Timer Component

UDesigner

Classic Designer

Overview

The Timer component lets you add time-based rules and logic to your application. For example, a module could include a 10-minute timer for an end-user to confirm an order. If the end-user fails to confirm the order in 10 minutes, the order process resets. In this situation, the time limit might give the end-user a sense of urgency. Also, restarting an idle process could free up resources for other end-users.

Some other uses of the Timer component include:

Ensuring an end-user spends enough time on a page.
Limiting the amount of time an end-user can stay on a page.
Automatically reloading a page when the timer expires.
Detecting if an end-user becomes inactive.

Use the Timer component to trigger one or many components when it expires. For example, the Trigger setting fires a single component after the timer expires. You could also trigger other components using use a Decisions component with a Micro Decision of -0, which triggers when the timer reaches 0.

Timer components placed inside a Panel component that acts as a pop-up in Express View triggers the Timer component twice, once when the modal opens and once when it closes.

Server-side executed modules do not support the Timer component. For example, if you create a workflow with Task modules, any reference from one module to another in that workflow where a Timer component exists will result in an error.

You'll find the Timer component in the Data & Event Processing group to the left of the Module Builder.

Display Settings

Field Text

Setting	Description
Label Text	Label Text conveys what the input component is and what information it displays. Enter the purpose of the corresponding component or field. User-friendly labels make your module more accessible. Keep labels short and descriptive (a word or two) using title case. For longer entries, use sentence case.

Setting

Description

Label Text

Label Text conveys what the input component is and what information it displays. Enter the purpose of the corresponding component or field.

User-friendly labels make your module more accessible. Keep labels short and descriptive (a word or two) using title case. For longer entries, use sentence case.

Contextual Help

Setting	Description
Tooltip	A short hint that displays when an end-user positions their cursor over the (Tooltip) icon. Tooltips can display across more than one line.
Helper Text	A quick tip describing the expected value of an input field. Unlike a Tooltip, Helper Text stays visible under the input field and displays on a single line.

Default State Options

Setting	Description
Set Timer Duration	Sets how long the timer runs in seconds.
Timer Direction	Determines if the timer Counts Up to the Timer Duration or Counts Down from the Timer Duration.
Set Timer Format	The Moment.js format for displaying the time remaining. To include words, surround them with square brackets. For example, [Time Remaining] mm:ss.
Reset When User Activity is Detected	When set to (ON), the component keeps track of end-user's interaction with the screen. If activity is detected, the timer resets. As defined by this setting, activity includes mouse clicks and key presses on the currently focused browser page. Simply moving the mouse is not considered activity. When set to (OFF), the timer continues for its entire duration regardless of activity on the page. By default, setting is set to (OFF).

Formatting

Setting	Description
Hide Label	Setting Hide Label to (ON) hides Label Text from displaying in Express View. Your Label Text still displays in the Module Builder. By default, this setting is set to (OFF).
Hide Timer	Shows or hides the component from view. Setting the Hide Timer toggle to (ON) hides the component in Express View. Setting the toggle to (OFF) unhides the component. The component will always remain visible in the Module Builder. By default, this setting is set to (OFF).

Setting

Description

Hide Label

Setting Hide Label to (ON) hides Label Text from displaying in Express View. Your Label Text still displays in the Module Builder.

By default, this setting is set to (OFF).

Hide Timer

Shows or hides the component from view. Setting the Hide Timer toggle to (ON) hides the component in Express View. Setting the toggle to (OFF) unhides the component. The component will always remain visible in the Module Builder.

By default, this setting is set to (OFF).

Data Settings

Data Storage

Setting	Description
Store Data in Database	The Store Data in Database setting affects how data persists through your application. When set to (ON), Unqork stores values entered into the field to the database (server-side submission). This occurs in three scenarios: Navigating between Panels in a Navigation component. On navigation between pages (Panels), the component’s value saves to the database. Triggering a module save event using a Button component with an Action Type of Save. Navigating between screens of a workflow. On navigation between screens, the component’s value saves to the database. By default, workflows persist data from all fields in the client-side submission when navigating between screens. However, only values from fields with Store Data in Database enabled store in the server-side submission. Set the toggle to (OFF) when you don’t want to store the values from this field in the database. When using a Plug-In to remote execute a module, ensure data moving between modules is persistent. You can optionally enable Store Data in Database for components in the source module. But any components in the API module whose values are included in an API response must have Store Data in Database enabled. When a component’s data is not persistent, the data isn't included in an API call's response. So, Plug-Ins or external services requesting data from the API module can't receive non-persistent data in the response. Store Data in Database also affects what data is tracked using Unqork’s built-in tracker. When the Enable Tracker and Track Value toggles are set to (ON) in Module Settings, only values from fields with Store Data in Database enabled are tracked. By default, this toggle is set to (OFF).

Setting

Description

Store Data in Database

The Store Data in Database setting affects how data persists through your application. When set to (ON), Unqork stores values entered into the field to the database (server-side submission). This occurs in three scenarios:

Navigating between Panels in a Navigation component. On navigation between pages (Panels), the component’s value saves to the database.
Triggering a module save event using a Button component with an Action Type of Save.
Navigating between screens of a workflow. On navigation between screens, the component’s value saves to the database.
By default, workflows persist data from all fields in the client-side submission when navigating between screens. However, only values from fields with Store Data in Database enabled store in the server-side submission.

Set the toggle to (OFF) when you don’t want to store the values from this field in the database.

When using a Plug-In to remote execute a module, ensure data moving between modules is persistent. You can optionally enable Store Data in Database for components in the source module. But any components in the API module whose values are included in an API response must have Store Data in Database enabled. When a component’s data is not persistent, the data isn't included in an API call's response. So, Plug-Ins or external services requesting data from the API module can't receive non-persistent data in the response.

Store Data in Database also affects what data is tracked using Unqork’s built-in tracker. When the Enable Tracker and Track Value toggles are set to (ON) in Module Settings, only values from fields with Store Data in Database enabled are tracked.

By default, this toggle is set to (OFF).

Actions Settings

Triggers

Setting	Description
Trigger	To set up a trigger, enter the Property ID of your chosen logic component into this field. When the timer completes its duration, the specified component fires.

Advanced Settings

Additional Styling

Setting	Description
Custom CSS Class	Enter a Custom CSS Class to apply to your component. Custom CSS lets you maintain a consistent look and feel when the field or element is part of a template or multiple modules. Updated CSS styling applies to all components that reference this custom class name.

Setting

Description

Custom CSS Class

Enter a Custom CSS Class to apply to your component. Custom CSS lets you maintain a consistent look and feel when the field or element is part of a template or multiple modules.

Updated CSS styling applies to all components that reference this custom class name.

Adding a Timer Component

You can add a Timer component to any page in your Unqork application. For most Timer component configurations, you'll hide the component. Only keep the component visible if the end-user must see the timer.

For this example, the end-user must complete personal information and ensure they sufficient time to complete the Text Area component. The Timer component counts down from 60 seconds. After 60 seconds, a button displays letting your end-user submit their information.

Configure the Text Field Component

In the Module Builder, drag and drop a Text Field component onto your canvas.
In the Property ID field, enter name.
In the Label Text field, enter Your Name.
Click Save Component.

Configure the Text Area Component

Drag and drop a Text Area component onto your canvas, placing it below your name Text Field component.
In the Property ID field, enter experience.
In the Label Text field, enter Your Experience.
Click Save Component.

Configure the Timer Component

Drag and drop a Timer component onto your canvas, placing it below your experience Text Area component.
In the Property ID field, enter timerExperience.
In the Label Text field, enter timerExperience.
Set the Hide Label toggle to (ON).
In the Set Timer Duration field, enter 60.
In the Set Timer Format field, enter mm:ss.
Click Save Component.

Configure the Button Component

This Button component displays after the Timer component expires.

Drag and drop a Button component onto your canvas, placing it below your timerExperience Timer component.
In the Property ID field, enter btnSubmit.
Set the Hide Field toggle to (ON).
Click Save Component.

Configure the Decisions Component

This Decisions component is where you set the rule to only show the Submit button when the timer reaches zero.

Drag and drop a Decisions component onto your canvas, placing it between your timerExperience Timer and btnSubmit Button components.
In the Property ID and Canvas Label Text fields, enter ruleSixty.
Set Trigger Type to Watch.
Complete the Inputs table as follows:
Source
Alias
Type
1
timerExperience
exact
Complete the Outputs as follows:
Source
Type
1
btnSubmit
visible
Complete the Conditionals table as follows:
timerExperience
btnSubmit_visible
1
-0
yes
-0 is the Timer's value only after the time expires. So, this Decisions component only fires when the timer reaches zero.
Click Save Component.
Save your module.

	Source	Alias	Type
1	timerExperience		exact

	Source	Type
1	btnSubmit	visible

	timerExperience	btnSubmit_visible
1	-0	yes

Preview your module in Express View to see the button displaying after the Timer component expires:

Structure of a Timer Component's Data

Using the example above, execute the Vega Console command UNQENG.tools.getComponentState('timerExperience') in the DevTools Console to display the component's data structure:

The Timer component stores as a key/value pair and displays the current time value in seconds (ss). When viewing a Timer component's value in the Devtools Console, the value displayed is the exact moment the Angular Command executes. For example, if a 60-second timer is set to countdown to 0, executing the Angular command at 30 seconds displays a value of 30 in the Console.

Overview

The Timer component lets you add time-based rules and logic to your application. Say you want to set a 10-minute timer for an end-user to confirm an order. If the end-user fails to confirm the order in the allotted 10 minutes, the order process resets. In this situation, the time limit might give the end-user a sense of urgency. Plus, restarting an idle process could free up resources for other end-users.

Some other uses of the Timer component include:

Ensuring an end-user spends enough time on a page.
Limiting the amount of time an end-user can stay on a page.
Automatically reloading a page when the timer expires.
Detecting if an end-user becomes inactive.

Use the Timer component to trigger one or many components when it expires. For example, the Trigger setting fires a single component after the timer expires. You could also use a Decisions component to trigger a number of actions after the timer expires. Once the timer expires, its value is -0. So, you can set up micro decisions to fire based on the timer's value of -0.

Timer components placed inside a Panel component that acts as a pop-up modal in Express View triggers the Timer component twice, once when the modal opens and once when it closes.

Server-side executed modules do not support the Timer component. For example, if you create a workflow with Task modules, any reference from one module to another in that workflow where a Timer component exists will result in an error.

You'll find the Timer component in the Data & Event Processing group to the left of the Module Builder.