Timer control not functioning?

[hintbw-abc]

I've been working with a time control and am not finding much success in how to get to reset itself. I'm also not finding the OnTimerEnd or OnTimerStart to be working (at least it doesn't seem to be executing the commands I've included (basically setting properties of other controls to different values - e.g. visibility).

Any guidance or examples since the controls documentation of properties is pretty thin?

[hpkeong]

Hi

Timer is useful for animation or autosaving.

Sharing with you those I learnt and improved in Project Siena:

Blinking:

1. Insert a Shape, and set Visible = MyVis

2. Insert a Timer, set OnTimerEnd = UpdateContext({MyVis: !MyVis}), Repeat: true, Duration: 1000

3. Manually trigger Start: true / false to see the effect (you can set to variable, if you wish)

 Animation of Shape: (Courtesy Bruton, from Project Siena)

1. On the shape you want to move up and down, set its Y property to MyVal ( This will be underlined in red for mow, but we'll fix that shortly. )

2. Create a timer. Set the Timer's Duration to 100.Set the Timer's Repeat to true.

3. Adjust the OnTimerEnd property: To have the shape always fall from the top down.

    If(MyVal < 768, UpdateContext({MyVal: MyVal +10}), UpdateContext({MyVal: 0})) To have the shape "bounce": If(MyOperator = "+", If(MyVal < 768, UpdateContext({MyVal: MyVal +10}), UpdateContext({MyOperator: "-"})), If(MyVal > 0, UpdateContext({MyVal: MyVal -10}), UpdateContext({MyOperator: "+"}))) If(MyOperator = "+"; If(MyVal < 768; UpdateContext({MyVal: MyVal +10}); UpdateContext({MyOperator: "-"})); If(MyVal > 100; UpdateContext({MyVal: MyVal -10}); UpdateContext({MyOperator: "+"})))

4. If you want it to go left/right rather than up/down, use MyVal as the X property of the shape, and substitute 1366 for 768 in the codes.

5. Play around with the numbers, and see how you can change where the shape bounces from/to. This will make the shape move when you click the timer on. to automate the timer coming on, set the Timer's AutoStart to true (use express view).

Hope this helps.

[Steelman70]

I would add that for example if you want to set visibility on timer end then you should go through a context variable:

MyScreen.OnVisible=UpdateContext({TimerHasEnded: false}) //Just to make sure you set the initial value

MyControl.Visible=TimerHasEnded

MyTimer.OnTimerEnd=UpdateContext({TimerHasEnded: true}) 

Please let me know if this works.

[mr-dang]

Echo the OP. I think timers are bugged right now--I have had animations in my app for the past few versions of PA. They have run regularly as their time dictated in both studio and cloud, though 2.0.450 has been laggy. Yet the new update has them inching ~3 pixels every 3 seconds in studio mode. I'm lucky that I can even open my app. 

It's the kind of bug that you want to fix with a quick patch.

[hpkeong]

Hi

Just one point for sharing in PowerApps (or maybe other programming language).

1. When you think of getting the SHAPE to be animated, say, from left to right, then think of what will be changed - X

2. Then, define X as variable, because you wanna X to be changed (to animate SHAPE horizontal position)

3. Change of X (Variable) value will definitely be in itself (the Shape itself), hence you need something else to trigger. That's where Timer comes in

4. So, you need to trigger the timer to: Start and then at the end of the duration, an action is triggered; then repeat, until you call for a stop.

5. So : you need a Timer (OnTimerEnd), Start (true or false), Duration (in ms) & Repeat (true).

6. In OnTimerEnd, you need to play around with If, Temporary local variable, etc. to trigger an action when timer starts.

Point No. 6 is something I have shared with you which is useful and can be modified for different kind of scenario, be it:

- Blinking

- Moving

- Bouncing

- Color change

- Shape

- Position, etc.

Though PowerApps does not provide animation effects (as of PowerPoints), I am sure we can gather experience from others in forum (esp Project Siena forum) to make our apps more fun or even looks better UI. We should create animation ourselves instead dependant too much on PA thru forum sharing  as of Project Siena, where there were so many excellent persons and I wish they join PowerApps, too, though some of them really arevfrustarated with PowerApps).

Glad to share with you.

[hpkeong]

Hi Dang:

Luckily mine is still working smoothly.

Looks like it affects on different machine witht he same edirion, in this case V46.

[cognitivecarbon]

I just discovered an issue. I have a timer set to 10sec so that it auto hides a "menu" after it has been made visible by clicking an icon.  The timer does not seem to work if the timer control itself has "Visible: false".  It only works if "Visible: true".  Because I don't want the user to see it, I set its text color to blend in with another area of the screen so that it is "Visible" but still "hidden". 

Now, it works. 

I suspect this is because in the "Upcoming Features -> Experimental" section of the app settings, I selected "Hidden controls will not be created until they become visible".