UbiTimer Changelog

v3.4 — July 2026

New ✅ NEW

• Presentation-specific alarm memory — UbiTimer can now remember the selected alarm sound with an individual PowerPoint presentation. When the presentation is reopened, the saved preset or custom MP3 is restored automatically.
• Persistent custom MP3 alarms — uploaded custom alarm sounds can now be stored with the current presentation, removing the need to select the same audio file every time the PowerPoint file is opened.
• Default custom alarm — users can choose an uploaded MP3 as their default UbiTimer alarm. The default remains active across presentations until the user removes it.
• “Use as my default alarm” option — added a new checkbox beside the custom sound controls so users can immediately set or remove their preferred default custom alarm.
• Snapshot alarm storage — Timer Snapshots now save the selected custom MP3 together with the timer state, remaining time and timer mode.
• Presentation alarm priority — UbiTimer now applies alarms in a clear order: a presentation-specific sound first, then the user’s default custom alarm, followed by the normal selected preset.

Improved 🚀 IMPROVED

• Timer Snapshot restoration — loading a saved snapshot now restores the saved timer position, remaining time, paused or running state and associated custom alarm sound.
• Automatic snapshot resume — snapshots saved while a timer is running now resume automatically when loaded. Snapshots saved while paused remain paused until the user continues them.
• Alarm selection consistency — starting a timer no longer replaces a presentation-restored custom sound or preset with an older alarm selection.
• Preset sound persistence — built-in alarm choices such as Bell, Gong, Whistle and Victory Tone can now be remembered with the PowerPoint presentation.
• Improved completed-timer restart — users can start a completed timer again without first pressing Reset, while overtime analytics can still continue after the timer reaches zero.
• Better overtime handling — countdown timers continue recording time beyond the target for pacing and practice analytics, without preventing a deliberate new timer start.
• Live pacing messages — improved the remaining-time, overtime and “Time’s up” messages shown during practice sessions.
• Expanded localisation — added multilingual text for default alarm controls, presentation sound saving, snapshot messages, pacing status, remaining time and overtime indicators.

Fixed 🛠️ FIXED

• Fixed missing snapshot alarm sounds — resolved an issue where a Timer Snapshot restored the timer state but continued using the most recently selected preset instead of the saved custom MP3.
• Fixed duplicate timers after snapshot loading — stopped existing timer intervals before restoring saved timers and prevented global timers from being restarted twice.
• Fixed snapshots being overwritten by live session updates — saved snapshots are now stored separately from the continually updated active-session timer state.
• Fixed paused snapshot resume — restored paused timers now retain a valid timer interval so the Start or Resume button can continue the countdown correctly.
• Fixed completed timers being reported as still running — overtime tracking intervals are no longer mistaken for an active countdown when the user starts the timer again.
• Fixed alarms not replaying after restart — completion and overtime flags are reset correctly when a completed timer begins a new run.
• Fixed default alarm checkbox behaviour — checking the option now immediately applies and saves the current custom sound, while unchecking it removes the saved default.
• Fixed missing custom alarm imports — resolved errors that prevented the default-alarm controls from reading the currently selected custom MP3.
• Fixed untranslated pacing placeholders — remaining-time and overtime messages now replace dynamic placeholders correctly in all supported languages.

Important: presentation-specific alarm settings are stored with the PowerPoint presentation. After selecting a preset or custom MP3, save the PowerPoint file normally to keep the setting when the presentation is reopened. A default custom alarm is stored on the current device and is used when a presentation does not already have its own saved alarm.

v3.3 — June 2026

New ✅ NEW

• Conference Deck Builder — a new workflow for building timed conference, assembly, training and multi-speaker PowerPoint decks inside one reliable master deck.
• Conference section badges — users can add clear section labels such as “Keynote”, “Member Books”, “Break”, “Speaker 1” or “Training Activity” to section starter slides.
• Use with Timer Groups — Conference Deck Builder now supports a Timer Groups workflow, so the running timer can be controlled across a full slide range instead of only one slide.
• Jump and return button markers — users can add visual navigation buttons for agenda-style conference decks. These can be linked using PowerPoint’s built-in Action Settings or Link options.
• Conference duration seconds — conference sections now support both minutes and seconds, making it easier to prepare precise timed activities.
• Conference Deck Builder page — added a dedicated website page explaining how to build reliable timed conference decks with UbiTimer.

Improved 🚀 IMPROVED

• Conference duration sync — changing the Conference Deck Builder duration now updates the main Timer tab duration, so Timer Groups use the expected minutes and seconds.
• Cleaner Timer Groups workflow — Conference Deck Builder can now prepare the section and badge while Timer Groups controls the actual running timer. This avoids conflicting standalone timers in conference decks.
• Presenter Companion guidance — the Presenter Companion page now explains how it works with Conference Deck Builder, Timer Groups and presenter-only timing workflows.
• Clearer navigation wording — updated navigation labels from “Create jump button” and “Create return button” to “Add jump button” and “Add return button” to better reflect the guided setup workflow.
• Better conference setup guidance — added clearer instructions recommending one master PowerPoint deck instead of relying on separate linked decks during live events.

Fixed 🛠️ FIXED

• Correct selected-slide timer placement — fixed an issue where a timer inserted from the Conference Deck Builder workflow could appear on the next slide instead of the selected slide.
• Removed unreliable automatic hyperlink attempt — disabled the experimental Office.js hyperlink approach after testing showed that the required PowerPoint runtime support was not consistently available. UbiTimer now uses stable navigation button markers with manual PowerPoint Action Settings guidance.
• Prevented duplicate/conflicting conference timers — when using Timer Groups, Conference Deck Builder no longer needs to insert a separate standalone timer by default.
• Fixed conference duration variable errors — resolved issues where section creation could fail after adding seconds support.
• Fixed conference mode handling — resolved a missing mode reference in the prepare current slide workflow.

Recommended setup: for conference-style presentations, keep all timed sections inside one master PowerPoint deck. Use Timer Groups for the running timer across slide ranges, and use PowerPoint Action Settings if you want agenda buttons to jump to specific slides.

v3.2 — June 2026

New ✅ NEW

• Insert / Update Timer on Slide — users can now insert a timer onto the current slide without starting it immediately. This makes it easier to position the timer before running the slideshow.
• Pre-position normal slide timers — standard slide timers can now be placed and adjusted before they begin counting down or counting up.
• Improved auto-start setup workflow — users can insert a timer, move it into position, then use auto-start so the timer begins when the slideshow reaches the slide.

Improvements 🚀 IMPROVED

• Clearer timer controls — the timer setup workflow now separates inserting a timer from starting a timer. Insert / Update Timer on Slide prepares the timer, while Start timer on current slide starts it immediately.
• Better timer positioning — users can now move the timer into the desired location before the countdown starts, such as the upper-right corner of a slide.
• Improved size preset behaviour — changing between Compact, Standard, and Large timer presets now preserves the timer’s current position instead of moving it back to the centre of the slide.
• More reliable first-slide auto-start — the First slide only auto-start mode now correctly starts the timer when the slideshow begins on the first slide.
• Improved multilingual status messages — new timer insert and setup messages have been added across supported interface languages.

Fixes 🛠️ FIXED

• Fixed an issue where applying a timer size preset could move the timer back to the middle of the slide.
• Fixed an issue where the First slide only auto-start option could fail to start because of an internal timer payload setting.
• Fixed confusing behaviour where preparing a timer could also start it immediately.
• Fixed cases where inserted timers could display the correct settings but not appear as expected on the slide.

v3.1 — May 2026

New ✅ NEW

• Timer Group positioning — Timer Groups can now keep their timer position across the selected slide range. This makes it easier to place a grouped timer, such as in the lower-right corner, and have that position applied consistently across the slides in the group.
• Timer Group style presets — Timer Groups can now be styled using the built-in Compact, Standard, and Large appearance presets. This gives users a faster way to create consistent timer layouts across a group of slides.

Improvements 🚀 IMPROVED

• Improved Timer Group appearance controls — grouped timers are now easier to format from the Appearance tab, reducing the need to adjust each slide manually.
• More consistent grouped timer layout — timer size and placement are now better preserved when moving through slides that belong to the same Timer Group.
• Faster setup for timed slide sections — users can now create a timed section, position the timer, and apply a preset style with fewer manual steps.

Fixes 🛠️ FIXED

• Fixed cases where a Timer Group timer could appear in a different position on slides after the first slide in the group.
• Fixed inconsistent styling behaviour when applying appearance changes to grouped timers.
• Minor Timer Group stability and layout fixes.

v3.0 — March 2026

New ✅ NEW

• Presenter-only timer mode — timers can now be hidden from the audience and shown only in the presenter preview. This is useful for conferences, classrooms and rehearsals where the presenter needs timing guidance without displaying it on the slide.
• Live preview improvements — the Appearance tab now shows an immediate timer preview when the timer is started, making it easier to test styling and layout before presenting.
• Analytics — new analytics tools provide clearer insight into timer usage and practice sessions, helping you understand timing, pacing and presentation activity while rehearsing.

Improvements 🚀 IMPROVED

• Radial timer visual enhancements — improved rendering of the circular countdown display for smoother animation and clearer remaining-time indication.
• Danger-zone countdown ring — the radial timer now highlights the final seconds with a clearer visual ring to improve time awareness near the end of the countdown.
• Timer preview logic — the preview panel now prioritises a clean textual timer display for reliable preview rendering across PowerPoint environments.
• Timer visibility behaviour — improved logic when switching between audience-visible timers and presenter-only timers.

Fixes 🛠️ FIXED

• Fixed an issue where timer shapes could remain visible on slides after switching to presenter-only mode.
• Fixed cases where radial timer preview could fail to render correctly depending on colour selection.
• Fixed timer reset behaviour in certain preview states.
• Minor stability and rendering fixes.

v2.6 — February 2026

New 🚀 NEW

• Tabbed interface — redesigned task pane with dedicated tabs for Timer, Appearance, Sync, Advanced and Account for a cleaner, more organised workflow.
• Sticky action bar — Start, Pause and Reset controls are now fixed at the bottom for faster access during setup.

Improvements ✨ IMPROVED

• Timer Group stability — improved reliability of auto-start behaviour when entering grouped slide ranges.
• Sticky controls in Group mode — Pause, Resume and Reset now behave consistently when using Timer Groups.
• Pause accuracy — pausing the global or group timer now correctly freezes elapsed time and resumes smoothly from the paused value.
• Rendering logic refinement — global timer updates only the intended slide(s) in Group mode, preventing unintended shape updates.
• Visual warning controls — clearer and more predictable behaviour when disabling countdown colour changes.
• Sound settings behaviour — improved consistency when disabling the end-of-timer alarm.

Fixes 🔧 FIXED

• Fixed an issue where the timer could continue progressing in the background after being paused in Timer Group mode.
• Fixed reset behaviour that could unintentionally restart the timer within grouped slides.
• Fixed global timer shapes appearing on unintended slides in Edit mode.
• Fixed visual warning overlays appearing during the final countdown when the warning option was disabled.
• Fixed alarm sound triggering even when “Play alarm when timer ends” was unchecked.
• Minor UI and stability fixes.

v2.5 — January 2026

Improvements ✨ IMPROVED

• Slide Show mode reliability — timers now run more consistently during presentations, including smoother behaviour when moving between slides.
• Radial (analog) timer stability — improved rendering and reliability of the radial countdown display.
• Timer save & restore — enhanced persistence so timers are more reliably restored after restarting PowerPoint.
• Customization controls — smoother timer positioning and customization experience.

Fixes 🔧 FIXED

• Fixed cases where timers could fail to reappear after restarting PowerPoint.
• Improved license validation reliability.
• General stability and performance improvements.

v2.4 — December 2025

New Features ✅ NEW

• Multi-language support — added 15 more interface languages so teachers and presenters around the world can use UbiTimer in their own language.
• Timer size presets — quickly switch between Large, Standard, and Compact timer shapes to match different slide layouts.

Improvements 🚀 IMPROVED

• Custom alarm sounds now load and play reliably — improvement based on anonymous taskpane feedback.
• More robust snapshot handling with safer global timer restoration and validation.
• Added the ability to clear/remove saved snapshots directly from the taskpane.
• Enhanced error handling and clearer taskpane messages during snapshot load or sound selection.

Fixes 🛠️ FIXED

• Fixed an issue reported by Mike where the timer shape background (fill color) could not be edited after inserting the timer.
• Resolved snapshot restore cases that could cause the global timer to restart incorrectly or fail silently.
• Fixed custom sound upload errors caused by unsupported audio source formats.

v2.3 — November 2025

New Features ✅ NEW

• Apply to All Slides — one click to sync text size, fill color, and font style across the entire deck.  ▶️ Watch

Improvements 🚀 IMPROVED

• Radial timer visuals — smoother second ticks & accurate clock-style markers.
• Slide transition logic — prevents duplicate or leftover radial shapes.
• Clearer status messages and task-pane labelling.

Fixes 🛠️ FIXED

• Handled “Apply-to-All” on locked/read-only slides more gracefully.
• Resolved occasional font update issues on global timers.

v2.2 — August 2025

New Features ✅ NEW

• Full multi-language UI (10 languages: EN, FR, DE, ES, PT, RU, ZH, AR, HI, SW).  ▶️ Watch

Improvements 🚀 IMPROVED

• Accessibility: clearer labels, better keyboard navigation, smarter tooltips.
• Language preference remembered automatically across sessions.

v2.1 — July 2025

New Features ✅ NEW

• Radial timer mode — elegant circular countdown for classrooms & live sessions.  ▶️ Watch

Improvements 🚀 IMPROVED

• Modernized task-pane layout — faster duration & mode setup.
• More reliable global timer sync while navigating slides.
• Pro styling options expanded; performance tuned.

v2.0 — April 2025

Major Release 🚀 IMPROVED

• Performance overhaul with shared runtime architecture.
• Faster startup, reduced CPU usage, more responsive controls.