Excel Live Countdown Timer Tutorial

This guide outlines how to create a live countdown timer in Excel to track project task deadlines with real-time updates and conditional formatting alerts.

Setup Steps

1. Cell Formatting

   • Format columns for admission time, deadline, and completion timestamp using a custom format displaying date, hours, and minutes (12-hour clock).

2. Formulas

   • Deadline Calculation: Use =AdmissionTimeCell + 1 to set a 24-hour deadline from admission time.
   • Remaining Time: Implement a formula using the NOW() function for real-time countdown, preventing negative values.

3. Macro for Live Timer

   • Save the file as an ‘Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook’.
   • Insert VBA code in Visual Basic Editor to create macros for starting and stopping the countdown timer.

4. Conditional Formatting

   • Create alerts with:

     • Green: More than 3 hours remaining.
     • Yellow: Less than 3 hours.
     • Red: Deadline reached.

5. Completion Timestamp

   • Use =NOW() for current timestamp, then paste values to make it static.

6. Total Time Calculation

   • Calculate total time taken from admission using =CompletionTimestamp - AdmissionTime.

7. Alert for Deadline Breach

   • Conditional formatting on Total Time column to highlight in a different color if the task exceeds the 24-hour limit.

Managing Macros

• Use 'Start Countdown' and 'Stop Countdown' macros to control the timer. The countdown adjusts automatically based on the current time when restarted.

Additional Resources

• For more tutorials, visit SharonSmithHR.com.
• Consider checking out the related video on creating a date countdown in Excel.

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