it if necessary and move the ".app" file to your Applications folder (Important - otherwise you won't be able to see the Widget in the Notification center!). If you try to open the ".app" file you'll probably see a security warning that says this app is from an unidentified developer so right click the ".app" file (or ctrl-click it) and select Open, then click the Open button. Now you should see the "Timer Off" menubar next to the system clock which means it has just installed the Widget in your Notification Center. Click the "Timer Off" text and select Quit. Click the 3 lines icon on the top-right corner of your screen to launch Notification Center, click the Today tab, click the "Edit" button down below, click the green + button next to the "Timer" widget and finally, click the "Done" button below.
Click Here to Download
Or download from this link: Alternative download link (You'll probably get a security warning about that file since it's hosted on a file-sharing service (Dropbox))
(By downloading you agree to the Terms of Use specified above)
Enjoy and have a great day!
