Timers
A timer puts a time limit on a campaign. There are two, and they work the same way: a campaign timer limits the whole session, and a page timer limits a single page. Both are configured with the same settings and both follow the same rule when time runs out.
The two timers
The campaign timer starts when the participant begins and runs until the session ends. It applies wherever they are in the campaign, and it is set in campaign settings.
The page timer applies to one page, and is set on that page. It starts when the page is shown, and each page that is shown starts its own.
Both take a limit between 1 and 3600 seconds, so an hour is the longest you can set.
Both can be used at once. If both have run out by the time the participant acts, the campaign timer wins and its action is the one applied.
What the participant sees
A timer can be shown counting down towards zero, counting up away from it, or not shown at all. The limit is enforced either way, so hiding the clock hides the pressure rather than the rule.
The clock is display only. Nothing happens at the moment it reaches zero. The participant is not moved on and their page is not submitted for them. The limit is applied the next time they press Next, and the answers they had on that page are discarded at that point.
This matters when you choose a limit. Someone who runs out of time and then sits on the page for another five minutes is not noticed until they act, so a timer is a rule about how long answering may take rather than a hard stop at a moment in time.
What happens when time runs out
Every timer carries an optional action, made of two choices: whether to disqualify the participant, and which ending to send them to. Together with the case where no action is set at all, that gives five outcomes.
| Action | What happens |
|---|---|
| None set | Nothing. The answers are saved and the participant carries on as normal. |
| Disqualify off, no ending chosen | The session ends as completed, on a blank default ending. |
| Disqualify on, no ending chosen | The session ends as disqualified, on a blank default ending. |
| Disqualify off, ending chosen | The session ends as completed, on that ending. |
| Disqualify on, ending chosen | The session ends as disqualified, on that ending. |
Two things follow from that table:
A timer with no action is decorative. It shows a clock and enforces nothing. This is the state a timer is in when you have just switched it on, because switching it on only sets the limit. If the limit is meant to be enforced, the action has to be set as well.
Any action ends the session. There is no setting that means "time out this page and let them carry on with the rest of the campaign". Once an action exists, running out of time is the end of that participant's session, whether it was the campaign timer or a single page's timer that expired.
In every case where the session ends, the answers on the page the participant was looking at are discarded. Answers submitted on earlier pages are kept.
Where the participant lands
A timer can only send participants to an ending. The editor will not accept a question page or a content page.
If you do not choose one, they land on a blank default ending with no title and no message. It is the same ending a campaign shows when it runs out of pages without one of its own. It is deterministic rather than arbitrary, so nobody is left sitting on a question page that no longer accepts answers, but it is rarely what you want. If the participant should read something on the way out, whether an apology, an explanation or a link onward, write an ending and point the timer at it.
Disqualifying
Disqualifying changes how the finished session is recorded, not whether it finishes. Either way the session is over and takes no more answers.
A disqualified session is reported as disqualified in Results, is not scored as a quiz, and does not earn the distribution's completion reward. A participant who ran out of time is not marked wrong, they are simply not marked.
Disqualifying is also available as a logic action, which fires on a condition rather than on a clock. The two behave the same way once triggered.
Page timers and response editing
A campaign that allows participants to edit their responses cannot have page timers, and a campaign with any page timer cannot allow editing. Whichever you configure second is rejected.
The two contradict each other. A page timer only makes sense if the page is answered once, under the clock, while response editing exists so participants can go back and change their minds with no time pressure. It also means a page with a timer can never be returned to, since going back is only possible when editing is allowed.
The campaign timer has no such restriction. It limits the session as a whole rather than any one page, so it can be combined with response editing.