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How to insert countdown timer in Excel?

If you want to handle with some data in a limited time, you can insert a countdown timer in your data worksheet, and when finish the time countdown, there will be a popped out dialog to remind you. Here I will tell you a VBA code to insert a countdown timer in Excel.

Insert countdown timer in Excel


arrow blue right bubble Insert countdown timer in Excel

In Excel, it cannot countdown time, but you can copy the follow VBA code to help counting down the time.

1. Select a cell and format it as time formatting by right clicking at the cell and selecting Format Cells, then in the dialog, clicking Time and selecting 13:30:55 in the Type list, at last clicking OK to exit this dialog. See screenshot:

doc-countdown-timer-1
doc-arrow
doc-countdown-timer-2

2. Type the time you want to countdown into the formatting cell. See screenshot:

doc-countdown-timer-5

3. Press Alt + F11 keys to open Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.

4. Click Insert > Module and then copy following VBA into the new window.

VBA: Countdown timer.

Dim gCount As Date
'Updateby20140925
Sub Timer()
    gCount = Now + TimeValue("00:00:01")
    Application.OnTime gCount, "ResetTime"
End Sub
Sub ResetTime()
Dim xRng As Range
Set xRng = Application.ActiveSheet.Range("E1")
xRng.Value = xRng.Value - TimeSerial(0, 0, 1)
If xRng.Value <= 0 Then
    MsgBox "Countdown complete."
    Exit Sub
End If
Call Timer
End Sub

Tip: E1 in the above code indicates the time cell you type in the step 2.

5. Click Run button or press F5 to run the countdown timer. Now the time is counted down.

doc-countdown-timer-3

6. And when the countdown is finished, a popped out dialog will remind you.

doc-countdown-timer-4

Tip: You cannot stop the countdown when it is running except closing the workbook.

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Comments (15)
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This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Ячейка прописана правильно. В чем причина неработоспособности?
У меня он должен встать в ячейку R3. Строка выглядит так: Set xRng = Application.ActiveSheet.Range("R3") но ошибка все равно есть: Run time error 1004.
Что может быть не так?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi, you can try to check Enable VBA macros option in the Trust Center before running the code.
Click File > Options, in the Excel Options window, select Trust Center from left pane, then go to the Trust Center windown, select Macro Settings, and find this option Enable VBA macros , check it, and click OK > OK.
https://www.extendoffice.com/images/stories/comments/sun-comment/doc-vba-setting.png
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
After running the code it gives error on line

xRng.Value = xRng.Value - TimeSerial(0, 0, 5)

Run-time error '1004':
Application-defined or object-defined error
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi, MAB, you should make sure that the cell reference in code Range("E1") must be the same with the cell reference that entered the time. Please see the screenshot, the cell A1 contains time, but in the code is B1, then the error pops.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hola, tengo un problema con esta programación en donde el temporizador avanza en 2 segundos y no 1, que puedo hacer??
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
No entiendo cómo tengo que solucionar para que el cronómetro mno se pare cuando introduzco un valor. Si se para al trabajar en el excel, para que quiero un cronómetro y paraquesirve el boton parar? Gracias
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
hi the timer is running now. the problem is it stops automatically when using other workbooks. how can i keep it running?
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
i want to get about 100 down time readings to my excel sheet.please help me. impossible to write the codes for i2c circuit. i don't want led display. plz help me
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
GOOD DAY GUYS
Please a i need to create a timer on my Excel sheet in form that it will be a count down to a particular for example 45 days every 5 days it give a reminder on the sheet with a specific color for each countdown. i need it asap.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
To stop the timer when you enter values into certain cells, you would use "Worksheet_Change", just include the range you want to listen to, you'll also need to create a global boolean so when you change anything within a cell range, it would set this boolean to false, so the next time it jumps into the "Time" sub procedure, it would instead check to see if the boolean is false, if you add "If TimerActive = False Then Exit Sub", at the beginning of the "Timer" sub, it will exit if that boolean returns false.




Then inside "Worksheet_Change" you will want to add "TimerActive = True" at the beginning of the code, and something like the following code anywhere.

If Not Intersect(Target, Range("B2:C57")) Is Nothing Then
TimerActive = False
End If
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
This did not explain how the timer starts, does it start as soon as you open the sheet? I am looking to see if when I add a value of 100 to say cell "A1" a countdown timer will start on cell "G2"(maybe blink or turn red the last 30seconds to show urgency) and I want it to stop when I enter a value in a range of cells (B2:C57) or if not of no value was entered in those cells stop it by clicking on cell "A1" again or clicking right on the count down on cell "G2", I would also like to get the results on how long it took to enter a value on the range cells B2:C57 using the difference between the start time and the stop time on a cell collating to the range cells, like D2. Not sure if this all make sense but I would really like some help with it. The idea is when someone takes a call the mark down on the sheet the amount on the account and a countdown starts so they know how long they are on the call. If they take a payment on the amount on the account they would add it to another cell and the sheet will then add how long it took them to get that payment in yet another cell and the process will go down the line every time they take a new call. But only one cell would start the process every time. I already have an VBA that enters the users name and when the sheet is full they can click on a send button and it will email it to me with a subject and date and delete all the entires so they can start again the next day. I would love to just add the above right into this existing VBA if possible, that way I don't have to add another module. Can someone Help me with this, walk me step by step? My VBA or any program skills are very limited.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
You need to call the Sub procedure "Timer", this is usually done by calling it within another Sub/Function if you want the countdown to begin after you enter a value into cell "A1" and stop when you enter data into another range, then you need to listen for a change to those cells and create a boolean for the Timer sub procedure, so it knows when to stop, to do this create a "Worksheet_Change" sub procedure, this will listen to the worksheet for any changes, we then create a whitelist of ranges that will run our code.


Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)

'Boolean default value
Dim TimerActive As Boolean: TimerActive = True

'This is where we call the Timer and get our value set in G2
If Not Intersect(Target, Range("A1")) Is Nothing Then

If IsEmpty(Target) Then TimerActive = False: Exit Sub

On Error GoTo Errr:

Dim i As Integer: i = Target

Me.Range("G2").Value = i

Call Timer

ElseIf Not Intersect(Target, Range("B2:C57")) Is Nothing Then

TimerActive = False

If IsEmpty(Target) Then Exit Sub

'Add more code here if needed

End If

'Error processing
Exit Sub
Errr:
MsgBox "A1 Must be integer"

End Sub

I also included the ability to delete the value in A1, which will also stop the countdown, now, in the "Timer" sub procedure, at the beginning create an if statement to check whether or not our boolean "TimerActive" equals False, if it does then we need to Exit Sub. To change the Timers colour when counting down, you need to edit the "ResetTimer" sub procedure, and add an if statement, similar to the one that already exists, "If xRng <= 30", within that statement we add the colour we want to use "xRng.Font.Color = vbRed" you can also change the colour using "xRng.Font.Color = RGB(0,0,0)", do the same in the "Timer" procedure to reset the colour, do this before the boolean if statement, so that the colour always reverts back to its default, even when manually stopped.
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hello Jose, I noticed the author did not respond to your comment, I've just recently discovered his post and thought I'd help you if you still need it. To trigger the timer, you need to call the sub procedure, so let us assume you have a sub in your worksheet that checks for any changes to cell A1, example:


########
Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)


Dim rInt As Range: Set rInt = Intersect(Target, Range("A1"))


If Not rInt Is Nothing Then


On Error GoTo Err:
Dim i As Integer: i = Me.Range("A1").Value


If not IsEmpty(vCell) Then
Call Timer <<< This is where you call the timer
End If


End If
Exit Sub
Err:
MsgBox "Integer Only"
End Sub
########


The "Timer" Sub procedure is used to set the event, we basically want this to run every 1 second in the future which is why we use now + TimeValue("00:00:01"), if you wanted to update the timer in your cell every two seconds or every minute, you adjust the TimeValue accordingly.


The "ResetTime" sub procedure is where we do all the heavy lifting, in this sub procedure, if you want to change the colour of the timer to red, once it reaches 30 seconds, you can do this by adding a simple if statement, just like the one that already exists within the procedure.


If xRng.Value <= 30 Then
xRng.Font.Color = vbRed
End If
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
hello, how can i do countdown for more than 1 value?
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