Request for reviews: Pomodoro Timer

My schedule has been a little crazy lately, so this took longer than I would have liked. I would love any advice, suggestions, reviews, etc on my Pomodoro Timer project.

Thank you in advance!
Zack Ward

6 Likes

Hi, your design is beautifull! I don’t really know the rules for this project, but I noticed that the timer would continue after you press reset. I am not sure if this is intended, but I think it is better to stop the timer.

2 Likes

Looks real nice! I will use it this afternoon for my poms and see how it is :slight_smile:

The ‘Reset Pomodoros’ button on the settings page is confusing. It’s size and placement makes it seem like it should have some effect on that page (like it’s a Save Settings button or something), but I guess it actually sets the number of completed pomodoros back to 0? The [Principle of Proximity] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principles_of_grouping#Proximity) suggests that related things should be grouped together, and unrelated things should be kept separate. So, I would either move that button to the main screen, near the poms themselves, or make it more obvious that it only relates to the number of poms on the settings page.

1 Like

One more thing: it would be nice if there was a clear visual distinction between working time and resting time. If the timer is under 5 minutes, it’s not obvious which one I’m in.

1 Like

@BenGitter Thank you for taking the time to take a look at my project! I think you’re right, the user should be required to re-start the timer after resetting it. I’ll work on getting that changed. :smile:

Zack

@stewartmurrie Thank you for taking the time to look at my project! I agree, the reset pomodoros button isn’t in the right place. I struggled with the placement of that button, because I was trying to keep the interface as simple as possible. I’ll experiment with other placement options. Also, thank you for the great idea! There should definitely be some indication of what timer is running. I’ll add something to indicate whether you’re currently on a pom or on a break.

Looks very nice and simple! But for some reason the reset button does not work for me, the completed tomatoes remain as they are. Seemingly nothing happens. I agree with @stewartmurrie that the Reset Pomodoros button is confusing a bit, it could have a better label, even Save is fine.
Well done, nice app!

1 Like

First of all, it looks great.

I think the reset on the second page is meant to be a restore (to original settings)? Or isn’t it? Anyway, if I change the values and click on the reset nothing happens.

1 Like

@ivanicspeter92 @Topzie Thank you for taking a look at the app! Yes, I agree, the two reset buttons are confusing. The reset button on the front is meant to reset the individual timer, but maintain your progress. So if you’re halfway into your 3rd Pomodoro and get sidetracked, you can reset the timer and start the 3rd Pomodoro again without losing your progress. The reset button in the settings area is meant to clear all progress that has been made. I’m experimenting with moving and/or renaming that button. I appreciate the input! :smile:

1 Like

@ZackWard If you click start and then reset the button start button doesn’t reset to start :stuck_out_tongue:

1 Like

Looks good and works well with partial testing. Nice use of materialisecss. Well done!

1 Like

@theflametrooper Nice catch! Thank you for taking a look, and for bringing that to my attention. It should be fixed now. @drikting Thank you! :smile:

After further thought, I decided that the interface could be simplified. Since a Pomodoro is supposed to be an uninterrupted unit of work, having a button to reset the current timer seems unnecessary. The reset button will now totally reset the app, since if you’re interrupted you’re probably going to want to start a new set of Pomodoros after the interruption anyway.

Thank you all for your input, what do you think of the changes?

I think it’s perfect now.

1 Like

I actually like the old reset feature :stuck_out_tongue: Sometimes I get interrupted a bunch and I just want to restart one pom. But I also don’t generally have a target number of poms, so losing track of those isn’t a big deal.

@stewartmurrie Yes, I was kind of partial to the older setup as well. :smile: I think that this way will be flexible enough to be used in a variety of ways though, and it allows me to dump that confusing button in the settings. Also, with no buttons at all in the settings area, hopefully it will be more apparent that changes to the settings take effect when you close the settings screen. Actually, they take effect as soon as the value of the input changes, but aren’t actually seen until the settings screen goes away. Thank you for your input!

1 Like

Very cool timer!

btw How did you learn typescript?

@gwenf Thank you! I learned that Angular 2.0 was made with TypeScript, so I’ve been reading through the docs on the TypeScript site and experimenting with it on my projects.I like that it gives you the opportunity to use typed variables without forcing you into anything, and that it transpiles into vanilla Javascript.

1 Like

It’s awesome! Now if it could go in the mac menu bar :wink:

1 Like

@Cairos Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to look at it, and the kind words. :smile: