The back row can see the finish
A phone on the desk answers the invigilator, not the candidate in the last seat. The projector shows one countdown for the whole hall, large enough to read without standing up.
Exam timer
Free exam timer for classrooms and exam halls.
Put the countdown on the projector. Keep start, pause, and the next segment on the invigilator's phone. Nothing to install.
Hall display
Reading time
Phone controls
In the exam hall
A test timer on one laptop does not time the hall.
Candidates need one clock they can see from their desk. The invigilator needs to start it, pause it, and move from reading time to the paper without announcing every minute.
A phone on the desk only helps the person holding it. A wall clock shows the time of day, not how long the paper has left. A countdown website usually puts the buttons on the same screen as the numbers.
a written paper where the back row cannot read a clock on the invigilator's desk
reading time before candidates are allowed to write
a paper that must finish at a published clock time, not after a loose hour
two halls that should follow the same countdown
an invigilator who needs to add time without walking to the projector PC
a candidate with extra time who cannot share the hall clock with everyone else
The hall display
Project the countdown. Leave the controls in the aisle.
Open Display on the computer connected to the projector, interactive whiteboard, or hall TV. Connect the cable before you go full screen. If the projector is on the wrong input, only the laptop can see the exam timer.
Display is read-only. Candidates see the active countdown. They do not see Host. Set the timer to Countdown + Time of Day when the room also needs the current time under the remaining time.
Font size and a fixed canvas live in custom display. On a free room, Default Display is already the large clock.
What the hall actually needs
Three problems show up in almost every written paper.
Candidates need the remaining time from their seat. Reading time has to stop before writing starts. The invigilator has to change the clock without walking to the front.
PresentationTimer covers those three with one room. The projector gets the countdown. The phone gets Host or Operator. Reading time and the paper are two timers, so one does not overwrite the other.
Reading time does not become writing time by accident
Papers are on desks, and candidates may only read. That window needs its own clock. When it ends, the writing paper is the next clock in the same room, not a new tab you build while the hall waits.
Adding time does not mean leaving the aisle
A late start or a short pause should not send the invigilator back to the projector computer. Start, pause, and add time stay on the phone. The wall keeps showing the clock.
How it works
Set up an exam timer room in four steps.
Create the room, add the segments, open Display on the hall screen, and start each one from the phone.
A student presentation is a different job. That workflow is on the classroom timer page.
1
Create an exam timer room
Open PresentationTimer and create a free room. Keep Host with the invigilator. The hall never gets that link.
2
Add reading time and the paper
A free room holds three timers. Use them for reading time, the paper, and extra time. Name each one after the segment candidates should recognise.
3
Open Display on the projector
Connect the video cable first, then open the Display link full screen. Candidates see the active countdown. They do not see host controls.
4
Run it from Operator
Start reading time from a phone. When it ends, start the paper, or let Linked Start select it and press Start once the room is ready.
Reading time, then the paper
Do not rebuild the clock when reading time ends.
Reading time is its own segment: papers are out, candidates may read, they may not write. When it ends, the writing clock has to be the next timer in the same room.
A free room holds three timers. Use them for reading time, the paper, and extra time. Linked Start can select the next timer when the previous one ends, or start it. For an exam, Select after previous is the safer handoff: the invigilator still presses Start.
Extra time for one candidate is not a change to the hall clock. Every Display in the room follows the same timer. Give that candidate a separate timer or a separate room.
Scheduled start, which begins a paper at a clock time, is part of Pro. On a free room, press Start.
Extra time
One candidate with extra time is a second clock, not a longer hall clock.
Every Display in a room follows the same running timer, by design: two numbers on one screen would argue with each other. So extra time is handled one of three ways, and only the first is a change to the hall clock.
A
Whole hall runs longer
A disturbance, a late start, or an official decision applies to everyone. Keep the hall clock and add the time from Host: +5m steps, or set the exact remaining time. The Display number changes for the whole room at once.
Use when every candidate gets the same extra time, or the whole paper starts late.
B
One group finishes later
A few candidates are entitled to 25% extra. Add a second timer for the extra-time group and open its Display on a second screen at the front side of the hall, while the main screen keeps running the standard paper.
Free rooms hold three timers: reading time, the paper, extra time.
C
Access arrangements in another room
If extra time means a separate room, give that room its own timer and Display. Nothing to coordinate with the main hall: both rooms follow their own countdown, and each invigilator holds one link.
Cleanest separation, and the finish times never argue with each other.
Standard paperWith 25% extraSet on the timer
1 hour
1 hour 15 minutes
75 minutes
1 hour 30 minutes
1 hour 52 minutes 30 seconds
112.5 minutes, usually rounded by the board
2 hours
2 hours 30 minutes
150 minutes
Add the second clock as its own timer, then open it on the screen that group can see. The timers page covers naming them so candidates recognise the segment.
More than one clock per paper
Time each section, or each candidate, with the same room.
A single countdown assumes one paper with one end. Plenty of exams are two sections, or a queue of candidates, and those need the clock to change mid-session.
The room times sections, not individual questions: nothing here reads a question paper or turns a page. What it does is make the handoff between segments exact, so the hall clock never keeps counting a section that already ended.
A paper with two parts
Section A 45 minutes, Section B 30 minutes. Make one timer per section and put them in order. Display shows the section that is running, so candidates know which part of the paper the clock belongs to.
An oral exam, candidate after candidate
Fifteen minutes per candidate, ten candidates. This is the same timer restarted each time, not ten timers: keep Host on the examiner's phone, press Start when the candidate sits down, and let the finish show the remaining minutes.
Put the sections in order and use Linked Start to select the next one when the previous ends, with the invigilator still pressing Start. The agenda timers page has the multi-segment setup.
If a screen drops
Closing the browser does not reset the paper.
The countdown lives in the room, not in one browser tab. If the projector computer closes the page, reopen the Display link. The screen shows the time the room is already on.
There is no offline mode. A hall screen with no network cannot follow the room until it reconnects. Keep Host on the connection you trust, and use reconnect if one screen goes stale.
Two halls can open the same Display link and follow one countdown. Count the devices first. Free allows 5, including Host.
Send chimes to the invigilator's phone, not to the projector. The hall should see the countdown, not hear it.
Comparison
Use an exam timer the hall can see, not only a clock the invigilator can hold.
Phone on the desk
Fine for the invigilator. Invisible to candidates at the back of the hall.
Wall clock
Shows the time of day. It does not count down the paper or start the writing period after reading time.
Generic countdown site
One number on one tab. The controls are usually on the same page you project.
PresentationTimer
One room for the paper. Display on the hall screen. Host or Operator with the invigilator.
Before the paper
Create a free room, open Display on the projector, and keep Host on your phone.
Reading time and the paper fit in one free room. No signup and no install.
Connect the projector before you go full screen.
FAQ
Exam timer questions
Can I display it full screen on a projector or interactive whiteboard?+
Yes. Connect the projector or panel first, open the Display link on that computer, then use full screen. Keep Host off that screen.
Does it work on a TV or an interactive panel as well as a projector?+
Yes. Any screen with a browser can open the same Display link. Each open screen counts as a connected device.
Do I need to install anything?+
No. PresentationTimer runs in the browser. The invigilator opens Host or Operator. The hall opens Display.
Does the hall see the current time as well as the countdown?+
Set the timer to Countdown + Time of Day. Display then shows remaining time with the room clock under it. A scheduled start and a target finish time are set on the timer. Speaker and Moderator show the start once the paper is running.
Can I add reading time before the exam starts?+
Yes. Make reading time its own timer, then the paper as the next timer. Linked Start can select or start the paper when reading time ends. You can still press Start yourself.
Can one candidate have extra time without changing the hall clock?+
Not on the same clock. Every Display in a room follows one timer. Extra time for that candidate needs its own timer, or its own room, so the hall finish time stays put.
Can the timer start at a set time?+
On a paid plan, Scheduled start begins the timer at a clock time in the room time zone. On a free room, the invigilator presses Start.
Can I put the paper name on the screen?+
Yes. The timer name is the label for the segment. A display message can add one short line, such as a module code, up to 80 characters.
Can I keep sound out of the hall?+
Yes. Send chimes to Host or Operator. Leave Display as the visual clock. The countdown itself shows seconds. There is no switch to hide them.
What happens if someone closes the browser?+
The room keeps running on the server. Reopen the Display link and the screen shows the current remaining time. There is no offline mode. A projector with no network cannot follow the room until it reconnects.
Can two exam halls share one countdown?+
Yes. Open the same Display link in each hall. Free rooms allow 5 connected devices, including Host. Pro allows 10 and Premium allows 50.
How do I add 25% extra time for one candidate?+
Add a second timer for the extra-time group and open its Display on the screen those candidates can see. The hall clock keeps the standard paper. If everyone gets the same extra time, add it to the hall timer from Host instead: +5m steps, or set the exact remaining time.
Can two timers run on the same projector at once?+
No. Every Display in a room follows one running timer, so two countdowns on one screen would contradict each other. Use a second screen for the second timer, or a separate room for a separate group.
Can I time each section of a paper separately?+
Yes. Make one timer per section and put them in order. Display shows the section that is running, so candidates can tell which part of the paper the clock belongs to. Linked Start can select the next section when the previous one ends.
Can I time each candidate in an oral exam?+
Yes, by restarting the same timer for each candidate rather than creating one timer per person. Keep Host on the examiner's phone, press Start when the candidate sits down, and the Display shows the remaining minutes for that candidate.
Does the timer read the question paper or turn pages?+
No. The room times segments, not individual questions: it does not parse a paper or advance slides. It keeps each segment's start and end exact, which is what the hall clock needs.
Is it free for a school?+
A free room needs no signup. It includes 3 timers, 5 connected devices, and 1 saved room. That is enough for reading time, the paper, and one extra-time segment, with the projector and the invigilator's phone.
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