Timer Triggers

Triggers control how and when a timer starts. You can start timers manually, have them start automatically when the previous timer ends, or schedule them to start at a specific wall clock time.

Manual trigger (default)

By default, every timer uses a manual trigger. The operator starts the timer by clicking the Start button or pressing the corresponding keyboard shortcut. This gives you full control over when each segment begins.

Operator view with transport controls for the current timer

After previous ends

With the trigger After previous ends, a timer starts automatically when the previous timer in the list runs out: about one second after 0:00, the room switches to it and the clock keeps running. This only happens while the clock is running — while the clock is paused or stopped, nothing advances.

The timer list marks linked timers with a chain icon, and Link timers in the bulk toolbar sets this trigger for several timers at once. This is ideal for tightly scheduled events where segments follow each other without gaps — for example, a conference with back-to-back talks.

Tip: Combine a Manual first timer with "After previous ends" for all following timers. This way, you press play once and the whole show runs through.

At clock time (scheduled start)

The trigger At clock time starts a timer at a time of day. Choose it under Trigger in the Edit Timer dialog and set Start at — the time when the timer should begin. The timer cannot be saved without it. You can enter the time with or without seconds, e.g. 14:30 or 14:30:05. The timer card shows the start time as a badge.

This is useful for events that must follow a strict real-world schedule — for example, a live broadcast that starts at exactly 14:00.

Requirements: At clock time triggers fire only while a Controller, Operator or Moderator view of the room is open on a signed-in team member's device; a Viewer or Fullscreen screen alone is not enough. They use StageTick's synchronized server time, read in the timezone set in Settings → Timezone of the user signed in on that device, so a wrong clock on the device does not matter. If the clock is paused at the start time, StageTick switches to the timer but does not start it.

Fires once: The trigger starts its timer once per day at the start time. It interrupts whatever is running at that moment — even if another timer is still running, an overrunning segment is cut off. What happens afterwards is respected: stopping, pausing or switching timers stays as it is, and reloading the page, opening the room on another device or a short connection loss never starts the scheduled timer again. If no Controller, Operator or Moderator view was open at the start time, the first one opened within the following hour starts the timer, caught up to the current time, but only if nobody has used the transport controls since the target time; if such a view is opened more than one hour late, it does not fire. If several At clock time timers are due when a view opens late, only the most recent one starts. Changing the target time re-arms the trigger.

How auto-advance works

When a running timer has passed 0:00 by about a second, StageTick looks at the next timer in the list. If its trigger is After previous ends, the room switches to it and the clock keeps running; the screens show 00:00 for that moment instead of overtime. This continues as long as consecutive timers use "After previous ends".

The chain stops at a timer with a Manual or At clock time trigger. The current timer then keeps counting into overtime until someone starts the next one or its start time arrives.

Timer list with manual and linked timers

Mixing trigger types

You can mix trigger types within the same room to build flexible workflows. Here are some common patterns:

Fully automatic show

Set the first timer to Manual and all others to "After previous ends". Press play once and the entire show runs through.

Manual with automatic breaks

Set talk timers to Manual and break timers to "After previous ends". The operator starts each talk, and the break follows automatically when the talk ends.

Scheduled blocks

Use "At clock time" for the first timer in each block (for example the morning session at 09:00 and the afternoon at 14:00) and "After previous ends" within each block. Keep in mind that the 14:00 timer cuts off a morning block that runs late (see above).

Tip: You can always override auto-advance by starting, stopping or skipping timers manually — triggers do not lock the rundown.