Is it time yet? user guide

"Is it time yet?" is a web application that displays countdown timers for your upcoming Google Calendar events. This guide will help you understand and use all the features of the application.

Landing page: https://isittime.app
App/Login page: https://isittime.app/web/

Table of contents

1. Getting started
2. Main interface
3. Event display
4. Countdown customization
5. Notifications
6. Room booking
7. Settings
8. Cloud sync
9. Security & privacy

Getting started

Signing in

1. Open "Is it time yet?" in your web browser at https://isittime.app/web/
2. Click the "Sign in with Google" button
3. Select your Google account
4. Grant all the required permissions

First-time setup

PIN creation (security)

After signing in for the first time, you'll be prompted to create a PIN:

• Your PIN must be at least 4 characters long
• You can use any characters (letters, numbers, symbols)
• Important: If you forget your PIN, you'll need to re-authorize the app and create a new PIN

Why do we need a PIN?

To keep your calendar data synchronized and accessible across browser sessions, the app needs to store a "refresh token" from Google. This token allows the app to access your calendar without requiring you to sign in every time.

However, storing this token securely is critical - if someone gained access to it, they could read your calendar data. To protect you, we encrypt your refresh token using your PIN before storing it. This means:

• Only you can decrypt your data: Your PIN never leaves your device and is never sent to any server. The encryption and decryption happen entirely in your browser.
• We can't read your token: Even though the encrypted data is stored in our cloud database, we have no way to decrypt it without your PIN.
• You own your data: This approach ensures that you maintain full control over your authentication credentials.

Calendar selection

1. After signing in, you'll see a list of your available calendars
2. Select which calendars you want "Is it time yet?" to display events from
3. You can change this selection anytime from the settings menu

Main interface

Event list

The main screen displays your upcoming calendar events in chronological order. Each event card shows:

• Event title (bold for upcoming/ongoing events)

  • The title is displayed prominently at the top of each event card
  • Locked events show an orange lock icon next to the title

• Countdown timer

  • The countdown is the central feature of each event card, showing how much time remains
  • Before event starts: Shows time until the event begins (e.g., "2 hours, 30 minutes" or "00:15:30" when close)
  • After event starts: Shows time since the event started as a negative countdown (e.g., "-00:05:30")
  • Approaching end: For longer events, switches to show time remaining until end (e.g., "5 minutes to end")
  • After event ends (locked events only): Shows time since the event ended (e.g., "15 minutes since end")
  • The countdown text grows larger as the event approaches, making urgent events more visible

• Status keyword

  • Displayed next to the event time, providing an at-a-glance indication of the event's current phase
  • SOON! (orange): Event is imminent and will start very shortly (within the warning threshold)
  • STARTED! (red): Event has started and is currently ongoing
  • ENDED (orange): Event has ended but is still visible because it's locked

• Room information (if a room is booked)

  • Shows the name of booked meeting rooms
  • Room availability indicator: When within 15 minutes of the meeting start, booked rooms show a colored dot:
    • Green dot: Room is currently free and available for your meeting
    • Yellow/Amber dot: Room is currently occupied or has a conflict
    • The indicator disappears once the meeting starts
  • Look-forward availability: When within 15 minutes of the meeting end, booked rooms show a colored arrow to help you plan ahead:
    • Green arrow: Room is available after this meeting ends - great for extending your meeting or staying for follow-up discussions
      • Shows free time (e.g., "-> 5min") if available for 15 minutes or less
      • Shows only the arrow if available for more than 15 minutes
    • Red arrow: Room is booked immediately after this meeting ends (within 4 minutes) - you'll need to wrap up on time
    • Hover over the arrow to see exactly how long the room is available and when the next meeting starts

• Calendar name (optional, can be shown/hidden in settings)

  • Useful when you have events from multiple calendars

• Action buttons for meeting links and event details

  • Quick access to join video calls or view full event details in Google Calendar

Date separators:

The app uses visual separators to organize events by date:

• "Today" separator: Appears at the top of the list when the first event is scheduled for today

  • Shows the text "Today" with horizontal lines on either side
  • Only appears once, at the beginning of today's events
  • Helps you quickly identify events happening today

• Date separators: Appear between events from different days

  • Shows the full date (e.g., "Monday, January 15, 2024") with horizontal lines
  • Appears when transitioning from one day to the next
  • Helps organize events chronologically

• "No more events today!" message: Appears after the last event of the day when there are events scheduled for future days

  • Only shown if there was an ongoing event or if it's the transition point between today and tomorrow

Event states

Events are color-coded based on their proximity. Event cards have a white background by default, with colored tint overlays that appear as events approach:

• White background: Event is far in the future (beyond the countdown growth period)
• Blue tint: Event is upcoming (within the countdown growth period, but not yet in warning state)
• Yellow/Amber tint: Event is approaching (warning state)
• Red tint: Event is ongoing or overdue

The countdown text also grows larger and changes color as events approach, making them more prominent.

Event actions

Each event card has action buttons in the top-right corner:

• Info button (blue): Opens the event in Google Calendar
• Meeting link button (green/blue icon): Opens Google Meet, Zoom, or other video conference links
• Menu button (three dots): Opens a menu with additional options:
  • Info: View event details in Google Calendar
  • Lock: Lock this event to prevent it from disappearing after it ends
  • Unlock: Unlock a locked event (only shown for locked events)
  • Book room: Book a meeting room for this event (if enabled)
  • Unbook room: Remove a booked room from this event
  • Fast room booking: Quickly book the first available room (if enabled)

Hiding and locking events

Hiding events:

• Swipe left or right on an event card to hide it from the list
• Events are automatically removed from the list when they end (unless locked)
• Hidden events won't reappear unless you use the "Unhide events" menu action or refresh the calendar
• Hiding is useful for events you've already acknowledged or don't need to track

Locking events:

Locking is a powerful feature that keeps an event visible even after it ends. This is useful for:

• Tracking how long ago a meeting ended
• Keeping room availability information visible for follow-up planning
• Maintaining a reference to event details after the meeting

How to use locking:

• Lock an event: Use the menu button → "Lock" (orange icon) to prevent an event from disappearing after it ends
• Lock indicator: Locked events display an orange lock icon next to the title. Hover over the icon to see a tooltip explaining that the event is locked
• Persistence: Locked events remain in your list even after refreshing or restarting the app - they won't disappear until you unlock them
• Locked events remain visible even after they end, showing:
  • The "ENDED" status keyword in orange
  • Time elapsed since the event ended (e.g., "15 minutes since end")
  • Room availability information (if applicable)
  • Full event details for reference
• Unlock an event: Use the menu button → "Unlock" or swipe the event
• Swiping a locked event:
  • If the event has ended: Unlocks and removes it from the list immediately
  • If the event hasn't ended: Hides it (can be restored by clicking on the "Unhide events" menu action)

Countdown customization

Access countdown settings from the main menu → Settings → Countdown.

Countdown size

• Fit countdown text to screen: Automatically adjusts countdown size to fill available screen space
• Manual size control: If auto-sizing is disabled, use the slider to set countdown size (1.0x to 10.0x)

Countdown behavior

• How fast should the countdown grow?: Controls how quickly the countdown text increases in size as events approach (slow to fast)
• How fast should the color become intense?: Controls how quickly the background color intensifies as events approach (slow to fast)

Countdown timing

• When should the countdown start growing?: Set when the countdown begins to grow in size (5 minutes to 24 hours before the event)
• When should the color become a warning one?: Set when the background color changes to yellow/amber (0 to the growth start time, in minutes)

Notifications

Screen flash

The app can flash your screen when events are approaching:

1. Go to Settings → Other settings
2. Expand "When do you want the screen to flash?"
3. Add time durations (e.g., "5 minutes", "1 hour") when you want the screen to flash
4. Set how many times the screen should flash (1-5 repetitions)
5. Use the "Test" button to preview the flash effect

Note: Screen flash only works for events you've accepted or are the organizer of (configurable in countdown settings).

Audio ping

The app can play a sound when events are approaching:

1. Go to Settings → Other settings
2. Expand "When do you want to hear a ping?"
3. Add time durations when you want to hear the ping sound
4. Adjust the ping volume using the slider (1% to 100%)
5. Use the play button to test the ping sound

Note: Audio ping only works for events you've accepted or are the organizer of (configurable in countdown settings).

Room booking

"Is it time yet?" can help you book meeting rooms directly from your calendar events. This feature requires Google Workspace.

Enabling room booking

1. Go to Settings → Room booker
2. Enable "Enable room booking"
3. The app will load available rooms from your organization
4. Configure which rooms you want to use (see below)

Room configuration

Grouping options:

• Group by building: Organize rooms by building
• Group by floor: Organize rooms by floor

Room selection:

• Expand buildings, floors, and rooms to see the full list
• Check/uncheck individual rooms to enable or disable them
• Use "Expand all" or "Collapse all" to manage the list view
• Each room shows its location and capacity

Fast room booking:

• Enable "Always book first available room" to skip the room selection dialog
• When enabled, the app automatically books the first available room from your enabled list

Booking a room

From an event card:

1. Click the menu button (three dots) on an event card
2. Select "Book room"
3. Choose from available rooms (or it will auto-select if fast booking is enabled)
4. Rooms are sorted according to your fast room booking priority order (if configured), otherwise sorted by building, floor, and capacity
5. You can select multiple rooms if needed
6. The room will be added to your event

Fast room booking (multi-select mode):

1. Click the flash icon in the app bar to enter fast booking mode
2. Select multiple events by checking the boxes on event cards
3. Click the checkmark to confirm
4. The app will automatically book the first available room for each selected event
5. Rooms are intelligently assigned to avoid double-booking

Unbooking a room:

1. Click the menu button on an event with a booked room
2. Select "Unbook room"
3. If multiple rooms are booked, select which ones to unbook
4. The room(s) will be removed from your event

Note: You can only book/unbook rooms for events where you are the organizer or have edit permissions.

Room availability checking

The app provides real-time room availability information to help you avoid conflicts and plan your meetings effectively.

Before meeting starts (pre-meeting check):

When an event is within 15 minutes of its start time, the app automatically checks whether your booked room is currently available. This helps you know if you can head to the room early or if someone else is still using it.

• Green dot: The room is currently free - you can head over now
• Yellow/Amber dot: The room is currently not free - someone else is using it or there's a scheduling conflict
• The availability is checked every 2 minutes while within the 15-minute window
• Availability indicators disappear once the meeting starts
• Hover over the dot to see a tooltip with the current availability status

After meeting ends (look-forward check):

When an event is within 15 minutes of its end time, the app checks whether your booked room will be available after your meeting. This is especially useful for:

• Deciding if you can extend your current meeting
• Planning informal follow-up discussions in the same room
• Knowing when you need to wrap up because someone else has the room booked

How it works:

• Green arrow (→): Room is available after this meeting ends
  • Shows free time text (e.g., "→ 5min") if the room is free for 15 minutes or less
  • Shows only the arrow if the room is free for more than 15 minutes
  • Hover to see exactly how long the room is available (e.g., "Room available for 30 min after this meeting. Next meeting: 14:30")
• Red arrow (→): Room is booked immediately after this meeting ends (within 4 minutes) - you'll need to finish on time and clear out
  • Hover to see when the next meeting starts
• The look-forward check happens every 2 minutes while within the 15-minute window before the meeting ends

Settings

Access settings from the menu button in the top-right corner of the app bar.

Countdown settings

Size & appearance:

• Auto-size countdown text
• Manual countdown size
• Growth speed
• Color intensity speed

Timing:

• When countdown starts growing
• When warning color appears

Event filtering:

• Display events: Choose which event response statuses to show (accepted, declined, needs action)
• Emphasize events: Which events should have larger, bold countdown text
• Alter background color: Which events should have color-coded backgrounds
• Flash screen: Which events should trigger screen flashes
• Play ping: Which events should trigger audio pings

Other settings

Interface text size:

• Adjust the overall text size of the interface (1.0x to 3.0x)

Calendar days:

• Set how many days ahead to load events (1 to 14 days)

Screen flash:

• Configure when and how often the screen flashes

Audio ping:

• Configure when and how loud the ping sound is

Additional options:

• Copy links to clipboard: When enabled, meeting links are copied instead of opened directly
• Keep screen alive: Prevents your device from going to sleep (if supported)
• Force dark mode: Always use dark theme regardless of system settings
• Show calendar name in events: Display which calendar each event belongs to

Room booker settings

• Enable/disable room booking feature
• Configure room grouping (by building, by floor)
• Enable/disable individual rooms

Fast room booking settings

Access from Settings → Fast room booking:

• Enable fast room booking: Turn on one-click room booking feature
• Room priority: Drag and drop rooms to set booking priority order
  • This priority order is also used in the manual room booking dialog
  • If no priority is configured, rooms are sorted by building, floor, and capacity
• Enable/disable rooms for fast booking: Control which rooms are used for fast booking (separate from general room booking)
• Grouping options: Configure grouping by building and/or floor
• Reset order: Restore default room ordering based on capacity

Note: The room priority order you configure here is also applied to the manual room booking dialog, ensuring consistent room ordering across both booking methods.

Cloud sync

"Is it time yet?" can sync your settings across multiple devices using cloud storage.

Setting up cloud sync

1. Go to Settings → Other settings
2. Expand "Sync settings in cloud"
3. Select a sync slot (1-8) or choose "Don't sync"
4. Your settings will be saved to the cloud

Using cloud sync

• Multiple devices: Use the same sync slot number on all devices to share settings
• Multiple profiles: Use different slot numbers for different sets of settings
• Restoring settings: When you sign in on a new device, you'll be prompted to restore settings from a sync slot

Important notes:

• If you select a slot that's in use by another device, your current settings will overwrite the other device's settings
• To restore settings from another device, sign out and sign in again, then click "Restore" when prompted
• Each sync slot can store a complete set of settings independently

Security & privacy

PIN-based encryption

"Is it time yet?" uses client-side encryption to protect your Google authentication data:

• Your refresh token is encrypted using a PIN you create
• All encryption happens on your device (in your browser)
• The encrypted data is stored in the cloud, but cannot be decrypted without your PIN
• Your PIN is never sent to any server

Data storage

• Local storage: Some settings are stored locally in your browser
• Cloud storage: Encrypted authentication data and synced settings are stored in Firebase
• No server access: All Google API calls happen directly from your browser
• In-memory tokens: Decrypted authentication tokens only exist in your browser's memory during your session

Permissions

"Is it time yet?" requests the following Google permissions:

• userinfo.email: To identify your account
• calendar.readonly: To read your calendar events
• admin.directory.resource.calendar.readonly: To view available meeting rooms (if using room booking)
• calendar.events: To modify events when booking rooms
• calendar.freebusy: To check room availability

Forgetting your PIN

If you forget your PIN:

1. You'll need to re-authorize the app
2. Create a new PIN
3. Your old encrypted data will be replaced with new encrypted data

Tips & tricks

Keyboard shortcuts

• Use the refresh button in the app menu to manually refresh calendar data and reset all timers
• The app automatically refreshes events every 5 minutes

Best practices

• For meetings: Enable screen flash and audio ping 5-10 minutes before important meetings
• For room booking: Enable fast room booking if you frequently need rooms for multiple events
• For room planning: Use the look-forward arrow indicators to see if you can stay in the same room for back-to-back meetings
• For event tracking: Lock important events to keep them visible after they end for reference or follow-up
• For multiple devices: Use cloud sync to keep settings consistent across devices
• For privacy: Use a strong PIN and don't share it

Troubleshooting

Events not showing:

• Check that you've selected calendars in settings
• Verify the "Calendar days" setting includes your event dates
• Check event filtering settings (accepted/declined/needs action)

Room booking not working:

• Ensure you have Google Workspace (not just personal Google account)
• Verify you have permission to book rooms in your organization
• Check that rooms are enabled in room booker settings

Screen flash/ping not working:

• Verify the feature is enabled in settings
• Check that the event response status matches your notification settings
• Ensure your browser allows audio/notifications

Settings not syncing:

• Verify you're using the same sync slot number on all devices
• Check your internet connection
• Try signing out and signing back in

Support

For issues, feature requests, or questions, you can:

• Email: Contact
• In-app feedback: Use the "Can we help you?" option in the settings menu to send feedback directly from the app