Timer Mode

How to start a timer in Toggl Track, and how to enter a duration-only time entry.

Vedran avatar
Written by Vedran
Updated over a week ago

The Timer Mode (also known as Automatic mode) is what you normally expect from a timer: press start, and let the timer time your action. This article details how to use Timer Mode to get the most out of it. 

Enter the Timer mode by clicking the pink clock icon on the Timer page, located in the top right corner. You can toggle between the Timer mode and Manual mode by hitting the M key on the keyboard. 

When in Timer Mode, you can add time by...

  • Starting the real-time timer

  • Entering a duration

Starting the Timer 

To start the timer, click on the pink play icon or type N on your keyboard. Once it starts, fill in the Description, Project, Tag, etc. Stop the timer by clicking the red stop icon or typing S on the keyboard. 

Use Shortcuts @ and # for Projects and Tags respectively while entering a description. You can disable this setting from the Profile page.

Entering a Duration

To create a Time Entry by defining a duration:

  • Click on the duration field (0:00:00) and enter your desired duration.

  • Confirm the change by hitting enter. This will cause the play button to change into a checkmark.

  • Click the pink checkmark button to finalize and create the entry.

Note: Auto-complete functionality is designed to automatically start the timer if the timer is set to 0. To prevent this, change the duration first, then use the auto-complete form to enter any desired information (like a project, tag, etc). 

A few technical details...

  • If a workspace admin has chosen to Hide start and end times, these fields will be hidden from the Timer section as well as the List view

  • Duration format is hh:mm:ss. For example 01:32:15 = 1 hour 32 minutes and 15 seconds

  • The default unit is minutes. If only 1 number is entered the system will interpret it as mm

  • If two separated numbers are entered, it is interpreted as hh:mm For example, 1:2 (For 1 hour and 2 minutes)

  • If three separated numbers are entered, it is interpreted as hh:mm:ss. For example, 1:2:3 (For 1 hour, 2 minutes and 3 seconds)

  • You can also type a number-letter combination to enter a duration; for instance, enter 2h to set the duration to 02:00:00

  • Choosing a time entry from auto-complete will copy over all details except start/end time, duration and tags.

If you still have questions about tracking time in Timer Mode, please contact our Support team by clicking on the purple chat icon in the bottom right corner of this page to start a chat.

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