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A timer is an effective way to visualize the countdown to the start of an event. In the Shaman email editor, you can add a timer effortlessly to your email content.

Let´s imagine that you have created a new email fragment or template, have completed the email details, and you are now in the HTML editor ready to add elements to your email fragment or template. (If you need to revise any of these steps, check out this article here).

From the menus on the right-hand side, select the content menu. Find the “Timer” icon in the content menu, and simply drag and drop that icon onto your email canvas.

You will notice that a timer with retroceding seconds and minutes has been added to the email canvas.

When you click anywhere in the frame around the timer, you will notice that some additional optional settings appear in the menu on the right-hand side.

End Time: This refers to the moment in which the timer is counting back. So this could be the beginning of an event, a Product launch, or other momentous occasions.

Click on the field next to “End Time” to reveal the two drop-down menus to set both the end date and time. Alternatively, you can type the values directly into the field.

Good to know!

Make sure that if you are manually typing in the end time, you follow the format shown in the default example.

Time zone: Using the dropdown menu you can select the local time zone of your event. You can either search for the name of the city or scroll through the list of options available.

Language: Select the language if you wish to show the days, hours, minutes, and seconds shown on the timer in a different language. As a default, this text will show in English.

Labels: Labels refer to the text beneath the clock digits, “Days”, “Hours”, “Minutes” and “Seconds”. As a default these labels are visible. To remove the labels from view, simply disable the labels toggle and they will no longer show in the timer box.

Background: Here you can set the background color of the timer. Select from the color options available to change the color of the text or button. (Please note - in some accounts the color options are limited to maintain consistency when working with certain Products. If you have any doubts or questions about the options available to you, contact us at support@getshaman.com.

Digits Color: Select from the color options available to change the color of the digits.

Labels Color: Select from the color options available to change the color of the digits.

Digits Font: To change the font of the digits, just click the arrow (to the right of the current font name) to view the other font options available to you.

Digits Font Size: Increase or decrease the font size of the digits by clicking the arrow on the right side of the font size. (This will be set to 75 as a default).

Labels Font: To change the font of the labels, just click the arrow (to the right of the current font name) to view the other font options available to you.

Labels Font Size: Increase or decrease the font size of the digits by clicking the arrow on the right side of the font size. (This will be set to 28 as a default).

Auto Width: This setting is a toggle which sets the timer automatically to fit the width of your email content. To set the width of a timer manually, you can disable the auto width toggle and use the slider to resize your timer to bigger or smaller.

Align: This setting allows you to define the alignment of your timer in relation to your email content by selecting from the left, center, right, or full alignment icons.

Alternate Text: Alternative Text is meant to convey the “why” of the timer as it relates to the content of a document or webpage. It also displays on the page if the timer fails to load.

If you wish to have alternative text for your timer, you can add it to this field simply by typing directly into the box available.

Action: Here you can add an action such as if the email recipient clicks on the timer, a specific webpage will be opened. There are several options to choose from in the dropdown menu on the right-hand side (which shows “Open Website” as a default action).

Depending on which option you choose, additional fields will be displayed to further personalize the action. For example, if you choose the “Open Website” option, you will need to populate the URL link in the field provided. You can also define whether a new tab is opened, or if the webpage is viewed on the same tab in the reader's browser.

Top tip!

When using the “Open website” option, we always recommend you copy the URL directly from the browser before pasting it in this URL field to avoid any typos or incorrect links.

You may also see “Special Links” in blue on your actions menu. The timer will then contain the information held in the token that is automatically populated in the menu on the right-hand side. The following special link tokens are available to use here:

Document links:

Meeting links:

Unsubscribe product link: {{unsubscribe_product_link}} This action will direct the recipient to a page where they can unsubscribe from receiving product information. Internal note - please confirm that this is correct.

Container Padding: Padding can be used to perfectly position timers within the body of your email content. You can choose to add the same padding to all sides by maintaining the “All sides” toggle enabled. Or, you can disable this toggle to manually configure the padding size for each side of the timer. You can use the plus and minus icons to increase or decrease the padding, or you can type a numerical value directly into the padding box.

Hide on Desktop: When this toggle is enabled, the timer will not be displayed when viewing the email on a desktop computer or laptop, it will only be viewable on a mobile view.

Good to know!

We highly recommend you pay attention to how your email content looks on both mobile and desktop views. To learn more great tips when creating email content compatible with mobile and desktop views, take a look at this article here.

To delete a timer, simply click anywhere within the timer to select it. You will then notice two icons - a bin icon to delete the heading, and a copy icon to duplicate it.

Depending on which you wish to do, simply click the icon, and your timer will either be deleted or duplicated.